Gondwana kingdom
Gondwana Kingdom was the ruling kingdom in Gondwana region of India. The Gondwana region includes core region of eastern part of the Vidarbha of Maharashtra, the parts of Madhya Pradesh immediately to the north of it, and parts of the west of Chhattisgarh.
The first historically recorded Gond kingdoms came up in central India’s hilly region in the 14th and 15th century AD. The first Gond king was Jadurai, who deposed the Kalchuri Rajputs, at whose court he had earlier worked, to grab the kingdom of Garha Mandla (modern Mandla and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh). The most illustrious rulers in this dynasty were the iconic queen, Rani Durgavati, whom the Gond community reveres, and Hirde Shah, the first Gond king to adopt Islam.
The second kingdom of Deogadh (Chhindwada in Madhya Pradesh and Nagpur in Maharashtra), was created by King Jatba in the 15th century. One of his successors, Bakht Buland Shah, converted to Islam to win the favour of emperor Aurangzeb. However, he did not demand conversion from his subjects and married a Gond woman. He fell into disfavour in Delhi after he plundered some Muslim kingdoms of Deccan.
Around the same time as Deogadh, the Kherla (Baitul in Madhya Pradesh to Chikhaldara in Amravati district in Maharashtra) kingdom also came up. Its first king, Narsingh Rai, who deposed a Rajput ruler, had love-hate relationship with the Rajput and Muslim rulers in his vicinity who attacked his fort due to its geographical accessibility. The kingdom was later annexed by Bakht Buland Shah.
The reign of the Gond kings is characterised by the rather remarkable phenomenon where the culture of the ruling class was strikingly different from that of the Gond community at large. In fact, the ruling class emerged not by adhering to its root culture but by adopting the culture and methods of its adversaries. This results in interesting paradoxes in history. One of the best instances is Rani Durgavati, revered by the Gond community as a symbol of the glory of Gond womanhood, was actually a Rajput princess married to the Gond king Dalpat Rai. Her claim to fame – her “valorous” decision to choose death instead of dishonor in the face of impending defeat at the hands of Akbar’s viceroy, Asaf Khan, shows values associated with Rajput womanhood– Gond tribal culture does not lay much stock by concepts of honour.
The father of the famous king Hirde Shah, Prem Narain, who had adopted Hinduism, was killed in a fight with Jhujhar Singh of Orcha because the Gonds did not honour the cow. Hirde Shah himself embraced Islam, but his pedigree of Gond kings, written by a Brahmin, starts with obeisance to the Hindu god Ganesha. Both Prem Narain and Hirde Shah tried to keep their religious beliefs to themselves, while leaving their subjects to practice their own faith. So did Bakht Buland Shah of Nagpur.
Rani Durgavati
Rani Durgavati was born on October 5, 1524 CE in the family of Keerat Rai, the ruler of Kalinjar fort in Banda district of UP. Her family claimed descent from the Chandella rulers, who had built the temples at Khajuraho and repulsed the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni. But by the 16th century CE, Chandella power had declined and areas around Kalinjar was all that remained of the original Chandella kingdom. Growing up in Kalinjar, Durgavati was well versed in horse riding, sword fighting and archery from a very young age.
At the age of 18 in 1542 CE, Durgavati got married to Dalpat Shah, the eldest son of King Sangram Shah of the Gond Dynasty. The Gonds were a tribe which settled in the Gondwana (eastern Madhya Pradesh) region around the 13th century CE and rose to power eventually. They ruled four kingdoms – Garha-Mandla, Deogarh, Chanda, and Kherla in central India between the 16th and 18th centuries. (Dalpat Shah, Durgavati’s husband ruled Garha-Mandla.
In 1556 CE, Baz Bahadur, the Sultan of Malwa attacked the kingdom of Rani Durgavati as it lay to his immediate east. But Rani Durgavati successfully repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy losses to his army. This was followed by a temporary period of peace, but this was to change soon. In 1562 CE, Akbar defeated Baz Bahadur and brought the region of Malwa under Mughal dominion. Simultaneously, Asaf Khan, a Mughal general, conquered Rewa, which lay north of Rani’s kingdom. Thus, Garha-Mandla now touched the boundaries of both Rewa and Malwa, which were under the Mughals. An attack from either of them was imminent.
In 1564, lured by the prosperous state of Durgavati’s kingdom Garha-Mandla, Asaf Khan marched towards it with a huge army. To fight a defensive battle, the Queen is said to have moved to Narai Nala (Jabalpur district) situated between a hilly range on one side and two rivers – Gaur and Narmada, on the other. As the enemy entered the valley, Durgavati’s soldiers attacked them. During the battle, her faujdar or chief of the forces was killed and Durgavati decided to lead the forces herself. She chased the Mughal army out of the valley and emerged victorious.
The next day, the Mughal army returned, challenging her once again with heavy artillery. This time helped by her son, Durgavati is said to have mounted her elephant Sarman and led her troops. Her son, Vir successfully repulsed the Mughal army thrice but was seriously wounded and had to be taken to a secure place. Durgavati continued the battle and was apparently shot by 2 arrows one that pierced her ear and the other, her neck. Injured and clearly outnumbered Rani Durgavati knew she was facing imminent defeat. So instead of getting captured by the Mughal army, she decided to kill herself. Records state that Durgavati plunged a knife into herself and committed suicide on 24th June 1564 CE. She was 40 years old. After her death, her son Vir defended the kingdom from their capital Chauragarh fort, but he too died fighting.
Thus, the kingdom of Garha-Mandla was incorporated into the Mughal dominion, as part of the Subah of Malwa. After about 25 years, Chandra Shah, the younger son of Sangram Shah, claimed the throne of Garha-Mandla. The Mughal Emperor recognised him as ruler, in exchange for 10 districts, which remained with the Mughals. But the peace had been broken forever at Garha-Mandla. The 17th century CE saw numerous attacks on the kingdom from the Bundelas, followed by civil unrest. Finally in 1698 CE the kingdom of Garha-Mandla was invaded and annexed by the Marathas. They continued to control the area till 1818 CE when they were defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War.