DESHASTHA BRAHMINS

Including
The Journey of the Dokras’
VIDHARBHA and The Kingdom of
Nagpur

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A Brahmin is a member of the highest caste or varna in Hinduism. The Brahmins are the
caste from which Hindu priests are drawn, and are responsible for teaching and maintaining
sacred knowledge. The other major castes, from highest to lowest, are the Kshatriya (warriors
and princes), Vaisya (farmers or merchants), and Shudra (servants and sharecroppers).
Brahmins only show up in the historical record around the time of the Gupta Empire, which
ruled from circa 320-467 CE. This does not mean that they did not exist prior to that time,
however. The early Vedic writings do not provide much by way of historical detail, even on
such apparently important questions as "who are the priests in this religious tradition?" It
seems likely that the caste and its priestly duties developed gradually over time, and probably
were in place in some form long before the Gupta era.

The caste system has evidently been more flexible, in terms of appropriate work for
Brahmins, than one might expect. Records from the classical and medieval periods in India
mention men of the Brahmin class performing work other than carrying out priestly duties or
teaching about religion. For example, some were warriors, merchants, architects, carpet-
makers, and even farmers. As late as the reign of the Maratha Dynasty, in the 1600s to 1800s
CE, members of the Brahmin caste served as government administrators and military leaders,
occupations more typically associated with the Kshatriya. Interestingly, the Muslim rulers of
the Mughal Dynasty (1526–1858) also employed Brahmins as advisors and government
officials, as did the British Raj in India (1858–1947). In fact, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first
prime minister of modern India, was also a member of the Brahmin caste.

The Brahmin Caste Today

Today, the Brahmins comprise about 5% of the total population of India. Traditionally, male
Brahmins performed priestly services, but they may also work in jobs associated with lower
castes. Indeed, occupational surveys of Brahmin families in the 20th century found that less
than 10% of adult male Brahmins actually worked as priests or Vedic teachers.

As in earlier times, most Brahmins actually made their living from work associated with the
lower castes, including agriculture, stone-cutting, or working in the service industries. In
some cases, such work precludes the Brahmin in question from carrying out priestly duties,
however. For example, a Brahmin who begins farming (not only as an absentee land-owner,
but actually tilling the land himself) may be considered ritually contaminated, and can be
barred from later entering the priesthood.

Nonetheless, the traditional association between the Brahmin caste and priestly duties
remains strong. Brahmins study the religious texts, such as the Vedas and the Puranas, and
teach members of other castes about the holy books. They also perform temple ceremonies
and officiate at weddings and other important occasions. Traditionally, the Brahmins served
as the spiritual guides and teachers of the Kshatriya princes and warriors, preaching to the
political and military elites about the dharma, but today they perform ceremonies for Hindus
from all of the lower castes.

Activities that are forbidden to Brahmins according to the Manusmriti include making
weapons, butchering animals, making or selling poisons, trapping wildlife, and other jobs
associated with death. Brahmins are vegetarian, in keeping with Hindu beliefs in
reincarnation. However, some do consume milk products or fish, particularly in mountainous
or desert areas where produce is scarce. The six proper activities, ranked from the highest to

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the lowest, are teaching, studying the Vedas, offering ritual sacrifices, officiating at rituals for
others, giving gifts, and accepting gifts.

Pronunciation: "BRAH-mihn"/ Alternate Spellings: Brahman, Brahmana/

Examples: "Some people believe that the Buddha himself, Siddharta Gautama, was a
member of a Brahmin family. This may be true; however, his father was a king, which
usually aligns with the Kshatriya (warrior/prince) caste instead."

The Concept of Forward caste

Forward caste (or General caste) is a term used in India to denote castes which are not
listed in SC, ST or OBC reservation lists. They are on average considered ahead of other
castes economically and educationally. They account for about 30.8% of the population based
on Schedule 10 of available data from the National Sample Survey Organisation 55th (1999–
2000) and National Sample Survey Organisation 61st Rounds (2004–05) Round Survey.

Those groups that qualify for reservation benefits are listed as Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes, Other backward class and Economically Weaker Section. They can avail
defined quotas amongst other benefits for education, special government schemes,
government employment and political representation. The lists of Scheduled Castes, and
Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward class are compiled irrespective of religion.

Economically Weaker Section among forward castes were later granted less than 10%
reservation by government.

General caste
General caste is an informal relative term which may refer to a caste which is not listed in the
SC, ST or OBC lists.

Economic and educational status

As of 2007, forward castes had to compete only in the open category, as they are considered
socially, educationally, and economically advanced. The open category seats can be
competed and filled by any section of the society irrespective of the caste. Due to rigorous
demand and the relative financial weakness of the people of the General category, the
Government of India introduced 10% as EWS quota for them, which makes their total
reservation to 10%. However, in certain states, such as Tamil Nadu, the reservation
percentage is around 69%.

Reservation for economically backward among forward castes

Before 2019, forward castes were only allowed to compete for seats in the unreserved
category in educational institutions and central government jobs, regardless of their
educational/economical status in society. A significant percentage of the forward caste lives
below the poverty line, and more than 30% of the members of this community are illiterate.
To meet their aspirations, demands have been raised for providing separate reservations for
the poor among forward caste populations. Many political parties like BJP, Samajwadi
Party, LJP, Rastriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bahujan Samaj
Partyhave supported proposals for providing a separate reservation for the poor among the
forward castes.

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Timeline

 1991: Congress government headed by Narasimha Rao introduced 10% separate

reservation for poor among forward castes.
 1992: The Supreme Court has ruled in the Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of
India case that separate reservation for poor among forward castes is invalid. Government
has withdrawn separate reservation as per supreme- court judgement.
 2003: BJP government appointed a group of ministers for suggesting measures for
implementation of separate reservation for the poor among forward castes.
 2004: A task force has been set up to determine modalities for providing reservations to
the poor among forward castes. No information available regarding a report submitted by
this task force.
 2006: Congress government appointed commission to study separate reservation for
economically backward class.
 2006: The Communist government in Kerala earmarked 12% of the seats in private
professional colleges for the economically poor among forward castes.
State and central governments have not released adequate data regarding the representation of
various communities in their services and admissions to educational institutions. Most of the
private companies in India do not collect data regarding the community of their employees.

Rural landholding pattern of various social groups calculated by National Sample Survey 99-00
indicate that OBC and forward castes are comparable in wealth

 In Tamil Nadu forward castes have secured around 1.9% of the seats in medical colleges
in 2004 and 2.68% of the seats in 2005, against their population percentage of 13%. This
trend of poor representation has continued for the last 10 years as claimed by lawyers in
one of the reservation cases, because other communities are very competitive and secure
seats in general quote because of education has reached beyond forward communities.
 The Narendra committee report in Kerala has pointed out that forward castes
representation in public services and PSU units is around 36 to 38%, which is more or
less equal to their population percentage.

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 The Karnataka minister in the state Assembly has announced that the per capita income
of the Brahmins is less than that of all communities including scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes
 The oversight committee in its final report has indicated that forward castes are placed
better than backward castes in some indicators and are comparable with backward castes
concerning some few indicators and that backward castes are superior in some parameters
like health indicators in states like Assam, Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, etc.
 The national survey 99-00 indicates that forward castes are better placed than SC/ST in
almost all parameters. In rural unemployment, forward castes score worse than all other
communities.
 The provisional report of the National Sample Survey Organisation (2004–05) states that
buying capacities of backward castes in rural and urban areas are comparable to forward
castes. It also revises the backward castes figure as 41%. It states that landownership of
backward castes are comparable to forward castes. It reiterates its earlier finding (in 99-
00 survey) that forward castes are poorly employed (more unemployment).
 The national surveys used rural landholding pattern to assess wealthiness of various
social groups. Its findings indicate that OBC and FC are comparable and there is a very
small difference between them. There is a big difference between OBC/FC and SC. Even
Scheduled Tribes are placed better than Scheduled castes. Experts who analysed the
national survey results point out that other backward castes are near average in many
parameters. Please see the chart.
 On 7 January 2019, the Union Council of Ministers approved a 10% reservation in
government jobs and educational institutions for the Economically Weaker
Section (EWS) in the forward castes.[22] The cabinet decided that this would be over and
above the existing 50% reservation for SC/ST/OBC categories.
 On 7 November 2022, Supreme Court of India by a 3:2 verdict in the Janhit Abhiyan vs
Union Of India Writ Petition (Civil) No(S). 55 OF 2019, upheld the validity of the 103rd
constitutional amendment carried out to provide legal sanction to carve out a 10%
reservation for the economically weaker sections from unreserved classes for admission
in educational institutions and government jobs and held that the 50% cap on quota is not
inviolable and affirmative action on economic basis may go a long way in eradicating
caste-based reservation. This constitutional amendment pushed the total reservation to
59.50% in central institutions.

Shrinking educational opportunities

During April 2006, India's Human Resource Minister announced that 27% seats will be
reserved exclusively for candidates from Other Backward class in addition to existing 22.5%
reservation for Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Many states do not have 27% of Other Backward class population, as per national sample
surveys. (This includes major Indian states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Goa,
Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal). Some Indian states like Assam [Goa Haryana [Himachal
Pradesh Uttarakhand [have more than 50% Forward castes population, which means the
number of seats secured by Forward castes will not be equal to their population proportion
even if they secure 100% seats in open competition in central government institutions of
these states. Central government, however, excluded 27% reservations to Other Backward
class to the areas with high tribal populations.[

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However, on 7 January 2019, the Union Council of Ministers approved 10% reservation for
the forward castes in government jobs and educational institutions. This group is classified as
the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). The cabinet decided that this would be over and
above the existing 50% reservation for SC/ST/OBC categories.

Brahmans occupy the highest ritual position among the four Varnas of Hinduism. Since the
Late Vedic period the Brahmins, who were generally classified as priests, mentor, teacher
who were also rulers, zamindars, warriors and holders of other highest administrative posts.

Regiments
Due to their martial abilities, Brahmans were described as 'the oldest martial community',

1. 1st Brahmans
2. 3rd Brahmans
3. Peshwai, Peshwas were Brahmin and were the de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire

Dynasties

1. Aryacakravarti Dynasty which was ruled by Tamil Brahmins

2. Baghochia Dynasty was founded by Raja Bir Sen and were the ruling dynasty of
Hathwa Raj and Bans Gaon Estate. The Cadet branch of the family also ruled
Tamkuhi Raj, Salemgarh Estate, Ledo Gadi, Kiajori estate and Kharna
Ghatwali.Bhumihar dynasty
3. Bhurshut Dynasty was a medieval Hindu dynasty spread across what is now Howrah
and Hooghly districts in the Indian state of West Bengal; which was ruled by a royal
Brahmin family
4. Brahman Dynasty of Sindh was founded by Chach of Alor, later ruled by Chandar of
Sindh and Raja Dahir
5. Kabul Shahi Dynasty belonged to Bali clan of Mohyal Brahmin
6. Kadamba Dynasty (345–525 CE) was a dynasty that ruled northern Karnataka and
the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada district[4]
7. Kanva Dynasty replaced the Shunga Empire in Magadha and ruled in the eastern
regions of India
8. Karnat dynasty, ruled by Bikauwa Brahmins
9. Oiniwar Dynasty, based in Mithila were Maithil Brahmins[6][7]
10.Pallava Dynasty {c.285–905 CE} was a Tamil brahmin of bharadwaj gotra
(Tamil Samaṇar Dynasty), Pallavas ruled Andhra (Krishna-
Guntur) and north and central Tamil Nadu. Appar is traditionally credited with
converting the Pallava king, Mahendravarman to Saivaism.[8][9]
11.Parivrajaka Dynasty ruled parts of central India during the 5th and 6th centuries. The
kings of this dynasty bore the title Maharaja, and probably ruled as feudatories of
the Gupta Empire. The royal family came from a lineage of Brahmins of Bharadwaj
Gotra.
12.Patwardhan Dynasty was an Indian dynasty established by
the Chitpavan Brahmin Patwardhan family
13.Satavahana Dynasty - 230bc to 250ad in present day part of Madhya
Pradesh, Gujrat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan, Northern Karnataka, etc[
14.Sena dynasty, ruled by Brahmakshatriya

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 15.Shunga Empire of Magadha was established by Pushyamitra Shunga
16.Vakataka Dynasty was a dynasty from the Indian subcontinent that is believed to have
extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to
the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the west to the
edges of Chhattisgarh in the east.

States and Zamindari estates

Map of Shunga EmpireMap of Brahman Rai Dynasty of Sindh

1. Arni Estate of Madras Presidency - ruled by Deshastha Brahmins

2. Aundh State, ruled by Deshasthas Brahmins
3. Banaili Estate of Bihar - ruled by Chaudhary Bahadhur lineage - (Maithil Brahmins)
4. Baudh State was a princely state ruled by a Brahmin family who adopted a nephew of
the Raja of Keonjhar as successor
5. Benares State, a 13 gun salute (15 gun salute local) state ruled by Bhumihar Brahmins
6. Bettiah Raj ruled by Bhumihar Brahmins
7. Bhawal Estate of Bengal - ruled by Choudhary lineage - (Shrotriya Brahmin)
8. Bhor State, a 9 gun salute princely state ruled by Deshasthas Brahmins
9. Chaube Jagirs were a group of five feudatory princely states of central India during
the period of the British Raj, which were ruled by different branches of Brahmin
families.
10.Darbhanga Raj of Mithila, Bihar - ruled by Maithil Brahmins
11.Dighapatia Raj of Bengal - ruled by Roy lineage - (Varendra Brahmins)
12.Gaurihar State of Madhya Pradesh ruled by Deshasthas Brahmins
13.Ichalkaranji Estate of the British Raj - ruled by Joshi family - (Chitpavan Brahmins)
14.Jalaun State of Bundelkhand region ruled by a Deshasthas Brahmins
15.Jamkhandi State ruled by Chitpavans Brahmins
16.Jhansi State ruled by Newelkar house of Karhades Brahmins

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17.Kurundvad Senior and Kurundvad Junior states were ruled by Patwardhan clan
of Chitpavans Brahmins
18.Miraj Junior and Miraj Senior states were ruled by Chitpavans Brahmins
19.Muktagacha Raj of Bengal - ruled by Chowdhary lineage - (Varendra Brahmins)[1]
20.Nadia Raj of Bengal - ruled by Roy or Ray lineage - (Kulin Brahmins)
21.Natore Raj of Bengal - ruled by Roy lineage - (Varendra Brahmin)[14]
22.Panth-Piploda Province a province of British India ruled by a Deshasthas Brahmins
23.Panyam Zamindari of Madras Presidency - ruled by Deshastha Brahmins
24.Rajshahi Raj of Bengal - ruled by Rajshahi Family - (Varendra Brahmins)
25.Ramdurg State ruled by Chitpavans Brahmins
26.Sangli State, an 11 gun salute princely state ruled by Chitpavans Brahmins
27.Tekari Raj of Bihar - ruled by Bhumihar Brahmins
28.Vishalgad Estate of the British Raj - ruled by Pant Prathinidhi family - (Deshastha
Brahmins)
29.Yelandur Estate of Mysore Kingdom - ruled by Madhwa Brahmin family.
30.Zamindari of Ratangarh (Bijnore) ruled by Taga Rao Zokha Singh Tyagi Atri - he was
a former commander (or Rao) of the northern branch of the Maratha Confederate
Army, whose control ranged to the Tarai baselands of the Himalayas, family
of Chaudhry Lineage - Tyagi Gaur Brahmins

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 II
Brahmin communities of Maharashtra, India and DESHASTHAS

Subcategories

1. Gaud Saraswat Brahmin

2. Chitpavan Brahmins
3. Deshastha Brahmin
4. Devrukhe Brahmin
5. Golconda Vyapari Brahmin
6. Karhade Brahmin
7. Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin
8. Lokhande
9. Madhva Brahmin
10. Marathi Brahmin
11. Niyogi Brahmin
12. Deshastha Brahmin

Deshastha Brahmin- Regions with significant populations

Maharashtra Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya

Pradesh (Gwalior, Indore, Ujjain, Dhar, Katni, Jabalpur)
Gujarat (Vadodara) • Delhi

Languages/ Religion-Marathi, Kannada,Telugu/Hinduism

Related ethnic groups-Pancha-Dravida • Karhade • Kannada

people • Konkanastha •Devrukhe • Gaud Saraswat Brahmin • Thanjavur
Marathi • Marathi people

Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state
of Maharashtra and North Karnataka Other than these states, according to authors K. S.
Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Brahmins are also concentrated in the
states of Telangana (which was earlier part of Hyderabad State and Berar Division), Andhra
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Which was earlier part of Central Provinces and Berar)
Historian Pran Nath Chopra and journalist Pritish Nandy say, "Most of the well-known saints

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from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were Deshastha Brahmins".The mother
tongue of Deshastha Brahmins is either Marathi, Kannada or Telugu.

Over the millennia, the Deshastha community has produced Mathematicians such
as Bhāskara II, Sanskrit scholars such as Bhavabhuti, Satyanatha Tirtha, Satyadharma Tirtha;
Bhakti saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Eknath, Purandara Dasa, Samarth Ramdas and Vijaya
Dasa; polemical logician such as Jayatirtha and non-polemical scholar such as Raghuttama
Tirtha.

The traditional occupation of Deshastha Brahmins is priesthood and the Kulkarni Vatan
(village accountants). They also pursued secular professions such as writers, accountants,
moneylenders and also practised agriculture. In historic times a large number of Deshasthas
held many prominent positions such as Peshwa, Diwan, Deshpande (district
accountants), Deshmukh, Patil, Gadkari, Desai, and Nirkhee (who fixed weekly prices of
grains during the Nizam's Rule). Authors Vora and Glushkova state that "Deshastha
Brahmins have occupied a core place in Maharashtrian politics, society and culture from
almost the beginning of the Maharashtra's recorded history. Occupying high offices in the
state and even other offices at various levels of administration, they were recipients of state
honours and more importantly, land grants of various types."

Etymology
The word Deshastha derives from the Sanskrit deśa (inland, country) and stha (resident),
literally translating to "residents of the country".The valleys of the Krishna and
the Godavari rivers, and a part of Deccan plateau adjacent to the Western Ghats, are
collectively termed the Desha – the original home of the Deshastha Brahmins. In Tamil
Nadu, Deshastha Brahmins are also referred as Rayar Brahmins. The word Rayar means king
in South India.

Classification
Deshastha Brahmins fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin
community in India. Along with the Karhade and Konkanastha Brahmins, the Marathi-
speaking Deshastha Brahmins are referred to as Maharashtrian Brahmins, which denotes
those Brahmin subcastes of the Deccan Plateau which have a regional significance in
Maharashtra, while the Kannada-speaking Deshastha Brahmins from the Deccan
Plateau region of Karnataka are referred to as Karnataka Brahmins or Carnatic Brahmins.

