Shilahara

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Shilahara Kingdom
8th century CE–13th century CE
An anonymous silver drachma (perhaps from the North Konkan Silaharas) dating from the 11th–12th centuries. This kind of currency was found in the district of Nimar of Madhya Pradesh and in the Huzur Jawhirkhana of Indore. Dimension: 14 mm Weight: 4.4 g. of Shilahara
An anonymous silver drachma (perhaps from the North Konkan Silaharas) dating from the 11th–12th centuries. This kind of currency was found in the district of Nimar of Madhya Pradesh and in the Huzur Jawhirkhana of Indore. Dimension: 14 mm Weight: 4.4 g.
Ghaznavid invasions of the subcontinent.[1][2]
CapitalThane
Common languagesKannada,[3][4]Sanskrit, Marathi[5][6]
Religion
Hinduism
Jainism
GovernmentMonarchy
History 
• Established
8th century CE
• Disestablished
13th century CE
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Rashtrakuta dynasty
Seuna (Yadava) dynasty
Today part ofIndia
Shilahara coin, c. 1210–1302.
Obv: Head of a king. Rev: A horseman fighting two foot-soldiers with a third behind him and a fourth dead at his horse's feet.

The Shilahara/Shelara Kingdom (

Rashtrakuta period.[7]

Shilahara Kingdom were split into three branches:

Origins

The dynasty originally began as vassals of the

Raigad) on Kapardin (Sanskrit: Wearing the kaparda, a peculiar braid or knot of hair - also a term for god Shiva/ Rishabhanatha
) I, founder of the Northern Silhara family, around 800. Since then North Konkan came to be known as Kapardi-dvipa or Kavadidvipa. The capital of this branch was Puri, now known as Rajapur in the Raigad District.

The dynasty bore the title of Tagara-puradhishvara, which indicates that they originally hailed from Tagara (modern Ter in the

Osmanabad District
).

Around 1343 the island of

Salsette, and eventually the whole archipelago, passed to the Muzaffarid dynasty
.

Shilaharas of Southern Maharashtra
at Kolhapur was the latest of the three and was founded about the time of downfall of the Rashtrakuta Empire.

All the branches of this family traced their descent from the legendary Vidyadhara prince Jimutavahana, who sacrificed himself to rescue a Naga prince from the clutches of Garuda. The family-name Shilahara (meaning "mountain-peak food" in Sanskrit) is supposed to have been derived from this incident. Even single inscriptions have more than one form of the name; one has the three forms Silara, Shilara and Shrillara.

North Konkan (Thane) branch (c. 800–1265 CE)

Map
Find spots of inscriptions issued during the reign of the Shilaharas of North Konkan[9]

After

Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga sometime in the second quarter of the eighth century.[10]

Rulers

  1. Kapardin I (800–825 CE)
  2. Pullashakti (825–850 CE)
  3. Kapardin II (850–880 CE)
  4. Vappuvanna (880–910 CE)
  5. Jhanjha (910–930 CE)
  6. Goggiraja (930–945 CE)
  7. Vajjada I (945–965 CE)
  8. Chhadvaideva (965–975 CE)
  9. Aparajita (975–1010 CE)
  10. Vajjada II (1010–1015 CE)
  11. Arikesarin (1015–1022 CE)
  12. Chhittaraja (1022–1035 CE)
  13. Nagarjuna (1035–1045 CE)
  14. Mummuniraja (1045–1070 CE)
  15. Ananta Deva I (1070–1127 CE)
  16. Aparaditya I (1127–1148 CE)
  17. Haripaladeva (1148–1155 CE)
  18. Mallikarjuna (1155–1170 CE)
  19. Aparaditya II ( 1170–1197 CE)
  20. Ananta Deva II (1198–1200 CE)
  21. Keshideva II (1200–1245 CE)
  22. Ananta Deva III (1245–1255 CE)
  23. Someshvara (1255–1265 CE)

South Konkan branch (c. 765–1020 CE)

Map
Find spots of inscriptions issued during the reign of the Shilaharas of South Konkan[11]

This house's history is known through one record, the Kharepatan plates of Rattaraja issued in 1008. Rattaraja was the last ruler of this dynasty. The document is extremely important as it not only gives the genealogy of the ten ancestors of Rattaraja but also mentions their exploits. The founder, Sanaphulla, was vassal of the

Rastrakuta emperor Krisna I who had established his power over Konkan
by 765 and probably handed it to Sanaphulla. The Kharepatan plates declare that Sanaphulla obtained lordship over the territory between Sahya mountain and the sea through the favour of Krisnaraja.

