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Swami Samantabhadra.
It is said that this period, in history, begins with the Rashtrakuta king 'Dantidurga' and it is from here that the special rise of the Rashtrakutas is mentioned. Before this, there were three other kings named Indra (II), Kark (I), and Govinda (I), whose reign periods etc. are not known. It seems that their kingdom did not remain in the same order and they were not any particularly influential kings. Dr. R.G. Bhandarkar, in his 'Early History of Deccan', has, on the basis of the donation letters found till then, declared the said Govinda (I) to be the most ancient king of this dynasty*. He has also revealed that the inscription of Ravikirti of 'Aihole' (Shaka Samvat 556) which mentions a king Govinda who attacked the Chalukya king Pulakeshi (II) is probably this Govinda I. In such a situation - when there is no proper knowledge of the ancient history of this dynasty - it does not seem reasonable to say that Samantabhadra attained prominence during the reign of the ancient Rashtrakutas or that they became established at that time. If it is assumed that the intention of Mr. Iyengar's statement is that Samantabhadra was during the reign of king Dantidurga or it is accepted that he was contemporary with Govinda I and therefore his time of existence, according to Mr. Bhandarkar's information, is the same Shaka Samvat
1 Second edition, page 62, printed by 'Government Central Press', Bombay in the year 1895.
* The earliest prince of the dynasty mentioned in the grants hitherto discovered is Govinda I.