Two

Northern India: Age of the Three Empires

(800-1000)

number
After the decline ofHarsha's empire in the seventh century, a India
Deccan and south
of large states arose in north India, the
India, none of the
Unlike the Gupta and Harsha'sempire in north
enure Ganga
other kingdoms in north India were able to bring the
population and
valley under its control. The Ganga valley with its
Gupta rulers and 1larsha
other resources was the basis on which the
Gujarat which, with its
had been able to extend their control over
inportant for overscas trade.
richsea ports and manufacturers, was
between the Ganga
Malwa and Rajasthan were the essential links
valley and Gujarat, This defined the geographical limits of an empire
able to bring the
in north India. In south India,(the Cholas were
Krishna, Godavari and the Kaveri deltas under
their control. This
was the basis of their supremacy in south India)
Déccan bctweenAD 750
Large states arose in north India andthe
dominated castern
and 1000.(These were the Pala empirc, which
which
India till the middle of the ninth century; the Pratihara empire,
middle
dominated western India and the uppcr Gangeticvalley tillthe
which dominated
of the tenth century, and the Rashtrakuta empire, and south India
the Deccan and also controlled territories in north
fought among
at various times.)Each of these empires,although they
themselves, provided stable conditions of life over large areas,
extended agriculture, built ponds andcanals, and gave patronage to
arts and letters, including temples. Of the three,
the Rashtrakuta
empirelasted the longest. It was not only the most powertul empire
India
of thetime, but atso acted as a bridge between north and south
in cultural matters.
in cconomic as well as
 Northern India: Age of the Three Empires 13

THE STRUGGLE FOR DOMINATION IN NORTH INDIA: THE PALAS

The period following the death of Harsha was a period of political

confusion. For some time, Lalitaditya, the ruler of Kashmir brought
the Punjab under his control and even controlled Kanauj which,
since the days of Harsha, wasconsidered the symbol of thesovereignty
of north India-a position which Delhi was to acquire later. Control
of Kanauj also implied controlof the upper Gangetic valley and its
rich resources in trade and agriculture. Lalitaditya even invaded
Bengal or Gaud, and killed its reigning king. But his power waned
with the rise of the Palas and the Gurjara-Pratiharas.
The Palas and the Pratiharas clashed with cach other for the
control of the area extending from Banaras to south Bihar which
aga1n had rich resources and welldeveloped imperial traditions. The
Pratiharas also clashed with the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan.
The Pala empire was founded by Gopala, probably in AD 750 when
he was elected king by the notable men ofthe area to end the anarchy
prevailing there. Gopala was not born in a high, much less a royal
family, his father probably being a soldier. He unified Bengal under
his control, and even brought Magadha (Bihar) under his control.
Gopala wassucceeded in A) 770 by his son, Dharamapala, who ruled
tillAD 810. His reign was marked by atripartite struggle between the
Palas,the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas for the controlof Kanauj
nd north India The Pratihararuler advanced upon Gaud (Bengal),
but before a decision could be taken, the Pratihara ruler was defeated
by the Rashtrakuta ruler, Dhruva, and was forced to seek refuge in
the deserts of Rajasthan) Dhruva then returned to the Deccan. This
left the field free for Dharmapala who occupied Kanauj and held a
grand darbar which was attended by vassal rulers from Punjab,
castern Rajasthan, ctc. We are told that the rule of Dharmapala
extended upto the furthest limit of India in the northwest and,
perhaps, included Malwa and Berar. Apparently, this implied that
the rulers of these areas accepted the suzerainty of Dharmapala.
The triumphalcareer of Dharmapala may be placed between AD
790 and 800. Dharmapala could not, however, consolidate his power
in north Indi( The Pratihara power revived under Nagabhatta II
Dharmapala fell back, but was defeated near Mongyr. Bihar and
modern east Uttar Pradesh remained a bone of contention between
 A HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL INDIA
14

