The king of a narrow, rich coast.
His writ is the creeks, salt pans, rice flats and coconut gardens of the north Konkan, from the Vaitarna south to Chaul, and the ghat tolls and passes (Thal, Bhor, Naneghat) that make the shore worth holding. He lives at Thana, the creek port at the head of Thane Creek on the north-east of Salsette, and draws port dues from Thana, Kalyan, Sopara and Chaul on the Gulf horse and Konkan salt trade. He is a Shaiva king with Buddhist and Jain inheritances on his land (the Kanheri caves, worked from the first to the tenth century and in decline on the campaign board's account), and the temples of Ambarnath (a Shiva temple of 1060 on the Silahara record) show what his house could build.
He is outmatched by the Yadava on the plateau and has no way to prevent a descent by a pass.
Who he is
- Name
- Ananta Deva II on the list until 1200, Keshideva II after; the month of the change is not recorded in anything we read
- Title
- Maharaja (mahamandaleshvara) of the Konkan, Thana line
- Since
- Ananta Deva II from 1198; Keshideva II from 1200 (Wikipedia's list of the Thana line)
- Born
- not known for either
- Family
- Descendant of Kapardin I (about 800) through the Thana line; Aparaditya II (list: 1170-1197) is the predecessor. The relation of Ananta Deva II and Keshideva II to each other or to Aparaditya II is not stated in the page we read. The Kolhapur line (Bhoja II) is a cousin house.
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia (Shilahara dynasty) is a list with no plates cited. The king for the morning of 1 January 1200 is Ananta Deva II on that list; Keshideva II is, on the likely course, the name on the throne by the end of the year (the month is not known). A player may take either: say so in the briefing.
Overlord
none openly; the Yadava of Devagiri hold the plateau above the passes and are the power to be feared
What it holds
- Thana, Kalyan, Sopara and Vasai, Mahim and the Bombay islands
- Chaul, where a local ruler is under his protection
- the creeks and salt pans of Salsette and Uran
- the Naneghat, Thal and Bhor toll posts (the tolls run to him; the ghat forts are village garrisons)
How it was acquired
By succession in the Thana line (the Thana plates run from the ninth century).
Allies and rivals
Rivals: the Yadava above the ghats; the Chaulukya of Gujarat (a Silahara king, Mallikarjuna, was beaten about 1160 on the Gujarat record, Wikipedia); the Kadamba of Goa to the south over the coast between Chaul and Goa. Kin: Bhoja II of Kolhapur.
How things stand that morning
Independent and exposed. On 1 January the passes are open (it is the dry season) and the horse caravans come up from Kalyan. The only dated event of the year is the change of king.
Wealth
Port dues, tolls at the ghats, salt, rice and fish (the Koli fisheries), coconut and areca; no figure survives.
Military
Village garrisons in the ghat forts, creek craft and the Koli boatmen; no numbers.
Threats
- A Yadava force down the Thal or Naneghat pass
- Trouble in the year of the change of king
- Gujarat beyond the Daman Ganga
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
In 1200
- 1200 (month not known)Ananta Deva II gives way to Keshideva II on the list.Depends on: The list being right; no plate in our reading fixes the month. Stopped by: A different list.
Later, on the likely course
- 1201 or later (about the beginning of the 13th century; later)The Yadava Singhana II is credited by one reading with subduing the northern branch; the line lasts, by the other list, to about 1265.Depends on: Yadava strength once the Kakatiya settlement is made. Stopped by: A Yadava war with the Hoysala or a succession crisis at Devagiri.
Places of note
- Thana (Sthanaka): seat and creek port
- Kalyan: head of navigation on the Ulhas; the foot of the Bhor and Thal tracks
- Sopara: old port (Surparaka), already silting
- Chaul (Chemulya): southern port on the Kundalika estuary
- Kanheri caves: Buddhist cave monastery on Salsette; worked to the tenth century, state in 1200 not known
- Ambarnath Shiva temple: Silahara temple of 1060 (Wikipedia, Shilahara dynasty)
Where the sources disagree
- Wikipedia: Aparaditya II 1170-1197, Ananta Deva II 1198-1200, Keshideva II 1200-1245 (there is a gap in 1197-1198). Some older lists run Aparaditya II into the 1200s; we use the page we read and flag the rest.
Evidence: A king list, no plates cited. The shape of the coast, the passes and the ports is firm.
Primary sources for Silaharas
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
- Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
- The Book of Roger (the Pleasure of Him who Longs to Cross the Horizons), Muhammad al-Idrisi (completed 1154 at Palermo). The nearest Arabic geography in time to 1200 for the Indian Ocean. Read online
Sources and studies
- Shilahara dynasty, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Thane, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Background, not re-read in this pass: V. V. Mirashi, Inscriptions of the Silaharas (Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum VI, 1977)
- OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, checked against the other sources)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.