Author Topic: History of Uttarakhand, Kumaon & Garhwal-उत्तराखंड का इतिहास (कुमाऊं/गढ़वाल)  (Read 291509 times)

Bhishma Kukreti

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Historical Features of Garhwal- Kumaon (Uttarakhand) in Mauryan Age Part-2

History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 41   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-38   
(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                                         By: Bhishma Kukreti
   
                                                   Bindusara (Rule 297-272 B.C.)
            Bindusara succeeded his father in 297 B.C. The historians claim that he extended his empire between Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. The Maurya Empire was expended to Deccan. At the time of Bindusara death almost whole Indian subcontinent was under Maurya suzerainty. Bindusara was man of many interests and tastes. He used to import many entertaining and food products from Greece.
                                    Khasa Revolt against Bindusara       
              With the reference of Dr.Vasudev Sharan Agarwal ,Markandeya Puran: Ek Sanskritik Adhyayan (2010 reprint), Dr. Dabral states that there was revolt from Khasa of Nandakini valley ,Garhwal –Kumaon (Uttarakhand) against Maurya empire and Ashoka had to come to Uttarakhand to diffuse the revolt by Khasas. Historians as Taranath and Divyavadan also mentioned the vent of revolt by Khasas of Garhwal – Kumaon at Nandakini valley.
                                           Ashoka    (304 -232 B.C., Rule 269 to 232B.C.)                 
  The great Ashoka was born (304 B.C. in Patliputra and died (232 B.C.) there.  Ashoka was great fighter and cruel in his early life. However, after winning Kalinga kingdom he became Buddhist and started spreading Buddhist preaching.
  Ashoka scripted Buddhist preaching at crowded places all over his rule and inscriptions are in local script that is either Kharosti or Brahmi scripts. There are around forty inscriptions of Ashoka on rocks, monolith pillars.
                                            Kalsi or Kalkut Inscription of Ashoka 
        Kalsi inscription of Ashoka is one of the fourteen rock edicts.
                       Kalsi or Kalkut was very important town of Uttarakhand in and before Nanda and Mauryan Ages. Presently, Kalsi is in Chakrata tahseel, district Dehradun of Uttarakhand. Kalsi was capital of Shrughna.  The Chinese traveler and historian Hiuen –Tsang wrote full details about Kalsi.
   Forrest discovered Kalsi rock inscriptions in 1860 AD. 
                The Characters of Kalsi inscription are in Ashokan Brahmi. The languageof Kalsi rock inscription is Prakrit (local) and Magadhaian Prakrit. In brief, the Kalsi rock inscription of Ashoka has the following messages-
  1-No animal should be killed or slaughtered
2- Medical aids should be given to men and animals.
3-People should grow medicinal herbs.
4- Wells should be dug
5- Trees should be grown
6-Quinquennial circuit should be conducted for Buddhist ethical teaching
7- The nation should be regenerated under the royal decree; censors of sacred law should be employed.
8-Welfare of people should be conducted.
9-The people should observe self purity and self control
10-The carnal amusements formally patronized by kings should be replaced by pious occupants.
11-Auspecious rites should be cultivated
12- The glory that arises from the promulgation of the Dharma should be upheld
13-The law should be broadcasted.
14-People should observe tolerance in religious rituals and acts.
  There are names of five contemporary kings of Ashoka in the Kalsi inscription-Antiochus Theos II, king of Syria; Ptolemy Philadelphose  (Egypt king); Magas (Cyrinian King); Antigonus Gonatos (Macedonian king) and Alexander (Epirus King).
  Dr Dabral mentions about constructions of  Stupas by Ashoka in other parts of uttrakhand as in Shatrughna, Govishan and Ahichhatra places.
             Disintegration of Mauryan Empire
    In the time of Ashoka the Mauryan empire started disintegrating. Buddha preached the middle path but Ashoka went on extreme path of non violence and definitely kingdom requires defense and army. There is less known about the sons of Ashoka and their successors.  After the death of Ashoka, son of Ashoka Jaluak who was governor of Kashmir became free from Magadha and he snatched some portion of Maurya regime up to Kanykubj. Kuna the blind son of Ashoka owned the regime Magadha, east India and up to certain part of Ujjain, Rajasthan.
 Diyadatt took over the region of Kapisha, Udyan and Gandhar either in the time of Ashoka or after his death.
 There was also disintegration of Mauryan regime in north Panchal. A king Veersen took over the region of Sindh.   
 Pushymitra Shung took over the Mauryan Empire in Magadha in 184 B.C.

