New History of the Marathas v1.c5.75

v1.c5.75

6. Deaths of Chakradhar and Hemadri.—The propagation of the Mānabhāv doctrines appears to have had an intimate relation with and was certainly a contributory cause of the sudden fall of the Yādavas of Deogiri, the very heart of the region, where Chakradhar first began his fanatical activities by openly preaching against orthodox beliefs and practices. He was doubtless a contemporary of the great Hemādri, the *Shrikaranādhipa* of the powerful king Mahādeva Yādava (A.C. 1260-1271), so that Hemādri and Chakradhar are found acting on the stage of mediæval history, both learned and possessing extraordinary capacity for organization and using their utmost powers, the one upholding the orthodox system and the other preaching a revolt. It would appear that Hemādri purposely promulgated his comprehensive code of religious observances (the *Chaturvarga-Chintamani*) consisting of four large books or parts, (1) the *Vratakhanda* or vows, (2) the *Dāna-khanda* or charities, (3) the *Tirtha-khanda* or pilgrimages, and (4) the *Moksha-khanda* or salvation, with several supplements (*Parishesha-khanda*) emphasizing the worship of various deities, of the manes and ancestors, the daily and seasonal duties with penances for failure. Hemādri completed this work during the regime of Mahādeva Yādava, who was succeeded by his nephew Rāmachandra in 1271. Rāmachandra obtained the crown by cruelly putting to death Mahādev’s son Aman, and confirmed Hemādri in his post. It is well-known that these Yādava rulers traced their descent from Shrikrishna and were his ardent devotees, just as were Chakradhar and his followers, who on that account were freely admitted into the palace and harem of Deogiri in a brotherhood of common worship, a result which the minister Hemādri highly resented and opposed with all the powers he possessed.