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Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant that mentions their rule from Manpur in the Malwa region of modern Madhya Pradesh. Other ruling Rashtrakuta clans from the same period mentioned in inscriptions were the kings of Achalapur (modern Elichpur in Maharashtra) and the rulers of Kannauj. Several controversies exist regarding the origin of these early Rashtrakutas, their native home and their language. The clan that ruled from Elichpur was a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas and during the rule of Dantidurga, it overthrew Chalukya Kirtivarman II and went on to build an empire with the Gulbarga region in modern Karnataka as its base. This clan came to be known as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India in 753. At the same time the Pala dynasty of Bengal and the Prathihara dynasty of Malwa were gaining force in eastern and northwestern India respectively. An Arabic writing ''Silsilatuttavarikh'' (851) called the Rashtrakutas one of the four principal empires of the world.〔Reu (1933), p39〕 This period, between the eight and the 10th centuries, saw a tripartite struggle for the resources of the rich Gangetic plains, each of these three empires annexing the seat of power at Kannauj for short periods of time. At their peak the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta ruled a vast empire stretching from the Ganges River and Yamuna River doab in the north to Cape Comorin in the south, a fruitful time of political expansion, architectural achievements and famous literary contributions. The early kings of this dynasty were Hindu but the later kings were strongly influenced by Jainism. During their rule, Jain mathematicians and scholars contributed important works in Kannada and Sanskrit. Amoghavarsha I, the most famous king of this dynasty wrote ''Kavirajamarga'', a landmark literary work in the Kannada language. Architecture reached a milestone in the Dravidian style, the finest example of which is seen in the Kailasanath Temple at Ellora. Other important contributions are the sculptures of Elephanta Caves in modern Maharashtra as well as the Kashivishvanatha temple and the Jain Narayana temple at Pattadakal in modern Karnataka, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. ==History== The origin of the Rashtrakuta dynasty has been a controversial topic of Indian history. These issues pertain to the origin of the earliest ancestors of the Rashtrakutas during the time of Emperor Ashoka in the 2nd century BCE,〔Reu (1933), pp1–5〕 and the connection between the several Rashtrakuta dynasties that ruled small kingdoms in northern and central India and the Deccan between the 6th and 7th centuries. The relationship of these medieval Rashtrakutas to the most famous later dynasty, the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta (present day Malkhed in the Gulbarga district, Karnataka state), who ruled between the 8th and 10th centuries has also been debated.〔Altekar (1934), pp1–32〕〔Reu (1933), pp6–9, pp47–53〕〔 The sources for Rashtrakuta history include medieval inscriptions, ancient literature in the Pali language,〔Reu (1933), p1〕 contemporaneous literature in Sanskrit and Kannada and the notes of the Arab travellers.〔Kamath (2001), p72〕 Theories about the dynastic lineage (''Surya Vamsa''—Solar line and ''Chandra Vamsa''—Lunar line), the native region and the ancestral home have been proposed, based on information gleaned from inscriptions, royal emblems, the ancient clan names such as "Rashtrika", epithets (''Ratta'', ''Rashtrakuta'', ''Lattalura Puravaradhiswara''), the names of princes and princesses of the dynasty, and clues from relics such as coins.〔Kamath (2001), p72–74〕〔Reu (1933), pp1–15〕 Scholars debate over which ethnic/linguistic groups can claim the early Rashtrakutas. Possibilities include the north western ethnic groups of India,〔J. F. Fleet in Reu (1933), p6〕 the Kannadiga,〔A Kannada dynasty was created in Berar under the rule of Badami Chalukyas (Altekar 1934, p21–26)〕〔Kamath 2001, p72–3〕 Reddi,〔A.C. Burnell in Pandit Reu (1933), p4〕 the Maratha,〔C.V. Vaidya (1924), p171〕〔D.R.Bhandarkar in Reu, (1933), p1, p7〕 or the tribes from the Punjab region.〔Hultzsch and Reu in Reu (1933), p2, p4〕 Scholars however concur that the rulers of the imperial dynasty in the 8th to 10th century made the Kannada language as important as Sanskrit. Rashtrakuta inscriptions use both Kannada and Sanskrit (historians Sheldon Pollock and Jan Houben claim they are mostly in Kannada),〔Kamath (2001), p73〕〔Pollock 2006, p332〕〔Houben(1996), p215〕〔Altekar (1934), p411–3〕〔Dalby (1998), p300〕 and the rulers encouraged literature in both languages. The earliest existing Kannada literary writings are credited to their court poets and royalty.〔Sen (1999), pp380-381〕〔During the rule of the Rashtrakutas, literature in Kannada and Sanskrit flowered (Kamath 2001, pp 88–90)〕〔Even royalty of the empire took part in poetic and literary activities – Thapar (2003), p334〕〔Narasimhacharya (1988), pp17–18, p68〕 Though these Rashtrakutas were Kannadigas,〔〔Altekar (1934), pp21–24〕〔Possibly Dravidian Kannada origin (Karmarkar 1947 p26)〕〔Masica (1991), p45-46〕〔Rashtrakutas are described as Kannadigas from Lattaluru who encouraged the Kannada language (Chopra, Ravindran, Subrahmanian 2003, p87)〕 they were conversant in a northern Deccan language as well. The heart of the Rashtrakuta empire included nearly all of Karnataka, Maharashtra and parts of Andhra Pradesh, an area which the Rastrakutas ruled for over two centuries. The Samangadh copper plate grant (753) confirms that the feudatory King Dantidurga, who probably ruled from Achalapura in Berar (modern Elichpur in Maharashtra), defeated the great Karnatic army (referring to the army of the Badami Chalukyas) of Kirtivarman II of Badami in 753 and took control of the northern regions of the Chalukya empire.〔Reu (1933), p54〕〔From Rashtrakuta inscriptions call the Badami Chalukya army ''Karnatabala'' (power of ''Karnata'') (Kamath 2001, p57,p65)〕〔Altekar in Kamath (2001), p72〕 He then helped his father-in-law, Pallava King Nandivarman regain Kanchi from the Chalukyas and defeated the Gurjaras of Malwa, and the rulers of Kalinga, Kosala and Srisailam.〔Sastri (1955), p141〕〔Thapar (2003), p333〕 Dantidurga's successor Krishna I brought major portions of present-day Karnataka and Konkan under his control.〔Sastri (1955), p143〕〔Sen (1999), p368〕 During the rule of Dhruva Dharavarsha who took control in 780, the kingdom expanded into an empire that encompassed all of the territory between the Kaveri River and Central India.〔〔Desai and Aiyar in Kamath (2001), p75〕〔Reu (1933), p62〕〔Sen (1999), p370〕 He led successful expeditions to Kannauj, the seat of northern Indian power where he defeated the Gurjara Pratiharas and the Palas of Bengal, gaining him fame and vast booty but not more territory. He also brought the Eastern Chalukyas and Gangas of Talakad under his control.〔〔The Rashtrakutas interfered effectively in the politics of Kannauj (Thapar 2003), p333〕 According to Altekar and Sen, the Rashtrakutas became a pan-India power during his rule.〔〔From the Karda inscription, a ''digvijaya'' (Altekar in Kamath 2001, p75)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rashtrakuta dynasty」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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