A glimpse of Yaduvanshis / Yadava dynasty of Lunar Race Rajputs in Bhartiya history —-
On the ascension of Sri Krishna to his eternal abode,
the Yaduvanshis got scattered. Many of them, along with two of Shri Krishna’s sons, abandoned Bhrata and settled beyond the river Sindhu. According to the
old chronicles of Jaisalmer, Maharaja Gaja was twelfth from Sri Krishna and founded the city of Gazani after his name in KB 399 (c. 2704 BC) after defeating the forces of Ruma (Turkey) and Khurasan (Iran) “(Tin Shat Ath Shak Dharma
Vishkhe Sit Ten. Ravi Rohan Gajbau Ne Gazani Rachi Navin)” i.e.in KB 399(2704BC) on the third day of the bright half of the Vaisakha month Gajbahu founded
the new city Gazani’, quoted by Haridatta Govinda Vyasa, Jaisalmer Ka Itilas, Banaras p8).
He ruled from Mathura to Kabul and present day Lahore is included in it. From Maharaja Gaja to Gaja Singh lII, for seventy-four generations upto KB 3046
(57 BC) they held Gazani under different vicissitudes. Having been dislodged from Gazani, Shalivahana sent his family to Jvalamukhi now in Himachal Pradesh and founded a new city and named it after himself , “Shalivahanpur” or Salpura ,identified as Sialkot, (now in Pakistan). He had ten sons, eldest being Bhatti .Bhatti was a great warrior and conquered the whole region and recaptured
Gazani. So great were his achievements that this branch of Yaduvanshis gave his name
‘Bhatti’ to their clan. Rao Sursen II, being in the 101st generation of Bhatti clan completed the construction of the fort of
Haroth in KB 3726 (624 AD) to celebrate the 101-generation rule of Bhratiyas beyond the frontiers of Bharata.
The descendants of Bhatti and of his seven brothers are still called Bhatti.The ninth brother, Bhupat, the representative of Bhatti at Gazani, continued to stay at Gazani. Bhupat’s descendents afterwards got converted to Islam and they
established the dynasties of Chugatai and Ghori, (Hari Singh Bhatti – Gazani Se Jaisalmer p.15, Dr.Harivallabha Maheshvari Jaisalmer Rajya Ka Itilas,p.6).Till Babar, the Chugatai Turks were following the Hindu tradition of worshipping Goddess Shakti before marching for battle. Akbar got Babar Nama painted during his reign. Some selected paintings have been published by the National Museum, New Delhi,under the title”Paintings of the BabarNama”.The plate No. IV,Page
No.25 (S.No. 31, Folio No. 90, Acclamation of Nine standards) has a note opposite to colour plate IV, which runs as follows:
The Mughals observed ceremonies and rules which were laid long ago by Chingiz Khan. For each clan place was fixed in battle array. One of their ceremonies was acclamation of nine standards which is thus described by Babar:
“The standards were acclaimed in Mughal fashion. The Khan dismounted and
nine standards were set-up in front of him. A Mughal tied a long strip of white cloth to the thigh bone of a cow and took the other end in his hand. Three other long strips of white cloth were tied to the staves of three of the nine standards, just below the Yak-tails and their other ends brought for the Khan to stand on one and for me and Sl. Muh. Khanika to stand each one of the two others. The Mughal who had hold of the strip of cloth fastened to the cow’s leg then said something in Mughal while he looked at the standards and made signs towards them. Tle Khan and those present sprinkled Quntiz (Fermented mare’s milk) in the direction of the standards, hautbois and druns were sounded towards them,
the army flung the war-cryout three tines towards them, mounted, cried it again and rode at the gallop round them.”
This incident relates to KB 4604 (1502 AD) and took place at BishKint on the Khujand-Tashikent road. Babar is seen standing on a strip of white cloth. Inthe foreground is an old Mughal soldier holding a piece of cloth which he has tied to the leg of a cow.
In the background, trumpets are being sounded and drums beaten.One can see two domes
Trisula (Tirand) on their top,
which must have been a temple of goddess Shakti ,as the remnant of Bharatiya Yaduvanshi rulers .
This whole ritual is unIslamic but was prevalent among Chugatai Turks till the period of Babar.Akbar tried to continue it, but had to abondon it because of strict opposition from Mullas and other Muslim nobles.
This ancient Yaduvanshi tradition of Hindus needs detailed explanation
but it is not possible to advance because of limitation of space. In short, according to the Khyats of Bhattis of Jaisalmer, this ritual used to be performed on the day of Vijayadashmi by the rulers of Jaisalmer.