                                 Uttarakhand at the time of Mauryan Empire

           The administration in Uttarakhand under Maurya dynasty was with old chieftains only. It seems they became governors of Mauryas. Therefore, the general ideology of administration would have changed as per need of each king of Maurya till Ashoka. Or it may be said that Kulindas/Kunindas were the kings /chieftains of Uttarakhand and Maurya kings were supervisory king.
  Kunindas became free from Maurya regime just after death of Ashoka.
      Life- Though, mercantile community have been on the high rise all over India under Nanda and Maurya rules, the inhabitants of Uttarakhand did not enhance their needs for life. The Uttarakhandis in Nanda and Mauryan dynasties were very simple and with little needs.
       The people were depending on domestic animals, agriculture and forest produces.
         Education- it seems the local people were capable of reading and writing. That was the reason that Ashoka carved rock inscription in Kalkut/Kalsi. There is no mention that government agents would read and preach from inscriptions.
Religious Events- People used to gather for social activities and religious activities. Kalkut/Kalsi seemed to be biggest centre of religious and social events of Mauryan time.
Hunting- Hunting was very common. Individual or group hunting was the system. Most of the communities of Uttarakhand of Mauryan time were Non vegetarian. The hunting community was on demand to fulfill the need of meat products.
  Hunting was also part of amusement.
Auspicious Songs- There was custom of singing auspicious songs at the time of auspicious event as marriages. Women were major singers of auspicious songs.
Deities- Shiv, Skand, Vishakh, Yaksha, Raksha, Nag, Matridevi- Gramdevi Goddesses etc were deities and
Occupancies – Exports of Gangajal, blanket, horses of Garhwal and Bhotiya regions were main source of trade. There are mentions of people of Uttarakhandis taking herbal toothbrush, color, anvala, fruits, juices, and perfumes to Ashoka in Patliputra in Mahavansh. The export of solders was common from Uttarakhand at that time.
Medicinal Plants and medicines- Himalayan medicinal plants and herbal medicines from Uttarakhand had heavy demand in the territories of Maurya. There was export of various forest produces from Uttarakhand to plains.
     
                                   
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 13/05/2013
(The write up is aimed for general readers)
History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -42
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…39

 
References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Ajaya Rawat, History of Garhwal
Alexander Cunningham, 1996, Coins of Ancient India: From Earliest times down to the Seventh century 
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal , History of Kumaon
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1992, Kulinda Janpada
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal, 1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
Gyan Swarup Gupta, 199, India: From Indus Valley civilization to Mauryas
G.P. Singh, 2008, Researches into History and Civilizations of Kiratas
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Imana Simha Cemjonga, 2003, History and Culture of Kirat People
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad,  India
Khemanand Chandola, 1987 Across the Himalaya through Ages: a study of relations between Central Himalayas and Westren Tibet
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
Kanti Prasad Nautiyal, 1969, The Archeology of Kumaon including Dehradun
K.P Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Emergence of Early culture in Garhwal, Central Himalaya
Lalan Ji Gopal and Vinod Chandra Shrivastava , History of Agriculture in India  (up to 1200AD(article of Dr K.P Nautiyal et all – Agriculture in Garhwal Himalayas o to 1200AD, page 162)
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1990, Uttaranchal (Kumaon-Garhwal) : An Essay in Historical Anthropology, Shri Almora Book, Almora
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1989, Morphogenesis of Kunindas, Cir 200B.C.-cir A.D.300
Mathpal, Yashodhar, 1998, Kumaon Painting: A Story of Living Tradition of Painting in Kumaon 
Minyan G. Singh, 199, Wooden temples in Himachal
M.C.Joshi, 1978, the Khasas in the History of Uttarakhand, Swasti Sri, edited by K.V.Ravi , p.10),ND
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Mamta Chaudhari, 1977 Tribes of Ancient India
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
Dr. Naval  Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010  History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
Nitya Nand Mishra, 1994, Sources Materials of Kumauni History, Shri Almora Book Depot.
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360) 
Parmannad Gupta, 1989, Geography from Ancient Indian Coins and Seals
Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon valley Down the Ages, Dehradun, India 
R.C. Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
R.C. Naithani, 1999, Radiant Himalayas,
Ram Naresh Pandey (A.S.I), Ancient and Medieval History of Western Nepal 
S  S.S. Negi, Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society   
S.S.S. Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Sukhdev Singh Charak, 1979, History and Culture of Himalayan states
Savita  Saxena, 1995, The geographical Surveys of Puranas
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder Singh, 2008, History of Earlier and Medieval India.
Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology, State Museum, Shimla , Pages 3,5 and 65)
H. Sarkar, A.Banerji 2006, Hari Smriti , Chapter ‘ The Kunindas and their Archeology in Garhwal  Himalaya (pages-391-398).   
Http://www.thefreeliberary.com/cist +burial+Himalayas-a017422774
New cultural Dimension in the Central Himalayas, region of Uttarakhand, an Archeological assessment:
http://opar.unior.it/664/1/5/Annali 1986 (f1)K.p.nautiyal-B.M.Khanduri 
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
Uttar Pradesh District gazetteers, 1989, Volume-23
Plant, Richard, J., 1979, Greek, Semitic, Asiatic Coins and how to read them
R.C Majumdar, Ancient Colonies in the Far East
Shiv Pad Sen, 1988, Sources of History of India, Volume -5
 Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology
World Archeological Bulletin, 1989.p 18
Radheshyam Chaurasiya, 2002, History of Ancient India: Earliest time to 1000 AD
R.K. Nehra, 2010, Hinduism and Its Military Ethos
Chapters on African Presence in Early Asian Civilizations: A Historical Overview, Journal of African Civilizations, August 1995, Vol .X No.X pages 21-121
Radha Kumud Mukarji, 1988, Chandragupta Maurya and his Time
Om Gupta, 2006, Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
Edward James Rapson, 1923, Cambridge History of India (7 Volumes)
              References for Mauryan Dynasty History
Shastri, K.A.N, 1988, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas
Bharcava, Purushottam, 1996, Chandragupta Maurya
Gergal Tania, Michael Wood, 2004, Alexander the Great 
Bose, S.C.1968, Land and People of the Himalayas
Various Sanskrit Literatures
Romila Thapar, 1966, A History of India, volume- one
Om Chanda Handa, 1994, Buddhist Art and Antiquates of Himachal Pradesh (Page 197) 