thePalas and the Prat1haras. However, Bihar, in addition to Bengal,

remaincd under the control of the Palas for most of the time.
Failure n the north compelled the Pala rulers to turn their energies
in other dircctiòns Devapala, the són of Dharmapala, who succceded
to the thronc in AD 810and ruled for 40 years, extended his control
over Pragyot1shpur (Assam) and parts of Orissa. Probably a part of
modern Nepal was also brought under Pala suzerainty.
Thus, for about a hundred years,from the middle of the cighth to
the middle of the ninth century, thé Pala rulers dominated castern
India. For some time, their control extended upto Varanasi. Their
power is attested to by an Arab merchant, Sulaiman, who visited
Ind1ain the middle of the ninth century, and wrote an account of it.
He calls the Pala Kingdom Ruhma, (or Dharma, short for
Dharmapala), and says that the Pala ruler wvas at war with his
ncighbours, the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas, but his troops were
more numerousthat his adversarics. He tells us that it was customary
for the Pala k1ng to be accompanied by a force of 50,000 clephants,
and that 10,000-15,000 men in his army were cmployed 'in fulling
and washing clothes'y Even if these figures may be exaggerated, we
can assumethat the Palas had a large military force at their disposal.
But we do not know whether they had a large standing army, or
whether their forces consisted largely of feudal levies. Information
about the Palas is also provided to us by Tibetan chronicles, although
these were written in the seventeenth centuryiAccordingto these,
the Pala rulers were great patrons ofBuddhist learning and religion.
The Nalanda university which had been famous allover the eastern
world was revived by Dharmapala, and 200 villages were set apart
for meeting itsexpenses. Healso founded the Vikramasila university
which became second only to Nalanda in fame. It was located on the
top of ahill, onghe banks of the Ganga in Magadha, amidst pleasant
surroundings. Fhe Palas built many viharas in which a large number
of Buddbist
monks lived.
The Pala rulers also had close cultural relations with Tibet. The
noted Buddhist scholars, Santarakshita andDipankara (called Atisa),
were invited to Tibet, and they introduced a new form of Buddhism
there. As a result, many Tibetan Buddhists flocked to the universities
of Nalanda and Vikramsila for study. Although the Palas
were
 North ern India: Age of the Three Empires 15

supporters of Buddhism(they also extended their patronage to

Saivism and Vaishnavism, They gave grants to large numbers of
brahmans from north India who flocked to Bengal. Their settlements
helped in the extension of cultivation in the area, and the
transformation of many pastoralists and food-gatherers to settle down
tocultivation. The growing prosperity of Bengal helped in extending
trade and cultural contacts with countries of Southeast Asia--Burma,
Malaya, Java, Sumatra,etc.
The trade with Southeast Asia was very profitable and added
greatly to the prosperity of the Pala empire and led to the incursion
of gold and silver from these countries into Bengal. The powerful
Sailendra dynasty, which was Buddhist in faith and which ruled over
Malaya, Java, Sumatra and the neighbouring islands, sent many
embassies to the Pala court and sought permission to build a
monastery at Nalanda, and also requested the Pala ruler, Devapala,
to endow five villages for its upkeep. The request was granted and
bears testimony to theclose relations between the two empires.

THE PRATIHARAS

The Pratiharas who ruled over Kanauj for along time are also caled
Gurjara-Pratiharas. Most scholars consider that they originated from
the Gurjaras who were pastoralists and fighters, like the Jats. The
Pratiharas cstablished aseries of principalities in central and eastern
Rajasthan. They clashed with the Rashtrakutas for the control of
Malwaand Gujarat, and later for Kanauj which implied control of
theupper Ganga valley. The Pratiharas who first had their capital at
Bhinmalgained prominence under Nagabhatta I who offered stout
resistance tothe Arab rulers of Sind who were trying to encroach on
Rajasthan, Gujarat, the Punjab, etc. The Arabs made a big thrust
towards Gujarat but were decisively defcated bythe Chalukyan ruler
of Gujarat in 738. Although small Arab incursions continued, the
Arabs ceased to be a threat thereafter.
The cffortsof the early Pratihara rulers to extend their control
over the upper Ganga valley and Malwa were defeated by the.
Rashtrakua rulers Dhruva and Gopal III In 790 and again in
806-07, the Rashtrakutas defeated the Pratiharas,and then withdrew
16 AHISTORY OF MEDIEVAL INDIA

