FACULTY OF ARTS

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TOPIC-YADAVAS DYNASTY OF DEVGIRI

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EXAM ROLL NO-19214ENG141 Class -B.A(Hons.) 2nd
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FACULTY OF ARTS
BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY ,VARANASI-2020-2021
 Yadavas of Devagiri (yadava dynasty)

1) INTRODUCTION

The Seuna, Sevuna or Yadava dynasty (Marathi: दे वगिरीचे यादव ,Kannada:

ಸೇವುಣರು)(850 - 1334) was an Indian dynasty, which during their peak ruled
present day Maharashtra, north Karnataka and parts of Madhya Pradesh from
their capital at Devagiri (present-day Daulatabad in Maharashtra).They initially
ruled as feudatories of the Western Chalukyas and around the middle of the
12th. century, declared their independence. At their peak under Singhana II, they
ruled a large kingdom stretching from the Tungabhadra to the Narmada
rivers.The Yadavas of Devagiri were the descendants of the feudatory nobles
of the Western Chalukyan (Chalukyas of Kalyani )Empire.
The most important territory which they had under them was between
Devagiri (Modern Daultabad) and Nasik and was known as Sevana or Seuna,
though they had influence in modern Maharashtra, North Karnataka and parts
of Southern Madhya Pradesh.They are known as founders of Marathi Culture.
The name Seuna has been used for them in the Hoyasala and Kakatiya
inscriptions and seems to be probably derived from the name of
Seunachandra, second ruler of this dynasty.This dynasty was founded by
Dridhaprahara. His son Seunachandra ruled an area of present Khandesh
which was known as Seundesa. Who are these rulers has been of considerable
debate between Scholars, Whether they are Yadavas or Marathi or Kannada
stock.

YADAVAS

The Suena dynasty claimed descent from the Chandravanshi Yadavas of north
India. According to the verse 21 of Vratakhand (a Sanskrit work by Hemadri),
the Seunas were originally from Mathura and later moved to Dwaraka.
Hemdari calls them as Krishnakulotpanna (i.e. descendants of Lord Krishna).
The Marathi saint Dnyaneshwar describes them as yadukulvansh tilak as well.
Some of their inscriptions call them Dvaravatipuravaradhishvaras ("masters of
Dvaravati or Dwaraka"). A stone inscription found at Anjaneri near Nasik says
there was a minor branch of the Yadava family ruling over a small district with
Anjaneri as the chief city. The inscription indicates that a ruler called
Seunadeva belonging to Yadava family called himself Mahasamanta and made
a grant to a Jain temple.

