GOND, the province of Gondwana, on the old maps wa,s bounded on the S.W. and IV. by the Godavery, Pranhita, and Wardha rivers, and the Kaligong Hills ; the Nerbadda separated it from Malwa and Dumoh, and then the bonndary line ran N.E. along the Kutne, and on the N.E. side it had Berar and Chutia Nagpur. On the E. and S.E. it extended at least to a line drawn from Gangpur on the Brahmini to Bhadrachalam, about 120 miles from the mouth of the Godavery, and included Sumbulpore, Sonpur, and Patna ; but on Hamil ton's map of 1820 it includes Kalahandi, Boad, and Singbhuna. Its length from S.W. to N.E.was no t less than 380 miles, and its average breadth fully 300, whilst its area was at least 115,000 square miles. Gond tribes are scattered over the mountain ranges of this territory, though they do not extend quite so far to the E. as it does. They are found extending into Sirguja on the N.E. ; they are found in Karial and Kalahandi or Kharond, along with the Khand and Uriya. In the south, says Mr. Hislop, they form the mass of the population of Bastar, and a portion of the inhabitants of Jeypore (in the Madras Presidency), while they occupy the hills along the left bank of the God avery, about Nirmul ; and on the west they are intermingled with Hindus of Berar for 30 miles from the right bank of the Wardha. The chief remaining sites of the aboriginal tribes of Central India is the Satpura plateau, divided among the 13ritish districts of Baitul, Chhindwara, Seoni, and the higher half of Mandla. Commencing from the west, one-half of the population of Baitul is Gond ; in Chhindwara, the proportion is as high as three-fourths ; in Seoni, which is traversed by the main line of communication through the plateau, it sinks to one-third, rising to one-half in the wild district of Mandla, where the last Gond kings held sway. To the east and west of this region, bill races of a different stock press in upon the Gonds, Kurku, Bhil, Baiga, Kol, and Dhangar. , .
The name Gond or Gund, says Mr. Hislop, seems to be a form of Kond or Kund. Both forms are most probably connected with Konda, the Telugu equivalent for a mountain, and therefore will signify the Konda-wanlu, hill people. And this name they must have borne for many ages, for we find them mentioned by Ptolemy, the geographer (A.D. 150), under the name of Gonda1oi. But it has also been supposed to be a contraction of Govinda, literally cow-keeper. Of their history we know but little. Under all changes they appear to have preserved their own forms of worship and social habits ; but some have adopted to a greater or less extent the forms of Hinduism, and a still fewer number have become Maho medans. The Rajputs from Malwa seem to have pushed their conquests into the country and inter married with them. Their descendants are still known as Rajputs Gond Rajputs. They estab lished governments, one- of which ruled, the Ner badda valley. and had its capitals at Mandla and at Carha, near Jubbulpur. It was founded by Jadu Rai, who succeeded his father-in-law Nagtleo, the (loud raja of Garb, (A.D. 358). Maudla was conquered by his descendant, Gopal Sa, A.D. 634. Sungrain Sa, the 47th in descent from lulu, inherited only three or four districts in 1480 ; but at his death, in 1530, he ruled over fifty-two. Ferishta tells us that when Asof Khan invaded Garha in 1563, Bir Narayan was raja. Hirdi Sa, the 5 Rh raja, built the temple at Ratnnagar, near Mandla ; and Seoraj, the 59th, began to reign in 1742, when Ilalaji Baji Rao invtuled the country. A second kingdom had its seat on the southern slope of the Satpura Hills, at Deogarh in Chind wara, oue of the rajas of which, Bakht Baland, was either taken prisoner by one of Aurangzeb's generals, or visited Dehli of his own accord, where he was converted to Mahomedanism, and then permitted to return to his country, where his descendants, says Mr. Hislop, though adhering to
this change of creed, have not ceased to marry into Gond families, and hence the present repre sentative of that regal house is not only acknow ledged by the whole race about Nagpur as their head and judge, but is physically regarded a pure Raj Gond. A third Gond principality had its capital at Kherla in Battu!, to which belonged the famous forts of Gawilgarh and Narnalla. In 1433, its raja, Narsingh Rai, who is represented as powerful and wealthy, was slain in battle by Ilitshang Gliori, king of Malwa, and Kherla taken. At a later date it appears to have become subject to Pandu Gaul', the raja of Deogarh, and continued so under his successors. Not far from Kherla we find a hill raja at Saoligadh in Aurangzeb's time, who seems to have maintained his independence till swept away by the Mahrattas between 1760 and 1775. A fourth Gond kingdom was that of Chanda on the Wardha, which extended far to the east and south-east. The four dynasties arose before the ascendency of the Moghuls in India, and have left architectural and other monuments of great interest. The principal architectural remains are at Mandla, at Garha near Jubbulpur, at Chaurag,arh near Narsingpur, at Deogarh near Chindwara, at Kherla near Baitul, and at Chanda. But besides the- preceding kingdoms, there was also a Gond Rajput dynasty at Warangal or Orankal in the Dekhan, to the south of the Godavery, which is said to have been founded by Kakati of the Ganapati family about A.D. 1088. The king dom became very powerful about the end of the 13th century, and the raja of Orissa, becoming jealous of his neighbour's power, solicited the aid of Ala-ud-Din, who sent an army in 1303, through Bengal, to attack Warangal; but his expedition failed. Malik Kafur was then despatched with 100,000 horse into the Dekhan, and, after a siege of some months, he took Warangal in 1309, and made the raja, Ladder Deva, tributary. In 1321 it was again besieged by Alif or Jerna Khan, the son of Ghaias-ud-Din Taghalaq, but he was obliged to retreat with the loss of nearly his whole army. He returned, however, and in 1323 reduced the place, and carried the raja prisoner to Dehli. It is said he was afterwards released and restored ; at all events Warangal reasserted its independence in 1344, and assisted Hasan Ganga, Bahmani, in his revolt. From this time the Bahmani kings of Kulburga involved the native rajas in continual wars. Firoz Shah (1397-1422) especially obtained great MCCOMB over the raja of Kherla ; and finally Alimad Shah, Wali, took pertnanent posaession of Warangal, forcing the raja to relinquish his ancient capital and flee northward across the Godavery, where he established himself in wild independence among tho inaccessible forests. The Gond rajas still maintained their independence, however, and in 1513 we find them joining in a powerful confederacy on the side of 3Iedon Rai against Muhammad Ir. of Malwa. At the close of the 16th century, Akbar reduced the western portion of Gondwana, but it was not till the middle of the 18th that permanent progress was made. About 1738, Ragltuji Bhonsla interfered in a dis puted succession in Deogarh, and secured half the revenues; but in 1743 the Gonds raised an insur rection, which Raglmji quelled, and annexed the principalities of Deogarh and Chanda to his own dominions ; and in 1751-52 he took the forts of Gawilgarh, Narnalla, aud 3Ianikdrug, with the districts dependent on them.