to the Deccan, leaving the field free for the PalasPerhaps the main
interest of the Rashtrakutas was the domination of Malwa and
Gujarat. The real founder of the Pratihara empire and the greatest
ruler of the dynasty was Bhoja. We do not know much about the
early life of Bhoja,or when he ascended the throne. He rebuilt the
empire, and by about AD 836 he had recovered Kanauj which remained
the capitalof the Pratihara empire for almost a century.
Bhoja tried to extend his sway in theeast, but he was defeated and
checkmated by the Pala ruler, Devapala. He then turned towards
central India and the Deccan and Gujarat. This led to a revival of
the struggle with the Rashtrakutas. In a sanguinary battle on the
bank of the Narmada, Bhoja was able to retain his control over
considerable parts of Malwa, and some parts of Gujarat. But he could
progress no further in the Deccan. Hence, he turned his attention to
the north again. According to an inscription, his territories extended
to the western side of the river Sutlej. Arab travellers tell us that the
Pratihara rulers had the best cavalry in India. Importofhorses from
Central Asia and Arabia was an important item of India's trade at
that time. Following the death of Devapala and the weakening of
the Pala empire, Bhojaalso extended his empire in the east.
The name of Bhoja is famous in legends. Perhaps, the adventures
of Bhoja in the carly part of his life, his gradual reconquest ofhis lost
empire, and his final recovery of Kanauj struck the imagination of
his contemporics. Bhoja was adevotee of Vishnu, and adopted the
title of Adivaraha' which has been found inscribed in some of his
coins. He is sometimes called Mihir Bhoja to distinguish him form
Bhoja Paramara of Ujain who ruled a little later.
Bhoja probably died in about 885. He was succeeded by his son
Mahendrapala I. Mahendrapala, who ruled till about 908-09
maintained the empire of Bhoja and extended it over Magadha and
north Bengal. His inscriptions have also been found in Kathiawar,
east Punjab and Awadh. Mahendrapala fought abattle with the king
of Kashmir but had to yield to him some of the territories in the
Punjab won by Bhoja.
The Pratiharas, thus, dominated north India for over a hundred
years, from the carly ninth to the middle of the tenth century. Al
Masudi,anative of Baghdad, who visitedGujarat in 915-16,testifies
 Northern India: Age of the Three Empires 17

to the great power and prestige of the Pratihara rulers and the vastness
of their empire. He calls the Gurjara-Pratihara kingdom al-Juzr (a
corrupt form of Gurjara), and the king Baura, probably a

mispronounciation of Adivaraha the title used by Bhoja, although

Bhoja had died by that time. AI-Masudi says that the empire of Juzr
had i,80,000 villages, cities and rural areas and was about 2000 km
in length and 2000 km in breadth. The king's army had four
divisions, cach consisting of 7,00,000 to 9,00,000 mèn: 'with the army
of the north he fights against the ruler of Multan and other Muslims
who align themselves with him.' The army of thesouth fought against
the Rashtrakutas, and that of the cast against the Palas. He had only
2000 elephants trained for war, but the best cavalry of any king in the
country.
ThePratiharas were patrons of learning and literature. The great
Sanskrit poet and dramatist, Rajashekhar, lived at the court of
Mahipala, agrandson of Bhoja. The Pratihara also embellished
Kanaujwith many fine buildings and temples.
During the cighth and ninth centuries, many Indian scholars went
with embassies to the court of the caliph at Baghdad. These scholars
introduced Indian sciences, especially mathematics, algebra and
medicine tothe Arab world. We do not know the names of the Indian
kings whosent these embassies. The Pratiharas were well-known
for their hostility tothe Arab rulers of Sind. Despite this,it seems
that the movement of scholars and goods between India and West
Asia continued even during this period.
Between 915 and 918, the Rashtrakuta king, Indra III, again
attacked Kanauj, and devastated the city. This weakened the Pratihara
empire, and Gujarat probably passed into the hands of the
Rashtrakutas, for al-Masudi tells us that the Pratihara empire had
no access to the sea. The loss of Gujarat, which was the hub of the
overseas trade and the main outlet for north Indian goods to West
Asian countries, was another blow to the Pratiharas. Another
Rashtrakuta ruler, Krishna III, invaded north India in about 963
and defeated the Pratihara ruler. This was followed by the rapid
dissolution of the Pratihara empire.
 AHISTORY OF MEDIEVAL INDIA
18