Bhishma Kukreti

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Mauryan Empire Disintegration and Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon) 

History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 42   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-39   
(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                                         By: Bhishma Kukreti

              From Indian political history point of view, many historians call the period 200B.C. - 300 A.D. as Mauryan Empire Disintegration period.
             After death of Ashoka in 200 B.C., Indian subcontinent witnessed divided into numbers of political regions with their own ambitions.
      The immediate heirs of remained Mauryan Empire were Shungas (180 B.C.). Brahmin Shungas came from Ujjain and were once, under Mauryas. Shungas killed the last Maurya King Pushyamitra and took throne. At the time of Shungas the Empire comprised entire Ganges valley and parts of North India though through proxy representations. However, within a century, the Empire was limited to Magdha. Kanva took over Magadha from Shunga and controlled till 28 B.C.
  Kharvela of Kalinga (Orissa) rose again and ruled Kalinga till first century B.C. . After Kharvela , the heirs lost Kalinga regime.
                                        Regain of Greece Era
            After death of Alexander, the Iranian regional kings under Greece became free. By third century B.C. the entire Persian region had many chieftains and major regions were Bacteria and Parthia. Bacteria lay between Hindu Kush and Oxus.
 Diodotus a brave and strategy expert Bacteria governor revolted against Antiocus. Diodotus got bride from Seleucid king. Therefore, the Indian king lost the war of his attacking to Seleucid.
 Demetrius the son of Euthydemus attacked on Afghanistan and Markran (then Indian territories)
 Demetrius II conquered Punjab, Bharuch, Cutch, Chittaur..

                                   Rule by Menander

                                   Demetrius was ambitious and he conquered Panchal, Saket, Banaras and Patliputra with the help of his army chief Menander.  Shaka, Tushar, Darad, Parad, Shringal, Khas, Pahlava, and many soldiery communities of hills were in the service of Menander. However, the Greece armies or satrap (regional kings) started fighting with each other. Demetrius Ii died in a battle around 165 B.C.
  After the death of Demetrius, Menander became the king of Indian part. Buddhist literature (Milinda Panha) throws much light on Menander and praises him. Menander was converted to Buddhist. His empire was from North hills, Saurashtra, central Gujrat (Bharuch), Mathura, Panchal Yamuna-Ganges valley. Historians assumed that his empire was in central Afghanistan, Punjab, Sind, Rajasthan, Kathiawar, Parts of Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Himachal and Uttarakhand. The Menander ruled around 175-90B.C. His capital was Sagala (near Siyalkot, Punjab). 
           Menander got the title of king of kings etc.  Greece rulers were never liked by Indian societies for their culture and looting behavior. 
                 Menander died in battle.
Though, Menander won the larger Indian territories than Alexander but his rule did not leave any specific and lasting effects on Indian culture.
 Amodghbhuti a Kulinda chieftain of Himachal or Uttarakhand freed Uttarakhand from the rule of successors of   Menander. .

