Tripartite Struggle
ThePratihara dynasty, thePala Empire, and theRashtrakuta Empire at their respective peaks during the Tripartite Struggle.[1][2]
Date 785–816 Location Kannauj,Malwa andGauda Result Pratihara victory[3]
Belligerents
Pratihara dynasty Kingdom of Sambhar Pratiharas of Mandore Chalukyas of Saurashtra Guhilas of Chatsu	Rashtrakuta Empire	Pala Empire Ayudhas of Kannauj(from 791)
Commanders and leaders
Vatsaraja Durlabharaja I Nagabhata II Kakka Vahukadhavala Sankaragana	Dhruva Govinda III	Dharmapala Chakrayudha

TheTripartite Struggle (785–816) also known as theKannauj Wars, were a series of wars innorthern India fought over the control of the throne of Kannauj, which during that time was equivalent to having imperial status over all ofAryavarta. It involved the three powerful dynasties of the era– theGurjara-Pratiharas, thePalas of Gauda (Bengal) and theRashtrakutas of Manyakheta.^[4]: 20 The war ultimately resulted inNagabhata II, winning the crown of Kannauj in 816,^[5][6][7] and proclaiming himself as King of Kannauj.

In the eighth century, the two major powers ofAryavarta (northern India) were thePratiharas who ruled theGurjaratra Kingdom and thePalas who ruled theKingdom of Gauda(Bengal). While the Pratiharas gradually expanded their domain towards the east, the Palas expanded their domains towards the west. Insouthern India and theDeccan, theRashtrakutas of Manyakheta reigned, who also sought to expand their domains north and control Aryavarta. This led to the formation of the Kannauj triangle, a region which lead to decades of conflict.

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According to theEpigraphistDineschandra Sircar, the struggle between the Pratihara and the Rashtrakuta had begun earlier than the struggle over the Kingdom of Kannauj. These two powers shared a common frontier in theGujarat andMalwa 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 defeatedNagabhata I of the Pratihara dynasty, as evident from the Dashavatara Temple inscription ofDantidurga atEllora and the Sanjan inscription ofAmoghavarsha I, both belonging to the Rashtrakuta dynasty which states thatDantidurga (r. 735–756) performed a religious ceremony atUjjayani, and the king ofGurjara-desha (Gurjara country) acted as his door-keeper (pratihara),^[8][9] suggesting that the Rashtrakuta king had subdued the Pratihara king who was rulingAvanti at that time.^[10]

On the other hand, the conflict between thePalas ofGauda/Bengal and theAyudhas of Kannauj was the continuation of an old power struggle that had started betweenHarshavardhana of Kannauj andSasanka ofGauda in the 7th century and would continue till the 12th century. These regional struggles were escalated to a greater pitch over the issue of succession of theAyudha dynasty. Also, the involvement of the four powers, i.e. the Pratihara Empire, the Pala Empire, the Rashtrakuta Empire, and the Kingdom of Kannauj meant that it was actually a four-power struggle.^{[citation needed]}

By the eighth century, thePushyabhuti dynasty which had controlled much ofnorthern India underHarshavardhana in the seventh century had greatly diminished in power under a succession of weak kings, and was replaced by two new great powers in North India — theKingdom of Gurjara to the west and theKingdom of Bengal to the east. In southern India, theRashtrakuta royal family reigned, whose kingDhruva too had imperial ambitions to rule northern India.

The king of the Gurjaras,Vatsaraja, the grand-nephew ofNagabhata I,^[11] expanded the small principality founded by his ancestor into a powerful kingdom in northwestern India. His ambitions matched those ofDharmapala, theking of Bengal who too wanted glory for himself and wanted to extend his power beyond his ancestral domain in eastern India. The throne ofKannauj was equivalent to having imperial status over all of northern India and thus,Vatsaraja,Dharmapala, andDhruva, all sought to control it. The incumbents of the Kannauj throne at that time, theAyudha dynasty were weak rulers and the accession ofIndrayudha triggered the first great war.

