_Rajput; Yadu, Yadava, Yadu-Bhatti, Jadon._ [581]--The Yadus are a
well-known historical clan. Colonel Tod says that the Yadu was the
most illustrious of all the tribes of Ind, and became the patronymic
of the descendants of Buddha, progenitor of the lunar (Indu)
race. It is not clear, even according to legendary tradition, what,
if any, 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. Colonel Tod states that the Yadu after 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 Samarcand. 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 deserts, where they founded Tannote, Derawal
and Jaisalmer, the last in A.D. 1157. It has been suggested in the
main article on Rajput that the Yadus might have been the Sakas, who
invaded India in the second century A.D. This is only a speculation. 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. [582] Mr. Smith states that these Yadava kings were descendants
of feudatory nobles of the Chalukya kingdom, which embraced parts of
western India and also Gujarat. The Yadu clan can scarcely, however,
be a more recent one than the Chalukya, as in that case it would not
probably have been credited with having had Krishna as its member. The
Yadava dynasty only lasted from A.D. 1150 to 1318, when the last prince
of the line, Harapala, stirred up a revolt against the Muhammadans to
whom the king, his father-in-law, had submitted, and being defeated,
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 A.D. 78, and it is believed that this era belonged to the
Saka dynasty of Gujarat, where, according to the tradition given above,
the Yadus also settled. This point is not important, but so far as
it goes would favour the identification of the Sakas with the Yadavas.
The Bhatti branch of the Yadus claim descent from Bhati, the grandson
of Salivahana. They have no legend of having come from Gujarat, but
they had the title of Rawal, which is used in Gujarat, and also by the
Sesodia clan who came from there. The Bhattis are said to have arrived
in Jaisalmer about the middle of the eighth century, Jaisalmer city
being founded much later in A.D. 1183. Jaisalmer State, the third
in Rajputana, has an area of 16,000 square miles, most of which is
desert, and a population of about 100,000 persons. The chief has the
title of Maharawal and receives a salute of fifteen guns. The Jareja
Rajputs of Sind and Cutch are another branch of the Yadus who have
largely intermarried with Muhammadans. They now claim descent from
Jamshid, the Persian hero, and on this account, Colonel Tod states,
the title of their rulers is Jam. They were formerly much addicted
to female infanticide. The name Yadu has in other parts of India
been corrupted into Jadon, and the class of Jadon Rajputs is fairly
numerous in the United Provinces, and in some places is said to have
become a caste, its members marrying among themselves. This is also
the case in the Central Provinces, where they are known as Jadum,
and have been treated under that name in a separate article. The
small State of Karauli in Rajputana is held by a Jadon chief.