Chudasama dynasty
Chudasama dynasty | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 9th century–1472 | |||||||||
| Capital | Vamanasthali Junagadh | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
• c. 9th century | Chudachandra | ||||||||
• c. 10th century | Graharipu | ||||||||
• late 11th century | Navaghana | ||||||||
• early 12th century | Khengara | ||||||||
• 1294 - 1306 | Mandalika I | ||||||||
• 1451 - 1472 | Mandalika III | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | c. 9th century | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1472 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| History of Gujarat |
|---|
The Chudasama dynasty ruled parts of the present-day Saurashtra region of Gujarat state in India between the 9th and 15th centuries. Their capital was based in Junagadh and Vamanasthali, and they were later classified among the Rajput clans.Who claim to be of Lunar race which lord Krishna sprung.[1]
The early history of Chudasama dynasty is almost lost. The bardic legends differs very much in names, order and numbers so they are not considered reliable. Traditionally, the dynasty is said to have been founded in the late 9th century by Chudachandra. Subsequent rulers such as Graharipu, Navaghana and Khengara were in conflict with Chaulukya rulers Mularaja and Jayasimha Siddharaja. Thus they are mentioned in contemporary and later Jain chronicles. After end of the rule of Chaulukya and their successor Vaghela dynasty in Gujarat, the Chudasamas continued to rule independently or as a vassal of successor states, Delhi Sultanate and Gujarat Sultanate. Mandalika I was the first known ruler from inscriptions during whose reign Gujarat was invaded by Khalji dynasty of Delhi. The last king of the dynasty, Mandalika III, was defeated and forcibly converted to Islam in 1472 by Gujarat Sultan Mahmud Begada, who also annexed the state.[2][3]
Titles
Ra, Rao, Raval, Raul were the titles adopted by the rulers of Chudasama dynasty which are found in their inscriptions, manuscripts and bardic literature.
Ranchhodji Amarji, Diwan or prime minister of Junagadh State wrote Tarikh-i-Sorath in Persian in 1825. Ranchhodji wrote that Chudasamas belonged to Chandravanshi Rajput and they are descendants of Shri Sadashiv and said to have come from Sindh.[4]The Chudasamas are sometimes referred to as the Abhira Ranaka or Ahir Ranas, and Tambs-Lyche says that, "The structure of the Chudasama state seems to have been an alliance between a small royal clan — later to be classified as Rajputs — and the Ahir tribe."[5] In Dvyashraya and Prabandhchintamani written by Hemchandra and Merutunga respectively, the king of Vamanasthali is described as Abhira Ranaka and the term can fairly be applied to Chudasama prince Navaghana as he was placed on throne with the aid of the Ahirs, according to bardic tales.[6]
Origin, genealogy and chronology
Several inscriptions link the Chudasamas to the legendary lunar dynasty; later inscriptions and the text Mandalika-Nripa-Charita link them to the Yadava family of the Hindu deity Krishna.[7] For example, the inscriptions at Neminath Temple (c. VS 1510/c. 1454 CE) on Girnar calls the Chudasama Rajputs of the Yadava origin.[8][9] The Chudasamas are often referred to as abhiras (pastorialists), and legends refer to the 10th century Chudasama king as a "tyrannical shepherd".[7][10]
Dhandusar inscription (VS 1445) says that the founder of the dynasty was Chudachandra.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). According to a legend, the father of Ra Chuda (that is, Chudachandra) was a Samma chief of Sindh; his mother was the sister of Wala Ram (c. 875), the last of chiefs of Vamansthali (modern Vanthali), who had earlier served as governors under the king of Vallabhi.[11] Nainsi's Khyat (17th century) also states that the Chudasamas migrated to Saurashtra from Sindh.[12]
There are no inscriptions of the period before the king Mandalika I available. Still it is certain that they had established their rule in the Saurashtra region before the Chaulukya king Mularaja came to power in Anahilavada because literary sources tell about battles between Chudasama kings and Chaulukya kings; Mularaja and Jayasimha Siddharaja. A Vanthali inscription tells about Mandalika, a kings whose kingdom was captured by Jagatsimha, a feudatory of Chaulukya king Viradhavala. This Mandalika king must be another Mandalika king mentioned in latter half genealogy. As Viradhavala is known to live in VS 1288, he must be assigned the same date. As another Vanthali inscription date VS 1346, it must have been under the Jagatsimha's family till then. It seems that a later Chudasama king Mandalika regained Vanthali when Chaulukya rule weakened. So the later genealogy starts from him in later inscriptions. The Chudasamas continued to rule till VS 1527 (1472 CE) when they were defeated by Gujarat Sultan Mahmud Begada. As inscriptions says about their resistance to Gujarat Sultans, it can be said that they were the most powerful dynasty in Saurashtra region at that time.[13]