Based on Veda
Deshastha Brahmins are further classified in two major sub-sects, the Deshastha Rigvedi and
the Deshastha Yajurvedi, who earlier used to inter-dine but not inter-marry but now
intermarriages between the two sub-groups is common. These sub-sects are based on
the Veda they follow.

Rigveda
The Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins (DRB) are followers of Rigveda and follow Rigvedic
rituals. Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are followers of Ashvalayana sutra and Shakala
Shakha of Rigveda. Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are the most ancient sub-caste among
Deshasthas and are found throughout the Deccan.According to Iravati Karve, Deshastha
Rigvedi Brahmins are found in western and central Deccan along the banks of
the Godavari and the Krishna rivers and are spread deep into Karnataka. Deshastha Rigvedi

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Brahmins are endogamous group which include families from difference linguistic regions.
Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins include some families that speak Marathi and some
speak Kannada, majority of marriages happen within the families of same language but the
marriages between Marathi and Kannada speaking families do happen often. Marriage
alliance between Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins, Telugu Brahmins and Karnataka
Brahmins also takes place quite frequently.

Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are treated as a separate and distinct caste from the Deshastha
Yajurvedi Madhyandina and Deshastha Kannavas Brahmins by several authors, including
Malhotra and Iravati Karve.

Yajurveda
The Deshastha Yajurvedi Brahmins are followers of Yajurveda and follow Yajurvedic rituals.
They are further classified into two groups called the Madhyandins and the Kanavas. The
Madhyandinas follow the Madhyandina Shakha of the Shukla Yajurveda. The
word Madhyandina is a fusion of two words Madhya and dina which mean middle and day
respectively. Ghurye says Madhyandhina is the name of the person, a pupil of Yajnavalkya,
the founder of Shukla-Yajurveda and followers of Madhyandhina are known by this name.
The other meanings of the name are they are so-called because they perform Sandhya
Vandana at noon or it also means these Brahmins are supposed to attain Brahmin-hood only
after mid-day. Ghurye says apparently the name 'Madhyandhina' was misunderstood or
deliberately misinterpreted by the southern Brahmins. Some Yajurvedi Deshasthas follow the
'Apastamba' subdivision of Krishna Yajurveda. Recently, the Yajurvedi Madhyandin and
Yajurvedi Kannava Brahmins have been colloquially being referred to as Deshastha
Yajurvedi Madhyandin and Deshastha Yajurvedi Kannava, although not all have traditionally
lived or belonged to the Desh. Like Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins, Deshastha Yajurvedi
Brahmins of Shukla Yajurvedi section are also spread throughout Deccan.

Based on Vedanta
The Deshastha Rigvedi's and Deshastha Yajurvedi's started following the Vedantas
propounded by Adi Shankara and Madhvacharya. They have produced a number
of acharyas who has presided over various mathas. These seats of learning spread the
teachings of the vedas, smritis, puranas and especially Advaita and Dvaita philosophies all
over India, because of this they have Smarthas as well as Madhvas among
them. Intermarriages between Deshastha Smarthas and Deshastha Madhwas is very common
and normal among Deshasthas of Maharashtra. These sub-sects are based on
the Vedanta they follow.

Dvaita Vedanta
Deshastha Madhva Brahmins, also referred as Deshastha Madhvas (or simply Madhvas) are
Deshastha Brahmins who follow Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya. Deshastha Madhva
Brahmins are followers of ten Madhva Mathas. Out of the ten mathas, Uttaradi Math is the
largest and most of Deshastha Madhvas are followers of this matha. The other two prominent
mathas whome Deshastha Madhvas follow are Raghavendra Math and Vyasaraja Math.
These three mathas are combinedly known as "Mathatraya" in Madhva Sampradaya. In South
India Deshastha Madhvas have traditionally been bilingual
in Marathi and Kannada, Telugu or Tamil.

Advaita Vedanta

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Deshasthas following Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankara have two divisions among them.
They are Vaishnav Advaitins and Smarta Advaitins. The Smarta Advaitins are also known as
Deshastha Smarta Brahmins or Deshastha Smartas.

Demographics

P
ainting of 1st Diwan of Mysore Kingdom, Mir Miran Purnaiah by Irish painter Thomas
Hickey/Madhavarao Tanjavarkar (born 1828, died 4 April 1891), a descendant of Deshastha Brahmins
with the last name Tanjavarkar or Thanjavurkar

The valleys of the Krishna and Godavari rivers, and the plateaus of the Western Ghats
(Sahyadri hills), are collectively called the Desha – the original home of the Deshastha
Brahmins.Brahmins constitute 8-10% of the total population of Maharashtra.[75] Almost 60
per cent (three-fifth) of the Maharashtrian Brahmins are Deshastha Brahmins.[76] In North
Karnataka, especially in the districts of Vijayapura, Dharwad and Belagavi Deshasthas were
about 2.5% of the total population in the 1960s. Earlier this region was known as "Bombay-
Karnataka region"The Illustrated Weekly of India says, The exact percentage of population
belonging to Deshastha community is very difficult to find out since they are spread
throughout the Deccan.

The Deshastha Brahmins are equally distributed all through the state of Maharashtra, ranging
from villages to urban areas. In Karnataka, the Deshastha Brahmins are mostly concentrated
in the districts of Bijapur, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Bidar, Raichur, Bellary, Uttara
Kannada, and Shivamogga.

Deshasthas also settled outside Maharashtra and Karnataka, such as in the cities of Indore
in Madhya Pradesh and those of Chennai and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, which were a part of
or were influenced by the Maratha Empire. The Deshastha Brahmins
of Vadodara in Gujarat are immigrants who came from the Deccan for state
service. In Andhra Pradesh, the Deshastha Brahmins have settled in various parts, particularly
in the cities of Anantapur, Kurnool, Tirupati, Cuddapah, Hyderabad (which is now part

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of Telangana). In Coastal Andhra, Deshastha Brahmins settled in Nellore district, Krishna
district and Guntur district. In Telangana, Deshastha Brahmins are distributed throughout all
the districts of the state. The Deshastha families who migrated to Telugu states completely
adapted themselves to the Telugu ways, especially in food.[91]

The military settlers (of Thanjavur) included Brahmins of different sub-castes and by reason
of their isolation from their distant home, the sub-divisions which separated these castes in
their mother-country were forgotten, and they were all welded together under the common
name of Deshasthas. Today's Marathi speaking population in Tanjore are descendants of
these Marathi speaking people. The isolation from their homeland has almost made them
culturally and linguistically alien to Brahmins in Maharashtra. The early British rulers
considered Deshastha from the south to be a distinct community and heavily recruited them
in administrative service in the present-day areas of Northern Karnataka after the fall
of Peshwa rule in these areas in preference to Deshastha and other Brahmins from Desh.

Migration patterns
According to PILC Journal of Dravidic Studies, Maratha people who migrated towards
the South India were originally from Pune and Bijapur. They took the land route and passed
through Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. Another set of migrants migrated
from Bijapur through North Karnataka, the districts
of Cuddupah, Kurnool, Chittoor and North Arcot.

History

The location of state of Maharashtra in India. Majority of Deshastha live in Maharashtra (left).
The Krishna and Godavari rivers (right)/ Divisions of Maharashtra. The blue region is an
approximate indication of the Desh.

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 Etymology of the word DESHASTHA

The word Deshastha comes from the Sanskrit words Desha and Stha, which mean
inland or country and resident respectively. Fused together, the two words literally mean
"residents of the country". Deshastha are the Maharashtrian and North Karnataka
Brahmin community with the longest known history, making them the original and the
oldest Hindu Brahmin sub-caste from Maharashtra and North Karnataka. The Deshastha
community may be as old as the Vedas, as vedic literature describes people strongly
resembling them. This puts Deshastha presence on the Desh between 1100 and 1700 BC
As the original Brahmins of Maharashtra, the Deshasthas have been held in the greatest
esteem in Maharashtra and they have considered themselves superior to other Brahmins.

Marathi Brahmins started migrating to the Hindu holy city of Benares in the medieval
period. They dominated the intellectual life of the city and established an important
presence at the Mughal and other north Indian courts. During the Deccan sultanates era
and early Maratha rule, the Deshasthas were closely integrated into the texture of rural
society of Maharashtra region, as village record keepers (Kulkarnis) and astrologers
(Joshis) . As such they featured far more prominently in the eyes of the rural communities
than any other Brahmin groups in the region. Before the rise of the Peshwas from the
Bhat family, the Maratha bureaucracy was almost entirely recruited from the Deshastha
community along with the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu community; but Balaji
Vishwanath's accession to power shattered their monopoly over the bureaucracy, even
though they retained influence as Kulkarnis and Deshmukhs on rural Maharashtra. Many
Deshastha Brahmins moved to present day Andhra Pradesh for lack of opportunities in
Chitpavan dominated Peshwa era. This group became part of the elite in this region,

15
specifically around Guntur. By the 19th century, Deshasthas had held a position of such
strength throughout South India that their position can only be compared with that of
the Kayasthas and Khatris of North India. At the time of Indian independence in
1947, urban dwelling and professional Marathi Hindu people, mostly belonged to
communities such as the Chitpavans and the CKPs. However, researcher Donald Kurtz
concludes that although Deshasthas and other brahmin groups of the region were initially
largely rural, they were mostly urbanised by the end of the 20th century.

One of the traditional occupations of the Deshasthas was that of priesthood at the Hindu
temples or officiating at socio-religious ceremonies. Records show that most of the
religious and literary leaders since the 13th century have been Deshasthas. Author Pran
Nath Chopra and journalist Pritish Nandy say, "Most of the well-known saints
from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were Deshastha Brahmins" In addition
to being village priests, most of the village accountants or Kulkarnis belonged to the
Deshastha caste. Priests at the famous Vitthal temple in Pandharpur are Deshastha, as are
the priests in many of Pune's temples. Other traditional occupations included village
revenue officials, academicians, astrologer, administrators and practitioners
of Ayurvedic medicine. Deshasthas who study the vedas are called Vaidika, astrologers
are called "Joshi" and practitioners of medical science are called Vaidyas, and reciters of
the puranas are called Puraniks. In historic times Deshasthas also engaged in
manufacturing and trading of salt and cereals in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Hence they also adopted the surnames related to them.

16
Society and culture
Language
Even though the majority of Deshasthas speak Marathi, one of the major languages of
the Indo-Aryan language family, a significant minority speak Kannada, one of the major
languages of the Dravidian languages family. The major dialects of Marathi are called
Standard Marathi and Warhadi Marathi. Standard Marathi is the official language of the State
of Maharashtra. The language of Pune's Deshastha Brahmins has been considered to be the
standard Marathi language and the pronunciation of the Deshastha Rigvedi is given
prominence. There are a few other sub-dialects like Ahirani, Dangi, Samavedi, Khandeshi
and Puneri Marathi. There are no inherently nasalised vowels in standard Marathi whereas
the Chitpavani dialect of Marathi, spoken in Pune does have nasalised vowels. Deshastha
Brahmins who are spread throughout South India have either Marathi or Kannada as their
mother tongue and speak in local languages with other people.

Diet
As with most Pancha-Dravida Brahmin communities, Deshastha Brahmins are
also vegetarians. Deshastha use black spice mix or kala, literally black, masala, in cooking.
Traditionally, each family had their own recipe for the spice mix. However, this tradition is
dying out as modern households buy pre-packaged mixed spice directly from supermarkets.
A popular dish in Deshastha cuisine is the varan made from tuvar dal. Metkut, a powdered
mixture of several dals and a few spices is also a part of traditional Deshastha cuisine. Puran
poli for festivals and on the first day of the two-day marriage is another Marathi Brahmin
special dish.

Dressing style

A typical Deshastha household Shrine called Deoghar./ A Deshastha woman from the 1970s in her
traditional attire, watering the holy basil plant (Tulsi at the Tulsi Vrindavan (plinth) in her yard

17
Most middle aged and young women in urban Maharashtra dress in western outfits such as
skirts and trousers or shalwar kameez with the traditionally nauvari or nine-yard sari,
disappearing from the markets due to a lack of demand. Older women wear the five-yard sari.
Traditionally, Brahmin women in Maharashtra, unlike those of other castes, did not cover
their head with the end of their saree. In urban areas, the five-yard sari is worn by younger
women for special occasions such as marriages and religious ceremonies. Maharashtrian
brides prefer the very Maharashtrian saree – the Paithani – for their wedding day.

In early to mid 20th century, Deshastha men used to wear a black cap to cover their head,
with a turban or a pagadi being popular before that. For religious ceremonies males wore a
coloured silk dhoti called a sovale. In modern times, dhotis are only worn by older men in
rural areas. In urban areas, just like women, a range of styles are preferred. For example, the
Deshastha Shiv Sena politician Manohar Joshi and former Chief Minister of
Maharashtra prefers white fine khadi kurtas while younger men prefer modern western
clothes such as jeans.

In the past, caste or social disputes used to be resolved by joint meetings of all Brahmin sub-
caste men in the area.

Religious customs
Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins still recite the Rig Veda at religious ceremonies, prayers and
other occasions. These ceremonies include birth, wedding, initiation ceremonies, as well as
death rituals. Other ceremonies for different occasions in Hindu life
include Vastushanti which is performed before a family formally establishes residence in a
new house, Satyanarayana Puja, originating in Bengal in the 19th century, is a ceremony
performed before commencing any new endeavour or for no particular reason. Invoking the
name of the family's gotra and the Kula Daivat are important aspects of these ceremonies.
Like most other Hindu communities, Deshasthas have a shrine called a devaghar in their
house with idols, symbols, and pictures of various deities. Ritual reading of religious texts
called pothi is also popular.

In traditional families, any food is first offered to the preferred deity as naivedya, before
being consumed by family members and guests. Meals or snacks are not taken before this
religious offering. In contemporary Deshasthas families, the naivedya is offered only on days
of special religious significance.

Deshasthas, like all other Hindu Brahmins, trace their paternal ancestors to one of the seven
or eight sages, the saptarshi. They classify themselves into eight gotras, named after the
ancestor rishi. Intra-marriage within gotras (Sagotra Vivaha) is considered as incest.

Deshastha Smartas applies Tripundra with Vibhuti (cow-dung ashes) or Chandana

(Sandalwood paste). They smear it in three traverse streaks on their forehead and after the
Puja is over they replace it by a sandalwood spot. Whereas Deshastha Madhvas
applies Urdhva Pundra with Gopichandana (Sandal paste). They smear gopichandana on their
forehead in two perpendicular lines, running from the nose to the root of the hair, with a
central line of charcoal divided in the middle by a circular turmeric patch at the centre.
During the initiation, a Deshastha Madhva men is marked on the shoulders and on the chest
with Shankha (conch), Chakra (disc) and other emblems of Vishnu, while for women, the
seals are stamped only on their arms, the 'chakra' is stamped on the right arm, the shanka is
stamped on the left arm. The stamp used for marking these seals being of red hot iron and is

18
known as "Tapta Mudra Dharana". Tapta means 'heated' and mudra means 'seals'. Madhvas
also stamp five mudras with gopichandana paste daily on various parts of the body.
Vaishnava Advaitins who follow Varkari Sampradaya also apply Gopichandana Urdhva
Pundra on their forehead.

Every Deshastha family has their own family patron deity or the Kuladaivat. This deity is
common to a lineage or a clan of several families who are connected to each other through a
common ancestor. The Khandoba of Jejuri is an example of a Kuladaivat of

Ceremonies and rituals

Traditionally the Deshastha followed the sixteen bodily Sanskara from birth to death. Upon
birth, a child is initiated into the family ritually according to the Rig Veda for the Deshastha
Rigvedi Brahmins. The naming ceremony of the child may happen many weeks or even
months later, and it is called the barsa. In many Hindu communities around India, the naming
is almost often done by consulting the child's horoscope, in which are suggested various
names depending on the child's Lunar sign (called Rashi). However, in Deshastha families,
the name that the child inevitably uses in secular functioning is the one decided by his
parents. If a name is chosen on the basis of the horoscope, then that is kept a secret to ward
off casting of a spell on the child during his or her life. During the naming ceremony, the
child's paternal aunt has the honour of naming the infant. When the child is 11 months old, he
or she gets their first hair-cut. This is an important ritual as well and is called Jawal.

When a male child reaches his eighth birthday he undergoes the initiation thread ceremony
variously known as Munja (in reference to the munja grass that is of official ritual
specification), Vratabandha, or Upanayanam. From that day on, he becomes an official
member of his caste, and is called a dwija which translates to "twice-born" in English, in the
sense that while the first birth was due to his biological parents, the second one is due to the
initiating priest and Savitri Traditionally, boys are sent to gurukula to learn Vedas and
scriptures. Boys are expected to practice extreme discipline during this period known
as brahmacharya. Boys are expected to lead a celibate life, live off alms, consume selected
vegetarian saatvic food and observe considerable austerity in behaviour and deeds. Though
such practices are not followed in modern times by a majority of Deshasthas, all Deshasthas
boys undergo the sacred thread ceremony. Many still continue to get initiated around eight
years of age. Those who skip this get initiated just before marriage. Twice-born Deshasthas
perform annual ceremonies to replace their sacred threads on Narali Purnima or the full
moon day of the month of Shravan, according to the Hindu calendar. The threads are
called Jaanave in Marathi and Janavaara in Kannada.

The Deshasthas are historically an endogamous and monogamous community for

whom marriages take place by negotiation. The Mangalsutra is the symbol of marriage for
the woman. Studies show that most Indians' traditional views on caste, religion and family
background have remained unchanged when it came to marriage, that is, people marry within
their own castes, and matrimonial advertisements in newspapers are still classified by caste
and sub-caste. Deshastha Yajurvedi do not allow cross cousin marriage, while the Deshastha
Rigvedi sub-group, allow cross cousin marriage, just like many other Marathi castes. In South
Maharashtra, Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins even allow uncle-niece marriage.

While arranging a marriage, gana, gotra, pravara, devak are all kept in mind. Horoscopes are
matched. The marriage ceremony is described as follows: "The groom, along with the bride's
party goes to the bride's house. A ritual named Akshat is performed in which people around

19
the groom and bride throw haldi (turmeric) and sindur (vermilion) coloured rice grains on the
couple. After the Kanyadan ceremony, there is an exchange of garlands between the bride
and the groom. Then, the groom ties the Mangalsutra around the neck of the bride. This is
followed by granthibandhan in which the end of the bride's sari is tied to the end of the
groom's dhoti, and a feast is arranged at the groom's place."

