THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAimportant intermediate centres which only occasionally interfered with the
struggles of the great regional powers. One of these was the mountainous
region of southern Karnataka where the western Ganga dynasty had ruled
since the fifth century AD and the Hoysala dynasty in the twelfth century;
another one was Orissa which was often isolated but under the eastern
Gangas and the Gajapatis served as the base of realms which controlled for
some times almost the whole east coast from Bengal to Madras. In the
northwest there was Kashmir which rose to prominence in the eighth
century when Lalitaditya conquered large parts of northern India. In the
northeast Kamarupa (Assam) remained fairly isolated and independent
throughout this period. But, though these other centres were powerful at
times, in general the fate of India was decided in the four major regions
mentioned above.
The confusing history of India from about 600 to 1200 with its many
regional kingdoms and often rather short-lived dynasties falls into a
pattern: the major political processes occurred only within the four central
regions outlined above, and there was usually one premier power in each
of these regions and none of them was able to control any of the other
three regions for any length of time. Interregional warfare was mostly
aimed at the control of intermediate regions or simply at the acquisition of
goods. There was a balance of power which was determined both by the
internal strength of the respective regions and the inability of the rulers to
extend their control beyond their respective regions. Their military
equipment, their administrative machinery and their strategic concepts
were all more or less the same. Due to this balance of power there was a
great deal of political stability within the regions which fostered the
evolution of distinct regional cultures. At the same time this balance gave
rise to frequent confrontation and sometimes multiple interregional clashes
which were so characteristic of medieval Indian history. An examination of
several of these confrontations gives a better understanding of the system
of regional centres (see Map 8).
From the late eighth to the end of the ninth century interregional
confrontations were particularly intense. The Gurjara Pratiharas in the
North, the Palas in the East and the Rashtrakutas on the Deccan emerged
as powerful dynasties almost at the same time. Vatsaraja, the founder of
the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty conquered large parts of Rajasthan and of
northwestern India around 783 while the early Palas, Gopala and
Dharmapala (c. 770–821), extended their sway from Bengal westward. A
clash was then inevitable. Vatsaraja defeated the Pala king near Allahabad.
In the meantime the Rashtrakutas had consolidated their hold on the
Deccan and were looking northward. The third Rashtrakuta king, Dhruva
(c. 770–793), invaded the Gangetic plains with a large army and defeated
both Vatsaraja and Dharmapala. After Dhruva’s death, when Rashtrakuta
power was eclipsed for some time, Dharmapala took his chance and