Jadeja (Jadon) Rajputs

Jadeja (Jadon) Rajputs (Chandravanshi)

Jadam / Jharija (Bhatti, Jadeja /Jareja /Jadon / Banaphar, Sarvaia, Raijdas, Vaj, Pathania
The Jharija Rajputs are dominant in Cutch, but about AD 800, a branch of the family, in consequence of intestine feuds, crossed the Rann at the head of the Gulf of Katch into Kathiwar and established themselves upon the ruins of the Jetwa rajputs. The land appear to have been divided in common among the whole tribe, the teelat or eldest branch of the family reserving to itself the largest portion, while the bhaiad or relatives (brotherhood) held their respective villages by a purely feudal tenure.
Also Jadavas descended from Jaddu, founder of the lunar race with 4 or 7 branches. Colonel Tod says that the Yadu was the most illistruous of all tribes of Indu, and became the patronymic of both the descendents of Buddha (of the Indu race) and Krishna. It is not clear, even to legendary tradition, what connection the yadus had with Buddha, but Krishna is held to have been a prince of this tribe and founded Dwarka in Gujarat with them, in which locality he is afterwards supposed to have been killed.
However there are some scholars who claim tHe Yadus to be of Central-Asian origin and that the Mahabharata actually took place in Central Asia. It is said that the original Dvarka is not in Gujarat, but is the Darvaza in present Central Asia. Colonel states that the Yadu afer the death of Krishna, and their expulsion from Dwarka and Delhi, the last stronghold of their power, retired by Multan across the Indus, founded Ghazni in Afghanistan, and peopled these countries even to Samarkand. Again driven back on the Indus they obtained possession of the Punjab and founded Salbhanpur. Thence expelled they retired across the Sutlej and Gara into the Indian desserts, where they founded Tannote, Derawal and Jaisalmer, the last in AD 1157.
At a later date a Yadava kingdom existed in the Deccan, with its capital at Deogiri or Daulatabad and its territory lying between that place and Nasik. Mr. Smith states that these Yadon kings were descendants of feudatory nobles of the Chalukya kingdom, which embraced parts of western India and also Gujarat.
The Jadon dynasty only lasted from AD 1150 to 1318, when the last prince of the line, Harapala, stirred up a revolt against the Muhamaddans to whom the king, his father-in-law, had submitted, and being deafeated, was flayed alive and decapitated. It is noticeable that the Yadu-Bhatti rajputs of Jaisalmer claim descent from Salivahana, who founded the Saka era in AD 78, and it is believed that this era belonged to the Saka dynasty of Gujarat, where, according to the tradition the Yadus also setled. The point would identify the Sakas with the Yadus. The Bhati branch of the yadus cliam descent from Bhati, grandson of Salivahana. They have no legend of coming from Gujarat, but they had the title of Rawal, which is used in Gujarat, and also by the Sesodia clan who came from here. The Bhattis are said to have arrived in Jaisalmer about the middle of the 8th century, Jaisalmer city being founded in 1183. The Jareja clan of Sind and Cuth are another branch of Yadu, who have largely intermarried with Muhamaddans. They now cliam descent from Jamshid a Persian hero and the title of their rulers is Jam.
The Yadu name has been corrupted to Jadon in UP and Jadum in MP, where they now form different castes. Another branch is the Raj-jadu or Rajadu. In some parts of India, the Yadavas have lost their rajput status, because of their alliance with cow-herding castes.
Krishna being a gopi led to the popular belief that all cowherds like Ahir, Gujar, etc were Yadavas. However, it is not so. Ahirs (cow-herding castes) though started using “Yadav” with their name are not Yadus (or Yadava). Also Krishna-dasis (followers of Krishna) were claiming to be yadavas. This has in recent times been exploited by some Yadav-connected politicians, to increase their number of followers/votes.