The vicissitude of the Bhattis compelled them to shift their capital very often. Bhattis were driven southward by the king of Gazani and crossing the
Satluj,they took refuge in the Indian desert, which hence forth became their home.
Their first capital was at Maroth, which was near Multan. There, the Bhattis had to face regular invasions from Arabs. Rao Kehar in KB 3861-3907 (759 -805 AD) shifted his capital from Maroth to Tanot in KB 3889 (787 AD) which always remained in the territory of Jaisalmer. Being ousted from this also, DevRaj built Deshgarh or Deorawar in KB 3955 (853 AD).
Shortly afterwards, the capital was
changed to Dodorva, an immence city with twelve gates taken from Lodras. Lodorawa was, however, ill adapted for defence, so
Jaisal sought for a safer place and built the fort city of Jaisalmer in KB 4258 (1156 AD). He was succeeded by several chiefs
who were constantly engaged in battles and counter raids.
The Bhattis performed six Shakas. (Shaka was a very typical tradition of the Rajputs which used to be the last resort in the battle against the enemy. According to this tradition all the female members of
the Rajputs used to sacrifice their lives by jumping in the fire which is called ‘Johar and the male warriors used to tie the saffron headgear and after worshipping their diety,used to attack their enemy and did not return home till they were victorious .This was called “Kesaria Bana ” .Two Shakas of Bhattis were performed in Gazani and one was performed in Tankot KB 3943 (841 AD) and the other in Jaisalmer.
Bacause of the strong resistance of the Bhattis against foreign invaders for a very long period, they had been adorned by the Virud (epithet) “Uttar Bharat Bhat Kapat “. Raval Singh stood like a wall to Mahamud Gazani KB 4127-4128
(1025-26 AD) and compelled him to change his route and Raval Vijayraj KB 4147 (1145 AD) had to fight twenty two battles against the Arabs.
The adventures of the Bhattis were supported by all castes and clans of Hindus.One of the branches of the Vaishya community, later called by the name of Modis, regularly shouldered burden of supplying essential commodities to Bhatti’s army, and for about 900 years Chief Ministers of Bhatti’s have been Tawory Maheshwaris, the branch of the Vaishya community of Rajasthan.
The Yaduvanshis of Bayana-Sripatha and Karauli —-
A Yadu dynasty ruled in Sripatha, modern Bayana, in the former Bharatpur State of Rajasthan. The list of king so this dynasty is verified by the epigraphic records. These records prove that the kingdom of this dynasty, comprised the old Bharatpur State and the Mathura District of U.P.
A Yaduvanshi Rajput family ruled at Sripatha or modern Bayanain the former Bharatpur State of Rajputana . Upto 955 A. D. Sripatha appears to have been
ruled by the Surasena dynasty. Either this Surasena dynasty or one of its off-shoots might have been designated as Yadava. Sursena was himself a Yadava, or a Yaduvanshi ruler. Tribhuvanagiri or Tahangarh was a fort about twenty two kilometers from Bayana . The Yaduvanshi Rajput dynasty was ruling at Bayana and Tahangarh and Prithviraj III defeated the ruler of this dynasty between 1177 and 1182 A. D. Muhammad Ghori captured Bayana and Tahangarh. Karauli which was founded by Arjundeva in 1348 A.D was also ruled by a Yadava family. In the list of Yadavas of Karauli and Tanwars of Dholpur the names of Arjunpal and Vikramdeva deserve mention who faced Turkish forces with valour and determination
The list of king so this Yadava dynasty is verified by the epigraphic records. These records prove that the kingdom of this dynasty, comprised the old Bharatpur State and the Mathura District of U.P.
King Jaitapala of this list is placed in the first half of the eleventh century. His successor was Vijayapala, who is identified as king Vijaya of the Bayana inscription, dated KB4146 (1044AD). Vijayapala repulsed the Muslim invasion according to Vijayapala Raso’.
