Chapter 10
The Rise of Small Kingdoms in North India
Chauhan Protaras Pain Harshvardhan was the last great ruler
of ancient India. After his death, the
whole empire disintegrated into many small kingdoms due to the miserable
economic condition and lack of proper administration by his weak successors. This was a period of political instability in
north India. Three powerful kingdoms
arose between 750 CE and 1000 CE out of the ruins of Harsha's empire, and
hence, this period is also known as the Age of Three Empires. The Rashtrakutas took over the control in
northern part of Deccan, the Palas in eastern India (Bengal and Bihar region)
and the Pratiharas in Avanti (southern Rajasthan and Gujarat). The three main kingdoms, though continuously
engaged in wars, were INDIAN OCEAN successful in providing stable
administration, Small kingdoms in North India which helped in the progress of
art and literature. Let us study them
one by one. RASHTRAKUTAS The
Rashtrakutas established the most powerful empire in northern Deccan in 753 CE. They became the masters of a large area of
the present Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka. His empire acted as a bridge between north
and south India. Dantidurga is
considered to be the real founder of the Rashtrakuta empire. Govinda III and Amoghavarsha (814 -880 CE)
were the well - known Rashtrakuta kings.
The Rashtrakutas were great warriors, art lovers and scholars. They took up titles like Chakravarti,
Maharajadhiraj and Param Bhattarak. They
maintained huge armies and encouraged trade for the prosperity of the
people. Rashtrakutas followed Jainism
but also patronised Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims. Rashtrakuta rulers were great patrons of art
and 73
learning. His rule
saw the flourishing of regiona literature.
Rock - cut temples of Ellora, belonging to Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
sects are a proom of the religious tolerance of Rashtrakutas. King Amoghvarsha himself was a great lover of
Sanskrit He wrote Kaviragamargo, one of the earliest works in Kannada
poetry. By the end of tenth century, the
Chalukyas crushed the power of Rashtrakutas and took over the control of their
kingdom. Ellora caves PALAS Very limited
information is available about the history of Bengal for the period between the
death of Harsha and the ascending of Palas.
But, it is well - known that during this time, Bengal faced a lot of infighting
among the small kingdoms. The people of
Bengal elected Gopala as their king to maintain peace and order. He set up an empire, which ruled over for
about 400 years. His successors used
'Pala' after their name and hence, their empire came to be known as Pala
Dynasty. Dharamapala was the greatest
ruler of Pala dynasty. He set up a
center for Buddhist education which was known as Vikramsheel Vihar. His son Devapala extended the Pala empire and
also defeated the Huns. The end of his
period ushered in the decline of Palas.
Do you know? The Pala rulers were
the followers of Buddhism. Many scholars
were sent to distant countries to West Bengal was known as Gauda spread
Buddhism. They also gave generous grants
and East Bengal as Vanga. to Brahmins to
build temples. Palas were the great The
famous Nalanda University was patrons of art, education and literature. revived during the Pala empire. PRATIHARAS They are also called Gurjara -
Pratiharas, probably because they originated from Gujarat. They ruled over Gujarat and south - western
Rajasthan. The founder of the Pratihara
empire was Nagabhatta - 1 Do You Know?
The greatest ruler of this dynasty was Mihir Bhoj. He Five kingdoms, which emerged from the
conquered Kanauj around 836 CE. The continuous
Pratihara empire were - the Chauhans of battles weakened the Pratihara empire
and it broke Rajasthan, Gahrwals of Kanauj, Solankis into a number of smaller
kingdoms. of Gujarat, Paramaras of Malwa
and the Chandels of Bundelkhand. The
Pratiharas were great warriors. They
fought many battles with the Palas and the Rashtrakutas. 74
Do you know? The
brave Pratiharas stopped the Arab invasions for nearly 300 years. Pa MARRIEDASTIme The Pratihara kings were
also great patrons of art and literature.
King Mihir Bhoj himself was a well Khajuraho Temple known scholar. Regional languages developed at a fast rate
under Pratiharas rule. During this time,
early forms of Marathi and Gujarati were spoken in western India, Bengali,
Assamese and Oriya became popular in eastern India. The beautiful temples of Khajuraho,
Kanchipuram, Thanjavur, Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark were built during the rule
of the Pratiharas. The art of miniature
painting also started during this period.
Tripartite Struggle Kanauj was considered a symbol of power in north
India. Hence, the three kingdoms - the
Rashtrakuta, the Pala and the Pratihara, were continuously engaged in a
struggle to possess Kanauj. His struggle
for supremacy was known as the Tripartite Struggle. Each of them succeeded in occupying Kanauj,
in turns, as they were almost at par in military strength. But, the continuous battles weakened them and
finally led to the decline of all the three great powers. His empires disintegrated into many small
kingdoms within a period of hundred years.
RAJPUTS Around ninth century CE, the whole of north India had become a
patchwork of small kingdoms as the power of the Rashtrakutas, the Palas and the
Pratiharas ended almost simultaneously.
During the tenth century CE, three important developments took place in
medieval India. Firstly, north India
came in close contact with western and central Asia. Secondly, most of the kingdoms came under the
rule of Rajputs, who were constantly at war with one another. Finally, the continuous wars created
political instability, which was the major cause of the beginning of Turkish
invasions in north India. The Rajputs
played an important role in medieval India.
They were famous for their bravery.
