The Kadambas of Goa

Who rules

Name

Jayakeshi III

Title

Maharaja, Konkanadhipati (lord of the Konkan)

Since

1188 (Wikipedia); Shivachitta Vajradeva is listed from 1193 beside him

Born

not recorded

Family

Kadamba of Goa (Gove), descended from Shashthadeva; a Shaiva house that also patronises Jains

Confidence

medium

Wikipedia (Kadambas of Goa) lists Vishnuchitta Vijayaditya II 1179-1187, Jayakeshi III from 1188 and Shivachitta Vajradeva from 1193. The Hangal page says Jayakeshi III declared himself independent in 1187-88 on accession. The relation of Shivachitta Vajradeva to him is not stated.

Overlord

none; the Chalukya overlords that the house served are gone; nominal respect to Yadava and Hoysala as the case needs

What the realm holds

• Gopakapattana (Goa Velha), harbour and royal seat
• Chandrapura (Chandor), the old capital and revenue seat
• the Goa islands and the Cumbharjua channel joining the Mandovi and the Zuari
• the Saraswat and Gaud Brahmin villages of Salcete
• salt pans, betel and areca gardens, shipyards and iron hills behind the Mandovi
• claims on the south Konkan (Banda, Vengurla, Malvan) and the north Kanara coast (Karwar)

How it was acquired

By descent from Shashthadeva (Chandor won from the Silaharas about 960 on the campaign board's reading; Wikipedia gives conflicting dates); the move of the capital to Gopakapattana is credited to Jayakeshi I (no date given).

Allies and rivals

Hoysala Ballala II to the south-east is the greater power; Yadava Jaitugi above the ghats claims Konkan; the Silaharas of Thana and Kolhapur dispute the coast between Goa and Chiplun. Arab and Persian merchants are the real partners.

The realm that morning

Independent and rich, balanced between larger neighbours. The harbour season runs from October to May; from June to September the roadstead is shut.

Wealth

Customs on the horse trade (no price survives for 1200), the Arab and Persian shipping season, salt, areca, rice, iron and ghat timber; gold gadyana coinage of the Kadamba kings.

Military

Fleet and river craft; forts on the creeks; no numbers.

Threats

• Yadava or Hoysala armies down the Goa ghat road
• Raiding by the Konkan creek corsairs

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.

1. October 1199 to May 1200Gulf and Red Sea shipping lands horses and goods at the Zuari.Depends on: North-east monsoon winds. Stopped by: Nothing.
2. 1200 to 1216 (later)Jayakeshi III's reign continues to 1216 by the list; the Yadava Singhana II later makes the Konkan princes his subordinates (dates not pinned).Depends on: Yadava strength. Stopped by: Hoysala intervention.

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign board entry says Jayakeshi III reigns 'from about 1188, with a Shivachitta Vajradeva named alongside him in some readings'; Wikipedia gives 1188-1216 and 1193-1202. Same pair.
• Wikipedia's History of Goa gives three different spans for the dynasty (1006-1356, 10th-14th centuries, and 'to 1312'); we use the 1188-1216 reign only.
• Later ends on the same list: Jayakeshi III to 1216, Shivachitta Vajradeva to 1202, then Sovideva Tribhuvanamalla 1216-1238 (Wikipedia, Kadambas of Goa).

Evidence: The reign list is a reconstruction (Moraes, Gune); the port, the temples and the trade are well attested; inscriptions of Jayakeshi III were not re-read.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: The Goa state of today is the core; the north Kanara and Sindhudurg edges are claims.

Primary sources for this realm

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.

• Epigraphia Carnatica: inscriptions of the Mysore country, Various (Hoysala chancery and temple scribes), edited by B. Lewis Rice and R. Narasimhachar (inscriptions of the 4th to 19th centuries; the series ran from 1886 to 1905, revised from 1972). The Hoysala kingdom of Veera Ballala II (reigning 1173 to 1220) is documented almost wholly by the inscriptions in this series, arranged by district and taluk with full English translations. Read online
• 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.