According to an article obtained from Chittaldurga, Dantidurga had no son and after his death his uncle Krishna I ascended the Rashtrakuta Rajpeeth around 756 AD. On the occasion of his coronation, he auspicious and Akaalvarsh took the title of.
V.A. According to Smith, Krishna I had taken over the throne by dethroning his nephew Dantidurga, while C.V. According to Vaidya, he probably got the throne by killing Dantidurga. Dantidurga is not named in the Baroda inscription, and it is said that Krishnaraja killed one of his wicked relatives for the welfare of his caste (Gotrahitay ) had assumed sovereignty.
Dantidurga in Krishna II's Begumra article for 'VallabharajeऽKritaprajabadhe ' The term has been used, which some scholars have called 'Kritaprajabadhe ' It means 'one who causes trouble to the people'. From this it has been inferred that Dantidurga oppressed his subjects, due to which Krishna I destroyed it and protected the Rashtrakuta dynasty. That is why the name of the tyrannical ruler is not mentioned in the Baroda inscription.
But in the Karda grant letter of Saka Samvat 894 of Karkaraja, it is said that Krishna became king after Dantidurga died childless. Kavi and Nausari inscriptions also indicate that Dantidurga had died a natural death.
Altekar's 'Kritaprajabadhe ' in the correct form 'Akrtaprajabadhe ' have read. According to Bhandarkar, if Krishna I had killed Dantidurga, why would he have praised him in his writings? Altekar estimates that the Rashtrakuta ruler who was defeated by Krishna I was not Dantidurga, but Kark II of Antaroli-Charoli grantsheet. Who would have been SamadhigatPanchmahashabd Parambhattarakamaharajadhiraja Parameshwara He was trying to become independent by holding such imperial titles. Krishna I must have punished Karka II for making him aware of his real condition.
Soldier Achievements of Krishna I
Krishna I was an imperialist ruler like Dantidurga. After his ascension, he planned the expansion of the empire in all directions and in this sequence he not only controlled Gujarat, but defeated the Chalukyas and the Ganges and captured a large part of present-day Karnataka and Konkan.
Suppression of Cancer II: Shortly after his coronation, Krishna had to fight with his nephew Karka II, the ruler of southern Gujarat. In fact, around 757 AD, Karka II wrote Samadhigatapanchamahashabd Parambhattarakamaharajadhiraja Parameshwara He declared his independence by wearing the title of emperor. Krishna defeated and subjugated Karka and established his control over the administration of Gujarat.
Success against Rahap: The Begumra grants and the Surat grants of Karka state that Krishna defeated Darpyukta Rahappa and hijacked his Palidhwaj, and as a mark of this, Rajadhiraja Parameshwara took the title. As of now, this path has not been definitively identified. Once scholars like Fleet equated Rahap with Cancer II, which is no longer acceptable to scholars.
According to some scholars, Rahap may have been either the Chalukya king Kirtivarman II or a close relative of his commander. Maharajadhiraja Parameshwara Sridhavalappadeva in an inscription from Mewar dated 725 AD is mentioned. Based on this inscription, Altekar speculates that Rahap may have been the ruler of Mewar, who may have been a son or successor of Sridhavalappadeva. Thus real identification of Rahap is not possible.
Destruction of Chalukyas of Badami: Dantidurga did defeat the Chalukya king Kirtivarman II, but he could not completely eradicate the Chalukyas. After the death of Dantidurga, Kirtivarman II was trying to recapture his lost territories.
After defeating Karka and Rahapp, Krishna I planned to end the residual power of the Chalukyas of Badami. But before the invasion of Krishna I, around 757 AD, Kirtivarman himself took his army and attended his Vijayaskandhavar on the banks of the river Bhima. As a result, Krishna I decisively defeated Kirtivarman and completely destroyed the Chalukya dynasty.
An inscription from Saka Samvat 730 (807 AD) of Govind III states that Vallabha (Krishna I) kidnapped Chalukya Rajalakshmi (Yashchalukya Kuladnun… .Lakshmim Aakrishtravan Vallabh ).
The Baroda account of Karka II's Shaka Samvat 734 (811 AD) also shows that among the kings, Singh Krishna I, with the desire of war, raised the fire of Mahavarah (Kirtivarman II). (Mahavaraham Harini Chakar Pragave Khaluraj Singh: , This is also corroborated by the inscriptions of the Chalukya rulers of Kalyani, which state that the glory of the Chalukyas Kitivaram ended with -
Tadbhavo Vikramadityah Kirtivarma Tadatmajah.
