Question

The _______________mentions the Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.

Answer 1

Hint: The Garha kingdom was in the northern part of Gondwana. This kingdom underwent massive extension under ruler Sangram Shah.

Complete answer:
Jadurai was the first Gond king of the kingdom of Garha Katanga. The mention of the Gond kingdom of Garha Katanga and that it had 70,000 villages could be found in AkbarNama which mentions the reign of Akbar and is written by Abul Fazal. The Garha kingdom was expanded under the king Sangram Shah. He brought the regions of Bhopal, Narmada valley and most of the areas of the Satpura hills under his control. Sangram Shah was the 48th ruler and the greatest and most important one of the Garha kingdom.

The Gond administration was brought under centralisation. The kingdom was divided into ‘Garh’ and each of them was under the control of a particular Gond clan. This was further divided into 84 units which was called chourasi. Barhots are those when Chaurasia were divided into 12 villages each. The conquest of Garha village was undertaken by Mughal emperor Akbar. The attack was led by Rani Durgavati on the side of the Garha kingdom. This was known as the Battle of Dumoh and the Rani’s forces were defeated by improved and advanced forces of Akbar.

Note: Not much is written by the Garha kingdom although it finds mention in the Akbar Nama. Some parts of the kingdom were returned by Akbar to Rani Durgavati’s brother Chandra Shah in 157 because there was very little gain from the kingdom.