YADAVA Dynasty Map outlook

2) ORIGIN AND SOURCES

The Seuna, Sevuna or Yadavas of Devagiri was an Indian dynasty, which at its
peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the
Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of the Deccan region. Its
territory included present-day Maharashtra, north Karnataka and parts of
Madhya Pradesh, from its capital at Devagiri; the Yadavas ruled as feudatories
of the Western Chalukyas. Around the middle of the 12th century, as the
Chalukya power waned, the Yadava king Bhillama V declared independence;
the Yadava kingdom reached its peak under Simhana II, flourished until the
early 14th century, when it was annexed by the Delhi Sultanate. The Seuna
dynasty claimed descent from the Yadavas and therefore, its kings are referred
to as the "Yadavas of Devagiri"; the correct name of the dynasty, however, is
Sevuna. The inscriptions of this dynasty, as well as those of contemporary
kingdoms, the Hoysala, Kakatiya dynasty and Western Chalukyas call them
Seunas; the name is derived from the name of their second ruler,
"Seunachandra".
The "Sevuna" name was brought back into use by John Faithfull Fleet in his
book The dynasties of the Kanarese districts of the Bombay Presidency from
the earliest historical times to the Musalman conquest of A. D. 1318. The
earliest historical ruler of the Seuna/Yadava dynasty can be dated to the mid-
9th century, but the origin of the dynasty is uncertain. Little is known about
their early history: their 13th century court poet Hemadri records the names
of the family's early rulers, but his information about the pre-12th century
rulers is incomplete and inaccurate; the dynasty claimed descent from a hero
mentioned in the Puranic legends. According to this account, found in
Hemadri's Vratakhanda as well as several inscriptions, their ancestors resided
at Mathura, migrated to Dvaraka in present-day Gujarat. A Jain mythological
legend states that the Jain saint Jainaprabhasuri saved the pregnant mother
of the dynasty's founder Dridhaprahara from a great fire that destroyed
Dvaraka. A family feudatory to the Yadavas migrated from Vallabhi to
Khandesh.
But otherwise, no historical evidence corroborates their connection to
Dvaraka. The dynasty never tried to conquer Dvaraka, or establish any political
or cultural connections with that region, its rulers started claiming to be
descendants of Yadu and migrants from Dvaraka after becoming politically
prominent. Dvaraka was associated with Yadu's descendants, the dynasty's
claim of connection with that city may be a result of their claim of descent
from Yadu rather than their actual geographic origin; the Hoysalas, the
southern neighbours of the dynasty claimed descent from Yadu and claimed
to be the former lords of Dvaraka. The territory of the early Yadava rulers was
located in present-day Maharashtra, several scholars have claimed a
"Maratha" origin for the dynasty. However, the language of present-day
Maharashtra, began to appear as the dominant language in the dynasty's
inscriptions only in the 14th century, before which Kannada and Sanskrit were
the primary language of their inscriptions.
Marathi appears in around two hundred Yadava inscriptions, but as translation
of or addition to Kannada and Sanskrit text. During the last half century of the
dynasty's rule, it became the dominant language of epigraphy, which may
have been a result of the Yadava attempts to connect with their Marathi-
speaking subjects, to distinguish themselves from the Kannada-speaking
Hoysalas; the earliest instance of the Yadavas using the term "marathe" as a
self-designation appears in a 1311 inscription recording a donation to the
Pandharpur temple, towards the end of the dynasty's rule. Epigraphic
evidence suggests that the dynasty emerged from a Kannada-speaking
background. Around five hundred Yadava inscriptions have been discovered,
Kannada is the most common language of these inscriptions, followed by
Sanskrit. Of the inscriptions found in present-day Karnataka, most are in
Kannada script. Older inscriptions from Karnataka attest to the existence of
Yadava feudatories ruling in the Dharwad region in the 9th century, although
these feudatories cannot be connected to the main line of the dynasty with
certainty.

3) TITLES

Many of the dynasty's rulers had Kannada names and titles such as
"Dhadiyappa", "Bhillama", "Rajugi", "Vadugi" and "Vasugi", "Kaliya Ballala".
Some kings had names like "Simhana" and "Mallugi", which were used by the
Kalachuris of Kalyani, who ruled in present-day Karnataka. Records show that
one of the early rulers, Seunachandra II, had Sellavidega; the rulers had close
matrimonial relationships with Kannada-speaking royal families throughout
their rule. Bhillama II was married to Lachchiyavve, from a Rashtrakuta
descendant family in Karnataka. Vaddiga was married to daughter of
Rashtrakuta chieftain Dhorappa. Wives of Vesugi and Bhillama III were
Chalukya princesess; the early Seuna coins had Kannada legends engraved on
them indicating it was a court language. The early Yadavas may have migrated
northwards owing to the political situation in the Deccan region, or may have
been dispatched by their Rashtrakuta overlords to rule the northern regions;
the earliest attested ruler of the dynasty is Dridhaprahara, said to have
established the city of Chandradityapura.
4) IMPORTANCE OF TITLE AND THEIR RISE IN ANCIENT
HISTORY