                                             Menander and Uttarakhand
  The historians claim that Menander won some territories of Uttarakhand from Vyas to Ismasmas River (Kali River).  The coins of Menander also indicate that he ruled over Kulinda territories too. Motichnadra described the Kulinda chieftains under Menander.  It is difficult to establish the exact area of Kulindas/Kunindas of Uttarakhand under Menander. Rahul Sankritayan states that there is influence of Greek art on Pandukeshwar art but historian as K.P Nautiya states it as unwarranted statement of Rahul .
           In the time of Menander, the highway was from Sakal to Satrughna (Himachal and Uttarakhand plain regions of Yamuna valley), Kalkut (Kalsi),  Govishan (Kumaon), Ahicchtra to Saket (Ayodha).
                      This shows that the merchant activities were very high on the mountain base-plains of Uttarakhand (Tarai and Bawar). Kalikut (Kalsi) was again major trade centre for exporting Uttarakhand goods. Same way there might be trade centers of Kumaon plains.

                                       ‘Jaun’ word of Jaunsar 

                    According to Al-Baruni the word ‘Jaun’ of Jaunsar is indicative of Greece settlement in Jaunsar (Kalkut/Kalsi) . Yavan (Yunani or Greece) is converted to Jauvan and then became Jaunsar. It seemed (Rahul Satyakritan, Garhwal page 64-65) that a few Greece citizens or army men might have settled in Kalkut region (Kalsi) and the area was named as Yavansar or Jaunsar.
             There are a few customs of Jaunsari those tally with present customs. The women gown of Jaunsari is similar to Takhriyas of central Asia. The Jaunsari women greet /welcome by kissing and that is also similar to custom of Greece women. The average faces of Jaunsari women also match with average face of Greece women.

                                     The custom of one wife by all brothers

   There were custom before few decades to have one wife of all brothers in the said region. Many social historians give this reason to Pandavs having one wife Draupadi. However, it may be that when a few Greece or Iranian settled in Kalkut or Kalsi they found it difficult to marry with Khas girls of the region and custom for to have one wife for all brothers was started from that time.                                   
                                           
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 14/05/2013
(The write up is aimed for general readers)
History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -43
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…40

