Dadoji Kondadeo (also spelled as Dadoji Konddev) (died 7 March 1647) was an administrator of the

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

and the nearby

Kondana Sinhagad (''Lion's Fort'') is an ancient hill fortress located at around 28 km southwest of the city of Pune, India. Previously known as ''Kondhana'', the fort had been the site of many battles, most notably the Battle of Sinhagad in 16 ...

fort. He was appointed by

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (; 18 March 1594 – 23 January 1664) was a 17th century Indian military leader who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a member of the Bhonsle dynas ...

, a noble and general of the

Adilshahi The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a ''taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 1490 ...

sultanate of Bijapur.

Biography

Early life

Kondadeo was born in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family near

Sindkhed Raja Sindkhed Raja is a town and a municipal council in Buldhana district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the birthplace of Rajmata Jijabai, mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Sindkhed was ruled by Koli Chieftain. Etymology There ar ...

Buldhana District Buldhana district (Marathi pronunciation: ulɖʰaːɳa is located in the Amravati division of Maharashtra, India. It is situated at the western border of Vidarbha region and is 500 km away from the state capital, Mumbai. The district ha ...

and spent time at Malthan, in the present-day

Shirur taluka Shirur taluka, is a taluka in Haveli subdivision of Pune district of state of Maharashtra in India. The town is situated on the bank of river Ghod and hence it was also known as Ghodnadi in 20th Century. The town is on the border of Pune & Ahm ...

of Pune District. He gradually rose high in Adilshahi service and became the chief civil administrator on behalf of Adilshah at Kondana fort before managing Shahaji's jagir.

Dadoji and the Pune jagir

After Shahaji joined the service of Adilshahi in 1637, his family's Pune jagir (

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

) was restored to him by the sultan. Since Shahaji was to be deployed in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

by Adilshah, Shahaji appointed Kondadeo as administrator of the Pune jagir. As the administrator, Konddeo established complete control over the

Maval Maval (also known as Andhar Maval) is a tehsil in a subdivision of the same name, in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. Description The word Maval is derived from a Marathi word ''Maval'', meaning the direction in which the sun sets. Th ...

region, winning over or subduing most of the local Maval ''

Deshpande Deshpande is a surname native to the Indian states of Karnataka, and Maharashtra. The surname can be also found in some parts of Himachal Pradesh. Deshpande surname is found among the Deshastha Brahmins, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) and the Chand ...

s'' (chiefs). He also rebuilt the settlement of Pune, including the construction of the

Lal Mahal The Lal Mahal (Red Palace) of Pune is one of the most famous monuments located in Pune, India, where Shivaji I, founder of the Maratha Empire, spent his childhood. History Of Lal Mahal The elaborate palace was built in the Pune jagir by the th ...

palace, and encouraged the return of prominent families who had left during its destruction by another Adilshahi general, Murar Jaggdeo, in 1631. Shahaji also selected Pune for the residence of his wife,

Jijabai Jijabai Shahaji Bhonsale (; 12 January 1598 – 17 June 1674), referred to as Rajmata Jijabai, was the mother of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Kingdom. She was a daughter of Lakhujirao Jadhav of Sindkhed Raja. Early life Jijabai was born ...

and young son,

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

, the future founder of the

Maratha empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. According to some sources, it was here that young Shivaji's development was entrusted to Konddeo at the request of his mother, Jijabai.

Modern Controversies

*19th century Social reformer,

Jyotirao Phule Jyotirao Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890), also known as Jyotiba Phule, was an Indian social activist, businessman, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including eradication of ...

in his

powada The powada () is a genre of Marathi poetry that was during the late 17th century in India. Powada, which means ‘to glorify’, is a traditional Marathi ballad that traces its history to more than 750 years Powadas often glorified and celebrated ...

(a traditional

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

ballad) on Shivaji , acknowledges Konddeo's role as Shivaji's teacher but gives much greater credit to Jijabai in encouraging Shivaji to take up arms and fight for the freedom of his people. He also minimizes Konddeo's role as a mentor by saying that "there is no need to teach a fish how to swim". *In 2008,

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...

renamed the Dadoji Konddeo award as the Best Sports Coach award after Maratha groups protested against highlighting the Brahmin tutor's influence. *In 2010,

Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party is one of the List of political parties in India#State parties, state parties in India and is one of the major political parties in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra with a recognised state party statu ...

-controlled

Pune Municipal Corporation Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is the civic body that governs the inner limits of Pune, India. It is in charge of the civic needs and infrastructure of the metropolis, which is spread over an area of 500 sq. km. and has 3.4 million resident ...

's (PMC) decision to remove the statue of Konddeo at Lal Mahal palace was claimed to be consistent with the party's policy to encourage demands of hardline Maratha groups. It is claimed that such a stance had helped the NCP maintain its dominance among the Maratha youth in Pune and rural Maharashtra. The status was removed because of the protests of the

Sambhaji Brigade Sambhaji Brigade is a Maratha (caste), Maratha outfit, based in Maharashtra, India. It is a branch of the Maratha Seva Sangh. The Brigade is named after the Maratha empire, Maratha king Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj son of the first Maratha king C ...

, a Maratha group claiming that the statue of Konddeo as the teacher of Shivaji was introduced by Brahmin historians.

Legacy

* Dadaji Kondadev Stadium, a stadium in Thane region of Mumbai in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

is named after Dadoji Konddev. *Dadoji Konddeo award, an award given to prominent personalities who teaches, guides young generation in various fields (but renamed it as the "Best Sports Coach award" after Maratha groups protests in 2008. Historian committee formed by Mahara Government reports that he was not Shivaji's mentor or teacher. *Dadoji Konddeo Marg, a road way in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

was named after Dadoji Konddev.

References

External links

A Note on the 'Twelve Mavals' of Poona District
- Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 12, No. 3 (1978), pp. 393–417 {{DEFAULTSORT:Konddeo, Dadoji Marathi people People from Pune district