Rise as a sovereign power

At the time of Bhillama V's ascension in c. 1175, his nominal overlords — the
Chalukyas — were busy fighting their former feudatories, such as the Hoysalas
and the Kalachuris. Bhillama raided the northern Gujarat Chaulukya and
Paramara territories, although these invasions did not result in any territorial
annexations. The Naddula Chahamana ruler Kelhana, who was a Gujarat
Chaulukya feudatory, forced him to retreat. Meanwhile, the Hoysala ruler
Ballala II invaded the Chalukya capital Kalyani, forcing Bhillama's overlord
Someshvara to flee.
Around 1187, Bhillama forced Ballala to retreat, conquered the former
Chalukya capital Kalyani, and declared himself a sovereign ruler. According to
Hemadri, he then established the Devagiri city, which became the new Yadava
capital.
In the late 1180s, Ballala launched a campaign against Bhillama, and decisively
defeated his army at Soratur. The Yadavas were driven to the north of the
Malaprabha and Krishna rivers, which formed the Yadava-Hoysala border for
the next two decades.

Bhillama 1173-1191 AD

The first of Yadavas in this line to achieve importance was Bhillama or Bhillama
V, who established the sovereign Seuna Kingdom and founded Devagiri in 1187
AD. His territory was bordered by Parmaras in North, Kaktiya in east, Hoyasals
in South and Solankis in west. The mighty Devagari fort which was 184 meters
was captured by Alauddin Khilji in 1294 and was later plundered by Malik
Kafur again 1307, 1310 and 1318 was an important landmark of his reign.
Bhillama was killed in a battle with a Hoyasala Chief in 1191 AD. The second
great ruler of this dynasty was Singhana II.

Singhana II
Singhana II (1200-1246 AD) was the most important ruler of the Yadavas
Dynasty. He carried out several conquests and expanded the kingdom from
the banks of Narmada to Tungabhadra. He invaded Gujarat and other
countries and made the Yadavas Kingdom matching in extent the realms of the
Chalukyas and the Rastrakutas. Singhana II was a great patron of fine arts and
literature.
Sarangadeva, the great author of Sangita Ratnakar was an accountant in the
court of Singhana II. His work Sangeet Ratnakara is considered to be one of the
most important works on Hindustani as well as Classical Music.

Raja Ramchandra
The Yadavas of Devagiri, akin to the Hoyasals were destroyed by the Muslim
invaders.
Raja Ramchandra was the last sovereign Hindu Ruler of Deccan. When
Alauddin Khilji, sultan of Delhi crossed the Narmada River, the northern
frontier of Yadavas in 1294, the Yadava Ruler Raja Ramchandra (1291-1309
AD) was obliged to surrender and was ransomed his life by a large treasure
that included 600 maunds of pearls, two Maunds of Diamonds, rubies,
emeralds and sapphires. (One maund was around 40 Kilograms, though
Maund was officially pegged at 37.3242 kilograms in British India/
independent India).The Sultan’s incursions were again repeated by Malik
Kafur in 1309 and Ramchandra again submitted to the invader.After his death,
his son in law Harpala revolted against the Muslim Sultan in 1318 and was
defeated, then flayed (skinned) alive and was decapitated. This was the
miserable end of the Yadavas of Devagiri. Ramchandra like other Yadava rulers
was a patron of art and literature. In his court, the celebrated Sanskrit author
Hemadri or Hemadpant served as a Chief Minister. Chaturvarga Chintamani
was his encyclopedic Sanskrit work. Hemadpant introduced Modi script for
writing in Marathi from Ceylon and has left some valuable historical sketch of
Yadava dynasty.

FALL OF KINGDOM

1) RAMCHANDRA’S Successor SINGHANA III challenged the supremacy of

Khalji , who sent Malik Kafur to recapture Devagiri in 1311.
2) SINGHANA III was killed in the ensuing battle and KHALJI’S Army occupied
Devagiri .
3) The kingdom was annexed by the Khalji empire in 1317
4) Mohammed Tughluq subsequently renamed the city Daultabad.

CHART OF FOUND RULER AND THEIR TITLE …..

