YADAVAS OF DEVAGIRI
Yadavas of Devagiri (Daulatabad) claimed lineage
from the Yadu clan that gave birth to the epic hero of the Mahabharata,
Vasudeva Krishna . They were also called Seuna Yadavas (a name derived
from their ancestral king Seunachandra).
They started as feudatories of the Rashtrakutas and later the western
Chalukyas , but ended up carving an empire for themselves that stretched
from the river Tungabhadra to the river Narmada, mainly encompassing
areas of northern Karnataka, Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh .
The dynasty had a life of almost five centuries from 850-1334 AD. Their
origin though as they claimed was from Mathura and Dwarka (Uttar
Pradesh), their ancestors probably started from Karnataka. There were
two amongst the yadava families, one , known better as the Hoysalas of
Mysore and the other belonging to the Seuna desa i.e the country around
Devagiri who may have migrated from Karnataka. Yadavas of Devagiri can
be said to be the original Marathi speaking dynasties belonging to
Maharashtra.
The founder of the Seuna dynasty was Dridhaprahara, the son of Subahu. He ruled from the Nasik area of Maharashtra. Seunachandra was the son of Dridhaprahara and the dynasty is named after him.
The Yadavas created their own independent kingdom with Devagiri as their capital during the time of their great king Bhillama V ( 1185-1193) son of Mallugi
. He defeated the Kalachuris or Chedis ( of Chattisgarh) and also the
western Chalukyas. He later overran the territories of his kins the
Hoysalas and extended the boundaries of his kingdom upto Seringapatam on
the river Kaveri. He even defeated the Chola king Kulotunga III. But
the Hoysala king Vir Ballala II once again countered his kin Bhillama
and drove the Seuna Yadavas out of the Hoysala territory (c. 1188 AD).
Ballala even managed to capture some Yadava dominions. Notwithstanding
his defeat in Karnataka, Bhillama carried forth his victories in the
north defeating many kings like Vindhyavarman of Malwa and Bhima II of
Gujrat. He was however checked by Chahamanas of Naddula.
Bhillama was succeeded by his son Jaitrapala or Jaitugi
(1193-1200 AD). He successfully fought with the Kakatiyas (Warangal),
the Gangas (Mysore) , the Cholas in the south and the Parmaras (Malwa),
Chalukyas in the north.
Jaitrapal (or Jaitugi) had Mukundaraja, the author of ‘Paramamrita’( It
is considered the first systematic attempt to explain the Vedanta
principles in Marathi) and Vikeksindhu (another Vedanta exponent) as his
spiritual teachers.
Jaitugi was succeeded by his son Singhana II
(1200-1247). He is considered the greatest conqueror amongst the
Yadavas. He won back all the territories from the Hoysalas which his
grandfather had lost and established absolute supremacy of the Seuna
Yadavas in the Deccan. To commemorate his victory over the Hoysalas ,
Singhana erected a column of victory on the banks of river Kaveri. He
embarked on many conquests in the north. His campaigns in Gujrat proved
very successful and he was able to conquer Lata. He defeated the kings
of Malwa, the Kalachuris of Chatisgarh/ Jabalpur. Many petty
principalities like the Silaharas of Kolhapur, Kadambas of Goa etc
submitted to his might. His kindom extended down south beyond the river
Krishna. Mahimabhatta wrote his famous work, the ‘Lilacharitra’(said to
be the first book in the Marathi language.) during the time of Singhana
II. Singhana even constructed the town of Singhanapur (Shingnapur) in
Maharashtra.
Singhana was succeeded by his grandsons. Firstly , Krishna (1247-1260) and later by Mahadeva
(1260-1271). Both kept their kingdom intact . Mahadeva even annexed
northern Konkan and some Hoysala territories beyond river Tungabhadra.