The first move was made byVatsaraja (of thePratihara dynasty), soon after the ascension of the new king of Kannauj,Indrayudha. He swiftly invaded Kannauj and defeated the king. The weak king accepted theoverlordship of Vatsaraja.

Following this success, Vatsaraja proceeded to invade Bengal. His vassal,Durlabharaja I, theking of Sambhar pursued the forces of the king ofGauda and defeatedDharmapala. His men looted the royal treasury, and Vatsaraja set back on his way to his kingdom. Vatsaraja adopted the titleRanahastin following this victory.

However, the ambitious king of the South,Dhruva (of theRashtrakuta dynasty) decided to intervene in the ongoing conflict of the northern kingdoms. WhileVatsaraja was on his return journey with the spoils of war, he was defeated by Dhruva's forces, and was thus forced to flee and hide in thedeserts of Maru. Following this, Dhruva met and defeated Dharmapala in the Doab. Dhruva however, had no intentions for any permanent territorial conquests and only intended to raid the invaded regions. He thus returned to the South in 790.^[12]

Following the departure of Dhruva,Dharmapala grabbed the opportunity and invading the kingdom of Kannauj around 791,^[a] defeated Indrayudha and installed his brotherChakrayudha as his vassal, clearly avoiding annexation. He then held an imperial court at Kannauj to crown Chakrayudha, which was attended by the rulers of Bhoja,^[b]Matsya,^[c]Madra,^[d]Kuru,^[e]Yadu,^[f]Yavana,Avanti,Gandhara and Kira.^[g][14][15] These kings accepted the installation of Chakrayudha on the Kannauj throne, while "bowing down respectfully with their diadems trembling".^[16] Some historians have speculated that all these kingdoms might have been the vassal states of the Pala empire but maintained their autonomy.^[17]: 39

Vatsaraja was succeeded by his sonNagabhata II (r. 795–833), who strived to rebuild the fallen empire of his father. In the Deccan,Dhruva was succeeded by his sonGovinda III (r. 793–814). Wary of the rising might of Nagabhata, he decided to crush Nagabhata's power before he became too powerful. After securing the Vindhya passes under his loyal brother Indra, he invaded the Gurjara kingdom though Bhopal and Jhansi and defeated Nagabhata near Gwalior. Govinda conqueredMalwa,^[18]Lata^[19] andMahakoshal from the Gurjaras.^[20]

Chakrayudha made an unconditional surrender to Govinda, and thus, Govinda made no effort to conquer the Doab. Dharmapala also submitted.^[21][22]

With Govinda's death in 814, the Rashtrakuta threat finally lapsed. Nagabhata was careful not to waste any time at all. In 816, Nagabhata II invaded the Doab, and defeated king Chakrayudha and proclaimed himself the King of Kannauj, establishing Kannauj as the Pratiharan capital,^[7][6][5] and marking the end ofAyudha control over the throne of Kannauj.Dharmapala prepared for the inevitable and Nagabhata, along with his vassals — Kakka of theJodhpur Pratihara family,Vahukadhavala, theChalukya chief of southern Kathiawar and theGuhilot Sankaragana, began the final invasion of Bengal. In the Battle ofMonghyr, Nagabhata's forces soundly defeated those of Dharmapala, finally resulting in a Pratiharan victory,^[23] and marking the end of the decades-long tripartite struggle. Nagabhata also assumed the titleParamabhattaraka (All-Powerful) after his victory.^[24][25]

• Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977) [1952],Ancient India (Reprinted ed.), Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 9788120804364

• Military history of India
• 8th-century conflicts
• Natural resource conflicts
• 9th-century conflicts
• Conflicts in India
• Wars involving the Pala Empire
• Wars involving the Pratihara Empire
• Battles involving the Rajputs
• Wars involving the Rashtrakuta Empire
• History of Kannauj

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