Palas, Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas
Three great powers fought for two centuries over Kannauj. The Palas ran great Buddhist universities, and the Rashtrakutas carved the Kailasa temple at Ellora.
How it was ruled
The Gurjara-Pratiharas held the north and west, the Palas held Bengal and Bihar, and the Rashtrakutas held the Deccan. Each tried to control Kannauj.
How people lived
Buddhism remained strong in the east; Shaiva and Vaishnava temples multiplied; Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada literature flourished.
What people did
Farming, temple and monastery building, textile production, and trade.
What people ate
Rice and fish in the east, wheat and millets in the west and the Deccan.
Trade
Arab merchants on the west coast praised the Rashtrakuta kings; the Pratiharas guarded the north-west against Arab armies from Sindh.
Region by region
- Bihar: The Pala king Dharmapala founded Vikramashila; Nalanda continued.
- West Bengal: The Palas' homeland; Pala-style bronze and stone sculpture.
- Bangladesh (before 1947, part of Bengal): The Somapura Mahavihara at Paharpur, founded by Dharmapala.
- Maharashtra: The Kailasa temple at Ellora, carved from a single rock under Krishna I.
- Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh: The Pratihara heartland; Mihira Bhoja ruled a large empire.
- Sindh (today's Pakistan): Conquered by Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 CE; Arab rule there lasted for centuries.
Key events
- 712 CE: Arab conquest of Sindh
- c. 770 CE: Kailasa temple at Ellora begun
- c. 800 CE: Vikramashila university founded
Legacy
Ellora (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Pala art, and Kannada's first surviving book on poetics, the Kavirajamarga.