SERIAL NO Name of the TITLE Source Meaning

ruler
1) Dradhaprahara Dhadiyappa Kannada Brave and
valient
2) Dhadiyappa Talarapaya Pada of The office of
tarala the protector
of village
3) Bhillama II Bhillama Kannada Something
script that
represent the
history of
india .
4) Seunachandra Sellavidega Kannada Javelin
II script thrower or
court of
appeal
 5) Hoshalaya Vadugi Tamil script Sampradaya
/Vaduga sun
,Independent

OTHER titles are also seen in the History as "Vasugi", and "Kaliya Ballala".
Some kings had titles like "Simhana" (or "Singhana") and "Mallugi", which
were also used by the Kalachuris of Kalyan.

LITERATURE

Marathi
Prof. George Moraes, V. K. Rajwade, C. V. Vaidya, Dr. A.S. Altekar, Dr. D.R.
Bhandarkar, and J. Duncan M. Derrett, the Seuna dynasty rulers were of
Maratha descent. The Seunas patronised the Marathi language. Digambar
Balkrishna Mokashi noted that Yadava dynasty rule was "what seems to be
the first true Maratha empire". In his book Medieval India, C.V.Vaidya states
that Yadavas are "definitely pure Maratha Kshatriyas".
Dr. O. P. Varma, state that Yadavas themselves were Marathi speakers and the
age of the Yadavas.
The Yadavas of Devagiri patronised Marathi and Marathi was their court
language. It is said that Kannada might be a court language during
Seunachandra's rule,however Marathi language was the only court-language
of Ramchandra and Mahadeva Yadavas. The Yadava capital Devagiri became
a beacon for learned scholars in Marathi to showcase and find patronage for
their skills. The origin and growth of Marathi literature is directly linked with
rise of Yadava dynasty.

Kannadiga
C M Kulkarni, Colin Masica, Shrinivas Ritti etc. believe that the Seuna Yadavas
were Kannada-speaking people. Linguist Colin Masica believes that the
Yadavas were originally Kannada-speaking and used Kannada in their
inscriptions (along with Sanskrit). However, by the time of Muslim conquest,
they had begin to patronize Marathi, and Marathi phrases or lines were
beginning to appear in their inscriptions. Dr. Shrinivas Ritti's speculates that
Seunas must have been originally from Kannada-speaking region and migrated
northwords due to political situation in the Deccan at that time Many Seuna
rulers had pure Kannada names and titles like "Dhadiyappa", "Bhillama",
"Rajugi", "Vadugi" and "Vasugi", "Kaliya Ballala". Other kings had names like
"Singhana" and "Mallugi" which were also used by the Southern Kalachuri
dynasty. Records show that one of the early rulers "Seunachandra II" had a
Kannada title Sellavidega. The Seunas had very close matrimonial
relationships with royal Kannada families through out their rule . Bhillama II
was married to Lachchiyavve from a Rashtrakuta descendant family in
Karnataka area. Vaddiga was married to Vaddiyavve, daughter of Rashtrakuta
chieften Dhorappa. Wives of Vesugi and Bhillama III were Chalukya princess.
Also, over five hundred inscriptions belonging to the Seuna dynasty have been
found in Karnataka, the oldest being of the rule of Bhillama II. Most of these
are in Kannada language. some others are in Kannada language but
Devanagari script . The Seuna coins from the early part of the rule itself have
Kannada legends. Many scholars such as Dr. O. P. Varma, therefore believe
that Kannada was certainly a court language along with Marathi and Sanskrit
during Seuna times. During the rule of the Seunas, ruling chieftains who were
related to the Seuna Kings were from Kannada-speaking families, like the
Seunas of Masavadi-140 in present day Dharwad. Dr. A. V. Narasimha Murthy
opined that during the later part of the Rashtrakuta rule from Manyakheta,
Seuna chieftains were despatched from the Karnataka region to rule near
Nasik.Kannada was one of the court languages since early Seuna times, as is
evident from a number of Kannada-language inscriptions. Kamalabhava,
patronised by Bhillama V wrote Santhishwarapurana, Achanna composed
Varadhamanapurana in 1198, Amugideva composed many Vachanas or
devotional songs. He was patronised by Singhana II. Chaundarasa of
Pandharapur wrote Dashakumara Charite. Even though Marathi Scholars
claim ,Marathi was the only court language in Ramachandra and subsequent
Seunas rulers period, there are abundant kannada inscriptions in Maharastra,
Karnataka and Andhra.
CONCLUSION

