Rashtrakuta Dynasty

(8th–10th c.) Central Indian dynasty
whose core area was in the middle of
Maharashtra, and whose capital was
the Maharashtrian city of Achalpur. The
Rashtrakutas were originally vassals of
the Chalukya dynasty, but overthrew
them in the middle of the eighth century
and remained the premier power south
of the Vindhya Mountains until the
middle of the tenth century. The dynasty
directly ruled most of the modern states
of Maharashtra and Karnataka, along
with parts of the states of Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, but had vassal
states through the entire Deccan
plateau, southern India, and Ceylon.
Their hegemony ended in 973, when
they were overthrown by the later
Chalukya dynasty. The Rashtrakutas’
greatest monument is the Kailasanatha
temple at Ellora in the state of
Maharashtra, which was completed late
in the eighth century.