A Deshasthas marriage ceremony includes many elements of a traditional Marathi Hindu

wedding ceremony. It consists of seemant poojan on the wedding eve. The dharmic wedding
includes the antarpat ceremony followed by the vedic ceremony which involves the
bridegroom and the bride walking around the sacred fire seven times to complete the
marriage. Modern urban wedding ceremonies conclude with an evening reception. A
Deshastha woman becomes part of her husband's family after marriage and adopts the gotra
as well as the traditions of her husband's family.

After weddings and also after thread ceremonies, Deshastha families arrange a traditional
religious singing performance by a Gondhal group.

Deshastha Brahmins dispose their dead by cremation. The dead person's son carries the
corpse to the cremation ground atop a bier. The eldest son lights the fire to the funeral pyre at
the head for males and at the feet for females. The ashes are gathered in an earthen pitcher
and scattered in a river on the third day after the death. This is a 13-day ritual with
the pinda being offered to the dead soul on the 11th and a Śrāddha ceremony followed by a
funeral feast on the 13th. Cremation is performed according to vedic rites, usually within a
day of the individual's death. Like all other Hindus, the preference is for the ashes to be
immersed in the Ganges river or Godavari River. Śrāddha becomes an annual ritual in which
all forefathers of the family who have passed on are remembered. These rituals are expected
to be performed only by male descendants, preferably the eldest son of the deceased.

Festivals
Deshasthas follow the Saka calendar. They follow several of the festivals of other Hindu
Marathi people. These include Gudi Padwa, Rama Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Narali
Pournima, Mangala Gaur, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Kojagiri
Purnima, Diwali, Khandoba Festival (Champa Shashthi), Makar Sankranti, Maha
Shivaratri and Holi.

Of these, Ganesh Chaturthi is the most popular in the state of Maharashtra, however, Diwali,
the most popular festival of Hindus throughout India, is equally popular in Maharashtra.
Deshasthas celebrate the Ganesha festival as a domestic family affair. Depending on a
family's tradition, a clay image or shadu is worshiped for one and a half, three and a half,
seven or full 10 days, before ceremoniously being placed in a river or the sea. This tradition
of private celebration runs parallel to the public celebration introduced in 1894 by Bal
Gangadhar Tilak. Modak is a popular food item during the festival. Ganeshotsav also
incorporates other festivals, namely Hartalika and the Gauri festival, the former is observed
with a fast by women whilst the latter by the installation of idols of Gauris.

20
 Weekdays of the Shaka calendar

1Ravivāra Ravi
[
SunSunday

2SomavāraSoma MoonMonday

3MaṅgalavāraMaṅgala MarsTuesday

4BudhavāraBudha MercuryWednesday

5Bṛhaspativāra Bṛhaspati
[b]
JupiterThursday

21
 6ŚukravāraŚukra VenusFriday

7ŚanivāraŚani SaturnSaturday

The Indian national calendar, also called the Shaka calendar or Śaka calendar, is a solar
calendar that is used alongside the Gregorian calendar by The Gazette of India, in news
broadcasts by All India Radio, and in calendars and official communications issued by
the Government of India. It was adopted in 1957 following the recommendation of the
Calendar Reform Committee.

Śaka Samvat is generally 78 years behind the Gregorian calendar, except from January–
March, when it is behind by 79 years.

The calendar months follow the signs of the tropical zodiac rather than the sidereal
zodiac normally used with the Hindu and Buddhist calendars.

Lengt Start date Tropical zodiac Tropical zodiac

# Name
h (Gregorian) (Western) (Sanskrit)

1 Chaitra 30 (31) 22 (21) March Aries Meṣa

2 Vaisakha 31 21 April Taurus Vṛśabha

3 Jyaishtha 31 22 May Gemini Mithuna

4 Ashadha 31 22 June Cancer Karkaṭa/Karka

5 Sravana 31 23 July Leo Siṃha

6 Bhadra 31 23 August Virgo Kanyā

7 Asvina 30 23 September Libra Tulā

8 Kartika 30 23 October Scorpio Vṛiścik‌‌a

9 Agrahayana or 30 22 November Sagittarius Dhanur

22
 Margasirsha

10 Pausha 30 22 December Capricorn Makara

11 Magha 30 21 January Aquarius Kumbha

12 Phalguna 30 20 February Pisces Mīna

Chaitra is the first month of the calendar and begins on or near the March equinox. Chaitra
has 30 days and starts on 22 March, except in leap years, when it has 31 days and starts on 21
March.All months other than Chaitra start on fixed dates in the Gregorian calendar. The
months in the first half of the year all average out to having 31 days, to take into account the
slower movement of the sun across the ecliptic at this time. This is similar to the Iranian Solar
Hijri calendar.The names of the months are derived from the older Hindu lunisolar calendar,
so variations in spellings exist, and there is a possible source of confusion as to what calendar
a date belongs to.The names of the weekdays are derived from the seven classical
planets (see Navagraha). The first day of the week is Ravivāra (Sunday). [3] The official
calendar reckoned by the government of India has Sunday as the first and Saturday as the last
day of the week

The religious amongst the Deshasthas fast on the days prescribed for fasting according to
Hindu calendar. Typical days for fasting are Ekadashi, Chaturthi, Maha Shivaratri and
Janmashtami. Hartalika is a day of fasting for women. Some people fast during the week in
honour of a particular god, for example, Monday for Shiva or Saturday for Hanuman and the
planet Saturn, Shani.

Tilgul is exchanged by Deshasthas on Makar Sankaranti. The centre shows sugarcoated sesame seeds
surrounded by laddus of tilgul or sesame jaggery.//Gudi Padwa Gudi or Victory pole
Gudi Padwa is observed on the first of the day of the lunar month of Chaitra of the Hindu
calendar. A victory pole or Gudi is erected outside homes on the day. The leaves of Neem or
and shrikhand are a part of the cuisine of the day. Like many other Hindu communities,
Deshasthas celebrate Rama Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, the birthdays of Rama and
Hanuman, respectively, in the month of Chaitra. A snack eaten by new mothers called
Sunthawada or Dinkawada is the prasad or the religious food on Rama Navami. They observe

23
Narali-pournima festival on the same day as the much widely known north Indian festival
of Raksha Bandhan. Deshastha men change their sacred thread on this day

An important festival for the new brides is Mangala Gaur. It is celebrated on any Tuesday
of Shravana and involves the worship of lingam, a gathering of womenfolk and narrating
limericks or Ukhane using their husbands' first name. The women may also play traditional
games such as Jhimma, and Fugadi, or more contemporary activities such as Bhendya till the
wee hours of the next morning.

Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Krishna on which day Gopalkala, a recipe made
with curds, pickle, popped millet (jondhale in Marathi) and chili peppers is the special
dish. Sharad Purnima also called as Kojagiri Purnima, the full moon night in the month
of Ashvin, is celebrated in the honour of Lakshmi or Parvati. A milk preparation is the special
food of the evening. The first born of the family is honoured on this day.

In Deshastha families Ganeshotsav is more commonly known as Gauri-Ganpati because it

also incorporates the Gauri Festival.In some families Gauri is also known as Lakshmi puja. It
is celebrated for three days; on the first day, Lakshmi's arrival is observed. The ladies in the
family will bring statues of Lakshmi from the door to the place where they will be worshiped.
The Kokanstha Brahmins, instead of statues, use special stones as symbols of Gauri. The
statues are settled at a certain location (very near the Devaghar), adorned with clothes and
ornaments. On the second day, the family members get together and prepare a meal
consisting of puran poli. This day is the puja day of Mahalakshmi and the meal is offered to
Mahalakshmi and her blessings sought. On the third day, Mahalakshmi goes to her husband's
home. Before the departure, ladies in the family will invite the neighbourhood ladies for
exchange of haldi-kumkum. It is customary for the whole family to get together during the
three days of Mahalakshmi puja. Most families consider Mahalakshmi as their daughter who
is living with her husband's family all the year; but visits her parents' (maher) during the three
days.

Navaratri, a nine-day festival starts on the first day of the month of Ashvin and culminates on
the tenth day or Vijayadashami. This is the one of three auspicious days of the year. People
exchange leaves of the Apti tree as symbol of gold. During Navaratri women and girls
hold Bhondla referred as bhulabai in Vidarbh region, a singing party in honour of the
Goddess.

Like all Hindu Marathi people and to a varying degree with other Hindu Indians, Diwali is
celebrated over five days by the Deshastha Brahmins. Deshastha Brahmins celebrate this by
waking up early in the morning and having an Abhyangasnan. People light their houses with
lamps and candles, and burst fire crackers over the course of the festival. Special sweets and
savouries like Anarse, Karanjya, Chakli, Chiwda and Ladu are prepared for the festival.
Colourful Rangoli drawings are made in front of the house.

Deshastha Brahmins observe the Khandoba Festival or Champa Shashthi in the month
of Mārgashirsh. This is a six-day festival, from the first to sixth lunar day of the bright
fortnight. Deshastha households perform Ghatasthapana of Khandoba during this festival.
The sixth day of the festival is called Champa Sashthi. For Deshastha, the Chaturmas period
ends on Champa Sashthi. As it is customary in many families not to consume onions, garlic
and eggplant (Brinjal / Aubergine) during the Chaturmas, the consumption of these food
items resumes with ritual preparation of Vangyache Bharit (Baingan Bharta) and rodga,
small round flat breads prepared from jwari (white millet).

24
 1. Makar Sankranti falls on 14 January when the Sun enters Capricorn. Deshastha
Brahmins exchange Tilgul or sweets made of jaggery and sesame seeds along with the
customary salutation Tilgul Ghya aani God Bola, which means Accept the Tilgul and
be friendly. Gulpoli, a special type of chapati stuffed with jaggery is the dish of the
day.
2. Maha Shivaratri is celebrated in the month of Magha to honour Shiva. A chutney
made from curd fruit (Kawath in Marathi) is part of the cuisine of the day.
3. Holi falls on the full moon day in Phalguna, the last month. Deshasthas celebrate this
festival by lighting a bonfire and offering Puran Poli to the fire. Unlike North Indians,
Deshastha Brahmins celebrate colour throwing five days after Holi
on Rangapanchami.

Social and political issues

The Deshasthas of Maharashtra and Karnataka practised priesthood as their hereditary
occupation, who traditionally offer socio-religious services to the other communities. The
secular among them who had agricultural land practised agriculture.However, the absentee
landlords among Deshasthas lost their lands when the newly independent India enshrined in
its constitution, agrarian or land reform. Between 1949 and 1959, the state governments
started enacting legislation in accordance with the constitution implementing this agrarian
reform or Kula Kayada in Marathi. The legislation led to the abolition of various absentee
tenures like inams and jagirs. This implementation of land reform had mixed results in
different States. On official inquiry, it was revealed that not all absentee tenures were
abolished in the State of Maharashtra as of 1985. Other social and political issues include
anti-Brahminism and the treatment of Dalits.

Inter-caste issues

The main entrance to the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur

During British rule in the 19th century, social reformers such as Jotiba Phule launched
campaigned against Brahmin domination of society and in government employment. The
campaign was continued in the early 20th century by the maharaja of Kolhapur, Shahu. In the
1920s the non-Brahmin political party under Keshavrao Jedhe led the campaign against
Brahmins in Pune and rural areas of western Maharashtra. This period saw Brahmins losing
their landholding and their migration to urban centers Maharashtrian Brahmins were the
primary targets during the anti-Brahmin riots in Maharashtra in 1948, following Mahatma
Gandhi's assassination. The rioters burnt homes and properties owned by Brahmins.The
violent riots exposed the social tensions between the Marathas and the Brahmins.

In recent history, on 5 January 2004, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in
Pune was vandalised by 150 members of the Sambhaji Brigade, an organisation promoting

25
the cause of the Marathas. The organisation was protesting against a derogatory remark made
by the American author James Laine, on Shivaji's Parentage in his book, Shivaji: A Hindu
King in an Islamic Kingdom. BORI was targeted because Srikant Bahulkar, a scholar at
BORI, was acknowledged in Laine's book. The incident highlighted the traditionally
uncomfortable Brahmin-Maratha relationship. Recently, the same organisation demanded the
removal of Dadoji Konddeo from the Statue of Child Shivaji ploughing Pune's Land at Lal
Mahal, Pune. They also threatened that if their demands were not met, they would demolish
that part of statue themselves.

Until recent times, like other high castes of Maharashtra and India, Deshastha also followed
the practice of segregation from other castes considered lower in the social hierarchy. Until a
few decades ago, a large number of Hindu temples, presumably with a Deshastha priest,
barred entry to the so-called "untouchables" (Dalit). An example of this was the case of the
14th century saint Chokhamela of the Varkari movement, who belonged to the Mahar caste.
He was time and again denied entry to the Vitthal temple in Pandharpur, however, his
mausoleum was built in front of the gate of the temple. In the early 20th century, the Dalit
leader B. R. Ambedkar, while attempting to visit the temple, was stopped at the burial site of
Chokhamela and denied entry beyond that point for being a Mahar. Deshastha caste-
fellow Dnyaneshwar and his entire family were stripped of their caste and excommunicated
by the Deshasthas because of his father's return from sanyasa to family life. The family was
harassed and humiliated to an extent that Dnyaneshwar's parents committed suicide. Other
saints like Tukaram (Kunbi caste) were discriminated against by the Brahmins.

The Maharashtra Government has taken away the hereditary rights of priesthood to the
Pandharpur temple from the Badve and Utpat Deshastha families, and handed them over to a
governmental committee. The families have been fighting complex legal battles to win back
the rights. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an organisation founded by K. B.
Hedgewar advocates Dalits being head priests at Hindu temples.

Deshastha-Konkanastha relations
Prior to the rise of the Konkanastha Peshwas, the Konkanastha Brahmins were considered
inferior in a society where the Deshasthas held socio-economic, ritual and Brahminical
superiority. After the appointment of Balaji Vishwanath Bhat as Peshwa, Konkanastha
migrants began arriving en masse from the Konkan to Pune, where the Peshwa offered some
important offices to the Konkanastha caste. The Konkanastha kin were rewarded with tax
relief and grants of land. Historians point out nepotism and corruption during this time.

The Konkanasthas were waging a social war on Deshasthas during the period of the
Peshwas.By the late 18th century, Konkanasthas had established complete political and
economic dominance in the region. As a consequence, many members of the literate classes,
including Deshasthas left their ancestral region of Western Maharashtra and migrated to other
areas of the Maratha empire such as around the east Godavari basin in the present-day states
of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Many Deshastha Brahmins. Saraswat
Brahmins and CKPs moved to newly formed Maratha states ruled by
the Scindias, Gaikwads and others that were at the periphery of the Peshwa's kingdom. After
the Maratha empire under the command of Chimaji Appa, the brother of Peshwa Bajirao
I (1700-1740), captured Vasai from the Portuguese in 1739, local chitpavan brahmins
contested the claim of the local Shukla yajurvedi brahmins, who had lived under Portuguese
rule for nearly two hundred years, of being brahmins . The full Brahmin status of the Vasai
Yajurvedis was affirmed by an assembly of learned Brahmins in 1746. However, the case

26
came up again in 1808 in the waning years of Peshwai. [282] Richard Maxwell Eaton states that
this rise of the Konkanastha is a classic example of social rank rising with political fortune.
Since then, despite being the traditional religious and social elites of Maharashtra, the
Deshastha Brahmins failed to feature as prominently as the Konkanastha. The Deshasthas
looked down upon the Konkanasthas as newcomers in the 18th and 19th centuries. They
refused to socialise and intermingle with them, not considering them to be Brahmins. A
Konkanstha who was invited to a Deshastha household was considered to be a privileged
individual, and even the Peshwas were refused permission to perform religious rites at the
Deshastha ghats on the Godavari at Nasik. The Konkanasthas on their part, pursued for
greater intellectual ability and better political acumen. During the British colonial period of
19th and early 20th century, Deshasthas dominated professions such as government
administration, music, legal and engineering fields, whereas Konkanasthas dominated fields
like politics, medicine, social reform, journalism, mathematics and education. The relations
have since improved by the larger scale mixing of both communities on social, financial and
educational fields, as well as with intermarriages.

Community organisations
The Deshastha Rigvedi sub-caste have community organisations in many major cities such as
Mumbai, Dombivali, Belgaum, Nasik, Satara etc. Most of these organisations are affiliated to
Central organisation of the community called Akhil Deshastha Rugvedi Brahman
Madhyavarty Mandal (A. D. R. B. M.) which is located in Mumbai. The activities of
ADRBM includes offering scholarships to needy students, financial aid to members,
exchange of information, and Matrimonial services. The Deshastha community organisations
are also affiliated to their respective local All Brahmin Umbrella Organisations. Similar to the
Rigvedi community, there are organisations and trusts dedicated to the welfare of the
Yajurvedi sub-caste.

Philosophy and literature

Deshasthas have contributed to the fields of Sanskrit, Marathi literature and Kannada
literature, mathematics, and philosophy.The Deshastha community in the Karnataka region
produced the fourteenth century Dvaita philosopher saint Jayatirtha, the fifteenth and
sixteenth century stalwarts of Haridasa movement and philosophers
of Dvaita order,Purandara Dasa, Vijaya Dasa, and Prasanna Venkata Dasa. In fact, according
to Sharma, all the pontiffs of Uttaradi Matha (a Dvaita monastery) beginning
from Raghunatha Tirtha, Raghuvarya Tirtha, Raghuttama Tirtha to Satyapramoda Tirtha,
without a single exception, belonged to the Deshastha Brahmin community.

Deshasthas produced prominent literary figures in Maharashtra between the 13th and the 19th
centuriesThe great Sanskrit scholar Bhavabhuti was a Deshastha Brahmin who lived around
700 AD in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. His works of high Sanskrit poetry and plays
are only equalled by those of Kalidasa. Two of his best known plays
are Mahāvīracarita and Mālatī Mādhava. Mahaviracarita is a work on the early life of the
Hindu god Rama, whereas Malati Madhava is a love story between Malati and her lover
Madhava, which has a happy ending after several twists and turns.

Mukund Raj was another poet from the community who lived in the 13th century and is said
to be the first poet who composed in Marathi. He is known for the Viveka-
Siddhi and Parammrita which are metaphysical, pantheistic works connected with
orthodox Vedantism. Other well known Deshastha literary scholars of the 17th century were
Mukteshwar and Shridhar Swami Nazarekar. Mukteshwar was the grandson of Eknath and is

27
the most distinguished poet in the ovi meter. He is most known for translating
the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in Marathi but only a part of the Mahabharata
translation is available and the entire Ramayana translation is lost. Shridhar came from near
Pandharpur and his works are said to have superseded the Sanskrit epics to a certain extent.
Other major literary contributors of the 17th and the 18th century were Vaman
Pandit,Mahipati, Amritaraya, Anant Phandi and Ramjoshi.