Vijayapala’s successor was Tahanpala KB 4195-4251 (1093-1159AD) who according to tradition, built the fort of Tahangarh, 23 kilometer south of Bayana. Tahanapala
was followed in succession by Dharmapala, Kunwarpala and Ajayapala. It is known from the Mahaban prasasti (memento), found near Mathura, that
Maharajadhiraja Ajayapala ruled in KB4252(1150AD).An inscription of Haripala, dates KB 4272 (1170 AD), has been found at Mahaban. Haripala was succeeded by
Sohanpala. An image inscription of the reign of Sohanapala deva, dated KB 4294 (1192AD),has been discovered at Aghapur,in the old Bharatpur State. Sohanpala’s successors was Kunwarpala who, was the predecessor of Ajayapala as mentioned earlier ,Taj-ul-Ma,asir states that in KB 4298 (1196AD) Mu,izz-ud-din Mohammad Ghauri defeated Kunwarpala ,the Rai of Tahangarh after a furious battle when he handed the fort over to Baha-ud-dinTughril .Anangapala may be taken to have ascended the thorne after Kunwarpala.Anangapala was followed in succession by
Prithvipala, Rajapala and Trilokapala ,the last of whom be placed at the end of the thirteenth century A.D. Raja Arjunpala ,KB 4429 -4463 (1327-61 AD ) son of Gokuldeva , was one of the greatest kings of this dynast. By defeating Miyan Makkhan of Mandrayal, who was unpopular in the region ,he again got a foothold in his home territory . He further established his authority over his kingdom by suppressin Minas
and the Panwar Rajputs.He is also credited with having founded the town of Kalyanpura (Karauli )in 1348 A.D.,and making it beautiful with mansions, lakes, gardens and temples (Elliot,
Vol. V, 98, Gahalot , History of Rajputana, pp.601-2 ). Thus the whole tract of Brij was under the rule of Yaduvanshis till the end of 14th century (A Comprehensive History of India ,edited by Mohammad Habib Khaliq Ahmad Nizami ,pp.838-39).
Yadava / Jadhava Dynasty of Devagiri——
The Yadavas of Devagiri , popularly so called ,are known to history as the ruler of the Sevuna dynasty .The former name (Yadavas ) of this dynasty was brought into use by Fleet work who wrote an account of this dynasty in his work Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency in 1882 A.D × .From that time , it became current and remained so till very recently .But a historical survey of the contemporary inscriptions of the Western Chalukyas , the Kalachuris ,the Hoysalas and the Kskatiyas ,very clearly show that this name , namely ,the Yadavas of Devagiri , was not used by them to denote this dynasty .Hemadri styles them as Sevunas , after the second king of the dynasty ,namely Sevunachandra ,and the country they ruled over as Sevunadesh (1) .
In their own inscriptions they call themselves Yadavanarayana and Sevunachakravati .The Hoysalas inscriptions refer to them as Sevunas only .The inscriptions of the Western Chalukyas and the Kakatiyas also call them by their family name Sevunas .Thus to the contemporary Deccan and South India they were the Sevunas and not the Yadavas . With the Advent of Muslim and their invasion of Devagiri ,the name ‘YADAVAS OF DEVAGIRI’ was applied to them and it become popular .The Muslim historiyans ,Amir Khusrav ,Barani , Isami ,Firishtah and others don’t refer to them as Sevunas at all .
The Sevunas ( Puranic Yadavas ) originally came from the north ( Mathura ) .They established their rule over Maharashtra about 1100 A.D .They are undoubtedly Kshatriyas belonging to the Yaduvnsha as their name indicates , believed to be descended from Shri Krishna as stated in a Prasasti of Hemadri ; and from the same Prasasti it seems clear that they were long established in the Deccan ; ( Bombay Gazetteer Vol .I ,part I.p.270) .
The Sevunas ( Puranic yadavas ) of Deccan whose brilliant rule has been found at this region and they were not Maratha but Nothern Kshatriyas families . ‘’They all originally belonged to Mathura ; from the time of Krishna they were Lords of Dvaraka . From the son of Subahu these heroes of Yadavas vamsa ruled in the South .’’ The intermediate steps between Subahu and Seuna who gave his name to the country are many and we can well see that when the Yadavas rose to eminence they were not fresh-comers .They were connected by marriage relations with Chalukyas and other Maratha families of the Deccan and not the Kshatriyas families of the north and were therefore as completely Marathas as other Marathas families .
According to Bhandarkar Indraji , Sevunas ( ancient yadavas ) dynasties were two , one ruling from the early capital Chandradityapura and the other from Devagiri . Bhandarkar differentiated them as Early and Latter Yadavas , respectively.
Devagiri became their capital by the time of Bhillama Vand prior to that Chandradityapura and Shrinagara were their capitals.