His famous minister, Hemadri pant ( the author of great works like ’
Chaturvarga chintamani ’ a book about the ‘Vratas’ or ritualistic fasts,
a book on traditional medicine ‘Ayurveda Rasayana’and ‘Vaidyakshastra’,
a historical account ‘Hemadri bakhar’ and ‘Mestaka’ an administrative
guide . He was also the inventor of the Modi script of writing the
Marathi language .He also propogated the cultivation of the ‘Bajri’ crop
in Maharashtra. Moreover he constructed many temples and its unique
style of architecture was ‘Hemadripanti’ named after him.) credits him
with conclusive victories against the Waghelas of Gujrat, the Parmars of
Malwa, and the Kakatiyas of Telangana.
Ramchandra, the son of Krishna was next in the Yadava
line. Hemadripant continued as his minister and advisor.Ramchandra was
the contemporary of the great saint Sant Dnyaneshwar who wrote the first
simplified treatise of ‘Bhagvad Geeta’ (told by Lord Vasudeva Krishna
on the battlefield of Kurukshetra in Mahabharata) in Marathi and also
the poet of several devotional songs, collectively called the
‘abhangas’.
In 1294, the Sultan of Delhi , Alladin Khilji invaded Devagiri. The main
army of the Yadavas was away on a expedition (along with his son
Singhana who was also the senapati), the small army of Ramchandra was
defeated and Ramchandra had to enter into a humiliating treaty with
Khilji, whereby he was to pay a ransom and an annual tribute to the
sultan. Ramchandra defaulted in his payment leading to another attack by
Alladin Khilji. His commander Malik Kafur made Ramchandra a prisoner
and took him to Khiljis court. Khilji reinstated Ramachandra in return
for a promise to help Khalji subdue the Hindu kingdoms in the south. In
1309, Malik Kafur mounted an assault on the Kakatiyas from Devagiri.
Thus the Yadavas fell from grace. Ramchandras son Singhana III (a.k.a
Shankaradeva) tried to challenge Khilji, but was killed in battle (1313
AD). Finally the Devagiri kingdom was annexed to Khilji’s Delhi
sultanate. After the death of Khilji (Khilji was murdered by his general
Malik Kafur), the son in law of Singhana III, Harapala,
tried to stage a revolt against the Mohammedans (Sultan Mubarak, son of
Khilji). But he too met a bloody end (he was said to have been skinned
alive). Mubarak appointed a governor Malik Yaklaki to rule
Devagiri.Yaklaki too rebelled and was replaced by one Ain ul Mulk and
later Malik Khusru. Soon the Khiji dynasty was replaced by the Tughlaq
dynasty.
Later, a sultan of Delhi, Muhammed Tughlaq renamed Devagiri as
Daulatabad which still stands today 14 km from Aurangabad, in the
present day state of Maharashtra.
YADAVA DYNASTY:
As Feudatory of Western Chalukyas of Kalyani
Dridhaprahara
Seunachandra 850-874 C.E.
Dhadiyappa 874-900 C.E.
Bhillama I 900-925 C.E.
Vadugi (Vaddiga) 950-974 C.E.
Dhadiyappa II 974-975 C.E.
Bhillama II 975-1005 C.E., helped Western Chalukya king Tailapa II in battle against Paramara king Munja.
Vesugi I 1005-1020 C.E.
Bhillama III 1020-1055 C.E., ruled near Sinnar, Nasik. Helped Chalukya Somesvara against Paramaras
Vesugi II 1055-1068 C.E.
Bhillama III 1068 C.E.
Seunachandra II 1068-1085 C.E., overcame civil war, defeated Bhillama IV to become king.
Airamadeva 1085-1115 C.E.
Singhana I 1115-1145 C.E.
Mallugi I 1145-1150 C.E., beginning period of internal family feud which lasted until 1173
Amaragangeyya 1150-1160 C.E.
Govindaraja 1160 C.E.
Amara Mallugi II 1160-1165 C.E.
Kaliya Ballala 1165-1173 C.E.
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