Seunachandra I

Seunachandra I
samadaratibnakanthiravan Yadava–narayana [1] Yati-puravaradhisvara [2]
2nd Ruler of Seuna (Yadava) dynasty
Reign	870–890 A.D
Coronation	c. 870 A.D
Predecessor	Dridhaprahara
Successor	Dhadiyappa I
Feudatories of Rashtrakutas
Predecessor	Dridhaprahara
Successor	Dhadiyappa I
Issue	Dhadiyappa I
Dynasty	Seuna (Yadava) dynasty
Father	Dridhaprahara
Religion	Vaishnavism

Seunachandra I is the second ruler of the Seuna (Yadava) dynasty, he is said to be the real founder of the Seuna Kingdom. Some sources give him credit of founding a town named Seunapura. ^[3] The Sangrameshwar records mentions him as "A lion for the wild elephants that were his proud foes". The country which he ruled was known as Seunadesa (Seuna (Yadava) dynasty) named after him. He was succeeded by his son Dhadiyappa I. ^{[4] [5]}

Extent of his Kingdom

The Paithan grant issued by King Ramachandra of the Seuna (Yadava) dynasty in 1272 CE mentions several locations, all of which are situated within the Daulatabad region in the Aurangabad district of the Nizam's Dominion. The inscription identifies these places as part of the Seuna country, indicating that the area around Devagiri, now known as Daulatabad, was referred to as Seunadesa during that period. The region is described as being bordered to the south by the Godavari River. The northern boundary of the region seems not to have extended far enough to include the district of Nashik, as R.G. Bhandarkar suggests. ^[3]

Historical evidence shows that Nashik was a distinct territory with its own separate identity at the time. In this light, the northern boundary of the region would correspond to the present-day boundary dividing the Aurangabad district from the Chalisgaon and Pachora talukas in Khandesh. In addition, evidence is lacking in favor of Bhandarkar's theory that modern Khandesh preserves the name Seunadesa. ^[3]

Seunapura Town

Seunachandra is said to have established a town called Seunapura. ^[6] But as yet, the site of the place is not identified. While preparing the text of the inscription, Bhagvanlal Indraji interpreted the third line of the verse to the effect that Seunachandra "founded the town of Seunapura in the good Sindinera." He further explained that "Sindinera" might be a particular sub-division, or that Seunapura occurring in the inscription might have been meant to express a suburb. This theory is not, however, without its critics. While we can concede that the Yadava region during this period contained a certain sub-division, Bhagvanlal's argument that pura should be interpreted as "suburb" cannot be upheld for the word cannot be shown to have been used in such a sense anywhere else. ^[3]

According to a tradition written in a volume of the Archaeological Survey of India, the town of Sinnar was founded by a Yadava (Gayali) chief called Rav Shinguni. Again, historical references mention the old town of Sinnar as Seunapura. From this, it has been proposed that Sinnar and Seunapura could be the same place. But the identification is not convincing. The identification of Seunapura with Sinnar is only based on an assumption that Yadavas and Gavalis were the same; however, historical evidence throws light on this issue that the Yadavas were Kshatriyas in caste. As Sinnar, in fact, is an old town, so it does not become a convincing argument to connect it with Seunapura. Besides that, the names are not in a clear connection philologically. Historical sources, including Hemadri, indicate that Sinnar corresponds to Srinagara, the capital of Dridhaprahara. Therefore, the town must have been in existence prior to the era of Seunachandra. ^[3]

Since Seunapura is mentioned in the Bassein grant as having been founded by Seunachandra, it cannot be the same as Sinnar. No place with a name similar to Seunapura has been found within the Yadava territories. Thus, the ident ^[3] ification of Seunapura is not known precisely.

Millitary Career

The house records have depicted Seunachandra as a mighty king whose reign needs to be explained in the perspective of the historical scenario of his era. ^[6] In his lifetime, the Rashtrakuta dynasty constantly had to clash with the Vengi-based Eastern Chalukya dynasty, besides its other enemies the Gangas and the Kadamabas. Krishna II faced setbacks in the battle against the Chalukyas. It was under his rule that the Eastern Chalukya king Bhima could successfully regain independence for his dynasty, which had been subjugated by Amoghavarsha I around 866 CE. ^[3]

After that, there was a time when his uncle Vinayaditya III was prompted to act by the Rashtrakutas themselves. Vijayaditya III routed the Gangas in the south and made dashing raids deep into the northeastern extremities of the Rashtrakuta empire. His expeditions even extended into regions which are today the modern Bastar state and Balaghat district. This text emphasizes the untiring activity of Krishna, who was absorbed with the problem presented by the Chalukyas, so he had very little time to devote himself to his northern neighbors, Gurjara-Pratiharas and Gurjara-Rashtrakutas. This was the period of the mighty Gurjara emperor Bhoja I, ruler of the Pratihara dynasty, and there were frontier skirmishes on the northern frontiers of the Rashtrakuta empire. Yadavas, however, who resided in the northern regions of the Rashtrakuta empire, frequently felt the worst impacts of these invasions of Pratihara. ^[3]

According to al-Masudi, Gurjara-Pratihara, by holding fort on the southern flank against Rashtrakuta pressure, implies the latter was at least playing this card on his northern flanks against the Palavas or possibly Pratihara itself. Frontier fighting of necessity erupted therefrom and can very well have seen active involvement from Yadava contingents as well; for sure though there's nothing more that has any solid ground evidence behind these. ^[3]

See also

• Seuna (Yadava) dynasty
• Dhadiyappa I
• Rashtrakutas
• Eastern Chalukyas

References

1. The Seunas (The Yadavas Of Devagiri). S.Ritti.
2. The Seunas (The Yadavas Of Devagiri). S.Ritti.
3. H. V. Trivedi. The Yadavas And Their Times. pp. 20–24, 39.
4. Yazdani, Ghulam (1960). The Early History of the Deccan. Oxford University Press.
5. Sharma, R. S. (1992). A Comprehensive History of India: A.D. 985-1206. People's Publishing House. ISBN   978-81-7007-121-1.
6. Y. A. Raikar. Yadavas Of The Deccan And Their Times A Cultural History. p. 39.