The Deshastha community has produced several saints and philosophers. Most important of
these were Dnyaneshwar, Jayatirtha, Sripadaraja, Vyasatirtha, Eknath, Purandara Dasa,
Samarth Ramdas and Vijaya Dasa. The most revered logician and philosopher, Jayatirtha was
universally acclaimed for his magnum opus work "Nyaya Sudha", which is the commentary
on the Anu Vyakhyana of Madhvacharya. The most revered of all Bhakti saints,
Dnyaneshwar was universally acclaimed for his commentary on the Bhagvad Gita. It is
called Dnyaneshwari and is written in the Prakrit language. He lived in the 13th
century. Eknath was yet another Bhakti saint who published an extensive poem called
the Eknathi Bhagwat in the 16th century. Other works of Eknath include the Bhavartha
Ramayana, the Rukmini Swayamwara and the Swatma Sukha. The 17th century saw
the Dasbodh of the saint Samarth Ramdas, who was also the spiritual adviser to Shivaji.

Military and administration

Tatya Tope's Soldiery

Seuna dynasty and Vijayanagara eras

Hemadpant who was the prime minister from 1259 to 1274 C.E. in the regimes of
Kings Mahādeva (1259–1271) and Ramachandra (1271–1309) of Seuna Yādav Dynasty of
Devagiri, which ruled in the western and southern part of India was a Deshastha Rigvedi

28
Brahmin. Deshastha Brahmins also held prominent roles in the political, military and
administrative hierarchy of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Deccan sultanate and Mughal Era

According to Robert Eric Frykenberg, the very origin of the Bahamani power appears to have
been linked with support from local deccani leadership. Frykenberg also quotes that, The
reason to Mahmud Gawan greatness as an administrator was due to his sagacious
employment of groups of Maratha Brahmans known as Deshasthas.

According to Robert Eric Frykenberg, the break-up of Bahamani authority following the
senseless execution of the able Diwan in 1481 led to increasing dependence upon the services
of the Deshasthas by the Sultanates of Bijapur, Golkonda, and Ahmednagar.

Deshastha Madhva Brahmins held high positions during the rule of Qutb shahis of Golkonda.
The posts held by them include Deshmukh, Deshpande, Majumdar, Mannavar (Head of
Police) etc. in the districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Maratha Empire and Nizam State

Most of Shivaji's principal Brahmin officers were Deshasthas, including all of his
Peshwas.Other significant Deshasthas of the period were warriors such as Moropant Trimbak
Pingle, Ramchandra Pant Amatya, Annaji Datto Sachiv, Abaji Sondev, Pralhad Niraji,
Raghunath Narayan Hanmante and Melgiri Pandit. At one point in the history of the Maratha
Empire, seven out of eight Ashta Pradhan (Council of Eight Ministers) came from the
community. In 1713, Balaji Vishwanath Bhat, a Kokanastha Brahmin was appointed as the
sixth Peshwa and the seat of Peshwa remained in Konkanastha hands until the fall of the
Maratha Empire. To obtain the loyalty of the locally powerful Deshastha Brahmins, the
Konkanastha Peshwas established a system of patronage for Brahmin scholars. The most
prominent Deshastha Brahmin families during the Peshwa rule were The Pant Pratinidhis,
The Vinchurkars, The Purandares, The Gandekars (Pant Sachiv family)[166] and
The Bavadekars.

During the Peshwa era, The lack of administrative positions forced Deshastha and other
literate groups to find opportunities elsewhere in India such as the Guntur area in present-
day Andhra Pradesh.

Prominence of Deshastha in 18th century Pune

Historian Govind Sakharam Sardesai lists 163 prominent families that held high ranks and
played significant roles in politics, military and finance in 18th century Pune, the cultural
capital of Maharashtra. Of these 163 families, a majority(80) were Deshastha, 46
were Chitpawan, 15 were CKP, and Karhade Brahmin and Saraswat accounted for 11
families each.

East India Company and British era

Kingdom of Mysore
This Deshastha Brahmin migrant who served under Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan as the most
trustworthy aide could successfully win over the confidence of the English in 1799.
Diwan Purnaiah was a typical example of an elite adept in the art of accommodation and
survival by changing loyalties in a most astonishing and successful manner. But the most
important plus point in him that attracted the English was perhaps his technical abilities as a

29
successful administrator, which the English could use to their advantage in later years'.
Although, many Deshastha Brahmins were employed in the service of Hyder and Tippu, a
greater penetration of them into the service was witnessed during the Dewanship
of Purnaiah and during the succeeding years. One Rama Rao was appointed Foujdar of Nagar
in 1799 by Purnaiya. Sowar Bakshi Rama Rao, Bargir Bakshi Balaji Rao, Babu Rao, Krishna
Rao and Bhim Rao of Annigere were some of the notables among this class.
When Purnaiah was Prime Minister of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan Krishna Rao served as
Commander-in-Chief of Mysore Kingdom. During this time the revenue and finance
departments were monopolised almost by them. With their mathematical mind, accuracy and
memory they were ideally suited for these posts.Purnaiah governed the Mysore Kingdom as
the first Dewan under Krishnaraja Wadiyar III and later Sovar Bakshi Rama Rao, Bargir
Bakshi Balaji Rao, Babu Rao continued as the Dewans after him. Diwan Purnaiah was also
the founder of Yelandur estate. Diwan Purnaiah's direct descendant P. N. Krishnamurti, who
was the fifth jagirdar of Yelandur estate also served as the Diwan of Mysore from (1901 –
1906). Later many prominent Deshastha Brahmins such as Kollam Venkata Rao, V. P.
Madhava Rao, T. Ananda Rao (son of Rajah T. Madhava Rao) and N. Madhava
Rao governed the Mysore Kingdom as Dewans.

Madras Presidency
In 17th century Deshastha Madhva Brahmins started migrating to Andhra Pradesh and held
high level administrative positions during the ascendancy of Qutub Shahis of
Golconda. In Guntur district between 1788 and 1848, two out of five Zamindars i.e.,
Chilkalurpet Zamindari and Sattanapalli Zamindari were ruled by Deshastha Madhva
Brahmins, whose title was "Deshmukh",but Frykenberg also tells us that in the earlier phase
the Deshasthas had to contend for power with the zamindars many of whom were not
Brahmins at all but Kammas, Velama and Rajus. This structure of competition was evidently
not created ex nihilo by British rule, but existed before Maratha period and earlier. According
to Eric Frykenberg,

By mid-nineteenth century all the vital positions in the subordinate civil and revenue
establishments in the Guntur district were monopolised by certain Deshastha Brahmin
families. According to Asian Economic Review, The tendency of the Deshastha Brahmins to
consolidate the power by appointing their own relations was not only confined to Guntur, but
this habit extended throughout South India. By the 19th century, Deshasthas had held a
position of strength throughout South India. According to Eric Frykenberg, "Deshastha
Madhva Brahmins—a vestige of former regimes— who possessed the requisite clerical skills
and knowledge of the revenue system and a capacity for concealing this knowledge through
the use of this complicated book-keeping system and the Modi script who conspired to
subvert the orders of the and to absorb a sizeable amount of land revenues". According to
Frykenberg, This was the reason why most of the Sheristadars, Naib Sheristadars and
Tehsildars in Madras Presidency are exclusively selected from Deshastha Brahmin
community, who are fluent in writing Modi script. According to Frykenberg, Deshasthas also
are noted for their English skills during British colonial rule. At the beginning of the British
colonial rule, the most powerful Brahmin bureaucrats in the South India were Deshastha
Brahmins, who were migrants from Maharashtra and North Karnataka. During the later years
of the colonial rule Deshasthas increasingly lost out to the Tamil Brahmins due to the latter
community's enthusiasm towards English education.

Vidarbha is a geographical region in the west- Indian state of Maharashtra. Forming the
eastern part of the state, it comprises of Amravati and Nagpur divisions. As per the 2011

30
Census, the region had a population of 23,003,179. The region occupies 31.6% of the total
area and is home to 21.3% of the total population of Maharashtra. Situated in central India, it
borders the state of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the
south and Marathwada and Uttar Maharashtra regions of Maharashtra to the west.

According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Rukmini, the wife of lord Krishna, was born
to Bhishmaka, the king of the Vidarbha kingdom. Vidarbha was part of the Satavahana
Empire during 1st to 2nd century CE). The coins and inscriptions from the period
of Paramara king Jagadeva, the son of the Udayaditya (reigned c. 1060–1086) have been
found in the northern parts the region. According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the region was part
of Berar Subah, in the Medieval period. In 1680, the region was captured by Sambhaji, the
son of Shivaji, who was the founder of Maratha empire. In 1724, Asaf Jah, who later became
the Nizam of Hyderabad, declared independence and brought most of the region under his
nominal rule. The administration and right of collecting taxes were held by the Marathas. In
1803, following the defeat of the Marathas, the region came under the rule of British East
India Company. Later, the British Empire took control of the region from the British East
India Company in 1857, and the region was part of Berar and Central Provinces.
After Indian Independence in 1947, the region was part of the Bombay State. After the Re-
organization of Indian states, majority of the region became part of Maharashtra in 1960.

Maharashtra is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial

portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states
of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the
east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, and the Indian union territory of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the northwest.Maharashtra is the second-most populous
state in India and the fourth-most populous country subdivision in the world.
The state is divided into 6 divisions and 36 districts, Mumbai, is the capital of Maharashtra
due to its historical significance as a major trading port and its status as India's financial hub,
housing key institutions and a diverse economy. Additionally, its well-
developed infrastructure and cultural diversity make it a suitable administrative center for the
state, and the most populous urban area in India, with Nagpur serving as the winter
capital.The Godavari and Krishna are the state's two major rivers, and forests cover 16.47%
of the state's geographical area. The state is home to six UNESCO World Heritage
Sites: Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly
Victoria Terminus), the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai and
the Western Ghats, a heritage site made up of 39 individual properties of which four are in
Maharashtra.

The economy of Maharashtra is the largest in India, with a gross state domestic product
(GSDP) of ₹42.5 trillion (US$500 billion) and GSDP per capita of ₹335,247 (US$3,900); it
is the single-largest contributor to India's economy, being accountable for 14% of all-India
nominal GDP. The service sector dominates the state's economy, accounting for 69.3% of the
value of the output of the country. Although agriculture accounts for 12% of the state GDP, it
employs nearly half the population of the state.

Maharashtra is one of the most industrialised states in India. The state's capital, Mumbai, is
India's financial and commercial capital.The Bombay Stock Exchange, India's largest stock
exchange and the oldest in Asia, is located in the city, as is the National Stock Exchange,
which is the second-largest stock exchange in India and one of world's largest derivatives
exchanges. The state has played a significant role in the country's social and political life and

31
is widely considered a leader in terms of agricultural and industrial production, trade and
transport, and education.Maharashtra is the ninth-highest ranking among Indian states in
the human development index.

The region that encompasses the modern state has a history going back many millennia.
Notable dynasties that ruled the region include the Asmakas, the Mauryas, the Satavahanas,
the Western Satraps, the Abhiras, the Vakatakas, the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas,
the Western Chalukyas, the Seuna Yadavas, the Khaljis, the Tughlaqs, the Bahamanis and
the Mughals. In the early nineteenth century, the region was divided between the Dominions
of the Peshwa in the Maratha Confederacy and the Nizamate of Hyderabad.

After two wars and the proclamation of the Indian Empire, the region became a part of
the Bombay Province, the Berar Province and the Central Provinces of India under direct
British rule and the Deccan States Agency under Crown suzerainty. Between 1950 and 1956,
the Bombay Province became the Bombay State in the Indian Union, and Berar, the Deccan
states and the Gujarat states were merged into the Bombay State. Aspirations of a separate
state for Marathi-speaking peoples were pursued by the United Maharashtra Movement; their
advocacy eventually borne fruit on 1 May 1960, when the State of Bombay was bifurcated
into the modern states of Maharasthra and Gujarat.

Etymology
The modern Marathi language evolved from Maharashtri Prakrit,and the
word Marhatta (later used for the Marathas) is found in the Jain Maharashtrian literature. The
term Maharashtra along with Maharashtrian, Marathi, and Maratha may have derived from
the same root. However, their exact etymology is uncertain.The most widely accepted theory
among the linguistic scholars is that the words Maratha and Maharashtra ultimately derived
from a combination of Mahā and Rāṣṭrikā, the name of a tribe or dynasty of chiefs ruling in
the Deccan region. An alternate theory states that the term is derived from mahā ("great")
and ratha/rathi ("chariot"/"charioteer"), which refers to a skilful northern fighting force that
migrated southward into the area.

In the Harivamsa, the Yadava kingdom called Anaratta is described as mostly inhabited by
the Abhiras (Abhira-praya-manusyam). The Anartta country and its inhabitants were
called Surastra and the Saurastras, probably after the Rattas (Rastras) akin to the Rastrikas of
Asoka's rock Edicts, now known as Maharastra and the Marattas.An alternative theory states
that the term derives from the word mahā ("great") and rāṣṭra ("nation/dominion"). However,
this theory is somewhat controversial among modern scholars who believe it to be the
Sanskritised interpretation of later writers.Numerous Late Harappan or Chalcolithic sites
belonging to the Jorwe culture (c. 1300–700 BCE) have been discovered throughout the
state.The largest settlement discovered of the culture is at Daimabad, which had a mud
fortification during this period, as well as an elliptical temple with fire pits. In the Late
Harappan period there was a large migration of people from Gujarat to northern Maharashtra.

Maharashtra was ruled by Maurya Empire in the fourth and third centuries BCE. Around 230
BCE, Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty which ruled it for the next
400 years.The rule of Satavahanas was followed by that of Western Satraps, Gupta
Empire, Gurjara-Pratihara, Vakataka, Kadambas, Chalukya Empire, Rashtrakuta Dynasty,
and Western Chalukya and the Yadava Dynasty. The Buddhist Ajanta Caves in present-
day Aurangabad display influences from the Satavahana and Vakataka styles. The caves were
possibly excavated during this period.

32
The Chalukya dynasty ruled the region from the sixth to the eighth centuries CE, and the two
prominent rulers were Pulakeshin II, who defeated the north Indian Emperor Harsha,
and Vikramaditya II, who defeated the Arab invaders in the eighth century. The Rashtrakuta
dynasty ruled Maharashtra from the eighth to the tenth century. [41] The Arab
traveller Sulaiman al Mahri described the ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty Amoghavarsha as
"one of the four great kings of the world". [42] Shilahara dynasty began as vassals of the
Rashtrakuta dynasty which ruled the Deccan plateau between the eighth and tenth centuries.
From the early 11th century to the 12th century, the Deccan Plateau, which includes a
significant part of Maharashtra, was dominated by the Western Chalukya Empire and
the Chola dynasty.Several battles were fought between the Western Chalukya Empire and the
Chola dynasty in the Deccan Plateau during the reigns of Raja Raja Chola I, Rajendra Chola
I, Jayasimha II, Someshvara I, and Vikramaditya VI.

In the early 14th century, the Yadava dynasty, which ruled most of present-day Maharashtra,
was overthrown by the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. Later, Muhammad bin
Tughluq conquered parts of the Deccan, and temporarily shifted his capital from Delhi
to Daulatabad in Maharashtra. After the collapse of the Tughluqs in 1347, the local Bahmani
Sultanate of Gulbarga took over, governing the region for the next 150 years. After the break-
up of the Bahamani sultanate in 1518, Maharashtra split into five Deccan
Sultanates: Nizamshah of Ahmednagar, Adilshah of Bijapur, Qutubshah of Golkonda, Bidars
hah of Bidar and Imadshah of Elichpur. These kingdoms often fought with each other.
United, they decisively defeated the Vijayanagara Empire of the south in 1565.The present
area of Mumbai was ruled by the Sultanate of Gujarat before its capture by Portugal in 1535
and the Faruqi dynasty ruled the Khandesh region between 1382 and 1601 before finally
getting annexed in the Mughal Empire. Malik Ambar, the regent of the Nizamshahi
dynasty of Ahmednagar from 1607 to 1626[ increased the strength and power of Murtaza
Nizam Shah II and raised a large army.Ambar is said to have introduced the concept
of guerrilla warfare in the Deccan region. Malik Ambar assisted Mughal emperor Shah
Jahan in Delhi against his stepmother, Nur Jahan, who wanted to enthrone her son-in-
law. Both Shivaji's grandfather, Maloji and father Shahaji served under Ambar.

In the early 17th century, Shahaji Bhosale, an ambitious local general who had served
the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Mughals and Adil Shah of Bijapur at different periods
throughout his career, attempted to establish his independent rule. This attempt was
unsuccessful, but his son Shivaji succeeded in establishing the Maratha Empire. Shortly after
Shivaji's death in 1680, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb launched a campaign to conquer
Maratha territories as well as the Adilshahi and Govalkonda kingdoms. This campaign, better
known as Mughal–Maratha Wars, was a strategic defeat for Mughals. Aurangzeb failed to
fully conquer Maratha territories, and this campaign had a ruinous effect on Mughal Treasury
and Army. Shortly after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Marathas under Peshwa Bajirao I and the
generals that he had promoted such as Ranoji Shinde and Malharrao Holkar started
conquering Mughal Territories in the north and western India, and by 1750s they or their
successors had confined the Mughals to city of Delhi

After their defeat at the hand of Ahmad Shah Abdali's Afghan forces in the Third Battle of
Panipat in 1761, the Maratha suffered a setback. However, they soon reclaimed the lost
territories and ruled central and north India including Delhi until the end of the eighteenth
century. The Marathas also developed a potent Navy circa in the 1660s, which at its peak
under the command of Kanhoji Angre, dominated the territorial waters of the western coast
of India from Mumbai to Savantwadi.[57] It resisted the British, Portuguese, Dutch,

33
and Siddi naval ships and kept a check on their naval ambitions. Charles Metcalfe, British
Civil servant and later Acting Governor-General, said in 1806.

