Yadavas Of Devagiri In South India (800 – 1200 AD)
The first member of the family was Dridhaprahara. It was, however, Seunachandra I, the son of Dridhaprahara, who first secured feudatory status for his family from the Rashtrakutas. During the reign of Bhillama II, the Rashtrakuta empire was overthrown by the Western Chalukyas. Hence, Bhillama transferred his allegiance to the Chalukyas.
When Bhillama V, ascended the throne, the Chalukyan power was already on the wane. The ‘Yadavas naturally took advantage of the situation and asserted their îndependence. Bhillama thus laid the foundation of the Yadava empire which endured for about a century.
Jaitugi, the next ruler, tried to strengthen his southern frontier by marching against the Kakatiyas of Warangal. The Kakatiya monarch Rudra was killed and his nephew, prince Ganapati was taken prisoner. Instead of annexing the Kakatiya kingdom, Jaitugi restored the captive prince Ganapati to the throne. He defeated the Malava, Lata and Gurjara kings. Jaitugi was not merely a soldier, but also a patron of learning. Lakshmidhara, son of Bhaskaracharya, the famous astronomer, was his chief court-poet.
It was under Simhana that the Yadava power reached its zenith. He defeated the Hoysalas in the south and Paramaras in the north. Simhana was not merely a warrior but was also a patron of music and literature. Sangitaratnakara of Sarangadeva, an important work on music, was written in his court. Anantadeva and Changadeva were the two famous astronomers who lived at the court of Simhana Changadeva established an astronomy college at Patana in Khandesh in memory of his illustrious grandfather, Bhaskaracharya. Anantadeva wrote a commentary on Bhrahmagupta’s Brahmagupta Siddhanta and Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita.
The conflict with Hoysalas continued but the Yadava rule assumed importance during the reign of Ramachandra because of the Khalji incursion from the north. At the beginning of 1296, Ala-ud-din Khalji attacked Devagiri and compelled Ramachandra to sue for peace. Though Ramachandra retained his kingdom, he lost his independence. Ramachandra continued to send tribute to Alaud-din till 1303-04 when the latter’s forces were defeated by Prataparudra Kakatiya. This event emboldened the Yadavas, especially the crown prince Sankaradeva, to defy the Sultan’s power. In .. 1307, Ala-ud-din sent Malik Kafur to chastise the Yadavas.
Sankaradeva was defeated by Kafur and Ramachandra was taken prisoner. He was afterwards allowed to rule his kingdom as a vassal of the Sultan. Sankaradeva could not reconcile himself to the alien rule. So, after his accession, he immediately repudiated the authority of Ala-ud-din, who once more sent Malik Kafur to bring the rebel to book. Malik easily defeated Sankaradeva, put him to death and annexed the Yadava kingdom.
The Yadava rulers were liberal patrons of all religions. Buddhism was extinct, though Jainism did enjoy royal patronage. The rise of the Virasaiva sect was a new phenomenon. And so was the Mahanubhavas, a sect associated with the worship of god Krishna, traditionally founded by god Dattatreya but actually founded by Chakradhara in 1273. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, the bhakti movement associated with Sri Vitthala of Pandharpur gained popularity in the Deccan. A number of non-Brahmin saints like Namadeva (a tailor) and others made the bhakti cult the religion of the masses of Maharashtra.