History of Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
is both the new and traditional name of the state that was formed from the
hilly districts of Uttar Pradesh India. Literally, North Country or section in
Sanskrit, the name of Uttarakhand finds mention in the early Hindu scriptures
as the combined region of Kedarkhand and Manaskhand.
Uttarakhand
was the ancient puranic term for the central stretch of the Indian Himalayas.
Its peaks and valleys were well-known in ancient times as the abode of Gods and
Goddesses and source of the Ganges River. Today, it is often called the Land of
the Gods (DevBhoomi) because of the presence of a multitude of Hindu pilgrimage
spots. The Pauravas, Kushanas, Kunindas, Guptas, katyris, Palas, the Chands and
parnars of Panwars and the British have ruled Uttarakhand in turns.
History of Garhwal and Kumaun
Uttarakhand
is broadly divided into two zones- Garhwali and kumaun. The history of
Uttarakhand can be best known by going through the history of Garhwal and
Kumaun.
GARHWAL
The ancient
history of Garhwal says that it had once been a part of the Mauryan empire.
Karnavati Rani was known as Nakati Rani in the history of Garhwal. The history
of Garhwal began as a unified whole in the 15th century, when King
Ajay Pal merged the 52 principalties of the Garhwal region. Garhwal remained a
consolidated kingdom for about 300 years, with Srinagar as its capital. But
during the British period, the territories of Pauri and Dehradun went under the
British domain the two regions were given toe the Brtishers in return of their
help during the Gurkha invasion in the 19th century.
The history
of Kumaun can be traced back to the stone age. Moreover, the early medieval
history of Kumaun started with the Katyuri dynasty that ruled frim 7th
to 11th century. Under the Katyuri dynasty, as the ancient history
of Uttarakhand suggests, art and
architecture flourished tremendously. Many new architectural buildings
were flourished during this period. However, like all kingdoms that fall after
a period of time, Katyuris also lost to the chands of Pithoragarh.
Evidence of UTTARAKHAND
in history
In Purans:-
The king of
mountains Himalaya is said to consist of five segment i.e. Nepal, Kurmanchal,
Kedar, Kangda and Ruchir Kashmir. This mid-Himalayan region of Garhwal and
Kumaun, which is commonly known as Uttarakhand today, was called by the name KEDARKHAND and MANASKHAND in the Skanda
puran.
In Vedas:-
According to
the famous historian, Mr. Shiv Prasad Dabral taking the word Uttarapad and
Khand from Kedarkhand form the Uttaranchal. This mountain region however is the
same, which was once renowned in its snow-covered from during the Vedic era and
sang the saga of glorious deeds of the kings, saints and ascetics of the time.
In Mahabharat:-
It was
referred to as Uttarpanchal by the compiles of the Upanishads, Uttarkaushal by
Valmiki and Uttarkuru by Vedvyasa who wrote the epic Mahabharat. It is the same
place that was Uttarpatti for Panini and Kautilya, Kiratmandal for kirats,
Khashadesh for the Khas, Karitpur for Katayurs. It was Parvatkaran and
Giryavali for the early historians and Uttaranchal or Uttarakhand of the
present day politicians.
STONE AGE
The
evidences of the people living in the Stone Age have been found in the state of
Uttarakhand in India. The archaeologists opine that were human settlements in
and around the Kumaun region in Uttarakhand from ancient time. This again
points towards the settlement of men of the stone age in Uttarakhand.
ANCIENT PERIOD
It was during the proto-historical and Harrapan period that
various tribes entered the region of Uttarakhand. Amongst these, Kirata,
Tangana, Khas, Darad, Kulind, yaudheya and Naga were the prominent ones.
Threafter, this region was successively under the domination of Paurava,
Katyuri and Parmar dynasties. The region was orifinally settled by kols. It has
been believed that the sage Vyasa scripts the Mahabharata here. Uttarakhand
also served as a haunt for Rishis and Sadhus. It is believed that,Bageshwar,
the famous historic site has been the main ruling centre of Uttarakhand.
Kirata Kingdom:-
Kirata kingdom in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology
refers to the people, who were dwellers mostly in the Himalayas (mostly Eastern
Himalaya) and North-East India. They took part in the Kurukshetra War along
with Parvatas (mountaineers) and other Himalayan tribes. They were widespread
in the folds and valleys of Himalayas in Nepal and Bhutan and in the Indian
states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and
Tripura.
Though dwelling in the Himalayas and other in accessible
regions, Kiratas did not get the status of super-humans enjoyed by other tribes
like the Gandharvas, interaction with the Vedic people, which resulted in their
de-mystification. But literary the word Kirata of Kirati means people of nomadic
nature and settled in jungles, who hunt animals for their living.
Mythological
reference of Kiratas
As the mythology goes in this very region, Arjun underwent
penance to gain power (weapon) from Lord Shiva. The lord, in order to test
Arjuna’s prowess, appeared in the guise of a Kirat, which followed a battle
between the two, known as Kiratarjuniya. Also, the journey of Pandavas to
heaven, travelling through Kedarnath and Pandukeshwar is well documented in the
folk lored and legends. Likewise, in the other epic, Ramayana, a narration
reveals that after the exile of Rama, Maharshi Vasistha lived in this part of
Himalaya along with his spouse (Arundhati) in the apparels of local Kiratas
inhabitants. These epics aldo mention several references of rivers, mountains
and places of this region, e.g. the holy river Bhagirathi is named as Kirati
after Kirat tribe.
Origin of different tribes form Kiratas
Also, origin of the names of many places in Garhwal can be
attributed to this tribe such as Kwili, Kurjana, Kimana, Karchchuna etc.
Furthermore, Sankrityayan, Dabral and Negi consider the Bhotia tribe inhabiting
the border districts of Garhwal and Bhuksa, and Tharu tribes of Tarai Bhawar to
be the main descendants of the Kiratas.
Probably, because of the arrival of Khas tribe, the Kiratas
took refugee in the remote areas away from the main land, communities near
Joshimath, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh, More appropriately, the Bhotiyas are
deemed to be the descendants of Tangana-Partangana communities which are ahte commercial
offshoots of the Kiratas.
Khas Kingdom:-
Like Kiratas and Tanganas,
Khasas living in this region also find regular mention in the epics and
Puranas. An offshoot of the Aryans, it was basically nomadic race which, while
struggling for its very survival in Babylon, Iran and Afghanistan, spread up to
Nepal through Kashmir.
According to an episode in
Mahabharata, the Khasas offered military help to the Kauravas in the battle of
Kurukshetra. Although due to mixing up of blood, it is difficult to identify
the tribe in the region, yet the legends describe the Khas as Rajputs living in
Jaunsar-Bhawar area of the region. Also, the association of many royal families
with Khasas has been found to have existed during the period. According to some
scholars, Shaka Raj of Kartikeyapura, who defeated Gupta ruler Ram Gupta, was
the ruler of Joshimath or Baijnath in Garhwal Himalaya.
Though this statement seems
dubious to some extent, yet there is a clear mention of Kartikeyapura to be the
capital of Katyuri rulers (AD 8th to 11th century) in the
copper plate of Pandukeshwar and Baijnath.
In this context, Atkinson,
Sankrityayan and other scholars have tried to associate the rulers of this
dynasty with Khas tribe. Further, evidences indicate that the rulers of chandpur
Garhi and later rulers of Garhwal region were of Khas origin.