Yen Chalukyarajyasree rantarayinyamadbhuvi.
Krishna I thus conquered the entire Karnataka region by defeating Kirtivarman.
Success against Ganges: After the destruction of the Chalukyas, Krishna I invaded the Gangwadi kingdom of Mysore in the south. It is known from the Talegaon inscription that in 768 AD, Krishna I was putting up his military camp at a place called Manapur or Manyapur. Gangaraj Shripurush and his son Siyagalla tried to protect their empire with great valor. Initially the Ganges were also successful, but eventually they had to be defeated. Krishna took control of his capital Manyapur and celebrated victory there. The Rashtrakutas hijacked a lot of Gango's wealth. Krishna I appointed Shri Purush as his feudatory over a small area and himself returned from the Ganges-kingdom in 769 AD. In this way some areas of the Ganga kingdom also joined the Rashtrakuta Empire.
The campaign against Wengie: After defeating the Ganges, Krishna I campaigned against the Chalukyas of Vengi. The Chalukyas of Vengi were also a branch of the Chalukyas of Vatapi. It is known from the inscriptions that Krishna II gave birth to his eldest son Govind Made a crown prince and sent a large army under his leadership against the Chalukya kingdom. The Rashtrakuta army reached the confluence of the Krishna and Musi rivers around 769 AD, which was only 160 km from Vengi. In this battle, the Vengi king Vishnuvardhana IV was defeated. But later there was a treaty between the two dynasties. According to the terms of the treaty, Vishnuvardhana gave some part of his kingdom to Govind II and married his daughter Silabhattarika to his younger brother Dhruva.
Thus some part of Vengi kingdom also joined the Rashtrakuta Empire. It is known from the Manduk inscription that the entire Marathi central province was under the Rashtrakutas till 772 AD.
Acquisition of Southern Konkan: Krishna I invaded the southern Konkan kingdom and occupied it and appointed Sanfulla, the founder of the Shilahar dynasty, as its ruler. Rattaraj's Kherpatan It is known from the donation letters that Sanfulla had obtained the land between the Sahya mountain and the sea by the grace of Krishnaraja. Thus Krishna I took over South Konkan and appointed Sanfulla as his feudatory. The Shilaharas of Konkan remained loyal to the Rashtrakutas for a long time.
Evaluation of Krishna I
Krishna I was a skilled warrior as well as a capable ruler. He not only Akalvarsha and Shubhtunga, apart from Prithvivallabh and Shrivallabh but also greatly expanded the empire he inherited. His empire included the whole of Maharashtra, Karnataka and a large part of Andhra Pradesh. According to Altekar, during his short reign, Krishna I tripled the ancestral frontier of the Rashtrakuta kingdom and through his conquests he paved the way for his successors to participate in the politics of North India.
Krishna, apart from being the first conqueror and empire-builder, was also a liberal patron of art and literature. Renowned Jain Scholar Aklank Bhatt He was a contemporary of Krishna. It is said that he 'regal ’ and wrote many other texts. In his name, Krishna created a Devkul named Kaneshwar (Krishneshwar) In which many scholars resided.
As a devout ruler, Krishna donated money to Brahmins and built about 18 temples. The most outstanding construction of its period Ellora's famous Kailash temple It is a wonderful specimen of the then rocky architecture. This temple has been constructed by cutting a single cave. According to the Baroda inscription, when the deities saw the Kailash temple, they too were surprised to say that such beauty is rare in art elsewhere. Probably initially this temple was named after its builder Krishneshwar It was there, but currently it is famous by the name of Kailash temple.
Some scholars believe that puffy (Amravati taluka), containing 1800 silver coins and bearing the head of the king on one side and the inscription of Paramamaheshwar Mahadityapadanudhyat Sri Krishnaraja on the other, are coins of Krishna I. But it is difficult to accept this opinion in the final.
Last Known Date of Krishna I 772 AD Talegaon inscription, while its successor son Dhruv's first known date 775 AD Pimpri grant letter in which there is no mention of Krishna I. From this it seems that Krishna ruled till about 774 AD.
Krishna I had two sons- Govind II and Dhruva. Krishna I to his son Govind II appointed yuvraj between 770-72 AD And as a crown prince, he defeated Vishnuvardhana IV, the Chalukya ruler of Vengi.