It is common for rulers to claim alligence to historical characters in the past,

especially in karnataka as it they followed Manu philosophy to get a divine
right to rule. So all the rulers since Maurys have claimed to belong to some
divine castes to differeniate themselves from the people they ruled. So calling
themselves to be yadavas from north should not be taken seriously unless
there is evidence for that. Here there is no evidence.
Seuna rule saw the development of Marathi, and it was the golden age of
Marathi. That should not make them blind to Kannada origin, Kannada rulers
have ruled all over India have patronised the local language everywhere
Telugu (Chalukyas, Vijaynagar, Rastrakuta), Tamil (Gangas, Chalukya,
Rastrakuta), Gujarathi( Chalukya, Solanki), Bengali (Pala, Sena), Oriya(Ganga),
Nepali(Malla) and various prakrits in present day Rajasthan, MP, UP , Bihar by
, satavahana and subsequent Rastrakuta rulers like Rathores(Rathod). And
partronising the local language has given a edge to the kannada rulers in a
alien territory.
Around 10th century Kannada was the predominant language in Maharastra
should not be missed.
So the seunas are kannada origin.
Moreover it is also believed that The Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri
Krishna chose to appear in this Yadav dynasty. Lord Krishna is Svayam
Bhagavan and He is the source of everything. He is the source of Lord Maha
Visnu, Garbodakshayi Visnu and Karnodakshayi Visnu. There is no one equal
to Him or greater than Him. Thus the Yadav dynasty became so glorious that
even hearing the description of this great dynasty frees one from all sins,
According to Srimad Bhagavatam- the Bhagavat Maha Puran, which is the
conclusion of all the Vedic literature, anyone who hears about the description
of Yadav dynasty will be freed from the reaction of sinful activities. This is
stated in Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 9 Chapter 23 Verse 19-20. So such is the
glory of Yadav dynasty that even the greatest and most sacred scripture-
Srimad Bhagavatam tells about it.
References

1)Singh, G. P. (1994). Early Indian Historical Tradition and

Archaeology: Purāṇic Kingdoms and Dynasties with Genealogies,
Relative Chronology and Date of Mahābhārata War, Delhi: D.K.
Printworld, ISBN 978-81-246-0005-4.
2) Thapar, Romila (1978, reprint 1996). Ancient Indian Social
History: Some Interpretations, New Delhi: Orient Longman, ISBN
978-81-250-0808-8, p.223
3) http://www.kurubagowdasangam.com/history.htm
http://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/Mysore_Palace_History.htm
4) Yadav, J. N. Singh (1992). Yādavas Through The Ages (From
Ancient Period to Date) (in 2 Vol.), Delhi: Sharada Publishing
House, ISBN 978-81-85616-03-2.
5) Srimad Bhagavatam: Translation & Purport by His Divine Grace
A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami, BBT.
6) Devagiri Ke Yadav Raj (Hindi)- Author: Shri Raajmal Bora (NPH)
7) "The devine heritage of the Yadavas" by R V Khedkar
8) Digambar Balkrishna Mokashi (1987). Palkhi: An Indian
Pilgrimage. SUNY Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-88706-461-2.
9) R. Narasimhacharya, p. 68, History of Kannada Literature, 1988,
Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras, 1988 ISBN 81-206-
0303-6
10) T. V. Mahalingam 1957, p. 148