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History And Archeology Of Nagpur
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Rashtrakuta Kings
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Nagpur was probably included in the dominions of the Rashtrakuta kings, whose dynasty dates from about750 A.D. Copperplate grants belonging to this dynasty have been found at Multai in Betul and at Deoli in Wardha. The Deoli plate is dated A.D 940 in the reign of the king Krishna 111; it records the grant the grant of a village named Talapurumshaka in the Nagapura-Nandivardhan District to a Kanarese Brahman. Among the boundaries of the village that was granted there are mentioned on the south the river Kandana, Kandava; on the west village of Vardhrira; and these have been identified by Dr. Bhandarkar with the river Kanhan the modern Mohgaon in the Chhindwara Distict, and , the modern Berdi in the vicinity of Mohgaon. Thus even at this early period Nagpur gave its name to a District, which included Wardha and the south of Chhindwara. The supremacy of the Rashtrakutas, who have been conjecturally identified with the Rathor Rajputs, lasted for about two centuries and a quarter. During their predominance the Kailasa temple at Ellora was built, the most extensive and sumptuous of the rock-cut shrines, and the period was also remarkable for the bitter rivalry of Hinduism and Jainism, Buddhism being at this period a declining religion in the Deccan In973 A.D. the Rashtrakuta kings were overthrown by another Rajput dynasty, the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Apparently, however, the Nagpur country remained under the Rashtrakuta princes, now occupying a subordinate position as feudatories of the Chalukyas. This is indicated by the sitabaldi stone inscription, dated in the year 1087 A.D. It mentions the name of the Western Chalukya king, and of a Rashtrakuta king Dhadibhandak as his dependent. Rashtrakuta simply means Raj-kul or the royal family and the native name of Maharashtra for Bombay is not improbably derived from this dynasty, Maha being a prefix and meaning great. The family is called Maharashtrakuta in the Sitabaldi inscription.
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