Gh¡zni Ohind KASHMIR INDIADURING

KABULJ
"Srinagar, AD 700- AD 1030
GHAZNI Nandan Prosent cxternal boundary of India
KINGDOM/
^HAHL
=ahore
IndusRive Muljan
M r a h m a p u t r a
R i v e )

Narayanpur
Mansura GUkARAS Kas) APALASENS
Kajuravahakae "Kalanjnra Monyhir Kghunpur
oUijaih Tripuri
Narmada R KALACHURIS
Dhar
"Achalpur
PARAMARAS

RASHTRAKUTAS
Godavari Riyer
Mankhet
ARABIAN Krishna R BAY OF BENGAL
SEA

CHOLAS/

Tanjavur
 Nothern India Age uf the Three !mpires
Thr RAwrEAKULAS

While the Palasand the I'ratiharas were ruling over nonh Inda, the
Deccan was bein, ruled by the Rashtrakutas, a remarkahble dynasty
which produccd along ine of warrion and able adm1nstrators. The
kingdom was founded by Dantidurga who et up hs captal at
Manyakhet or Malkhed ncar modem Sholapur. The Rashtrakutas
sOon dominated the entire arca of northern Maharashtra. They al
engaged with the Pratiharas for the overlordship of Gujarat and
Malwa as we havescen above. Although their raids did not result in
the cxtension of thec Rashtrakutaempirc to the Ganga valley, they
brought rich plundecr, and added to the fame of the Rashtrakutas.
The Rashtrakutas also fought constantly against the castern
Chalukyas of Vengi (in modernAndhra Pradesh) and in the south
against thc Pallavas of Kanchi and the Pandyas of Madurai.
Probably the grcatest Rashtrakuta rulers were Govinda III (793
814) and Amoghavarsha (814-878). After a successful cxpedition
against Nagabhatta of Kanauj and the anncxation of Malwa,
Govinda IIlturncd to the south. We arc told in an inscription that
Govinda'terrificd the Kerala, Pandya and the Chola kings and caused
the Pallavas to wither. The Ganga (of Karnataka), who became
dissatisficd through baseness, were bound down with fetters and met
with death.' The king of Lanka and his minister who had been
negligent of their own intercsts, were captured and brought over as
prisoners to Halapur. Two statucs of the lord ofLanka were carried
to Manyakhet,and installed like pillars of victory in front of a Siva
tcmple.
Amoghavarsha ruled for 64 years but by temperament he preferred
the pursuit of religion and literature to war. He was himself an author
and is credited with writing the first Kannada book on
poetics. He
was agreat builder, and is said to have built the capital city Manyakhet
so as to cxccl the city of Indra.
There were many rebellions in the far flung Rashtrakuta empirc
under Amoghavarsha. These could be barely contained, and began
afresh after his death. His grandson, Indra III, (915-927)
cstablished the empire. After the defeat of Mahipala and the sackreof
Kanauj in 915, Indra III was the most powerful ruler of his
times.
 20 A HISTORY OP MEDIEVAL INDIA

