Tripartite Struggle
The Tripartite Struggle, also known as The Kannauj Triangle Wars, for control of northern India took place in the ninth century, among the Gurjara-Pratihara Empire, the Pala Empire and the Rashtrakuta Empire.: 20
Tripartite Struggle | ||||||||
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Kanauj Triangle Wars | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
Pratihara Empire | Rashtrakuta Empire | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
Vatsaraja Nagabhata II |
Dhruva Dharavarsha Govinda III |
Dharmapala Indrayudha Chakrayudha |
Epigraphist Dineschandra Sircar however, added a different perspective to this struggle. According to Sircar, the struggle between the Gurjara-Pratihara and the Rashtrakuta had begun earlier than the struggle over Kannauj State. These two powers shared a common frontier in the Gujarat and Malwa regions. The frontier was a shifting one and far from permanent, causing enmity between the two powers. Even before the struggle over Kannauj started, Dantidurga, the founder of the Rashtrakuta Empire, had defeated Nagabhata I of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, as evident from the Dashavatara Temple inscription of Dantidurga at Ellora and the Sanjan inscription of Amoghavarsha I, both belonging to the Rashtrakuta dynasty which states that Dantidurga (r. 735–756 CE) performed a religious ceremony at Ujjayani, and the king of Gurjara-desha (Gurjara country) acted as his door-keeper (pratihara), suggesting that the Rashtrakuta king had subdued the Gurjara-Pratihara king who was ruling Avanti at that time.
On the other hand, the conflict between the Pala Empire of Bengal and Bihar and the Ayudha dynasty of Kannauj was the continuation of an old power struggle that had started between Harshavardhana of the Pushyabhuti dynasty and Sasanka of Gauda in the seventh century and would continue till the twelfth century. These regional struggles were escalated to a greater pitch over the issue of succession of the Ayudha dynasty. Also, the involvement of the four powers, i.e. the Gurjara-Pratihara Empire, the Pala Empire, the Rashtrakuta Empire, and the Ayudha dynasty meant that it was actually a four-power. After the attempts of conquering Kannauj by Vatsaraja and Nagabhata II were foiled by Rashtrakuta Kings Dhruva and Govinda III, leaving the city under Pala control, The Gurjaras succeeded in finally capturing Kannauj during the reign of Mihir Bhoja, and the city remained their capital until the fall of the dynasty in 1036 CE.
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