India contains no more than two great powers, British and Maratha, and every other state
acknowledges the influence of one or the other. Every inch that we recede will be occupied
by them.The British East India Company slowly expanded areas under its rule during the
18th century. The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818) led to the end of the Maratha
Empire and the East India Company took over the empire. The Maratha Navy dominated till
around the 1730s, was in a state of decline by the 1770s and ceased to exist by 1818.
The British governed western Maharashtra as part of the Bombay Presidency, which spanned
an area from Karachi in Pakistan to northern Deccan. A number of the Maratha states
persisted as princely states, retaining autonomy in return for acknowledging
British suzerainty. The largest princely states in the territory
were Nagpur, Satara and Kolhapur State; Satara was annexed to the Bombay Presidency in
1848, and Nagpur was annexed in 1853 to become Nagpur Province, later part of the Central
Provinces. Berar, which had been part of the Nizam of Hyderabad's kingdom, was occupied
by the British in 1853 and annexed to the Central Provinces in 1903. However, a large region
called Marathwada remained part of the Nizam's Hyderabad State throughout the British
period. The British ruled Maharashtra region from 1818 to 1947 and influenced every aspect
of life for the people of the region. They brought several changes to the legal system, built
modern means of transport including roads and Railways, took various steps to provide mass
education, including that for previously marginalised classes and women, established
universities based on western system and imparting education in science, technology, and
western medicine, standardised the Marathi language, and introduced mass media by utilising
modern printing technologies.The 1857 war of independence had many Marathi leaders,
though the battles mainly took place in northern India. The modern struggle for independence
started taking shape in the late 1800s with leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta and Dadabhai
Naoroji evaluating the company rule and its consequences. Jyotirao Phule was the pioneer of
social reform in the Maharashtra region in the second half of the 19th century. His social
work was continued by Shahu, Raja of Kolhapur and later by B. R. Ambedkar. After the
partial autonomy given to the states by the Government of India Act 1935, B. G.
Kher became the first chief minister of the Congress party-led government of tri-lingual
Bombay Presidency. The ultimatum to the British during the Quit India Movement was given
in Mumbai and culminated in the transfer of power and independence in 1947

After Indian independence, princely states and Jagirs of the Deccan States Agency were
merged into Bombay State, which was created from the former Bombay Presidency in 1950.
In 1956, the States Reorganisation Act reorganised the Indian states along linguistic lines,
and Bombay Presidency State was enlarged by the addition of the predominantly Marathi-
speaking regions of Marathwada (Aurangabad Division) from erstwhile Hyderabad
state and Vidarbha region from the Central Provinces and Berar. The southernmost part of
Bombay State was ceded to Mysore. In the 1950s, Marathi people strongly protested against
bilingual Bombay state under the banner of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti. The notable
leaders of the samiti included Keshavrao Jedhe, S.M. Joshi, Shripad Amrit Dange, Pralhad
Keshav Atre and Gopalrao Khedkar. The key demand of the samiti called for a Marathi
speaking state with Mumbai as its capital. [83] In the Gujarati speaking areas of the state, a
similar Mahagujarat Movement demanded a separate Gujarat state comprising majority
Gujarati areas. After many years of protests, which saw 106 deaths amongst the protestors,
and electoral success of the samiti in 1957 elections, the central government led by Prime

34
minister Nehru split Bombay State into two new states of Maharashtra and Gujarat on 1 May
1960.

The state continues to have a dispute with Karnataka regarding the region
of Belgaum and Karwar. The Government of Maharashtra was unhappy with the border
demarcation of 1957 and filed a petition to the Ministry of Home affairs of India.
Maharashtra claimed 814 villages, and 3 urban settlements of Belagon, Karwar and Nippani,
all part of then Bombay Presidency before freedom of the country. A petition by Maharashtra
in the Supreme Court of India, staking a claim over Belagon, is currently pending

Late Harappa figure from Daimabad hoard, Indus Valley civilisation/2nd century BCE Karla
Caves are a group of Buddhist caves near Lonavala./Bibi Ka Maqbara, a replica of the Taj
Mahal, was built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb

Statue of Shivaji opposite Gateway of India in South Mumbai/The Bombay-Poona Mail

Train of the GIPR company in 1907

Bramhagiri hills in Sahyadri mountain range (Western Ghats)/ Wainganga River near
Bhandara district

35
Maharashtra with a total area of 307,713 km2 (118,809 sq mi), is the third-largest state by
area in terms of land area and constitutes 9.36% of India's total geographical area. The State
lies between 15°35' N to 22°02' N latitude and 72°36' E to 80°54' E longitude. It occupies
the western and central part of the country and has a coastline stretching 840 kilometres
(520 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The dominant physical feature of the state is its plateau
character, which is separated from the Konkan coastline by the mountain range of the
Western Ghats, which runs parallel to the coast from north to south. The Western Ghats, also
known as the Sahyadri Range, has an average elevation of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft); its slopes
gently descending towards the east and southeast. The Western Ghats (or the Sahyadri
Mountain range) provide a physical barrier to the state on the west, while the Satpura
Hills along the north and Bhamragad-Chiroli-Gaikhuri ranges on the east serve as its natural
borders. This state's expansion from North to South is 720 km (450 mi) and East to West is
800 km (500 mi). To the west of these hills lie the Konkan coastal plains, 50–80 km (31–
50 mi) in width. To the east of the Ghats lies the flat Deccan Plateau. The main rivers of the
state are the Krishna, and its tributary, Bhima, the Godavari, and its main
tributaries, Manjara, and Wardha-Wainganga and the Tapi, and its tributary Purna.
Maharashtra is divided into five geographic regions. Konkan is the western coastal region,
between the Western Ghats and the sea. Khandesh is the north region lying in the valley of
the Tapti, Purna river. Nashik, Malegaon Jalgaon, Dhule and Bhusawal are the major cities of
this region. Desh is in the centre of the state. Marathwada, which was a part of the
princely state of Hyderabad until 1956, is located in the southeastern part of the
state. Aurangabad and Nanded are the main cities of the region. Vidarbha is the easternmost
region of the state, formerly part of the Central Provinces and Berar.

The state has limited area under irrigation, low natural fertility of soils, and large areas prone
to recurrent drought. Due to this the agricultural productivity of Maharashtra is generally low
as compared to the national averages of various crops. Maharashtra has been divided in to
nine agro-climatic zones on the basis of annual rainfall soil types, vegetation and cropping
pattern

Climate

Bengal tiger in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve//Dried up Godavari River at Puntamba,

Ahmadnagar district, after a poor monsoon season
Maharashtra experiences a tropical wet and dry climate with hot, rainy, and cold weather
seasons. Some areas more inland experience a hot semi arid climate, due to a rain shadow
effect caused by the Western Ghats. The month of March marks the beginning of the summer
and the temperature rises steadily until June. In the central plains, summer temperatures rise
to between 40 °C or 104.0 °F and 45 °C or 113.0 °F. May is usually the warmest and January
the coldest month of the year. The winter season lasts until February with lower temperatures
occurring in December and January. On the Deccan plateau that lies on eastern side of the

36
Sahyadri mountains, the climate is drier, however, dew and hail often occur, depending on
seasonal weather

The rainfall patterns in the state vary by the topography of different regions. The state can be
divided into four meteorological regions, namely coastal Konkan, Western Maharashtra,
Marathwada, and Vidarbha. The southwest monsoon usually arrives in the last week of June
and lasts till mid-September. Pre-monsoon showers begin towards the middle of June and
post-monsoon rains occasionally occur in October. The highest average monthly rainfall is
during July and August. In the winter season, there may be a little rainfall associated with
western winds over the region. The Konkan coastal area, west of the Sahyadri Mountains
receives very heavy monsoon rains with an annual average of more than 3,000 millimetres
(120 in). However, just 150 km (93 mi) to the east, in the rain shadow of the mountain range,
only 500–700 mm/year will fall, and long dry spells leading to drought are a common
occurrence. Maharashtra has many of the 99 Indian districts identified by the Indian Central
water commission as prone to drought. The average annual rainfall in the state is 1,181 mm
(46.5 in) and 75% of it is received during the southwest monsoon from June–to September.
However, under the influence of the Bay of Bengal, eastern Vidarbha receives good rainfall
in July, August, and September. Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts receive
heavy rains of an average of 2,000 to 2,500 mm or 80 to 100 in and the hill stations
of Matheran and Mahabaleshwar over 5,000 mm (200 in). Contrariwise, the rain shadow
districts of Nashik, Pune, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and parts
of Kolhapur receive less than 1,000 mm (39 in) annually. In winter, a cool dry spell occurs,
with clear skies, gentle air breeze, and pleasant weather that prevails from October to
February, although the eastern Vidarbha region receives rainfall from the north-east
monsoon.

The state has three crucial biogeographic zones, namely Western Ghats, Deccan Plateau, and
the West coast. The Ghats nurture endemic species, Deccan Plateau provides for vast
mountain ranges and grasslands while the coast is home to littoral and swamp forests. Flora
of Maharashtra is heterogeneous in composition. In 2012 the recorded thick forest area in the
state was 61,939 km2 (23,915 sq mi) which was about 20.13% of the state's geographical
area. There are three main Public Forestry Institutions (PFIs) in the Maharashtra state:
the Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD), the Forest Development Corporation of
Maharashtra (FDCM) and the Directorate of Social Forestry (SFD). The Maharashtra State
Biodiversity Board, constituted by the Government of Maharashtra in January 2012 under the
Biological Diversity Act, 2002, is the nodal body for the conservation of biodiversity within
and outside forest areas in the State.

Maharashtra is ranked second among the Indian states in terms of the recorded forest area.
Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the state is 61,579 sq mi (159,489 km2) of which
49,546 sq mi (128,324 km2) is reserved forests, 6,733 sq mi (17,438 km2) is protected forest
and 5,300 sq mi (13,727 km2) is unclassed forests. Based on the interpretation of
IRS Resourcesat-2 LISS III satellite data of the period Oct 2017 to Jan 2018, the State has
8,720.53 sq mi (22,586 km2) under Very Dense Forest(VDF), 20,572.35 sq mi (53,282 km2)
under Moderately Dense Forest (MDF) and 21,484.68 sq mi (55,645 km2) under Open Forest
(OF). According to the Champion and Seth classification, Maharashtra has five types of
forests.

37
 Southern Tropical Semi-Evergreen forests: These are found in the western ghats at a
height of 400–1,000 m (1,300–3,300 ft). Anjani, Hirda, Kinjal, and Mango are
predominant tree species found here.
 Southern Tropical Moist Deciduous forests: These are a mix of Moist Teak bearing
forests (Melghat) and Moist Mixed deciduous forests (Vidarbha and Thane district).
Commercially important Teak, Shishum, and bamboo are found here. In addition to
evergreen Teak, some of the other tree species found in this type of forest
include Jambul, Ain, and Shisam.
 Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous forests: these occupy a major part of the state.
Southern Tropical Thorn forests are found in the low rainfall regions
of Marathwada, Vidarbha, Khandesh, and Western Maharashtra. At present, these forests
are heavily degraded. Babul, Bor, and Palas are some of the tree species found here.
 Littoral and Swamp forests are mainly found in the Creeks of Sindhudurg and Thane
districts of the coastal Konkan region. The state harbours significant mangrove, coastal
and marine biodiversity, with 304 km2 (117 sq mi) of the area under mangrove cover as
per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) of the Forest survey India in the coastal
districts of the state.
The most common animal species present in the state are monkeys, wild
pigs, tiger, leopard, gaur, sloth bear, sambar, four-horned antelope, chital, barking
deer, mouse deer, small Indian civet, golden jackal, jungle cat, and hare. Other animals found
in this state include reptiles such as lizards, scorpions and snake species such
as cobras and kraits.[115] The state provides legal protection to its tiger population through six
dedicated tiger reserves under the precincts of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The state's 720 km (450 mi) of sea coastline of the Arabian Sea marks the presence of various
types of fish and marine animals. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) found 1527 marine
animal species, including molluscs with 581 species, many crustacean species including
crabs, shrimps, and lobsters, 289 fish species, and 141 species types of annelids (sea worms).

Regions, divisions and districts

Divisions of Maharashtra, along with their respective districts (with Palghar district formed in
2014 from the northern part of Thane district)
Maharashtra has following geographical regions:

1. North Maharashtra
2. Konkan
3. Marathwada
4. Vidarbha
5. Desh or Western Maharashtra
It consists of six administrative divisions:

1. Amravati
2. Aurangabad
3. Konkan
4. Nagpur
5. Nashik
6. Pune

38
The state's six divisions are further divided into 36 districts, 109 sub-divisions, and
358 talukas. Maharashtra's top five districts by population, as ranked by the 2011 Census, are
listed in the following table.

Each district is governed by a district collector or district magistrate, appointed either by

the Indian Administrative Service or the Maharashtra Civil Service. Districts are subdivided
into sub-divisions (Taluka) governed by sub-divisional magistrates, and again into blocks. A
block consists of panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities. Talukas are
intermediate level panchayat between the Zilla Parishad (district councils) at the district level
and gram panchayat (village councils) at the lower level.

Out of the total population of Maharashtra, 45.22% of people live in urban regions. The total
figure of the population living in urban areas is 50.8 million. There are 27 Municipal
Corporations in Maharashtra.[

"[page 98]:Almost half Maharashtrian Brahmins were Deshastha Brahmins. They were found
throughout the province, but particularly on the Deccan plateau."

Until about 300 BC, Hindu men were about 24 years of age when they got married and the
girl was always post-pubescent. The social evil of child marriage established itself in Hindu
society sometime after 300 BC as a response to foreign invasions. The problem was first
addressed in 1860 by amending the Indian Penal Code which required the boy's age to be 14
and the girls age to be 12 at minimum, for a marriage to be considered legal. In 1927, the
Hindu Child Marriage Act made a marriage between a boy below 15 and a girl below 12
illegal. This minimum age requirement was increased to 14 for girls and 18 for boys in 1929.
It was again increased by a year for girls in 1948. The Act was amended again in 1978 when
the ages were raised to 18 for girls and 21 for boys.

While untouchability was legally abolished by the Anti-untouchability Act of 1955 and under
article 17 of the Indian constitution, modern India has simply ghettoised these marginalised
communities.[ Article 25(2) of the Indian constitution empowers States to enact laws
regarding temple entries. The relevant Act was enacted and enforced in Maharashtra in 1956.
Leaders from different times in history such as Bhimrao Ambedkar, Mahatma
Phule, Savarkar, Sane Guruji fought for the cause of Dalits.

Nagpur Kingdom,India

ABSTRACT
Nagpur,India is where I stay. However I really did not know anything ancient about this city which
has grown in prominence and size over the years.
The Kingdom of Nagpur was a kingdom in east-central India founded by the Gond rulers
of Deogarh in the early 18th century. It came under the rule of the Marathas of the Bhonsale dynasty
in the mid-18th century and became part of the Maratha Empire. The city of Nagpur was the capital of
the state. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, it became a princely state of the British Empire in
1818, and was annexed to British India in 1853 becoming Nagpur Province.
Here is the story from pre-historic times till present.

39
Towns and cities have a long history, although opinions vary on which ancient settlement are truly
cities. The benefits of dense settlement included reduced transport costs, exchange of ideas, sharing of
natural resources, large local markets, and in some cases amenities such as running
water and sewage disposal. Possible costs would include higher rate of crime, higher mortality rates,
According to Vere Gordon Childe, for a settlement to qualify as a city, it must have enough surplus of
raw materials to support trade and a relatively large population. [3] Bairoch points out that, due to
sparse population densities that would have persisted in pre-Neolithic, hunter-gatherer societies, the
amount of land that would be required to produce enough food for subsistence and trade for a large
population would make it impossible to control the flow of trade. To illustrate this point, Bairoch
offers an example: "Western Europe during the pre-Neolithic, [where] the density must have been less
than 0.1 person per square kilometre". [4] Using this population density as a base for calculation, and
allotting 10% of food towards surplus for trade and assuming that city dwellers do no farming, he
calculates that "...to maintain a city with a population of 1,000, and without taking the cost of
transport into account, an area of 100,000 square kilometres would have been required. When the cost
of transport is taken into account, the figure rises to 200,000 square kilometres. Bairoch noted that
this is roughly the size of Great Britain. The urban theorist Jane Jacobs suggests that city formation
preceded the birth of agriculture, but this view is not widely accepted. higher cost of living, worse
pollution, traffic and high commuting times. Cities grow when the benefits of proximity between
people and firms are higher than the cost.There is not enough evidence to assert what conditions gave
rise to the first cities. Some theorists have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions
and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces.

The conventional view holds that cities first formed after the Neolithic revolution. The Neolithic
revolution brought agriculture, which made denser human populations possible, thereby supporting
city development. Whether farming immigrants replaced foragers or foragers began farming is not
clear. The increased food production per unit of land supported higher population density and more
city-like activities. In his book, Cities and Economic Development, Paul Bairoch takes up this position
in his argument that agricultural activity appears necessary before true cities can form.

In his book City Economics, Brendan O'Flaherty asserts "Cities could persist—as they have for
thousands of years—only if their advantages offset the disadvantages" . O'Flaherty illustrates two
similar attracting advantages known as increasing returns to scale and economies of scale, which are
concepts usually associated with businesses. Their applications are seen in more basic economic
systems as well. Increasing returns to scale occurs when "doubling all inputs more than doubles the
output [and] an activity has economies of scale if doubling output less than doubles cost".

40
Similarly, "Are Cities Dying?"a paper by Harvard economist Edward L. Glaeser, delves into similar
reasons for city formation: reduced transport costs for goods, people and ideas. Discussing the
benefits of proximity, Glaeser claims that if a city is doubled in size, workers get a ten percent
increase in earnings.Glaeser furthers his argument by stating that bigger cities do not pay more for
equal productivity than in a smaller city, so it is reasonable to assume that workers become more
productive if they move to a city twice the size as they initially worked in. The workers do not benefit
much from the ten percent wage increase, because it is recycled back into the higher cost of living in a
larger city.

Childe’s ten criteria

The first true towns are sometimes considered large settlements where the inhabitants were no longer
simply farmers of the surrounding area, but began to take on specialized occupations, and where
trade, food storage and power were centralized. In 1950 Gordon Childe attempted to define a historic
city with ten general metrics. These are:

1. Size and density of the population should be above normal.

2. Differentiation of the population. Not all residents grow their own food, leading to specialists.
3. Payment of taxes to a deity or king.
4. Monumental public buildings.
5. Those not producing their own food are supported by the king.
6. Systems of recording and practical science.
7. A system of writing.
8. Development of symbolic art.
9. Trade and import of raw materials.
10. Specialist craftsmen from outside the kin-group.

This categorisation is descriptive, and it is used as a general touchstone when considering ancient
cities, although not all have each of its characteristics.

Geography and Topography

Nagpur is located at the exact centre of the Indian peninsula. The city has the Zero Mile
Stone locating the geographical centre of India, which was used by the British to measure all distances
within the Indian subcontinent.

The city lies on the Deccan plateau and has a mean altitude of 310.5 meters above sea level.The
underlying rock strata are covered with alluvial deposits resulting from the flood plain of the Kanhan
River. In some places, these give rise to granular sandy soil. In low-lying areas, which are poorly
drained, the soil is alluvial clay with poor permeability characteristics. In the eastern part of the city,

41
crystalline metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, schist and granites are found, while in the northern part
yellowish sandstones and clays of the lower Gondwana formations are found. Nagpur city is dotted
with natural and artificial lakes. The largest lake is Ambazari Lake. Other natural lakes
include Gorewada Lake and Telangkhedi lake. Sonegaon and Gandhisagar Lakes are artificial, created
by the city's historical rulers. Nag river, Pilli Nadi, and nallas form the natural drainage pattern for the
city. Nagpur is known for its greenery and was adjudged the cleanest and second greenest in India
after Chandigarh in 2010.