According to al-Masudi who visited India at that time, the

Rashtrakuta
king, Balhara or Vallabharaj, was the greatest king of Indiaand m
of the Indian rulers accepted his suzerainty and respected his envov.
He posscssed large armies and innumnerable clephants.
Krishna III(934-963) was the last in a line of brilliant rulers h.
was engaged in a struggle against the Paramaras of Malwa andk
castern Chalukyas of Vengi. He also launched a campaign against
the Chola ruler of Tanjore, who had supplanted the Pallavas
Kanchi. Krishna IIIdefeated the Chola king, Parantaka I (AD 949)
andannexed the northern part of the Chola empife. He then pressed
down to Rameshwaram and set up a pillar of victory there and buil
a temple. After his death, all his opponents united against his
successor. The Rashtrakuta capital, Malkhed, was sacked and burnr
in 972. This marked the end of the Rashtrakuta empire.
The Rashtrakuta rule in the Deccan thus lasted for almost two
hundred years, tilltheend of the tenth century. TheRashtrakuta rulers
were tolerant in their religious views and patronised not only Saivism
andVaishnavism but Jainism as well. The famous rock-cut temple of
Siva at Ellora was built by one of the Rashtrakuta kings, Krishna I, in
the ninth century His successo, Amoghavarsha, is said to have been a
Jain but be also patronised other faiths. The Rashtrakutas allowed
Muslim traders to settle, and permitted Islam to be prcached, in their
dominions. We are told that the Muslims had their own headma.
and had large mosques for their daily prayers in many of the coastal
towns in the Rashtrakuta empire. This tolerant policy helped to promote
foreign trade which enriched the Rashtrakutas.
The Rashtrakuta kings were great patrons of arts and letters. In
theircourts, we find not only Sanskrit scholars, but also poets and
others whowrote in Prakrit and in the apabhramsha, the so-called
corrupt languages which were the fore-runners ofthe various modern
Indian languages. The great apabharamsha poet, Svayambhu, and
his son probably lived at the Rashtrakuta court.

POLITICAL IDEAS AND ORGANISATION

The system of administration in these empires was based on the

ideas and practices of the Gupta empire, Harsha's kingdom in the
 Nothern Inda: Age of the Three Emprcs 21

