Pratīhāras and Rāṣhṭrakūṭas

The Gurjara-Pratīhāras. This dynasty was founded in the mid-8th century by Nāgabhaṭa I, probably in western India ('Gurjara' was a region between Gujarat and Rajasthan). It became famous for pushing back Arab invasions in the northwest. Its early capital was Bhillamāla (Bhinmal in western Rajasthan), later probably Ujjayinī.

In the 9th century, the famous Pratīhāra king Bhoja, a devotee of Viṣhṇu, built an empire from Punjab and Kathiawar in the west to Kannauj in the east, controlling most of north India. He was also called Mihira (a name of the Sun) and Ādi Varāha (Varāha is Viṣhṇu's boar avatar).

A century later, the Rāṣhṭrakūṭas destroyed Kannauj, which sped up the Pratīhāras' decline. Their empire was finally ended in the early 11th century by the Ghaznavids.

The Rāṣhṭrakūṭas. In the mid-8th century, Dantidurga overthrew the Chālukyas in the Deccan and became the first independent Rāṣhṭrakūṭa ruler. They moved their centre to today's Karnataka, with their capital at Mānyakheṭa (Malkheda), and were one of the strongest powers for nearly two centuries.

These kings were not always at war; they also created wonders. The Rāṣhṭrakūṭa king Krishna I had the magnificent Kailaśhanātha temple at Ellora carved out of a hillside — the largest rock-cut temple in India. It was not built up stone by stone; it was cut out of the rock from the top down, like a giant sculpture. One wrong cut could never be undone.

The Rāṣhṭrakūṭas supported Hindu, Buddhist and Jain schools equally, and encouraged learning in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada.

In the 9th century, Amoghavarṣha I took the title Nṛipatunga, 'peak of kings'. Despite wars, he kept peace, prosperity and stability — his reign lasted 64 years! He is sometimes called a 'Jain king' because he was strongly drawn to Jainism, but he also supported Hindu temples, and he was a fine poet. Nrupatunga Road in central Bengaluru is named after him.

A striking view from outside: Al-Masūdī, a 10th-century Arab historian from Baghdad, wrote that no ruler in Sindh or India respected Muslims as much as this Rāṣhṭrakūṭa king; in his kingdom Islam was honoured and protected, and mosques were built where people prayed five times a day.