From the fall of the Yadavas till the
entry of the Moghals in Gondavana, the Gond Rajas were more or less
free from any political domination. Even during the hey-day of the
Yadavas, it seems that they were never completely subjugated as their
habitat was in the fastness of hills and forest.
Gondavana roughly includes the area
bound by the line running from Jabalpur to Telangana, North to South,
and from West to East by the line joining the Satapuda hills and the
Chattisgadh region. The Gonds are mainly divided into the Raja Gonds
and the Khatoles. The formers consider themselves as Rajputs or
Kshatriyas.
The principal Gondi kingdoms in the
Gondvana area had their seats at Gadha, Mandla, Devgad, Chandrapur or
Chanda and khedrala, on the northern sloped of the Satapuda. Besides
there were petty Gond naiks in the Melghat styling themselves as
Rajas. Of these kingdoms Gadha is noted in history because of its
brave Rani Durgavati. The ambitious Moghal Emperor, Akbar, Appointed
Khvaja Abdul-Majid as the Governor of Krra conferring upon him the
title of Asaf Khan. One of his valuable services was the conquest of
Gadha ruled by Rani Durgavati. The Rani fought valorously against
heavy odds and when helpless killed herself in order to escape the
disgrace she would have been put to if taken a captive. Gadha had
given no provocation to Akbar. Its conquest was an act of imperial
aggression, pure and simple. Thjis historic incident is described in
Tarikh-i-Alfi. After the Ram's death her son Bir narayan rsisted from
the fort of Cauragad till the fell fighting. The kingdom of Gadha was
offered to Chandra sah as the Moghal vassal.
During the reign of sah Jahan the
unfortunate ruler of Gadha, Hirde sah was attacked by Raja Pahad Sing
Bundela. Hirde sah shifted his capital to Mandla. His successors
fought among themselves inviting alternately Aurangzeb and the
Marathjas for help to put down the rival party. With the rise of
Raguji Bhosle these kingdoms lost their independencer and were
redusced to the status of vassals.
The Gond rulers of Devagad are directly
related with the history of Nagpur. With the history of Nagpur. With
the loss of independence of Gadha and Mandla, Devagad, too, was
destined to go the same way. The Devagad house hailed from Harayagad,
but shifted its seat to Devagad under its founder Jatba. Originally
Devagad was a feudal state under Gadha. However, when the latter
passed under the Moghal rule, Devagad automatically became part of the
moghal territory. According to the Ain-i-Akbari when Aakbar was the
Emperor, Jatba, the ruler of Devagad, possessed two thousand horses,
fifty thousand foot-soldiiers and a hundred elephants.. Jatba extended
his kingdom as far as Nagpur and constructed there a fort as an
outpost. The descendants of this family are yet known as
"Killevale Raje" in Nagpur.