Mahadeva of Devagiri
| Mahadeva | |
|---|---|
| Yadava king | |
| Reign | c. 1261-1270 |
| Predecessor | Krishna |
| Successor | Ammana |
| Dynasty | Seuna (Yadava) |
| Father | Jaitugi II |
Mahadeva (IAST: Mahā-deva, r. c. 1261-1270 CE) was a ruler of the Seuna (Yadava) dynasty of Deccan region in India. He succeeded his brother Krishna on the throne, and defeated the Shilaharas of Kolhapur. He unsuccessfully invaded the neighbouring Kakatiya and Hoysala kingdoms, and suppressed a rebellion by his Kadamba feudatories. The Yadava records also credit him with other military successes, but these claims may be exaggerated.
Mahadeva was a younger brother of his predecessor Krishna. Their father Jaitugi II seems to have died before their grandfather Simhana, because of which Krishna succeeded Simhana.
Mahadeva assisted his brother in the administration, as attested by an inscription as well as the text Vedanta-kalpataru. During Krishna's reign, Mahadeva was designated as the heir apparent (yuvaraja) since at least 1250, probably because Krishna's son Ramachandra had not been born, or was not old enough to hold the title of yuvaraja at the time of his ascension. At the time of Krishna's death, Ramachandra seems to have been a minor, and therefore, Mahadeva became the new king.
The last inscription from Krishna's reign is dated May 1261. The first record from Mahadeva's reign is a copper-plate inscription dated 21 August 1261, which records a grant made on the occasion of his coronation. Mahadeva must have ascended the throne sometime in August 1261, if not on 21 August.
Mahadeva's grandfather Simhana had subjugated the Shilaharas of Kolhapur around 1215. The kings of another Shilahara branch continued to rule as Yadava feudatories with their capital at Thane. However, these Shilahara rulers occasionally fought with the Yadavas to assert their independence, and such a conflict took place early in Mahadeva's reign.
According to the Yadava court poet Hemadri, Mahadeva sent an army including a strong elephant force against the Shilahara ruler Someshvara. After being defeated on the land, Someshvara boarded his ships, but Mahadeva's navy pursued him, and Someshvara drowned in the sea. Hemadri states that Someshvara preferred drowning to capture, because he believed that "the fire burning under the ocean would be less oppressive than the wrath of Mahadeva".
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