 
References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Ajaya Rawat, History of Garhwal
Alexander Cunningham, 1996, Coins of Ancient India: From Earliest times down to the Seventh century 
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal , History of Kumaon
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1992, Kulinda Janpada
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal, 1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
Gyan Swarup Gupta, 199, India: From Indus Valley civilization to Mauryas
G.P. Singh, 2008, Researches into History and Civilizations of Kiratas
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Imana Simha Cemjonga, 2003, History and Culture of Kirat People
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad,  India
Khemanand Chandola, 1987 Across the Himalaya through Ages: a study of relations between Central Himalayas and Westren Tibet
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
Kanti Prasad Nautiyal, 1969, The Archeology of Kumaon including Dehradun
K.P Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Emergence of Early culture in Garhwal, Central Himalaya
Lalan Ji Gopal and Vinod Chandra Shrivastava , History of Agriculture in India  (up to 1200AD(article of Dr K.P Nautiyal et all – Agriculture in Garhwal Himalayas o to 1200AD, page 162)
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1990, Uttaranchal (Kumaon-Garhwal) : An Essay in Historical Anthropology, Shri Almora Book, Almora
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1989, Morphogenesis of Kunindas, Cir 200B.C.-cir A.D.300
Mathpal, Yashodhar, 1998, Kumaon Painting: A Story of Living Tradition of Painting in Kumaon 
Minyan G. Singh, 199, Wooden temples in Himachal
M.C.Joshi, 1978, the Khasas in the History of Uttarakhand, Swasti Sri, edited by K.V.Ravi , p.10),ND
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Mamta Chaudhari, 1977 Tribes of Ancient India
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
Dr. Naval  Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010  History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
Nitya Nand Mishra, 1994, Sources Materials of Kumauni History, Shri Almora Book Depot.
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360) 
Parmannad Gupta, 1989, Geography from Ancient Indian Coins and Seals
Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon valley Down the Ages, Dehradun, India 
R.C. Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
R.C. Naithani, 1999, Radiant Himalayas,
Ram Naresh Pandey (A.S.I), Ancient and Medieval History of Western Nepal 
S  S.S. Negi, Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society   
S.S.S. Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Sukhdev Singh Charak, 1979, History and Culture of Himalayan states
Savita  Saxena, 1995, The geographical Surveys of Puranas
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder Singh, 2008, History of Earlier and Medieval India.
Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology, State Museum, Shimla , Pages 3,5 and 65)
H. Sarkar, A.Banerji 2006, Hari Smriti , Chapter ‘ The Kunindas and their Archeology in Garhwal  Himalaya (pages-391-398).   
Http://www.thefreeliberary.com/cist +burial+Himalayas-a017422774
New cultural Dimension in the Central Himalayas, region of Uttarakhand, an Archeological assessment:
http://opar.unior.it/664/1/5/Annali 1986 (f1)K.p.nautiyal-B.M.Khanduri 
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
Uttar Pradesh District gazetteers, 1989, Volume-23
Plant, Richard, J., 1979, Greek, Semitic, Asiatic Coins and how to read them
R.C Majumdar, Ancient Colonies in the Far East
Shiv Pad Sen, 1988, Sources of History of India, Volume -5
 Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology
World Archeological Bulletin, 1989.p 18
Radheshyam Chaurasiya, 2002, History of Ancient India: Earliest time to 1000 AD
R.K. Nehra, 2010, Hinduism and Its Military Ethos
Chapters on African Presence in Early Asian Civilizations: A Historical Overview, Journal of African Civilizations, August 1995, Vol .X No.X pages 21-121
Radha Kumud Mukarji, 1988, Chandragupta Maurya and his Time
Om Gupta, 2006, Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
Edward James Rapson, 1923, Cambridge History of India (7 Volumes)
              References for Mauryan Dynasty History
Shastri, K.A.N, 1988, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas
Bharcava, Purushottam, 1996, Chandragupta Maurya
Gergal Tania, Michael Wood, 2004, Alexander the Great 
Bose, S.C.1968, Land and People of the Himalayas
Various Sanskrit Literatures, Jatakas, 
Romila Thapar, 1966, A History of India, volume- one
Om Chanda Handa, 1994, Buddhist Art and Antiquates of Himachal Pradesh (Page 197) 
Pargitar, Dynasties of Kali Age(  Listings of Pauranik kings-Shungas)
Raychaudhri , 1953,political History of Ancient India
R.Mitra, 1880, Aintiques of Orisa
A.Cunningham 1914, Coins of Alexander’s succssors in East
V.Smith, 1906, catalogues of coins in Indian Musium Calcutta.
Tran, W.W. 1951, The Greeks in Bactria and India
Epigraphia Indica
Yazdani, A. (edit), The early History of Deccan
Aiyangar, P.T.S., 1929, History of Tamils, to 600 AD
Pillai, K.N.S., 1932, Chronology of Early Tamils
N.P Chakravarti, India and central Asia
Stein, A., 1907, Ancient Khotan
Stein, A., 1921, Serindia
Augustine P.A, 1991 Social equity in Indian Societies (page 49)
Magil,F.N., 2013,Anccient World: Dictionary of World bibliography, volume -1, page 719
Banerjee, G.N., 1995, Hellenism in India
This chapter contains Political history of Uttarakhand around Mauryan Empire Disintegration; Political narration of Jaunsar, Uttarakhand around Mauryan Empire Disintegration; Political account of Dehradun, Uttarakhand around Mauryan Kingdom Disintegration; Political history of Haridwar, Uttarakhand around Mauryan Territory Disintegration; Political history of Garhwal , Uttarakhand around Mauryan Empire Disintegration; Political Record of Kumaon ,Uttarakhand around Mauryan Empire Disintegration; Political history of Upper Garhwal , Uttarakhand around Mauryan Empire Disintegration; Political history of Uttarakhand around Upper Kumaon Mauryan Empire Disintegration.   

Bhishma Kukreti

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Shunga Rule Time in India and Uttarakhand
History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 43   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-40   
(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                                         By: Bhishma Kukreti

