Shilahara

udatory family established itself in the Northern and Southern Konkan and also in the Southern Maharashtra. All the branches of this family traced their descent from the mythical Vidyadhara prince Jimutavahana who sacrificed himself to rescue a Naga from the clutches of Garuda. The family-name Shilahara (meaning food on a rock) is supposed to have been derived from this incident. The name is variously spelt as Shilahara, Shailahara, Shrilara and Silara: even the same inscription has more than one form, and one inscription has the three forms Silara, Shilara and Shrillara. Lassen suggests that the Shilaharas are of Afghan origin, as Silar Kafirs are still found in Afghanistan. But the "Ayya" used in the names of almost all their ministers and the un-Sanskritic names of some of the Chiefs favour the view that they were of southern or Dravidian origin. The Shilaharas of South Konkan were the feudatories of Rashtrakutas and ruled from 765 to 1020. (Dept. Gazetteer: Thane,1982 , Dept. Gazetteer: 2002 )

hilaharas of North Konkan (Thane Branch)

, Billon, Dramma ?, Indo-Sassanian Design, circa 1210 - 1302.
Obv: Unrecognizable head of king.Rev: A horseman is seen fighting with his sword against two foot soldiers. A third foot soldier appears to be attacking the horseman from behind and a fourth is seen dead at the feet of the horse .]

After the Rashtrakuta power became weak: the last known ruler of this family, Rattaraja, declared his independence but Chalukya Jayasimha, the younger brother of Vikramaditya, over-threw him and appropriated his possessions. North Konkan was conquered by the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga sometime in the second quarter of the eighth century (Dept. Gazetteer: 2002)

;List of rulers

* Kapardin I (800 – 825)
* Pullashakti (825 – 850)
* Kapardin II (850 – 880)
* Vappuvanna (880 – 910)
* Jhanjha (910 – 930)
* Goggiraja (930 – 945)
* Vajjada I (945 – 965)
* Chhadvaideva (965 – 975)
* Aparajita (975 – 1010)
* Vajjada II (1010 – 1015)
* Arikesarin (1015 – 1022)
* Chhittaraja (1022 – 1035)
* Nagarjuna (1035 – 1045)
* Mummuniraja (1045 – 1070)
* Ananta Deva I (1070 – 1127)
* Aparaditya I (1127 – 1148)
* Haripaladeva (1148 – 1155)
* Mallikarjuna (1155 – 1170)
* Aparaditya II ( 1170 – 1197)
* Ananta Deva II (1198 – 1200)
* Keshideva II (1200 – 1245)
* Ananta Deva III (1245 – 1255)
* Someshvara (1255 – 1265)

hilaharas of Southern Konkan

History of this house is known through one record, namely, 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 mentions their specific exploits also. The date of the founder can be inferred from the fact that he was feudatory of the Rastrakuta emperor Krisna I . By 765 Krisna I had established his power over Konkan and it was probably handed over to Sanaphulla, the founder of this dynasty.

The Kharepatan plates declare that the founder, namely, 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, i.e., Chandor near Goa . The reign of Avasara I proved to be uneventful. His son Adityavarman, described to be as brilliant as the Sun in velour, became known on account of the help offered to the kings of Chandrapuri (modern Goa) and Chemulya (modern Chaul), 30 miles to the south of Bombay. This shows that the rule of Shilaharas had spread over the whole of Konkan. At this time, Laghu Kapardi the ruler of the Thane branch, was just a boy and hence the help given to the feudatory ruler of Chaul must have been at his expense. Avasara II only 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 )

;List of rulers

* Sanaphulla (765 to 795)
* Dhammayira (795 to 820)
* Aiyaparaja (820 to 845)
* Avasara I (845 to 870)
* Adityavarman (870 to 895)
* Avasara II (895 to 920)
* Indraraja (920 to 945)
* Bhima (945 to 970)
* Avasara III (970 to 995)
* Rattaraja (995 to 1020)

hilaharas of Southern Maharashtra (Kolhapur Branch)

The Shilahara family at Kolhapur was the latest of the three and was founded about the time of downfall of the Rashtrakuta Empire. This branch of the Shilaharas ruled over Southern Maharashtra, comprising the modern districts of Satara, Kolhapur and Belgaon. Their family deity was the goddess Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur, whose boon, they claim to have secured in their copperplate grants (Mahalakshmi-labdha-vara-prasada) . Like their relatives of the northern branch of Konkan, the Shilaharas of Kolhapur claim to be of the lineage of the Vidyadhara Jimutavahana. They carried the banner of golden Garuda also (Suvarnagarudadhwaja) . One of the many titles used by the Shilaharas was 'Tagarapuravaradhisvara' i.e. Supreme Sovereign ruler of Tagara. (Bhandarkar : 1957, Fleet: 1896)

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 (Dept. Gazetteer: 2002) Hence sometimes they are referred as 'Shilaharas of Karad'. Later on although the capital was shifted to Kolhapur, some of their grants mention Valavada, and the hill fort of Pranalaka or Padmanala, (Panhala) as the places of royal residence. Even though the capital was shifted to Kolhapur, Karhad retained its significance during the Shilahara period. This branch rose to power the latter part of the Rashtrakuta rule and so, unlike the kings of the other two branches, those of this branch do not mention the genealogy of the Rashtrakutas even in their early grants. Later on they acknowledged the suzerainty of the later Chalukya for some time. They had used Kannada as the official language as can seen from their inscriptions. This branch continued to hold the Southern Maharashtra from circa 940 to 1220.

It seems that Bhoja-II was the last ruler of this family and he was overthrown and dispossessed by Singhana, in or soon after Saka 1131 (1219-20) .This is borne out by one of Singhana’s inscriptions dated Saka 1160 Which speaks of him as having been a very Garuda in putting fight the serpent which was the mighty king Bhoja-II, whose habitation was Panhala 'Pamnala–nilaya–prabhala-bhojabhupala–vyala–vidaravana–vihamgaraja' (Fleet: 1896)

;List of rulers
* Jatiga I (940 - 960)
* Naivarman (960 - 980)
* Chandra (980 - 1000)
* Jatiga II (1000 - 1020)
* Gonka (1020 - 1050)
* Guhala I
* Kirtiraja
* Chandraditya
* Marsimha (1050 - 1075)
* Guhala II (1075 - 1085)
* Bhoja I (1085 - 1100)
* Ballala (1100 - 1108)
* Gonka II
* Gandaraditya I (1108 - 1138)
* Vijayaditya I (1138 - 1175)
* Bhoja II (1175 - 1212)

References

* Bhandarkar R.G. (1957): Early History of Deccan, Sushil Gupta (I) Pvt Ltd, Calcutta.
* 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
* A.S. Altekar (1936): The Silaharas of Western India.

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/ancientcoinsofindia/shilacoinex.html Silver Coin of Shilaharas of Southern Maharashtra (Coinex 2006 - Souvenir)]