The Foundation year of NAGPUR is the year of 1702. The history of Nagpur, in central India,
spans over 5,000 years, including the Kingdom of Nagpur in the 18th and 19th century. Nagpur is
named after the river Nag which flows through the city. The old Nagpur (today called 'Mahal') is
situated on north banks of the river Nag. The suffix pur means "city" in many Indian languages.

One of the earlier names of Nagpur was "Fanindrapura". It derives its origin from
the Sanskrit word fana (फणा; meaning hood of a cobra). Nagpur's first newspaper was
named Fanindramani, which means a jewel that is believed to be suspended over a cobra's hood. It is
this jewel that lights up the darkness, hence the name of the newspaper. B. R. Ambedkar claimed that
both the city and the river are named after "Nag people".During British rule, the name of the city was
spelt and pronounced as "Nagpore".

Human existence around present-day Nagpur city (in Maharashtra, India) can be traced back 3,000
years to the 8th century BC. Menhir burial sites at Drugdhamna (near Mhada colony)
indicate megalithic culture existed around Nagpur and is still followed in present times. The first a
reference to the name "Nagpur" is found in a 10th-century copper-plate inscription discovered at
Devali in the neighbouring Wardha district. The inscription is a record of grant of a village situated in
the visaya (district) of Nagpura-Nandivardhana during time of Rastrakuta king Krishna III in the Saka
year 862 (940 CE). Inscription found at Ramtek show that during the 12th century AD Nagpur and its
surrounding regions formed the part of the thickly wooded country called Jhadimandala under
Yadavas of Devagiri. However, tradition ascribes the founding of Nagpur to Bakht Buland Shah, a
prince of the Gond kingdom of Deogarh in the Chhindwara district.

The Nagardhun Fort near Nagpur

42
he Nagardhun Fort near Nagpur

43
 The Palace at Nagpur

The mysterious underground Temple

44
THE OLDEST VESTIGES OF HABITATION IN THE NAGPUR DISTRICT are
furnished by dolmens and other sepulchral monuments which can be noticed within a radius
of about 48,280 km. (thirty miles) round Nagpur in the vicinity of the villages of Koradi,
Kohali, Junapani, Nildhoa, Borganv, Vathora, Vadganv, Savar-gailv, Hingana, etc. Some of
these were opened first by Pearson and then by Hislop but their detailed reports are not
available. They require to be excavated and studied scientifically. Hislop describes the as
follows:

“They are found chiefly as barrows surrounded by a circle of stones, and as stone boxes,
which when complete are styled kistvaens, and when open on one side, cromlechs. The
kistvaens, if not previously disturbed, have been found to contain stone coffins and urns.”

Such sepulchral monuments are generally found to contain copper and bronze weapons, tools
and earthen vessels. Some scholars find in these copper and bronze objects traces of the
migration route of the Vedic Aryans. This culture is supposed to be later than that of the
Indus Valley, of which no traces have yet been noticed in Vidarbha.

With the advent of the Aryans we get more light on the past history of this region. It was then
covered by a thick jungle. Agastya was the first Aryan who crossed the Vindhya and fixed his
hermitage on the bank of the Godavari. This memorable event is commemorated in the
mythological story which represents Vindhya as bending before his guru Agastya when the
latter approached him. The sage asked the mountain to remain in that condition until he
returned from the south, which he never did. Agastya was followed by several other sages
who established their hermitages in different regions of the south. They were constantly
harassed by the original inhabitants who are called Raksasas in the Ramayana. “These
shapeless and ill-looking monsters testify their abominable character by various cruel and
terrific displays. They implicate the hermits in impure practices and perpetrate the greatest
outrages. Changing their shapes and hiding in the thickets adjoining the hermitages, these
frightful beings delight in terrifying the devotees. They cast away the sacrificial ladles and
vessels; they pollute the cooked oblations, and utterly defile the offerings with blood. These
faithless creatures inject frightful sounds into the ears of the faithful and austere hermits. At
the time of the sacrifice they snatch away the jars, the flowers, the fuel and the sacred grass of
these sober-minded men.” (Muir’s Original Sanskrit Texts, quoted in the previous edition of Nagpur
District Gazetteer)

45
In course of time a large kingdom was founded in this region by king Vidarbha, the son of
Rsabhadeva. His capital was Kundinapura in the Amravati district, which is still known by its
ancient name. The country came to be known as Vidarbha after the name of its first ruler.
Agastya married his daughter Lopamudra. He is ‘the Seer’ of some hymns of the Rgveda. His
wife Lopamudra is also mentioned in Rgveda I. 179, 4, though Vidarbha is not named
therein.

The (part of the) country became well-known in the age of the Brahmanas and the
Upanisads. Bhima who is called Vaidarbha (i.e., the King of Vidarbha), is mentioned in the
Aitareya Brahmana (VII, 34) as having received instruction regarding the substitute for soma
juice. The Brhadaranyaka Upanisad mentions the sage Kaundinya of Vidarbha. Among those
who asked questions about philosophical matters in the Prasnopanisad there was one named
Bhargava from Vidarbha. The Ramayana in the Uttarakanda states the story of king Danda in
whose time Vidarbha was devastated by a violent dust-storm. Danda was the son of Iksvaku
and grandson of Manu. He ruled over the country between the Vindhya and Saivala
mountains from his capital Madhumanta. He led a voluptuous life and once upon a time
violated the daughter of the sage Bhargava. The sage, then cursed the king that his whole
kingdom would be devastated by a terrible dust-storm. The whole country between Vindhya
and Saivala extending over a thousand yojanas was consequently turned into a great forest
which since then came to be known as Dandakaranya. It was in this forest that the Sudra sage
Sambuka was practising austerities. (Ep. Ind. Vol. XXV, p.11). As this was an un-religious act
according to the notions of those days, Rama beheaded him and revived the life of a
Brahmana boy who had died prematurely.

That the Nagpur region was included in the Dandaka forest is shown by the tradition which
states that Sambuka was practising austerities on the hill near Ramtek, about 45.062 km. (28
miles) from Nagpur. The site is still shown on that hill and is marked by the temple of
Dhumresvara. This tradition is at least seven hundred years old, for it is mentioned in the
stone inscription of the reign of the Yadava king Ramacandra fixed into the front wall of the
garbhagrha of the temple of Laksmana on the hill of Ramtek.(Ibid, Vol. XXV, p.7.f) The
Ramayana the Mahabharata and the Puranas mention several sacred rivers of Vidarbha such
as the Payosni (Puma), Varada (Wardha) and the. Vena (Wainganga) and name many holy
places situated on their banks. The royal house of Vidarbha was matrimonially connected
with several princely families of North India. The Vidarbha princesses Damayanti, Indumati

46
and Rukmini, who married Nala, Aja and Krsna, respectively, are well-known in Indian
literature. Several great Sanskrt and Marathi poets from Kalidasa onwards have drawn the
themes of their works from their romantic lives.
This section on ancient history is from an article part of which was contributed by Mahamahopadhyaya
Dr. V. V. Mirashi, Nagpur University, Nagpur. India

Intermediate era; As stated below, the region round Nagpur was flourishing in the early
centuries of the Christian era, but the name of Nagpur is noticed for the first time in a record
of the tenth century A.D. A copper-plate inscription of the Rastrakuta king Krsna III dated in
the 8aka year 862 (A.D. 940), discovered at Devali in the Wardha district, records the grant
of a village situated in the visaya (district) of Nagpura-Nandivardhana, which was well-
known as an ancient capital of the Vakatakas, is now represented by the village Nandardhan,
about three miles from Ramtek. Nagpur, which was situated near it, may have marked the
original site of the modern town of that name. Tradition, however, gives the credit for settling
the town of Nagpur to the Gond king Bakht Bulanda of Devagad. He is said to have included
in the new town twelve hamlets, laid streets and erected a wall for its protection. It is not
unlikely that Bakht Bulanda chose to call the new town by the name of Nagpur since it was
associated with the place from ancient times. Coming to historical times, we find that the
country was included in the empire of the great Asoka. The thirteenth rock edict of that great
Emperor mentions the Bhojas as the people who follow his religious teachings. The royal
family of Bhoja was ruling over Vidarbha in ancient times. Since then the people came to be
known as the Bhojas. A territorial division named Bhojakata (modern Bhatkuli in the
Amravati district) is mentioned in a grant of the Vakatakas. (Fleet, C.I.I., Vol. III, p. 341) An

inscription probably issued by the Dharmamahamatra placed by Asoka in charge of

Vidarbha, has been found at Devatek in the Canda district .(Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. I, p.109
f.) It records an order promulgated by the Dharmamahamatra interdicting the capture and
slaughter of animals. It is dated in the fourteenth reigning year, evidently of Asoka.

47
After the overthrow of the Maurya dynasty in circa B.C. 184, the imperial throne in
Pataliputra (Patna) was occupied by the Senapati Pusyamitra, the founder of the sunga
dynasty. His son Agnimitra was appointed Viceroy of Malva and ruled from Vidisa, modern
Besnagar, a small village near Bhilsa. Vidarbha, which had seceded from the Maurya Empire
during the reign of one of the weak successors of Asoka was then ruled by Yajna-sena. He
imprisoned his cousin Madhavasena, who was a rival claimant for the throne. The sister of
Madhavasena escaped to Mii!vii and got admission as a hand-maid under the name of
Miilavikii ( Malavika) to the royal palace. Agnimitra, who had espoused the cause of
Madhavasena and had sent an army against the king of Vidarbha, fell in love with Miilavikii
and married her. The Malava army defeated the king of Vidarbha and released Madhavasena.
Agnimitra then divided the country of Vidarbha between the two cousins, each ruling on one
side of the Varada (modern Wardha). Eastern Vidarbha thus comprised Wardha, Nagpur,
Bhandara, Chanda, Seoni, Chindvada and Balaghat_ districts. It was bounded on the east by
the country of Daksina Kosala (Chattisgad).

The land of Kalidasa: From the Mahabharata one learns that the province of Venakata
bordered on that of Kosala. The story of Malavika forms the plot of the play
Malavikagnimitra of the great Sanskrt poet Kalidasa. Kalidasa does not state to what royal
family Yajnasena and Madhavasena belonged and these names do not occur anywhere else.
Still it is possible to conjecture that they may have been feudatories of the Satavahanas. From
the Hathigumpha inscription at Udayagiri near Bhuvanesvar, we learn that Kharavela, the
king of Kalinga, who was a contemporary of Pusyamitra, sent an army to the western region
not minding

48
Satakarni (Ep. Ind., Vol. XX, p. 71 f. Jayaswal’s and Banerji’s reading Musika in line 4 of this inscription is
incorrect. Barua reads Asika which seems to be correct. For the identification of this country, see A.B.O.R.I.,
XXV, p. 167 f.).

The latter evidently belonged to the Satavahana dynasty as the name occurs often in that
family. Kharavela’s army is said to have penetrated up to the river Kanhabenna and struck
terror in the hearts of the people of Rsika. The Kanhabenna is the river Kanhan which flows
about 10 miles from Nagpur. Kharavela’s army, therefore, invaded Vidarbha. He knew that
as the ruler of Vidarbha was a feudatory of king Satakarni, the latter would rush to his aid.
When Vidarbha was thus invaded, the people of Rsika (Khandes) which bordered Vidarbha
on the west, were naturally terror-striken. No actual engagement seems however to have
taken place and the army retreated to Kalinga perhaps at the approach of the Satavahana
forces.

The Satavahanas, who are called Andhras in the Puranas, held Vidarbha for four centuries
and a half from circa B.C. 200 to A.D. 250. Their earliest inscriptions, however, which record
their performance of Vedic sacrifices and munificent gifts to Brahmanas are found in the
Poona and Nasik districts. Towards the close of the first century A.D. they were ousted by the
Saka Satraps from Western Maharashtra. They then seem to have found shelter in Vidarbha.
No inscriptions of the Satavahanas have indeed been found in Vidarbha, but in one of the
Nasik inscriptions Gautamiputra Satakarni, who later on exterminated the Sakas and re-
occupied Western Maharashtra, is called Benakatakasvami, the lord of Benakatakataka
(Ep. Ind., Vol. VIII, p. 65 f.). No satisfactory explanation of this expression was possible until the discovery of the
Tirodi plates of the Vakataka king Pravarasena. II(Ibid., Vol. XXII, p. 167 f.).

Plates have been found that record the grant of a village- III in the Benakata, which must
have comprised the territory on both the banks of the Benna or the Wainganga, now included
in the Balaghat and Bhandara districts. Gautamiputra, was, therefore, ruling over the country
of Benakata (or Venakata), before he. reconquered Western Maharashtra from the Saka
Satrap Nabhapana. Gautamiputra was a very powerful king whose kingdom extended from
the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal and comprised even Malva, Kathiavad and parts of
Rajputana in the north. His son Pulumavi was similarly the undisputed master of the whole
Deccan. Yajnasri also, a later descendant of the family, retained his hold over the whole
territory as his inscriptions and coins have been found in the Thana district in the west and
the Krsna district in the east. Two hoards of Satavahana coins have been found in Vidarbha,
one in the Brahmapuri tahsil of the Chanda district.
(P.A.S.B for 1893, pp. 116-17.)And the other at Tarhala in the Mangul tahsil of the Akola district (J.N.S.I., Vol.II, pp. 83 f).

49
The latter hoard, which was discovered in 1939, contains coins of as many as eleven kings.
beginning from Gautamiputra Satakarni. Some of them such as (Gautamiputra) Satakarni,
Pulumavi, Sivasri Pulumavi, Yajnasri Satakarni and Vijaya Satakarni are mentioned in the
Puranas, while some others such as Kumbha Satakarni, Karna Satakarni and Saka Satakarni
are not known from any other source. This hoard shows that the Satavahanas retained their
hold over Vidarbha to the last. The Satavahanas were liberal patrons of learning and religion.
As stated above, the early kings performed Vedic sacrifices and lavished gifts on the
Brahmanas. Gautamiputra, Pulumavi and Yajnasri excavated caves and donated villages to
provide for the maintenance, clothing and medicine of Buddhist monks. They also patronised
Prakrt literature. The Sattasai, an anthology of 700 Prakrt verses, is, by tradition, ascribed to
Hala of the Satavahana dynasty.

About A.D. 250 the Satavahanas were supplanted by the Vakatakas in Vidarbha. This
dynasty was founded by a Brahmana named Vindhyasakti I, who is mentioned in the Puranas
(D.K.A., pp. 48 and 50.)as well as in an inscription in Cave XVI at Ajantha (Mirashi, C.I.I., Vol. VI, p. 102
f.).The Puranas mention Vindhyasakti, the founder of the dynasty, as a ruler of Vidisa
(modern Bhilsa near Bhopal)( R. C. Majumdar and A. S. Altekar: The Vakataka-Gupta Age,
p. 96.). His son Pravarasena I ruled over an extensive part of the Deccan. He performed
several Vedic sacrifices including four asvamedhas and assumed the title of Samrat
(Universal Emperor). According to the Puranas he had his capital at Purika which was
situated at the foot of the Rksavat or Satpuda mountain (Mirashi, C.I.I., Vol VI, p. xviii, f. n. 5.)

(D.K.A., p. 50. I accept Jayaswal’s reading Purikam Canakari-ca vai in place of Purim Kancanakam-ca vai.)
(Altekar mentions that Purika is connected with Vidarbha (modern Berar) and Asmaka by ancient
geographers. The Purika province is mentioned along with Vidarbha and asmaka in the Markandeya Purana
( R.C. Majumdar and A.S. Altekar : The Vakataka – Gupta Age,p.96)

He had four sons among whom his empire was divided after his death. Two of these are
known from inscriptions. The eldest son Gautimi-putra had predeceased him. His son
Rudrasena I held the northern parts of Vidarbha and ruled from Nandivardhana, modern
Nandardhan, near Ramtek. He had powerful support of the king Bhava-naga of the Bharasiva
dynasty who ruled .at padmavati near Gwalior who was his maternal grandfather Rudrasena

(R. C.Majumdar and A.S.Altekar. The Vakataka-Gupta Age, p. 102). Rudrasena was a fervent devotee
of Mahabhairava. He has left an inscription incised on the aforementioned slab of stone found

50
at Devatek, which contains a mutilated edict of the Dharma-mahamatra of Asoka. It records
his construction of a Dharma-sthana (temple). (Ibid., Vol. VI, p. 1f.) Rudrasena I was followed by his
son Prthivisena I, who ruled for a long time and brought peace and contentment to his people.
During his reign this branch of the Vakatakas became matrimonially connected with the
illustrious Gupta family of north India. Candragupta II-Vikramaditya-married his daughter
Prabhavatigupta II to Prthivisena I’s son, Rudrasena II, probably to secure the powerful
Vakataka king’s help in his war with the Western Ksatrapas. Rudrasena II died soon after
accession, leaving behind two sons Divakarasena and Damodarasena alias Pravarasena II. As
neither of them had come of age, Prabhavatigupta ruled as regent for the elder son
Divakarasena for at least thirteen years (Ibid., Vol. VI, pp. 5 f). According to Altekar, she carried
on the administration for a period of about twenty years. (R. C.Majumdar and A. S. Altekar, The
Vakataka-Gupta Age, p. 112). She seems to have been helped in the government of the kingdom by
military and civil officers sent by her father Candragupta II. One of these was the great
Sanskrt poet Kalidasa, who, while residing at the Vakataka capital Nandivardhana, must have
visited Ramagiri (modern Ramtek), where the theme of his excellent lyric Meghaduta
suggested itself to him. (Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. I, p. 12 f.)

Prabhavatigupta has left us two copper-plate inscriptions. The earlier of them, though
discovered in distant Poona, originally belonged to Vidarbha. It was issued from the then
Vakataka capital Nandivardhana (Mirashi, C.I.I., Vol. VI, p. 6.) and records the dowager
queen’s grant of the village Danguna (modern Hinganghat) to a Brahmana after offering it to
the feet of the Bhagavat (i.e., Ramacandra) on Kartika sukla dvadast evidently at the time of
Parane after observing a fast on the previous day of the Prabodhini Ekadasi. (Nandivardhana
is most probably Nagardhan (also spelt as Nandardhan) near Ramtek about 13 miles north of
Nagpur. This City is also identified with Nandpur, 34 miles north or Nagpur (R.C. Majumdar
and A.S.Altekar: The Vakataka-Gupta Age,p. 114). Some of the boundary villages can still
be traced in the vicinity of Hinganghat.