           The Greece attack on India and Patliputra not only weakened Maurya Empire but Maurya Empire became the history.
                 There were two strong contenders of Magadha throne after heirs of Ashoka were thrown out of power.
                  Pushyamitra Shunga killed last Maurya king. Pushyamitra founded Brahmin Shunga dynasty kingdom
            The army chief of Magadha Pushyamitra fought within that his son Agnimitra became the king of Patliputra (Magadha).  Pushyamitra performed two Ashwmedha rituals.
                   Pushyamitra denounced the influence of Buddhism and Pushyamitra was one of the factors for destroying Buddhism in that time.
            Pushyamitra was brave and daring. Pushyamitra was a scholar and used to respect scholars. Pushyamitra   reestablished Vedic system.  Patanjali the Yoga and psychology scholar used to come to Pushyamitra.
        The minster of Maurya rule saw that his relative Yagyasen got the throne of Vidarbha.
        Later on, Agnimitra defeated Yagyasen and brought Vidarbha under his rule.  Agnimitra divided Vidarbha and offered Yagyasen and Madhavsen (cousin of Yagyasen) to rule separate kingdoms as governors.
               Eight sons of Agnimitra ruled Patliputra. The last Shunga dynasty king was Dev Bhuti. Devbhuti Shunga was womanizer. His minister Vasudev killed dev Bhumi Shunga and that was end of Shunga dynasty rule.
                       Importance of Shunga Regime in India
   The Shunga regime was strong kingdom and Shunga rule was main reason to stop further encroachment by Greece and other foreign invaders.
  There was high development in the fields of management science, psychology, classic literature, art and there was editing and collection of Mahabharata, Arthashastra, Smriti types of literature in Shunga regime.  Sanskrit got importance in Shunga rule. Patanjali’s Yoga sutra and Mahabhasya are important classics of this age.  There was development of art and architectures. Chaitya architecture is one of the architecture of Shunga time. There was synthesis of folk art and Buddhist art in Shunga time.   
                                          Shunga and Uttarakhand
                             The Brick Coins of Shunga from Dehradun show that at least the plains or places below hills of Uttarakhand including Saharanpur were under Shunga rule. The brick coin states that –Bhadrmitrasy Droni ghate’.  It seems that Shrughan kings were under Shunga.
     List of Shunga Rulers
Pushyamitra Shunga/Sunga (185-149 BCE)
Agnimitra Shunga/Sunga (149-141 BCE)
Vasujyestha Shunga/Sunga (141-131)
Vasumitra Shunga/Sunga (131-124 BCE)
Andharka Shunga/Sunga (124-122 BCE)
Pulindaka Shunga/Sunga (122-119BCE)
Ghosa Shunga/Sunga (?)
Vajiramitra Shunga /Sunga (?)
Bhagabbhadra (?)
Dev Bhuti Shunga/Sunga (83-73 BCE)
                      Kanva Dynasty
 Kanva dynasty replaced Shunga dynasty in Magadha (73 BCE).
 The kings of Kanva rule were-
Vasudeva  Kanva (75-66 BCE)
Bhumimitra  Kanva (66-52BCE)
Narayana  Kanva (52-40BCE)
Sushraman  Kanva  (40BCE-30 BCE)
Kanva dynasty was succeeded by Gupta Dynasty .


   


Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 15/05/2013
(The write up is aimed for general readers)
History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -44
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…41