Sana-phulla's son Dhammayira is known to have built a fort at Vallipattana on the Western Coast. Aiyaparaja secured victory at Chandrapuri (Chandor) in Goa. The reign of Avasara I proved to be uneventful. His son Adityavarman, who is described as brilliant as the Sun in valour, offered help to the kings of Chandrapuri and Chemulya (modern Chaul), 30 miles to the south of Bombay, so the influence of the Shilaharas had spread over the whole of Konkan. At this time Laghu Kapardi, the ruler of the Thane branch, was just a boy and the help given to the ruler of Chaul must have been at his expense. Avasara II continued the policy of his father. Indraraja's son Bhima is styled as 'Rahuvadgrasta Chandramandala' because he overthrew the petty ruler of Chandor. At this time the Kadamba ruler Sasthadeva and his son Chaturbhuja were trying to overthrow the Rastrakuta rule. This explains Bhima's opposition to Chandrapuri or Chandor. Avasara III, no doubt, ruled in troubled times, but had no contribution of his to make. Finally, Rattaraja, loyal to the Rastrakutas, was compelled to transfer his allegiance to Taila II.

Soon after the issue of the plates in 1008, the rule of Konkan passed over to the later Chalukyas. (Dept. Gazetteer: Kolaba, 1964, Dept. Gazetteer: 2002)

Rulers

  1. Sanaphulla (765–795 CE)
  2. Dhammayira (795–820 CE)
  3. Aiyaparaja (820–845 CE)
  4. Avasara I (845–870 CE)
  5. Adityavarma (870–895 CE)
  6. Avasara II (895–920 CE)
  7. Indraraja (920–945 CE)
  8. Bhima (945–970 CE)
  9. Avasara III (970–995 CE)
  10. Rattaraja (995–1020 CE)

Kolhapur branch (c. 940–1212 CE)

Map
Find spots of inscriptions issued during the reign of the Shilaharas of Kolhapur[11]

The Shilahara family at

Rashtrakuta Empire. They ruled over southern Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka, the modern districts of Satara, Kolhapur and Belagavi. Their family deity was the goddess Mahalakshmi, whose blessing they claimed to have secured in their copperplate grants (Mahalakshmi-labdha-vara-prasada). Like their relatives of the northern branch of Konkan, the Shilaharas of Kolhapur claimed to be of the lineage of the Vidyadhara Jimutavahana. They carried the banner of golden Garuda. One of the many titles used by the Shilaharas was Tagarapuravaradhisvara, or supreme sovereign ruler of Tagara.[12]

The first capital of the Shilaharas was probably at Karad during the reign of Jatiga-II as known from their copper plate grant of Miraj and 'Vikramankadevacharita' of Bilhana.

later Chalukya for some time. This branch continued to hold the Southern Maharashtra
from circa 940 to 1220.

It seems that Bhoja II, the last ruler of this family, was overthrown and dispossessed by Singhana in or soon after 1219-20 (Saka 1131) as is borne out by one of Singhana's inscriptions dated Saka 1160.[13]

Rulers

  1. Jatiga I (940–960 CE)
  2. Naivarman (960–980 CE)
  3. Chandra (980–1000 CE)
  4. Jatiga II (1000–1020 CE)
  5. Gonka (1020–1050 CE)
  6. Guhala I (1050 CE)
  7. Kirtiraja (1050 CE)
  8. Chandraditya (1050 CE)
  9. Marsimha (1050–1075 CE)
  10. Guhala II (1075–1085 CE)
  11. Bhoja I (1085–1100 CE)
  12. Ballala (1100–1108 CE)
  13. Gonka II (1108 CE)
  14. Gandaraditya I (1108–1138 CE)
  15. Vijayaditya I (1138–1175 CE)
  16. Bhoja II (1175–1212 CE), last ruler of dynasty

Monuments

A number of ancient monuments in Mumbai and Kolhapur district pay tribute to this dynasty's prowess:

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Neerkaje Thirumaleshwara Bhat, M. Thirumaleshwara Bhat (1993). Govind Pai. Sahitya Akademi. .
  • Dr. Nalini Avinash Waghmare (2018). KANNADA INSCRIPTION FROM MAHARASHTRA (PDF).
  • Bhandarkar, R.G. (1957). Early History of Deccan. Calcutta: Sushil Gupta (I) Pvt Ltd.
  • Fleet, J.F. (1896). The Dynasties of the Kanarese District of The Bombay Presidency.. Written for The Bombay Gazetteer.
  • Department of Gazetteer, Govt of Maharashtra (2002): Itihaas : Prachin Kal, Khand -1 (Marathi)
  • Department of Gazetteer, Govt of Maharashtra (1960): Kolhapur District Gazetteer
  • Department of Gazetteer, Govt of Maharashtra (1964): Kolaba District Gazetteer
  • Department of Gazetteer, Govt of Maharashtra (1982): Thane District Gazetteer
  • Altekar, A.S. (1936). The Śilāhāras of Western India.
  • Mirashi, V. V., ed. (1977). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum. Vol. VI: Inscriptions of the Śilāhāras. Archaeological Survey of India.
    OCLC 5240794
    .

External links