north, and the Chalukyas in the Deccan. As before, the monarch

Was the centre of all aflairs. He was the head of the administration as
well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He sat in a
magnificent darbar. Squadrons ofinfantryand cavalry were stationed
n the courtyard. Captured war-elephants and horses were paraded
betore him. He was attended by royal chamberlains,who regulated
the coming and goingof vassal chiefs,feudatories, ambassadors, and
other high officials who regularly waited on the king The king also
dispensed justice. The court was not only a centre of political affairs
and justice, but cultural life as well. Dancing girls and skilled
musicians attended the court. Women of the King's household also
attended the darbar on festive occasions. In the Rashtrakuta empire,
according to Arab writers, women did not veiltheir faces.
The king's position was generally hereditary. Thinkers ofthe time
cmphasized absolute loyalty and obediencc to the king because of
the insecurity of thctimes. Wars were.frequent between kings, and
between kings and their vassals. While kings strove to maintain law
and order within their kingdoms, their arms rarely extended far
cnough.Vassal rulers and autonomous chifs often limited the arca
of the direct administration of the king, although the kings adopted
high sounding titles such as Maharajadiraj param-bhattaraka etc., and
claimed to be chakravartin, or supreme, of all Indian rulers,A
contemporary writer, Medhatithi, thinks that it was the right of an
individual to bear arms in order to defend himself against thieves
and assassins. He also thinks that it was right to oppose an
unjust
king. Thus, the extreme view of royal rights and privileges, put
forward mainlyin the Puranas, was not accepted by allthe thinkers.
The rules about succession were not rigidly fixed. The eldest son
often succeeded, but there are many instances when the eldest son
had to fight his younger brothers, and sometimes lost to them(Thus,
theRashtrakuta rulers Dhruvaand Govinda IV, deposed their elder
brothers. Sometimes, rulers designated the eldest son or another
favourite son as their Yuvaraj or successor. In that case, the Yuvaraj
stayed at thecapital and helped in the task of administration. Younger
sons were sometimes appointed provincial governors. Princesses were
rarely appointed to government posts, but we do have an instance
when a Rashtrakuta princess, Chandrobalabbe, a daughter of
Amoghavarsha I, administered the Raichur doab for sometime.
 INDIA
A HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL
22
ministers. Th
Kings were generally adviscd by a number of
familics
ministers were chosen by the king, generally from leading
case of the Pala
Their position was often hereditary. Thus, in the
kings, we hear that a brahmana famnily supplicd four successive chict
cases, the
ministers to Dharmapala and his successors. In such
minister could become very powerful. Although we hear of anumber
how many
of departments ofthe central government, we do not know
of them were there and how they worked. From epigraphic and
literary records, it appears that in almnost every kingdom, there was a
minister of correspondence which included foreign affairs, a revenue
minister, treasurer, chicf of the armed forces (senapati), chief justice,
and purohita. More that one post could be combined in one person.
chief or the
and perhaps one of the ministers was considered the
All
leading minister on whom the king leaned more than the others.
the ministers, cxcept the purohita, were expected to lead military
campaigns as well when called upon to do so. We also hear of officials
of the royal household (antahpur). Since the king was the fountain
head of all power, some of the officers of household became very
powerful.
The armed forces were very important for the maintenance and
expansion of the empire We have already cited evidence from Arab
travellers that the Pala, Pratihara and Rashtrakuta kings had large
and well-organised infantry and cavalry, and large number of war
elephants. Elephants were supposed to be elements of strength and
were greatly prized. The largest number of elephantswas maintained
by the Pala kings. Large numbers of horses were imported both by
Rashtrakuta and Pratihara kings by sea from Arabia and West Asia,
and over land from Khurasan (cast Persia), and Central Asia, The
Pratihara kings are believed to have had the finest cavalry in the
country. There are no reference to war-chariots which had fallen out
of use. Some of the kings, especially the Rashtrakutas, had a large
number of forts. They were garrisoned by special troops, and had
their own independent commanders. The infantry consisted of
regular and irregular troops, and oflevies provided by the vassal chiefs.
Theregular troops were often hereditary and sometimes drawn from
differentregions allover India.(Thus, the Pala infantry consisted of
soldiers from Malwa, Khasa (Assam), Lata (south Gujarat) and
Karnataka. The Pala kings, and perhaps the Rashtrakutas, had their
 Northern India: Age of the lhree Empres 23

Own navics, but we do not know much about their strength and
organ1sation.

