The Tripartite Struggle for control of northern India took place in the ninth century. The struggle was between the Pratihara Empire, the Pala Empire and the Rashtrakuta Empire. Epigraphist Dineschandra Sircar, however, added a different perspective to this struggle. According to Sircar, the struggle between the Pratihara Empire and the Rashtrakuta Empire had begun earlier than the struggle over Kannauj (Kanyakubja). These two powers shared a common frontier in the Gujarat and Malwa regions. The frontier was a shifting one and far from permanent, causing enmity between the two powers. Even before the struggle over Kannauj started, Dantidurga, the founder of the Rashtrakuta Empire, had defeated Nagabhata I of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, as evident from the Dashavatara Temple inscription