 
References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Ajaya Rawat, History of Garhwal
Alexander Cunningham, 1996, Coins of Ancient India: From Earliest times down to the Seventh century 
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal , History of Kumaon
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1992, Kulinda Janpada
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal, 1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
Gyan Swarup Gupta, 199, India: From Indus Valley civilization to Mauryas
G.P. Singh, 2008, Researches into History and Civilizations of Kiratas
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Imana Simha Cemjonga, 2003, History and Culture of Kirat People
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad,  India
Khemanand Chandola, 1987 Across the Himalaya through Ages: a study of relations between Central Himalayas and Westren Tibet
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
Kanti Prasad Nautiyal, 1969, The Archeology of Kumaon including Dehradun
K.P Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Emergence of Early culture in Garhwal, Central Himalaya
Lalan Ji Gopal and Vinod Chandra Shrivastava , History of Agriculture in India  (up to 1200AD(article of Dr K.P Nautiyal et all – Agriculture in Garhwal Himalayas o to 1200AD, page 162)
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1990, Uttaranchal (Kumaon-Garhwal) : An Essay in Historical Anthropology, Shri Almora Book, Almora
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1989, Morphogenesis of Kunindas, Cir 200B.C.-cir A.D.300
Mathpal, Yashodhar, 1998, Kumaon Painting: A Story of Living Tradition of Painting in Kumaon 
Minyan G. Singh, 199, Wooden temples in Himachal
M.C.Joshi, 1978, the Khasas in the History of Uttarakhand, Swasti Sri, edited by K.V.Ravi , p.10),ND
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Mamta Chaudhari, 1977 Tribes of Ancient India
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
Dr. Naval  Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010  History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
Nitya Nand Mishra, 1994, Sources Materials of Kumauni History, Shri Almora Book Depot.
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360) 
Parmannad Gupta, 1989, Geography from Ancient Indian Coins and Seals
Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon valley Down the Ages, Dehradun, India 
R.C. Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
R.C. Naithani, 1999, Radiant Himalayas,
Ram Naresh Pandey (A.S.I), Ancient and Medieval History of Western Nepal 
S  S.S. Negi, Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society   
S.S.S. Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Sukhdev Singh Charak, 1979, History and Culture of Himalayan states
Savita  Saxena, 1995, The geographical Surveys of Puranas
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder Singh, 2008, History of Earlier and Medieval India.
Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology, State Museum, Shimla , Pages 3,5 and 65)
H. Sarkar, A.Banerji 2006, Hari Smriti , Chapter ‘ The Kunindas and their Archeology in Garhwal  Himalaya (pages-391-398).   
Http://www.thefreeliberary.com/cist +burial+Himalayas-a017422774
New cultural Dimension in the Central Himalayas, region of Uttarakhand, an Archeological assessment:
http://opar.unior.it/664/1/5/Annali 1986 (f1)K.p.nautiyal-B.M.Khanduri 
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
Uttar Pradesh District gazetteers, 1989, Volume-23
Plant, Richard, J., 1979, Greek, Semitic, Asiatic Coins and how to read them
R.C Majumdar, Ancient Colonies in the Far East
Shiv Pad Sen, 1988, Sources of History of India, Volume -5
 Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology
World Archeological Bulletin, 1989.p 18
Radheshyam Chaurasiya, 2002, History of Ancient India: Earliest time to 1000 AD
R.K. Nehra, 2010, Hinduism and Its Military Ethos
Chapters on African Presence in Early Asian Civilizations: A Historical Overview, Journal of African Civilizations, August 1995, Vol .X No.X pages 21-121
Radha Kumud Mukarji, 1988, Chandragupta Maurya and his Time
Om Gupta, 2006, Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
Edward James Rapson, 1923, Cambridge History of India (7 Volumes)
              References for Mauryan Dynasty History
Shastri, K.A.N, 1988, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas
Bharcava, Purushottam, 1996, Chandragupta Maurya
Gergal Tania, Michael Wood, 2004, Alexander the Great 
Bose, S.C.1968, Land and People of the Himalayas
Various Sanskrit Literatures, Jatakas, 
Romila Thapar, 1966, A History of India, volume- one
Om Chanda Handa, 1994, Buddhist Art and Antiquates of Himachal Pradesh (Page 197) 
Pargitar, Dynasties of Kali Age(  Listings of Pauranik kings-Shungas)
Raychaudhri , 1953,political History of Ancient India
R.Mitra, 1880, Aintiques of Orisa
A.Cunningham 1914, Coins of Alexander’s succssors in East
V.Smith, 1906, catalogues of coins in Indian Musium Calcutta.
Tran, W.W. 1951, The Greeks in Bactria and India
Epigraphia Indica
Yazdani, A. (edit), The early History of Deccan
Aiyangar, P.T.S., 1929, History of Tamils, to 600 AD
Pillai, K.N.S., 1932, Chronology of Early Tamils
N.P Chakravarti, India and central Asia
Stein, A., 1907, Ancient Khotan
Stein, A., 1921, Serindia
Augustine P.A, 1991 Social equity in Indian Societies (page 49)
Magil,F.N., 2013,Anccient World: Dictionary of World bibliography, volume -1, page 719
Banerjee, G.N., 1995, Hellenism in India
Additional References for Shunga/Sunga Dynasty History
Kulke, Hemanat, D. Rothermund, 2004, A History of India (page 73)
Thapar, Romila, 1990, A History of India volume -1
Thapar, Romila, 2004, Early India,
B.K.Chaturvedi, 2004, Bhavishya Puran
Rivett-Camac,J.H, 1880, Memorandum on coins of Sunga Dynasty
Jha, D.N. Early India: A Concise History, page 150

Bhishma Kukreti

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Political, Religious, Economical and Historical Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Rule in Uttarakhand (200-20 BCE) -1


History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 44   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-41   
(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                                                         By: Bhishma Kukreti

                                               The Rise of Republican Rules
                      After the death of Great King Ashoka, there was immediate disintegration of Maurya dynasty.  There was immediate rise of republicans or the kings /chieftains under Ashoka started revolting Maurya representation and declared them free. However, the attack of Greece veterans stopped full rise of republicans (Ganapada, Janapada, Ganasatta, Gana Sangh etc).  The second rise of republicans or Ganapada or republicans started around Shunga and stopped there on. The republicans as Kunindas/Kuilindas, Yaudhey and Audambar flourished at this time. The third rise of republicans started in the decline of Kushan era.
   The coins, inscriptions and old literature from India and Greece provide ample information of the second and third rise of republicans (Ganapada, Janapada, Ganasatta, Gana Sangh etc) as Kunindas/Kulindas. 