There is no clarity about the origin of the Rajputs. The word 'rajput' means' son of a raja
(king). But all the Rajputs do not
belong to royal families. Many Rajput
families trace their origin to sun or moon and thus, are known as Suryavanshi
and Chandarvanshi, respectively. Some
historians believe that the Rajputs are the descendants of foreign tribes who
had settled in India. It is also
believed that the main four clans of Rajputs were born from fire altars. Hence, they are also known as Agnikulas. They are Paramaras (Malwa), Pratiharas
(Rajasthan - Gujarat), Chauhans (Ajmer) and Chalukyas (Gujarat). There were about 36 clans of Rajputs. 75
Chauhan dynasty enjoys a special place of prestige among all
the Rajput clans. The Chauhan kings
ruled over Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan.
Prithviraj Chauhan was the most powerful king among Chauhans. He came to the throne in 1177 CE. He made many conquests. He also checkeca the advances made by
Muhammad Ghori of Ghor (Afghanistan) by defeating him at the battlefield of
Tarain near Bhatinda. Even today,
Prithiviraj Chauhan remains a hero of many folk tales of India Chand Bardai
composed an epic poem, Prithviraj Raso, which narrates his bravery and
heroism. Do you know? Jaichand, the King of Kanauj, held a swaymvar
for his daughter Samyukta. He did not
invite Prithviraj. He placed a statue of
Prithviraj in the position of a doorkeeper in his court to insult him. The princess of Kanauj rejected all the
princes assembled and instead placed the garland around the statue's neck. Before the courtiers realized what had
happened, Prithviraj, who had been hiding closeby, sprung up and rode away with
the princess. The struggle for supremacy
and constant infighting created disunity and enmity among the Rajputs. This attracted the muslim invasions in
India. The Rajputs failed to join hands
with each other to defend India from Arab invasions. GOVERNANCE IN NORTH INDIA Administration The
king was all - powerful in north India.
He was assisted by different officers.
The empire wa divided into provinces.
The king was the head of the military as well as the judiciary. The king sper huge amounts of money on
building up strong armies. Economy There
was a great economic disparity among different social classes. The royal family, hit officers and the
traders were prosperous. The people
living in villages were poor. The
temples wer the centers of riches and hence, attracted a lot of invaders. Feudal system was prevalent in north
India. The kings granted land as rewards
to officers wh came to be known as Thakurs or Rais. They provided military assistance to the king
at times of Wa the feudal system led to the decline of many empires as the
feudal lords gave only a small part of land revenue to the king. This weakened the power of the kings. Moreover, many feudal lord like Chauhans and
Paramaras, became powerful and established independent empires. Society the rigid caste system led to the
division of Indian society. The king,
the feudal lords and th brahmins in high positions, enjoyed a life of
luxury. Land was cultivated mainly by
shudras wt 76)
were burdened by taxes and social discrimination. The condition of women was quite
miserable. They were deprived Do You
Know? of education. The evil practices of sati, child - marriage
and polygamy contributed to the women of royal families committed Johar
(immolating in the fire) to protect their honor if to the decline in the status
of women. their menfolk were defeated or
killed in a battle. Religion The Rajputs
mainly worshipped Gods Vishnu and Shiva.
They also worshipped Goddesses kali, Lakshmi and Durga. Rajput kings gave gifts of land to the
Brahmins - Bramadeya or Agrahara.
Hinduism became more popular than Buddhism. Many Buddhists took shelter in south-east
Asia when the Turks attacked monasteries at Nalanda. During this period, the Bhakti saints
preached devotion to God and opposed social discriminations, superstitions and
narrow-mindedness. Education Superstitions
and narrow - mindedness were a great hurdle to education. The elementary education was limited to
temples and monastries. The universities
of Nalanda and Vikramshila located in Bihar became important centers of higher
education. The study of philosophy and
religion was encouraged but subjects, like mathematics and science, were
ignored. The regional languages, like
Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali, developed as they were the languages in which
the Bhakti saints preached and composed songs.
But, Sanskrit enjoyed a place of prominence. Pali and Prakrit languages were used for
writing books on Buddhism and Jainism.
Nalanda University in Bihar w Art and Architecture The examples of the
paintings of north India to can be found in the form of murals in palaces, to
caves and temples. The Jain monks and
painters of Bengal developed the art of miniature paintings (small pictures
drawn to illustrate books). The Lingaraj
and Mukteshwara temples at Bhubneswar Lingaraj Temple (Bhubneswar) w 77
and the Sun Temple at Konark are the fine examples of the
architecture of the period from eigth to twelveth century. Trade India developed trade relations with
the countries of the east, south-east, west and central Asia, and the European
countries. This brought Indians into
close contact with the developments in other countries. The common Sun Temple of Konark features in
the political, social and cultural life in different parts brought the people
of India closer. Later on, this proved
to be a great boon for Afghan, Turkish and Mughal rulers to establish their
rule in India. Do you know? The world famous Khajuraho temple complex was
built by Chandelas, rulers of Bundelkhand (who were earlier the feudatories of
Pratiharas). These temples are decorated
with beautiful sculptures. Kandariya
Mahadev Temple (Khajuraho) Keywords epic poem: a long narrative poem usually
about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the cultur of the
poet. feudal system: the socio -
political set - up of medieval Europe based on land holdings miniature
painting: a small painting executed with great detail. mural painting any piece of artwork painted
or applied on a wall, ceiling, etc.
patron: a person who supports an artist, writer, etc. , with money, gift or endorsement philosphy:
the study of nature, cause of principles of reality, polygamy: the practice of
having more than one wife, 78.
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