Krishna III (939 - 967 C.E.) was the utmost combatant and a proficient emperor. An astute supervisor and dexterous military campaigner, he waged several battles to retain the lost glory of the realm and played a vital role in reconstructing the Rashtrakuta Empire. He patronized the famous Kannada poets Sri Ponna who wrote Shanti purana, Gajankusha, also known as Narayana who wrote on erotics and the Apabhramsha poet Pushpadanta who wrote Mahapurana and other writings. His queen was a Chedi princess and his daughter Bijjabbe was married to a Western Ganga prince.

During his rule he held titles such as Akalavarsha, Maharajadhiraja, Parameshvara, Paramamaheshvara, Shri Prithvivallabha etc. He feinted a gigantic domain extending from the Narmada River in the north to the Kaveri river delta in the south. A copper grant of 993 issued by the Shilahara king of Thana declares that the Rashtrakuta power extended from the Himalayas in the north to Ceylon in the south and from the eastern sea to the western seas. The grant circumstances that when King Krishna III mobilized his armies, the kings of Chola, Bengal, Kannauj, Andhra and Pandya regions would remble.