The empiresconsisted of arca administered d1rectly and arcas ruled

over by the vassalchiels. The latter were autonomous as far as ther
internal aftairs were concerned, and had ageneral obligation of loyalty,
paying a fixed tribute and supplying the quota of troops to the
overlord. Sometimcs, a son of a vassal chief was required to stay in
attendance of the overlord to guard against rebellion. The vassal chiefs
were required to attend the darbar of the overlord on special
occassions, and sonmetimes they were required to marry onc of their
daughters tothe overlord or to one of his sons. But thevassal chiefs
always aspired to be independent andwars between them and the
overlord werc frequent. Thus, the Rashtrakutas had to fight constantly
against the vassal chiefs of Vengi (Andhra) and Karanataka; the
Pratiharas had to fight against the Paramaras af Malwa and the
Chandellas of Bundelkhand.
The directly administered territorics in the Pala and Pratihara
empires were divided intg bhukti (provinces),_ and mandala or visaya
(districts). The governor of a province was called uparika and the
head of adistrict, Disayapati. The uparika was expectedta collect land
revenue and maintain law and order with the help of the army The
.visayapati was expectedto da the same within hisjurisdicuon. During
the period, there was an incrcase of smaller chicftains, calledsamantas
or bhogapatis, who dominated over a number of villages. The
visayapatis andthese smaller chiefs tendedto merge with cach other,
and later on the word samanta began to be used indiscriminately for
both of them.
Inthe Rashtrakuta kingdom, the directly administered arcaswere
divided into rashtra (provinces), visaya and bhukti.The head ofrashtra
ws called rasharapati, and he performed the same functions as the
uparika did in the Pala and Pratihara empires. The visaya was like a
modern district, and the bhukti wAsASmaller unit toit. In the Pala
and Pratihara cmpires, the unit belowthe visaya was called pateala.
The precise role of these smallerunits is not known. It seems that
their main purposewas the realization of land revenue and some
attention to law and order. Apparently all the officials were paid by
giving them grants of rent-frce land This tended to blur the
distinction between local officials and the hereditary chiefs and
 le vaNah Smladl, the vhtnapat1 or goveOr sOncmey
cuoved the tatus and utle ot a vavsal kg
Below these tettoial divisionN was the village. The village was
the basc umt of aduunistrauon. The vll.age aduistration was
Kedon ythe village headman andthe villae account.ant whose
pS Ner genctally heredtary They were paid by grnts of rent frce
lands.
The heatmanwas ofien helped in his duties by the village cldes
alledgruma mahajanu or guma mahattara. In the Rashtrakuta
kngdom, pativularly in Kanuatakd, we arc told that there wete village
committecsto manage local schools, tanks, tenplesand roads. They
could also rcecive honcy or property in trust, and manage them.
These sub committees worked incose cooper.ationwith the hcadman
andreceived a perrentage ofthe revenuc collection. Simple disputes
wCre also decided by these committees. Towns had similar
committces, to which the heads of'trade guilds were also associated.
Liwand order in the towns and in arcas in their immediate vicinity
was the responsibility of the koshta pala or kotwal-a figure made
tamihar though many stories.
{An innportant feature of the period was the rise in the Deccan of
hereditary revenue ofticers called nad guvundas or desa gramakutas.
They appcar to havedischarged the same functionsas the deshmukhs
anddeshpandes of later times in Maharashtra. This development,
along with the pettry chicftainships in north India which we have
just mentioned, had an important bearing on society and politics. As
the power of these hereditary clements grew, the village committecs
became wveaker. The central ruler also found it difficult to assert his
authority over them and to controlthem. This is what we mean when
we say that the government was becoming 'feudalised'.
Another point to bear in mind is the relationship of state and
religion during the time. Many oftherulers ofthat time were devout
followers of Siva or Vishnu, or they followed the teachings of
Buddhism or Jainism. They made handsome donations to the
Brahmans,or the BuddhistpharasOrthe Jain temples. But, generally,
hey gave patronage toall the faiths, and did not persecute anyone for
is or her religious beliefs. Muslims were also welcomed and allowed
preach their faith by the Rashtrakuta kings. Normally,a king was
 Northern India: Age of the Three Empires 25

not expccted to interfere with the customs, or with the code of conduct
prescribed by the law books called theDharmashastras, But he did
have the general duty of protecting Brahmans and maintaining the
division of socictyinto four states or varnas. The purohita was expected
toguide the king in this matter. But it should not be thought that the
purohita interfered with state affairs or dominated the king.
Mcdhatithi,the foremostcxpaunder ofDhazmashassrainthis period,
Says that the king's authority was derived both from the
Dharmashastras, including the Vkdas, and frøn Arthashastra or the
science of polity, His public duty or rajadharmawas to be based on
the Arthshastra, that is, on principles of politics. This really meant
that politics and religion were, in cssence, kept apart, religion being
cssentially a personal duty of the king. Thus, the kings were not
dominated by the priests,or by the sacred law expounded by them.
Religion was, however important for legitimizing and strengthening
the position gfthe Tuters. Many of the rulers therefore built grand
temples, often at their capitals, andgave handsome land-grants for
the maintenance of the temples and to the Brahman_.