Divakarasena also seems to have died when quite young. He was succeeded by his brother
Damodarasena, who on accession assumed the name Pravarasena of his illustrious ancestor.
He had a long reign of thirty years and was known for his learning and liberality. More than a
dozen land-grants made by him have come to light. One of them which was made at the
instance of his mother Prabhavatigupta in the nineteenth regnal year is noteworthy. The plates

51
recording it were issued from the feet of Ramagirisvamin (i.e., God Ramacandra on the hill of
Ramagiri) and record the grant which the queen-mother made as on the previous occasion,
viz., after observing a fast on the Prabodhini Ekadasi. (Ibid., Vol. VI, p. 34.)

Pravarasena II founded a new city which he named Pravara-pura, where he shifted his capital
some time after his eleventh regnal year. Some of his later land-grants were made at the new
capital. He built there a magnificent temple of Ramacandra evidently at the instance of his
mother who was a devout worshipper of Visnu. Some of the sculptures used to decorate this
temple have recently been discovered at Pavnar on the bank of the Dham, 9.656 km. (6 miles)
from Wardha, and have thus led to the identification of Pravarapura with Pavnar. (Ibid., Vol. VI,
p. lx f.)

Pravarasena II is the reputed author of the Setubandha, a Prakrt kavya in glorification of

Ramacandra. This work has been greatly praised by Sanskrt poets and rhetoricians.
According to a tradition recorded by a commentator of this work, it was composed by
Kalidasa who ascribed it to Pravarasena. (Ibid, Vol. VI, p. liv.) Pravarasena is also known
from some Prakrt gathas which were later interpolated in the Sattasai. He was succeeded by
his son Narendrasena, during whose reign Vidarbha was invaded by the Nala king
Bhavadatta-varman. The latter penetrated as far as the Nagpur district and even occupied
Nandivardhana, the erstwhile Vakataka capital. The Rddhapur plates record the grant which
Bhavadatta had made while on a pilgrimage to Prayaga. The plates were issued from
Nandivardhana which was evidently his capital at the time (Ep. Ind., Vol. XIX, pp. 100 f.). In this
emergency the Vakatakas had to shift their capital again. They moved it to Padmapura,
modern Padampur near Amganv in the Bhandara district. A fragmentary inscription which
was proposed to be issued from Padmapur has been discovered at the village of Mohalla in
the Durg districts. (Mirashi, C.I.I., Vol. VI, p. 75 f.)

The Nalas could not retain their hold over Vidarbha for a long time. They were ousted by
Narendrasena’s son Prthivisena II, who carried the war into the enemy’s territory and burnt
and devastated their capital Puskari which was situated in the Bastar State (Ibid., Vol. VI, p.
xxvii.). Prthivisena II, taking advantage of the weakening of Gupta power, carried his arms to
the north of the Narmada. Inscriptions of his feudatory Vyaghradeva have been found in the
former Ajaigad and Jaso States (Ibid., Vol. VI, p. 88 f.).

This elder branch of the Vakataka family came to an end about A.D. 490. The territory round
Nagpur was thereafter included in the dominion of the other or Vatsagulma branch.

52
The Vatsagulma branch was founded by Sarvasena, a younger son of Pravarasena I. It is also
known to have produced some brave and learned princes. Sarvasena, the founder of this
branch, is well-known as the author of another Prakrt kavya called Harivijaya, which has
received unstinted praise from several eminent rhetoricians. The last known king of this
branch was Harisena, who carved out an extensive empire for himself, extending from the
Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal and from Malva to the Tungabhadra.

The Vakatakas were patrons of art and literature. In their age the Vaidarbhi riti came to be
regarded as the best style of poetry as several excellent works were then produced in
Vidarbha. Three of the caves at Ajintha, viz., the two Vihara caves XVI and XVII and the
Caitya Cave XIX were excavated and decorated with paintings in the time of Harisena (Ibid,
Vol. VI, p. lxv f.). Several temples of Hindu gods and goddesses were also built. The ruins of
one of them have come to light at Pavnar (Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. II, p. 272 f.).
Others are known from references in copper-plate grants.

The Vakatakas disappear from the stage of history about A. D. 550, when their place is taken
by the Kalacuris of Mahis-mati, modern Mahesvar in Central India. They also had a large
empire extending from Konkan in the west to Vidarbha in the east and from Malava in the
north to the Krsna in the south. The founder of the dynasty was Krsnaraja, whose coins have
been found in the Amravati and Betul districts (Mirashi, C.I.I., Vol. IV, p. xlvi.). He was a
devout worshipper of Mahesvara (Siva). That Vidarbha was included in his Empire is shown
by the Nagardhan plates of his feudatory Svamiraja dated in the Kalacuri year 322 (A.D. 573)
(Mirashi, C.I.I., Vol. VI, p. 611 f.). These plates were issued from Nandivardhana which
seems to have maintained its importance even after the downfall of the Vakatakas. Svamiraja
probably belonged to the Rastrakuta family.

About A.D. 620 the Kalacuri king Buddharaja the grandson of Krsnaraja was defeated by
Pulakesin II of the Early Calukya dynasty, who thereafter became the lord of three
Maharastras comprising 99,000 viIlages (Ep. Ind., Vol. VI, p. 1 f.). One of these Maharastras
was undoubtedly Vidarbha. The Rastrakutas, who were previously feudatories of the
Kalacuris, transferred their allegiance to the Calukyas and, like the latter, began to date their
records in the Saka era. Two grants of this feudatory Rastrakuta family have been discovered
in Vidarbha-one dated Saka 615 was found at Akola and the other dated Saka 631 was
discovered at Multai. They give the following genealogy (Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol.

53
II, p. 29 f). A bout the middle of the eighth century A. D. the Early Calukyas were
overthrown by the Rastrakutas. No inscriptions of the Early Calukyas have been found in
Vidarbha, but their successors the Rastrakutas have left several records. The earliest of them
is the copper-plate inscription of Krsna I discovered at Bhandak and dated in the Saka year
694 (A. D. 772) (Ep. Ind., Vol. XIV, p. 121 f.). It records the grant of the village Nagana to a
temple of the Sun in Udumbaramanti, modern Rani Amravati in the Yavatmal district.
Thereafter several grants of his grandson Govinda III have been found in the Akola and
Amravati districts of Vidarbha (See e.g.Ep.ind., vol.XXIII,pp. 8f.; Vol. XXIII, p. 204 f., etc.).
The Rastrakutas of Manyakheta and the Kalacuris of Tripuri were matrimonially connected
and their relations were generally friendly. But in the reign of Govinda IV, they became
strained. The Kalacuri king Yuvarajadeva I espoused the cause of his son-in-law Baddiga-
Amoghavarsa III, the uncle of Govinda IV and sent a large army to invade Vidarbha. A
pitched battle was fought on the bank of the Payosni (Purna) 16.093 km. (10 miles) from
Acalapura, between the Kalacuri and Rastrakuta forces, in which the former became
victorious. This event is commemorated in the Sanskrt play Viddhasalabhanjika of
Rajasekhara, which was staged at Tripuri in jubilation of this victory. (C.I.I., Vol. VI, p. lxxix
f.)

The next Rastrakuta record found in Vidarbha is the aforementioned Devali copper-plate
grant of the reign of Baddiga’s son Krsna ITI, which mentions the visaya of Nagapura-Nandi-
vardhana.The Rastrakutas were succeeded by the Later Calukyas of Kalyani. Only one
inscription of this family has been found in Vidarbha. It is the so-called Sitabuldi stone
inscription of the time of Vikramaditya VI (Ep. Ind., Vol. III, p. 304 f.; Studies in Indology,
Vol. II, p. 231 f.). From the account of Vinayakrav Aurangabadkar this record seems to have
originally belonged to the Vindhyasana hill at Bhandak. It is dated the Saka year 1008 (A.
D.1087) and registers the grant of some nivartanas of land, for the grazing of cattle, made by
a dependant of a feudatory named Dhadibhandaka. Another inscription of Vikram – aditya’s
reign was recently discovered at Dongarganv in the Yavatmal district. (Ep. Ind., Vol. XXXII,
P. 112 f.). It sheds interesting light on the history of the Paramara dynasty. It shows that
Jagaddeva, the youngest son of Udayaditya, the brother of Bhoja, left Malva and sought
service with Vikramaditya VI, who welcomed him and placed him in charge of some portion
of Western Vidarbha. This inscription is dated in the Saka year 1034 (A.D. 1112).

54
Though western Vidarbha was thus occupied by the Later Calukyas, the Paramaras of Dhar
raided and occupied some portion of eastern Vidarbha. A large stone inscription now
deposited in the Nagpur Museum, which originally seems to have belonged to Bhandak in the
Canda district, traces the genealogy of the Paramara Prince Naravarman from Vairisimha.
(Ibid., Vol. II, p. 180 f.). It is dated in the Vikrama year 1161 corresponding to A. D. 1104-
05, and records the grant of two villages to a temple which was probably situated at
Bhandak ; for some of the places mentioned in it can be identified in its vicinity. Thus
Mokhalipataka is probably Mokhar, 80.47 km. (50 miles) west of Bhandak. Vyapura, the
name of the mandala in which it was situated, may be represented by Vurganv 48.280 km.
(30 miles) from Mokhar. After the downfall of the Vakatakas, there was no imperial family
ruling in Vidarbha. The centre of political power shifted successively to Mahismati, Badami,
Manyakheta and Kalyani. Men of learning who could not get royal patronage in Vidarbha,
had to seek it elsewhere. Bhavabhuti, who ranks next to Kalidasa in Sanskrt literature, was a
native of Vidarbha. In the prologue of his play Mahaviracarita he tells us that his ancestors
lived in Padmapura in Vidarbha. As stated above, this place was once the capital of the
Vakatakas and is probably identical with the village Padampur in the Bhandara district.
(Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. I, p. 21 f.). With the downfall of the Vakatakas this place
lost its importance. In the beginning of the eighth century when Bhavabhuti flourished there
was no great king ruling in Vidarbha. Bhavabhuti had therefore, to go to Padmavati, the
capital of the Nagas in North India, and had to get his plays staged at the fair of Kalapriya-
natha (the Sun-God at Kalpi) (Ibid., Vol. I, p. 35 f.). Later, he obtained royal patronage at the
court of Yasovarman of Kanauj. Rajasekhara, another great son of Vidarbha, was probably
born at Vatsagulma, (modern Vasim), which he has glorified in his Kavyamimamsa as the
pleasure-resort of the god of love. He and his ancestors Akalajalada, Tarala and Surananda
had to leave their home country of Vidarbha and to seek patronage at the court of the
Kalacuris at Tripuri. Rajasekhara’s earlier plays, viz., the Balaramayana, the Balabharata and
the Karpuramanjiri, were put on the boards at Kanauj under the patronage of the
GurjaraPratiharas.

Modern History starts from 1743, the Maratha leader Raghoji Bhonsale of Vidarbha
established himself at Nagpur, after conquering the territories of
Deogarh, Chanda and Chhattisgarh by 1751. After Raghoji's death in 1755, his son and
successor Janoji was forced to acknowledge the effective supremacy of the

55
Maratha Peshwa of Pune in 1769. Regardless, the Nagpur state continued to grow. Janoji's
successor Mudhoji I Bhonsale (d. 1788) came to power in 1785 and bought Mandla and the
upper Narmada valley from the Peshwa between 1796 and 1798, after which Raghoji II
Bhonsale (d. 1816) acquired Hoshangabad, the larger part of Saugor and Damoh. Under
Raghoji II, Nagpur covered what is now the east of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and
parts of Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

In 1803 Raghoji II joined the Peshwas against the British in the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
The British prevailed, and Raghoji was forced to cede Cuttack, Sambalpur, and part of Berar.
After Raghoji II's death in 1816, his son Parsaji was deposed and murdered by Mudhoji II
Bhonsale. Despite the fact that he had entered into a treaty with the British in the same year,
Mudhoji joined the Peshwa in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1817 against the British, but
was forced to cede the rest of Berar to the Nizam of Hyderabad, and parts of Saugor and
Damoh, Mandla, Betul, Seoni and the Narmada valley to the British after suffering a defeat at
Sitabuldi in modern-day Nagpur city. The Sitabuldi fort was the site of a fierce battle between
the British and the Bhonsale of Nagpur in 1817. The battle was a turning point as it laid the
foundations of the downfall of the Bhonsales and paved the way for the British acquisition of
Nagpur city. The site of the Battle of Sitabuldi in 1817- SITABULDI Fort is located atop a
hillock in central Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. The fort was built by Mudhoji II Bhonsle, also
known as Appa Sahib Bhosle, of the Kingdom of Nagpur, just before he fought against the
British East India Company during the Third Anglo-Maratha War. The area surrounding the
hillock, now known as Sitabuldi, is an important commercial hub for Nagpur. To the south
is Nagpur Railway Station and behind it is Tekdi Ganapati, a temple of Ganesha. The fort is
now home to the Indian Army's 118th infantry battalion.

Battle: Sitabuldi Fort, a major tourist attractions in Nagpur, is situated on two hillocks: "Badi
Tekri", literally meaning "big hill", and "Choti Tekri", meaning "small hill" in Hindi. The
Sitabuldi hills, though then barren and rocky, were not entirely unoccupied. Tradition holds
that Sitabuldi got its name from two Yaduvanshi brothers – Shitlaprasad and Badriprasad
Gawali, who ruled the area in the 17th century. The place came to be known as "Shitlabadri",
which during British rule became "Seetabuldee", and later assumed its current form,
"Sitabardi" or "Sitabuldi". The Battle of Sitabuldi was fought in November 1817 on these
hillocks between the forces of Appa Saheb Bhonsle of Nagpur and the British.

56
After the death of Shivaji on 3 April 1680, the Marathas continued the battle with Mughals
(Aurangzeb), Sambhaji, Rajaram and then the Shahu (son of Sambhaji). the Maratha
Empire was under the governance of the Peshwas of Pune under the Flagship of Chatrapati
ShahuSatara, who had appointed the Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore,
the Scindias of Gwalior, while the Bhonsles of Nagpur were Independent Sansthan. The
Maratha confederacy, as the five families were known, was still a formidable force.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Marathas tried to overcome the gradual supremacy of
the East India Company, while the British prepared to suppress the Marathas. At the
beginning of the 19th century, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the victorious British
annexed territories of the Marathas.

Mudhoji II Bhonsle, also known as Appa Sahib, ascended the throne of Nagpur in 1816. On
23 November 1817, he told the British resident that he intended to receive a Khilat sent to
him by the Peshwa which would make him Senapati of the Marathas. The British Resident,
Jenkins, "did not like this idea and the growing contact between Mudhoji and Baji Rao," but
Appa Saheb ignored him and proceeded with the ceremony.[4]

On 24 November 1817, Appa Sahib publicly received the Khilat and accepted the
commission appointing him Senapati of the Maratha armies. He then mounted his elephant
and addressed his principal Sardars. Surrounded by his troops, he proceeded to the camp at
Sukhardara. The royal standard was displayed, the army drawn up, salutes fired from artillery
stations, and nothing was omitted which could add to the pomp of the ceremony.

On the morning of 25 November 1817, communication between the residency and the city
was prohibited. The resident Harakars were refused permission to carry a letter to the darbar
and the markets were closed to English troops. The resident decided to delay taking any
decisive measures. Towards noon of 25 November, a group of 2,000 Bhosla cavalry left their
camp at Bokur, five miles north-east of the city, and approached the residency. The alarm had
now spread to the market frequented by the people of the residency, which soon became
almost deserted. All classes, both rich and poor, removed their families and property from the
vicinity of Sitabuldi.

The resident now knew that an attack on the residency was imminent. He sent orders to
Lieutenant Colonel Scott at about 2:00 pm to march immediately from his cantonment at
Telankheri. The force arrived near the residency and occupied the twin hills of Sitabuldi. This
movement was executed only just in time, as a large group of Arabs, hired as mercenaries by

57
the Maratha army, were awaiting final orders to secure this position. A message was also sent
to General Doveton to come immediately with the Second Division of the Army from Berar.

Battleground

The high ground of Sitabuldi is rocky and devoid of trees, so it was not possible to dig any
entrenchments on the two hills in the available time. Choti Tekri, the northernmost of the two
hillocks, is lower in height, but was within musket range of Badi Tekri, so securing that
ground was considered essential. The suburbs of the city came close to Choti Tekri.

British forces
A brigade of two Battalions of 20 and 24 Madras Native Infantry
Two companies of Native Infantry
Three troops of Bengal Native Cavalry
Four six-pounder guns marines by Europeans of the Madras Artillery
Resident Escorts (British Imperial Army)

Disposition of British troops, 26 November 1817

 Chotti Tekri: 24 Battalion Madras Native Infantry with one 6-

pounder gun
 Badi Tekri: 20 Battalion Madras Native Infantry with two 6-pounder
guns
 Residency: Resident escorts, three troops of Bangal Native Cavalry,
two infantry companies, and one 6 pounder gun
Marathas forces
Infantry: About 18,000 troops
Cavalry: 2000 Maratha Cavalry
Artillery: 26 or 36 guns

Battle
Badi Tekri was occupied by about 800 men under Lieutenant Colonel Scott. About 300 men
of the 24th Regiment under Captain Saddle were posted on Choti Tekri with one 6-pounder
gun. On the other side of the hill, the suburbs gave cover to the Maratha troops, especially the
Arabs, who throughout the day on 26 November were gathering in large numbers. The Arabs
began the battle in the evening by opening fire on Choti Tekri. The engagement lasted until
the early hours of the morning, when it slackened somewhat. Several times during the night
the Arabs tried to capture the hill. Although they were repulsed, they inflicted heavy
casualties. Captain Saddle was shot and killed. As the ranks of 24th Regiment were thinned,

58
reinforcements were sent down from the 20th Regiment, who were occupying the upper hill.
At dawn on 27 November, the British troops were still holding on in an isolated position. At
5:00 am, the few remaining men of the 24th Regiment, being utterly exhausted, were
withdrawn. Their place was taken by the Residents Escorts, with orders to confine their
defence to the summit of the lower hill. The fight continued until 9:00 the next morning,
when the Arabs charged and captured the hill. They turned the captured gun against the
higher hill position.

The Maratha Cavalry and Infantry closed in from all sides and prepared for a general assault.
The Arabs broke into the huts of the English troops and ransacked them. Some Maratha
cavalry entered the residency compound. Captain Fitzgerald, in command of three troops of
Bengal Cavalry and some horsemen of the resident escorts, had been requesting permission to
charge, but his request was repeatedly turned down. Seeing the impending destruction, he
made a last request. "Tell him to charge at his peril", Colonel Scott replied. "At my peril be
it", said Captain Fitzgerald. He and his troops then charged some of the enemy cavalry, killed
some of their supporting infantry, and captured their two guns. When the infantry posted on
the hill witnessed this exploit, they became freshly animated. Just then an explosion of
ammunition took place amongst the Arabs on the lower hill. The British troops rushed
forward and pursued the Arabs down the hill, took two of their guns, and returned to their
position. The Arabs rallied with the intention of attempting to recover the lost ground. As
they we getting ready to come up, a troop of cavalry under Colonel Smith ced around the
base of the hill, attacked the Arabs in the flank, and dispersed them. The British troops now
advanced from the hill, drove the infantry from the adjoining hills, and by noon the conflict
was over. The British lost 367 killed and wounded, including 16 officers.