Coins
Based on historical records, it is known that the coins known as Kodis, Karshapan or Pan, Vishopak, Dram and Rupak were used in Chudasama domains. 80 Kodis were equal to one Karshapan and 16 Karshapan were equal to one Dram. One Dram was equal to 20 Vishopak.[14]
Their copper coins had a humped bull (Nandi) seated facing left on obverse and a Devanagari letter 'Sri' within dotted and line circle on reverse. They weighted around 2.18 g and were 14.38mm is diameter.[citation needed]
Constructions
The Uparkot Fort of Junagadh was occupied by Chudasamas during the reign of Graharipu. Later it is said to have been rebuilt by Navaghana who had transferred his capital from Vamanasthali to Junagadh. He is also attributed with the constructions of Navghan Kuvo and Adi Kadi Vav, a well and a stepwell respectively, in the fort. His descendant Khengara is attributed with a stepwell, Ra Khengar Vav, on the way to Vanthali from Junagadh though it was built by Tejapala, the minister in the Vaghela court.[15]
Conflict with Chaulukyas
The Chudasama dynasty were in constant conflict with the Chaulukyas. Hemachandra states that Mularaja of the Chaulukya dynasty fought against Abhira raja, Graharipu ruling at Junagadh to protect the pilgrims going to Prabhas Patan.[16]
References
- ^ State), Bombay (India : (1884). Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency ... Government Central Press. p. 110.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Gujarat, Malwa and Khandesh". The Cambridge Shorter History of India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1934. pp. 307–308. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ Gupta, R. K.; Bakshi, S. R., eds. (2008). Studies In Indian History: Rajasthan Through The Ages: Marwar and British Administration. Vol. 5. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. pp. 22–23. ISBN 978-8-17625-841-8. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ Ranchodji Amarji, Divan of Junagadh; Burgess, James (1882). Târikh-i-Soraṭh, a history of the provinces of Soraṭh and Hâlâr in Kâthiâwâd. Harvard University. Bombay, Educ. Soc. Press, & Thacker. pp. 101–126, 127 - 131.
- ^ Lyche, Harald Tambs (2002). "Townsmen, Tenants and Tribes: War, Wildness and Wilderness in the Traditional Politics of Western India". In Ratha, S. N.; Pfeffer, Georg; Behera, Deepak Kumar (eds.). Contemporary Society: Concept of Tribal Society. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 189–190. ISBN 978-8-17022-983-4. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ Kumar, Sushil (2003). Kumar, Naresh (ed.). Encyclopaedia of folklore and folktales of South Asia. Vol. 10. Anmol Publications. p. 2771. ISBN 978-8-12611-400-9.
- ^ a b Aparna Kapadia (2018). Gujarat: The Long Fifteenth Century and the Making of a Region. Cambridge University Press. p. 80-81. ISBN 978-1-107-15331-8.
- ^ Parikh, Rasiklal Chhotalal; Shastri, Hariprasad Gangashankar, eds. (1977). ગુજરાતનો રાજકીય અને સાંસ્કૃતિક ઇતિહાસ: સલ્તનત કાલ [Political and Cultural History of Gujarat: Sultanate Era]. Research Series - Book No. 71 (in Gujarati). Vol. V. Ahmedabad: Bholabhai Jeshingbhai Institute of Learning and Research. p. 157.
- ^ Diskalkar, D. B. (June 1940). "Inscriptions of Kathiawad: No. 77". New Indian Antiquary. Vol. 2. pp. 116–117.
- ^ KV, Soundararajan. Junagadh. Archaeological Survey of India. p. 10.
- ^ Harald Tambs-Lyche (1997). Power, Profit, and Poetry: Traditional Society in Kathiawar, Western India. Manohar. p. 31. ISBN 978-81-7304-176-1.
- ^ Tanuja Kothiyal (2016). Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-107-08031-7.
- ^ Diskalkar, D. B. (December 1938). "Inscriptions Of Kathiawad". New Indian Antiquary. Vol. 1. pp. 578–579, .
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Gazetteers: Junagadh. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications. 1975. p. 467.
- ^ Jutta Jain-Neubauer (1981). The Stepwells of Gujarat: In Art-historical Perspective. Abhinav Publications. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-391-02284-3.
- ^ Romila Thapar (2004). "Somanatha". History. Penguin Books. p. 108.