RASHTRAKUTA  , an

Indian dynasty which ruled in the Deccan (q.v.) from about A.D . 750 to 973 . The Rashtrakuta or Ratta clan are supposed to have held power during the historical blank before the 6th century; but they came to the front in A.D . 750, when Dantidurga overthrew the Chalukya dynasty and made himself ruler of the Deccan . He was succeeded by his uncle Krishna I . (c . 76o), who completed his conquests, and whose reign is memorable for the execution of the Kailasa, the rock-cut temple at Ellora . His grandson Govinda III . (780—815) extended the power of the family from the Vindhya Mountains and Malwa on the north to Kanchi on the south . The next king, Amogavarsha, reigned for sixty-two years . The reign of Krishna III. was remarkable for a war with the Cholas, in which the Chola king was killed on the field of battle in 949 . The last of the Rashtrakuta kings was Karka II., who was overthrown by the Chalukyas in 973 .

See R . G . Bhandarkar,

Early History of the Deccan (Bombay, 1884) .