Chudasamas of Junagarh —
a Yádava Rajput tribe from Thatha in Sind, and who, originally called Samás, added Chuda as a prefix as being descendants of Ráo Chudáchandra. The history of this tribe is however almost entirely lost, and the bardic legends differ so much as to the names, number, and order of the chieftains, that implicit confidence cannot be placed on them. Nevertheless the following list is no doubt fairly reliable.
The bardic accounts are unanimous in ascribing the origin of the Chudásamas to Chudáchandra Yadav, a Rajput of the Sama tribe of Yadavs then ruling at Saminagar, the modern Nagar Thatha in Sind; and they also agree that before his arrival in the peninsula, Vála Rám was the Rája of Vámansthali, the modern Vanthali. Some say that Vála Rám had no son, but that his sister had married the father of Rao Chudáchandra of Saminagar, and that the Rája kept his nephew Ráo Chudachandra at Vámansthali, and finally appointed him his successor. Others say that Vála Rám had a son, but that he quarrelled with Chudáchandra, and that rather than that this son should have Vámansthali, Vála Rám expelled him from the country. All agree that Chudáchandra succeeded him. There are very few bardic verses regarding Chudáchandra, but he is mentioned in the Dhandhusar inscription, and there is a play on his name, viz. that as Chandrachuda (Shiv) placed the moon (Chandra) on his head (chudá) so Chudáchandra was considered by the kings of the neighbouring countries as Chudásamán or as their head; hence Chudasama. But no doubt the real derivation is Chuda from Chudáchandra’s name, and Sama from the name of his tribe. Possibly, however, the Chudásamás may be the ancient Chorasmii or Chorasmians. Chudáchandra is called Rái Chuda in bardic poetry.
Jadejas of Katchh and Bhuj—-
The Jadeja are an community originating in India who claim to be descended from the mythological Krishna and thus to belong to the Yaduvanshi Rajputs, who in turn form a part of the Chandravanshi (Lunar Dynasty).
Jadejas dynasty ruled major parts of present day Gujarat, notably Kutch, Nawanagar, Rajkot, Morvi, Gondal and Dhrol. The dominant races in Kutch previous to the 9th century of Christian era were the Chavda, Kathees and Waghela, they ruled the western, central and the eastern parts of Kutch respectively. The reigning Prince of Nagar Thatta in Sindh towards the end of 8th century AD was Lakho Ghuraro. He had eight sons by two wives, the eldest son being Unad from the first wife and the other being Mod by a wife from Chawda tribe. As Unad was the eldest, he succeeded the throne by virtue of his primogeniture. Shortly afterwards brothers Mod and Manai started planning against the life of Unad in order to usurp his throne. However they did not succeed and found it necessary to go into exile with their followers to Kutch where they had maternal relations with the Chawda tribe. This was the first historically noted foray of Samma Rajputs of Sind in Kutch. After arrival in Kutch, Mod had a dispute with his maternal Uncle Chawda Whagum, The ruler of Eastern Kutch, and was killed by Mod, thereafter, Mod assumed the sovereignty of the province.
There is no concrete information available for the period that followed except the names of the rulers up to five generations. They were Jam Mod, Jam Saad, Jam Phool, Jam Lakho Phoolani and Jam Pooeronjee. It is important to note here that Lakho Phoolani is the most revered and cherished warrior in the history of Kutch and Saurashtra. Jam Pooeronjee was a very cruel ruler and created despair and apathy among his dominion until he was killed by Jakhs. During this time the direct descendents of Jam Unad in Nagar Thatta Sind was Jam Jada, as he did not have any legitimate heir to the throne he adopted his brothers son Lakho, however, after adopting Lakho, Jam Jadas wife gave birth to a child named Ghao, As Jam Jada had already adopted lakho, he decided to divide his dominion equally among both his legitimate son Ghao and adopted son Lakho, however after the demise of Jam Jada, Ghao refused to give any share to Lakho and was forced to leave Sind with his twin brother Lakhiar and well wishers. Lakho and Lakhiar ventured into Kutch and slowly regained the territories in control of Chavdas, as Lakhiar was childless, Lakho named his territory after his brother and called it Lakhiarviro. As Lakho was adopted by Jam Jada, the descendants of this Lakho Jadani were called Jadejas. The name Jadeja means “Belonging to Jada” in the Sindhi and Kutchi language, and is pronounced as “Jaa day jaa”.
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Auther -Dr Dhirendra Singh Jadaun
Village-Larhota ,Sasni
District -Hathras,U.P.
Principal Govt Girls College,Sawaimadhopur ,Rajasthan.