Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/408

 356 THE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN and Gunabhadra, who enjoyed the favour of more than one monarch, had much to do with the marked decay of Buddhism, which daily lost ground, until it finally dis- appeared from the Deccan in the twelfth century. The war with the Cholas in the reign of Krishna in, Rashtrakuta, was remarkable for the death of the Chola king on the field of battle in 949 A. D. Much bitterness was introduced into the wars of this period by the hos- tility between the rival religions, Jainism and orthodox Hinduism. The last of the Rashtrakuta kings, Kakka H, was overthrown in 973 A. D. by Taila n, a scion of the old Chalukya stock. He restored the family of his ances- tors to its former glory, and founded the dynasty known as that of the Chalukyas of Kalyani, which lasted, like that which it followed, for nearly two centuries and a quarter. The impression made upon their contempo- raries by the Rashtrakutas was evidently considerable, and was justified by the achievements of their period. Although the art displayed at Ellora is not of the high- est kind, the Kailasa temple is one of the wonders of the world, a work of which any nation might be proud. Many other temples were the outcome of the royal munificence, and literature of the type then in fashion was liberally encouraged. Taila, the restorer of the Chalukya name, reigned for twenty-four years, and during that time succeeded in recovering all the ancient territory of his race, with the exception of the Gujarat province. Much of his time was spent in fighting Munja, the Paramara Raja