British soldiers who died in the battle of Sitabuldi were buried in graves in the fort. After
their defeat in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Tipu Sultan's grandson, Nawab Kadar Ali, and
eight of his associates were hanged on the ramparts of Sitabuldi fort. A mosque is maintained
in the fort to mark the location of the hangings. The graves and mosque are maintained by the
Indian Army as a mark of respect for the gallantry of all who died. A separate memorial has
also been constructed to the soldiers who fell during the colonial period.

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Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned in the fort from 10 April to 15 May 1923. King George
V and Queen Mary of the United Kingdom gave audience to the people of Nagpur from the
fort during their visit to British India. A pillar to commemorate the event stands in the fort.
The royals were greeted by a huge crowd gathered at the area towards the present Nagpur
Railway Station.

Administgration by the British: Mudhoji was deposed after a temporary restoration to the
throne, after which the British placed Raghoji III Bhonsale the grandchild of Raghoji II, on
the throne. During the rule of Raghoji III (which lasted till 1853), the region was
administered by a British resident. In 1854 the British annexed Nagpur, after Raghoji III had
died some months before without leaving an heir.

Central Provinces and Berar, 1903. Princely states are shown in yellow.

In 1861, the Nagpur Province (which consisted of the present Nagpur region, Chhindwara,
and Chhattisgarh and existed from 1854 to 1861) became part of the Central Provinces and
came under the administration of a commissioner under the British central government, with

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Nagpur as its capital. Tata Group started the country's first textile mill at Nagpur, [6] formally
known as Central India Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd. The company was popularly
known as "Empress Mills" as it was inaugurated on 1 January 1877, the day
Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.

Hislop college was the first and foremost college in Nagpur and it was established in 1846. In
June 1885, the second college in Nagpur was established, the Morris College, Nagpur, and it
was the first government college. All Saints Cathedral is the first Anglican Church. Bishop
Cotton School is the first school which was established by Anglicans in Nagpur. References
are to be found in The History Of All Saints Cathedral. Berar was added in 1903. Political
activity in Nagpur during India's freedom struggle included hosting of two annual sessions of
the Indian National Congress. The Non-cooperation movement was launched in the Nagpur
session of 1920. In August 1923, the University of Nagpur was established by the education
department of Central Province Government. In 1925, K. B. Hedgewar founded RSS, a
Hindu nationalist organization in Nagpur with an idea of creating a Hindu nation.

After Indian Independence in 1947, Central Provinces and Berar became a province of India,
and in 1950 became the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, again with Nagpur as its capital.
However, when the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines in 1956, the Nagpur
region and Berar were transferred to Bombay state, which in 1960 was split between the
states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. At a formal public ceremony on 14 October 1956 in
Nagpur, B. R. Ambedkar along with his supporters converted to Buddhism starting Dalit
Buddhist movement which is still active.

In 1994, the city witnessed its most violent day in modern times due to the Gowari stampede
deaths.

The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan
system. Traditionally a warrior clan, some members served as rulers of several states in India,
the most prominent being Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire which
displaced the Mughal Empire as the preeminent political and military power in India. His
successors ruled as Chhatrapatis (maharajas) from their capital at Satara, although de
facto rule of the empire passed to the Peshwas, the Maratha hereditary chief ministers, during
the reign of Shahu I. In addition to the Bhonsle chhatrapatis of Satara, rulers of the Bhonsle

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clan established themselves as junior branch of chhatrapatis at Kolhapur, and as maharajas
of Nagpur in modern-day Maharashtra in the 18th century.
After the British defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the four
Bhonsle dynasties continued as rulers of their princely states, acknowledging British
suzerainty while retaining local autonomy. The states of Satara, Thanjavur, and Nagpur came
under direct British rule in the mid-nineteenth century when their rulers died without male
heirs, although the British allowed titular adoptions to take place. Kolhapur state remained
autonomous until India's independence in 1947, when the rulers acceded to the Indian
government.
Akkalkot State, Sawantwadi Stateand Barshi were amongst other prominent states ruled by
the Bhonsles.

Origins: The Bhonsles originated among the populations of the Deccani tiller-plainsmen who
were known by the names Kunbi and Maratha. At the time of coronation of Shivaji, Bhonsles
claimed their origin from Suryavanshi Sisodia Rajput. Dr. Busch, Professor at the University
of Columbia states that Shivaji was not a Kshatriya as required and hence had to postpone the
coronation until 1674 and hired Gaga Bhatt to trace his ancestry back to the Sisodias. While
the preparations for the coronations were in process, Bhushan, a poet, wrote a poem about
this genealogy claimed by Bhatt in "Shivrajbhushan". Using this example, Busch shows how
even poetry was an "important instrument of statecraft" at the time. ]Some scholars suggest
that Pandit Gaga Bhatt was secured in charge of authoritatively declaring him a Kshatriya. He
was made a compliant, and he accepted the Bhonsle pedigree as fabricated by the secretary
Balaji Avji, and declared that Rajah was a Kshatriya, descended from the Maharanas of
Udaipur. The Brahman acknowledgement of Kshatriyahood is therefore taken as political.
The passage from the Dutch records suggest the plausibility of this argument. The report of
Shivaji's coronation in the contemporary Dutch East India Company archives indicates that
Shivaji's claim was contested twice at the ceremony itself. Firstly the Brahmins did not want
to grant him the status of Kshatriya and then they refused him the recitation of the Vedas,
indicating Shivaji was admitted to the fold of the higher varnas as far as the sign of the sacred
thread was concerned, but restricted in their use of the concomitant ritual rights including the
recitation of the Vedas. Historians such as Surendra Nath Sen and V. K. Rajwade reject the
Sisodia origin by citing the temple inscription of Math, dated to 1397 A.D and holds the view
that the genealogy was forged by Shivaji's men. According to R. C. Dhere, Bhonsles are
descendants of the founder of Shikhar, Balip. He argues that the name Bhonsle is

62
linguistically descended from 'Hoysala'. There is a branch of Bhonsle clan extant in
Maharashtra that goes by the name 'Śirsāṭ Bhosale' and Balip's full name, from inscriptional
sources cited by Dhere, was 'Baliyeppā Gopati Śirsāṭ'. Some Mudhol firmans in the
possession of the Rajah of Mudhol claim the descent of the Ghorpades under the Adil Shahs
and the Bhonsles, from the Sisodia Rajputs of Udaipur. However historians consider these
firmans spurious as these are the copies (not originals), written by a scholar of Bijapur dated
to c.1709, much after the coronation of Shivaji. André Wink, a professor of History
at University of Wisconsin–Madison, states that the Sisodia genealogical claim is destined to
remain disputed forever.

Following historical evidence, Shivaji's claim to Rajput, and specifically Sisodia ancestry
may be interpreted as being anything from tenuous at best, to inventive in a more extreme
reading.

House of Nagpur

 Raghoji Raje Bhonsle of Nagpur

 Raghoji I (1738–1755)
 Janoji (1755–1772)

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  Mudhoji I (1772–1788)
 Raghoji II (1788–1816)
 Mudhoji II (1816–1818)
 Raghoji III (1818–1853)

Gond kingdom
The historical record of the Nagpur kingdom begins in the early 18th century, when it formed
part of the Gond Kingdom of Deogarh, in what is now Chhindwara District. Bakht Buland,
the ruler of Deogharh, visited Delhi and afterwards was determined to encourage the
development of his own kingdom. To this end he invited Hindu and Muslim artisans and
cultivators to settle in the plains country, and founded the city of Nagpur. His successor,
Chand Sultan, continued the development of the country, and moved his capital to Nagpur.
Raghoji I Bhonsale (1739–1755)

An inside view of Nagardhan Fort in Nagpur district, commissioned by Raghoji Bhonsale.

On Chand Sultan's death in 1739, there were disputes as to his succession, and his widow
invoked the aid of the Maratha leader Raghoji Bhonsale, who was governing Berar on behalf
of the Maratha Chatrapati. The Bhonsale family were originally headmen from Deur, a
village in Satara District. Raghoji's grandfather and his two brothers had fought in the armies
of Shivaji, and to the most distinguished of them was entrusted a high military command and
the role of collecting chauth (tribute) in Berar. Raghoji, on being called in by the contending
Gond factions, replaced the two sons of Chand Sultan on the throne from which they had
been ousted by a usurper. Raghoji then retired back to Berar with a suitable reward for his
assistance. Dissentions, however, broke out between the brothers, and in 1743 Raghoji again
intervened at the request of the elder brother and drove out his rival. But he had not the heart

64
to give back, for a second time, the country he held within his grasp. Burhan Shan, the
Gond raja, though allowed to retain the outward insignia of royalty, became practically a
state pensioner, and all real power passed to Raghoji Bhonsale who became the first Maratha
ruler of Nagpur.
Bold and decisive in action, Raghoji was the archetype of a Maratha leader; he saw in the
troubles of other states an opening for his own ambition, and did not even require a pretext
for plunder and invasion. Twice his armies invaded Bengal, and he obtained the cession
of Cuttack. Chanda, Chhattisgarh, and Sambalpur were added to his dominions between 1745
and 1755, the year of his death.

Janoji, Madhoji I, and Raghoji II Bhonsale (1755–1816)

Main entrance of the Nagardhan Fort, built by the Bhonsale dynasty of the Maratha Empire
His successor Janoji took part in the wars between the Peshwa and the Nizam of Hyderabad.
After he had in turn betrayed both of them, they united against him and sacked and burnt
Nagpur in 1765.
On Janoji's death on 21 May 1772, his brothers fought for the succession, until Mudhoji shot
the other on the battlefield of Panchgaon, six miles (10 km) south of Nagpur, and succeeded
to the regency on behalf of his infant son Raghoji II Bhonsale who was Janoji's adopted heir.
In 1785 Mandla and the upper Narmada valley were added to the Nagpur dominions by treaty
with the Peshwa. Mudhoji had courted the favor of the British East India Company, and this
policy was continued for some time by Raghoji II, who acquired Hoshangabad and the lower
Narmada valley. But in 1803 he united with Daulatrao Sindhia of Gwalior against the British.
The two leaders were decisively defeated at the battles of Assaye and Argaon, and by the

65
Treaty of Deogaon of that year Raghoji ceded Cuttack, southern Berar, and Sambalpur to the
British, although Sambalpur was not relinquished until 1806.
Until the close of the 18th century the Maratha administration had been on the whole good,
and the country had prospered. The first four of the Bhonsales were military chiefs with the
habits of rough soldiers, connected by blood and by constant familiar interaction with all their
principal officers. Descended from a class of cultivators, they favored and fostered that order.
They were rapacious, but seldom cruel to the lower castes. Up to 1792 their territories were
seldom the theater of hostilities, and the area of cultivation and revenue continued to increase
under a fairly equitable and extremely simple system of government. After the treaty of
Deogaon, however, all this changed. Raghoji II was deprived of a third of his territories, and
he attempted to make up the loss of revenue from the remainder. The villages were
mercilessly rack-rented, and many new taxes imposed. The pay of the troops was in arrears,
and they maintained themselves by plundering the cultivators. At the same time the raids of
the Pindaris commenced, who became so bold that in 1811 they advanced to Nagpur and
burnt the suburbs. It was at this time that most of the numerous village forts were built; on the
approach of these marauders the peasantry retired to the forts and fought for bare life, all they
possessed outside the walls being already lost to them.
Mudhoji II Bhonsale (1817–1818)
On the death of Raghoji II in 1816, his son Parsoji was supplanted and murdered
by Mudhoji II Bhonsale, also known as Appa Sahib, son of Vyankoji, brother of Raghoji II,
in 1817. A treaty of alliance providing for the maintenance of a subsidiary force by the
British was signed in this year, [1] a British resident having been appointed to the Nagpur court
since 1799. In 1817, on the outbreak of war between the British and the Peshwa, Appa Sahib
threw off his cloak of friendship, and accepted an embassy and a title from the Peshwa. His
troops attacked the British, and were defeated in the action at Sitabuldi, and a second time
close to Nagpur city. As a result of these battles the remaining portion of Berar and the
territories in the Narmada valley were ceded to the British. Appa Sahib was reinstated to the
throne, but shortly afterwards was discovered to be again conspiring, and was deposed and
sent to Allahabad in custody. On the way, however, he bribed his guards and escaped, first to
the Mahadeo Hills and subsequently to the Punjab.

Raghoji III (1818–1853) Bhonsale and British rule

A grandchild of Raghoji II was then placed on the throne, and the territories were
administered by the resident from 1818 to 1830, in which year the young ruler known as

66
Raghoji III was allowed to assume the actual government. He died without a male heir in
1853, and the kingdom was annexed by the British under the doctrine of lapse. The former
kingdom was administered as Nagpur Province, under a commissioner appointed by
the Governor-General of India, until the formation of the Central Provinces in 1861. During
the revolt of 1857 a scheme for an uprising was formed by a regiment of irregular cavalry in
conjunction with the disaffected Muslims of the city, but was frustrated by the prompt action
of the civil authorities, supported by Madras troops from Kamptee. Some of the native
officers and two of the leading Muslims of the city were hanged from the ramparts of the fort,
and the disturbances ended. The aged princess Baka Bai, widow of Raghoji II, used all her
influence in support of the British, and by her example kept the Maratha districts loyal.

About: The Raj Gond. Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are an Indian ethnic group. They
speak Gondi language which is a Dravidian language. They are one of the largest tribal group
in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra (Vidarbha), Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe for the purpose of
India's system of positive discrimination. They are an Adivasi group (indigenous people) of
India.
The Gond are also known as the Raj Gond. The term was widely used in 1950s, but has now
become almost obsolete, probably because of the political eclipse of the Gond Rajas.
The Gondi language is closely related to the Telugu, belonging to the Dravidian family of
languages. The 2011 Census of India recorded about 2.98 million Gondi speakers.
According to the 1971 census, their population was 5.01 million. By the 1991 census, this
had increased to 9.3 million and by the 2001 census the figure was nearly 11 million. For the
past few decades they have been witnesses to the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency in the central
part of India. Gondi people, at the behest of the Chhattisgarh government, formed the Salwa
Judum, an armed militant group to fight the Naxalite insurgency.

History:
Scholars believe that Gonds ruled in Gondwana, now in eastern Madhya Pradesh and western
Odisha, between the 13th and 19th centuries AD. Muslim writers described a rise of Gond
state after the 14th century. Gonds ruled in four kingdoms (Garha-Mandla, Deogarh, Chanda,
and Kherla) in central India between the 16th and 18th centuries. They built number of forts,
palaces, temples, tanks and lakes during the rule of the Gonds dynasty. The Gondwana

67
kingdom survived until the late 16th century. They also gained control over the Malwa after
the decline of the Mughals followed by the Marathas in 1690. The Maratha power swept into
Gondland in the 1740s. The Marathas overthrew the Gond Rajas (princes) and seized most of
their territory, while Some Gond zamindaris (estates) survived until recently.
Science
Many astronomical ideas were known to ancient Gonds Gonds had their own local terms for
the Sun, Moon, constellations and Milky Way. Most of these ideas were basis for their time-
keeping and calendrical activities. Other than Gonds, the Banjaras and Kolams are also
known to have knowledge of astronomy. Most Gond people follow folk Hinduism which
retained the animist beliefs of nature and ancestor worship. Some Gonds also
practice Sarnaism. Gonds worship a high god known as Baradeo, whose alternate names are
Bhagavan, Sri Shambu Mahadeo, and Persa Pen, and Baradeo oversees activities of lesser
gods such as clan and village deities, as well as ancestor. Baradeo is respected but he does not
receive fervent devotion, which is shown only to clan and village deities, as well as ancestor
and totems.
Their typical reaction to death has been described as one of anger because they believe it is
caused by magical demons. Pola, a cattle festival, Naga panchami and Dassera are their major
festivals.

Religion:
Many Gonds worship Ravana, whom they consider to be the tenth dharmaguru of their
people and the ancestor-king of one of their four lineages. They also worship Kupar Lingo as
their supreme deity and their ancestor before Ravana. On Dussehra, the Gondi inhabitants
of Paraswadi carry an image of Ravana riding an elephant in a procession to worship him,
and protest the burning of Ravana's effigies. Their worship of Ravana is also a way to resist
pressure from Christian missionaries and right-wing Hindu groups and preserve their own
culture.

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The Kalidas Memorial at Kamptee

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70
Early Modern History

From 1853 to 1861, the Nagpur Province (which consisted of the present Nagpur region, Chhindwara,
and Chhattisgarh) became part of the Central Provinces and Berar and came under the administration
of a commissioner under the British central government, with Nagpur as its capital. Berar was added
in 1903. The advent of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP) in 1867 spurred its development as a
trade centre. Tata group started its first textile mill at Nagpur, formally known as Central India
Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd. The company was popularly known as "Empress Mills" as it
was inaugurated on 1 January 1877, the day queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.

The non-co-operation movement was launched in the Nagpur session of 1920. The city witnessed a
Hindu–Muslim riot in 1923 which had profound impact on K. B. Hedgewar, who in 1925 founded
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organisation in Mohitewada Mahal,
Nagpur with an idea of creating a Hindu nation. After the 1927 Nagpur riots RSS gained further
popularity in Nagpur and the organisation grew nationwide.

After Indian independence

After India gained independence in 1947, Central Provinces and Berar became a province of India. In
1950, the Central Provinces and Berar was reorganised as the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh with
Nagpur as its capital.[54] When the Indian states were reorganised along the linguistic lines in 1956,
Nagpur and Berar regions were transferred to the state of Bombay, which was split into the states of
Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960. At a formal public ceremony held on 14 October 1956 in
Nagpur, B. R. Ambedkar and his supporters converted to Buddhism, which started the Dalit Buddhist
movement that is still active. In 1994, the city of Nagpur witnessed its most violent day in modern
times in the form of Gowari stampede. Nagpur completed 300 years of establishment in the year
2002. A big celebration was organised to mark the event.

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 Famous Deshastha My Father Vasant Dokras

Dad Vasant Dokras, Mom KUSUM and The President of India Fakruddin Ali Ahmad 1975

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Dad Research in Columbia University USA

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Grandfather Madhav Ranganath Dokras Research on Cotton

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 M
e and Mom Kusum

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