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. 760), 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).