Gondwana kingdoms
14th–18th century states in Gondwana, India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gondwana kingdoms were a group of medieval and early modern kingdoms in central India that ruled over the Gondwana region. These kingdoms were established and governed primarily by the Gondi people, an Indigenous Adivasi community of central India. Major Gond kingdoms included Garha-Mandla Kingdom, Deogarh, Chanda, and Kherla, which controlled territories across present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and neighboring regions.
The wider region includes parts of northern Telangana, western Odisha and southern Uttar Pradesh.
History
The Gonds were first mentioned in 14th-century Muslim chronicles.
The Gondwana kingdom initially consisted of four kingdoms —
- Northern Gondwana was Garha Katanga or Garha Mandla Kingdom of Jabalpur and
- Southern Gondwana was Chanda Kingdom of Chandrapur.
- Western Gondwana was Kherla Kingdom of Betul and
Deogad-Nagpur Kingdom
The second kingdom of Deogad (Chhindwada in Madhya Pradesh and Nagpur in Maharashtra), was created by King Jatba in the 15th century.[1] One of his successors, Bakht Buland Shah, converted to Islam to win the favour of emperor Aurangzeb . However, he did not demand conversion from his subjects and married a Gond woman. He fell into disfavour in Delhi after he plundered some Muslim kingdoms of Deccan. The city of Nagpur was founded by the king of Deogad Raja Bakht Buland Shah in 1702. The kingdom of Nagpur and later came under the rule of the Nagpur Bhonsles.[2]
Chanda Kingdom
The 10th ruler of the Gond dynasty of Chanda, Khadkya Ballal Shah (1472–1497 CE), made Chandrapur his capital.[3] The Chanda kingdom (Chandrapur in Maharashtra), a contemporary of the Kherla and Deogadh kingdoms, produced rulers who developed excellent irrigation systems and the first well-defined revenue system among the Gond kingdoms.[4]
Colonial period
Between 1818 and 1853 the greater part of the region passed to the British, although in some minor states the Raj Gonds continued to rule until Indian independence in 1947.
Emblem
For over a millennium in South Asia, the visual trope of a triumphant lion vanquishing one or several elephants has been common in architectural sculpture, both in the round and in relief.[5] Its presence has remained fairly stable through time although many minor variations survive, including the use of leonine creatures variously described as vyālas or yālīs, and the incorporation of other fantastical creatures known popularly as makaras. In South India, the myth of the fantastic composite animal called the Śarabha takes this imagery yet further. The image of a lion victorious over one or more elephants was situated strategically within certain architectural programs. For example, Gondwana Kingdom forts, Deccani forts constructed between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, carried this representation on their barbicans and gateways.
See also
- Rani Kamlapati, a Gond queen