The word Yāḍava is formed from yāḍu and yāḍu means Sheep or Goat in
Tamil. In the
Deccan region, the original worshippers of pastoralist god
Vitthal – the
Gollas and
Kurubas of
Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka and Gawlis and
Dhangars of
Maharashtra, especially southern Maharashtra – are continued to be called "Yāḍavas". Similar to them, several royal families who enhanced the magnificence of Vitthal's worship are called "Yādavas". The difference here is "ḍ" and "d", where "Yāḍavas" represents
Dravidian version and "Yādavas" is the
Sanskritized version of it. Linguistically this difference is subtle, and so "Yāḍavas" became "Yādavas", i.e., most of these royal dynasties arose from pastoralist groups and took the name Yādava in order to raise their status by connecting themselves with
Krishna's clan,
Yadu dynasty of the
Puranas. They elevated their traditional pastoralist god (
Vitthal) into a form of
Vishnu-
Krishna and accorded high prestige to his worship.[18]
The
Seuna Yadava dynasty, which ruled present-day Maharashtra and north Karnataka, arose out of the valorous deeds of
Dridhaprahara, founder of the dynasty, who protected cattle. According to the traditional sources,
Devagiri, the capital of Seuna Yadavas, was founded by a king who was a
maratha.[19] The idea that the Seunas were a Gavli dynasty survives to this day in folk traditions of the
Nashik-
Khandesh area, where they are traditionally called "Maratha Kings".[20] During the reign of Seuna Yadavas and their rival
Hoysala Yadavas, the temple of
Vitthal at
Pandharpur, under their purview, grew from a small pastoral deity site to a major temple complex.[21]
^commission, Great Britain Indian statutory (1930).
Report of the Indian Statutory Commission ... H. M. Stationery Office. The Yadav Gavli community claims descent from the Great Yadav families to one of which Shri Krishna the eighth incarnation of Vishnu belonged.