The Kalachuris and the Gond kingdoms

Above the gorge of the Narmada at Bhedaghat, near Jabalpur, where the river flows between cliffs of white marble, stands an unusual circular temple lined with sixty-four shrines to the Yoginis. It was built in the tenth century by the Kalachuris of Tripuri, a dynasty that once ruled much of central India. A few centuries later, the same region became the heart of the Gond kingdom of Garha-Mandla, whose queen Rani Durgavati fought the Mughals in 1564. Both dynasties are central to the history of the Jabalpur–Mandla region — and to MPPSC.

The Kalachuris of Tripuri

Rulers who mattered

The Chausath Yogini temple, Bhedaghat

• A circular, open-air temple with sixty-four (chausath) cells housing images of Yoginis (female divinities of tantric tradition) — though the surviving images number fewer.
• Built around the 10th century.
• Overlooks the marble rocks of Bhedaghat and the Dhuandhar falls on the Narmada.
• Among a small number of Yogini temples in India; others include Hirapur (Odisha) and Mitaoli (Morena, MP).

The Gond kingdoms

The Gonds are among India's largest tribal communities. From the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Gond dynasties ruled large parts of central India — an unusual chapter in which tribal rulers built states, forts and administrations.

Garha-Mandla

• Madan Mahal fort in Jabalpur, traditionally linked to the Gond ruler Madan Shah, sits on a granite hill.
• Sangram Shah consolidated the kingdom in the early sixteenth century and is said to have controlled 52 garhs.
• His son Dalpat Shah married Durgavati, a Chandela princess.
• After Dalpat Shah's death, Rani Durgavati ruled as regent and resisted the Mughals (see our separate post).

Gond administration and culture

• The kingdom was divided into garhs (forts with surrounding villages), each under a local chief.
• Gond rulers patronised temples, tanks and forts; Chauragarh, Singorgarh and Ramnagar (Mandla) have Gond monuments.
• Gond culture — art, music, oral epics — lives on today, including in Gond painting (see our post on arts).

Decline

• The Mughals defeated Garha-Mandla in 1564, and later Gond rulers became Mughal tributaries.
• In the eighteenth century, the Marathas (Bhonsles of Nagpur) took over most of the Gond territories.
• By the early nineteenth century, the British controlled the region.

Why these dynasties matter

1. The Kalachuris show central India as an important political power in early medieval times.
2. The Chausath Yogini temple is a rare example of tantric temple architecture.
3. The Gond kingdoms show that tribal communities built states — challenging simplistic views of tribal history.
4. Rani Durgavati is one of MP's most celebrated historical figures.

Practice

Prelims-style:

1. What was the capital of the Kalachuris?
2. Which Kalachuri ruler is considered the greatest?
3. Where is the Chausath Yogini temple near Jabalpur?
4. Which Gond ruler is credited with 52 forts?
5. Which Gond ruler founded Nagpur?

Mains-style (short): What is distinctive about the Chausath Yogini temple at Bhedaghat?

Mains-style (long): Discuss the significance of the Gond kingdoms in the history of central India.