Yashovarman conquered the important fortress of Kalanjara, although the identity of his enemy in this campaign is not certain. One theory is that he conquered Kalanjara from his overlords, the Gurjara-Pratiharas. Another theory is that he defeated the Rashtrakutas, who had captured Kalanjara from the Pratiharas. The Karhad copper-plate inscription of the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III states that "the hope about Kalanjara and Gurjara vanished from the heart of the Gurjara"; that is, the Gurjara-Pratihara king gave up all hopes of retaining control of Kalanjara and Chitrakuta. Based on this, H. C. Ray theorized that Krishna managed to capture these two forts from the Pratiharas. Yashovarman may have captured the fort from the Rashtrakutas, which may explain why he continued to recognize the Pratihara sovereignty even after conquering Kalanjara. However, there is no definitive evidence of Yashovarman's victory over the Rashtrakutas. R. K. Dikshit points out that the Rashtrakuta claim is part of a possibly exaggerated poetic eulogy. It may not imply an actual conquest of these two fortresses, and may only mean that the Pratihara king became apprehensive about losing control over them. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri speculated that Yashovarman captured Kalanjara after allying with the Rashtrakutas and the Chedis (Kalachuris of Tripuri). However, there is no historical evidence attesting the formation of such an alliance. Despite these uncertainties, Yashovarman's conquest of Kalanjara is undisputed: his successors, including his son Dhanga, titled themselves Kalanjaradhipati ("Lord of Kalanjara").