                                      The Rise of Kunindas/Kulindas Republic in Central Himalaya
   The coins and literature suggest that Kuninda/Kulinda Ganas or Janapadas were there from Vyas River to Kali (Kumaon) including Saharanpur.  It is not clear the whole territory of Central Himalayas was governed by one Kulinda/Kuninda or the said territory was governed by Kuninda /Kulinda chieftains.
                                            Coins of Kunindas/Kulindas Age
           Two or three types of coins are described about Kuninda/Kunindas coinage.  These were found from Mevatappa, Jwalamukhi of Kangada Himachal; Ambala and Karnal of Haryana; Behat of Saharanpur; and Dehradun, Tehri, Almora of Uttarakhand. The coins were manufactured  and distributed definitely after Ashoka Age.
 Script is on both Kharosti and or Brahmi
1-Copper Coins one side blank and inscription is on one side- Vedi, Bodhoivriksh and Baudhvesthini.
2- As first but inscribed- Kuninda.
3-Many symbols on both the sides and written texts (mostly silver)

                      Symbols of Kunindas/Kunindas Coins 
 There are symbols in coins of Kunindas/Kulindas Age found in north India .
Tree in railing- The ancient Indian symbol appears on reverse side
Swastika- An ancient Indian always appear on reverse side and very rarely on obverse side
Hills-Three –arched hills appear on obverse side and five arched hills appear on reverse side.
Two types of Y symbols- A common ancient Indian symbol but is still unknown about the meaning
Lotus Flower- appears on obverse side of silver coins with a dot in middle or no dot.
The peacock or trophy- a tiny symbol appears on rare coins on the obverse side. The symbol may be of peacock or chalice/trophy.
Unknown symbol on Indo Greek coins- may be a symbol of vessel.
Deer- Common ancient symbol
Cobras- The ancient symbols
Laxmi- The ancient symbol and she is offering grass or lotus to deer.
Indardhwaja- This ancient Indian symbol .
‘Sumeru’ and’ Nandipad’ images were also found on later Age Kulinda/Kunindas coins.
Shiva- Dr. Saklani (1998, page 49) provides references of Shiva on latter age coins that Shiva was also there with trident and legend of ’Bhagvata  Chatreshwara Mahataman’.  There is scrip of king Agrarajasya in many coins (Dabral).
Four dots  four dots represent following Artha, Dharma, Kama and Moksha.
                                Catalogues of Kunindas /Kulindas Coins
 The catalogues are in Brahmi or and Kharosti scripts
Prakrit script on Brahmi inscription on obverse side: The script states- Rajnah Kunindasya Amoghabhutisya Maharajasya (Great King Amoghabhuti of the Kunindas). The dear is standing right, crowned by cobras, attended by Laxmi holding lotus.
                  Script on Kharosti inscription on reverse side:  the script states Rajna Kunindasa Amoghabhutisa Maharajasa (Great King Amoghabhuti of the Kunindas).Stupa surmounted by Buddhist symbol ‘triratna’ and ‘Y’ symbols, wavy line bellow Kharosti writing.
        The coins are of different sizes and weight that shows that metallurgy was in its developing stage. The places of symbols on coins are also different in different coins. 
            Brahmi is found in central Himalayas but Kharosti scripted coins are from Kashmir or western regions.
                            The Land and Time of Kunindas/Kulindas
          The coins and the writings of Greek historian Ptolemy suggest that Kunindas /Kulindas were inhabited from east of Vyasa River (Himachal), Garhwal and Kumaon. The area of Behat of Saharanpur was also under Kunindas/Kulindas. The time would from 200 BCE to 165 AD.
                                Economic conditions in Kunindas/Kulindas Time
                   The major trading transaction used to be on barter system. However, the start of coinages indicates that merchant civilization started and was flourishing. The coins are symbol of rise of mercantile community in Indian peninsula. The coins found in Uttarakhand are of copper. That means that it was not possible for small kings to have silver coins. Perhaps the silver coins were manufactured in Magadha and they were also the source of commercial transactions.  The Mauryas used to cover copper coins by silver polishing.

                    Religious Characteristics of Kunindas /Kulindas Age

           The coins throw light on ritual and performing styles of worshiping. The trees were worshipped as deities or goddesses. The platform was erected around trees as banyan or holy fig tree and a stone was put on the platform as image.

           There was worshipping /ritual performance for Bodhivriksha, Stupa, Triranta, cobra, Swastik, Sun etc. Kartikey was also worshipped. The image of Kartikey has been there in later Age Kunindas/Kulindas coins.
             The coins were not used only for business transactions but were also used as images and were kept for ritual performances.
                             Political Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Age
       
           The Kunindas /Kulindas coins state that the Kunindas/Kulinda kingdom or Kunindas /Kulindas republicans were free from any interference of bigger rulers of Indian Territory. The coins are proof of independency of Kulindas/Kulindas king or republics.
  The kings believe on four pillars of life- Artha, Dharma, Kama, Moksha

The List of Kunindas /Kulindas kings would be provided in next chapter….. Political, Religious, Economical and Historical Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Rule in Uttarakhand (200-20 BCE) –part-2


Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 15/05/2013
(The write up is aimed for general readers)
History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -45
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…42

 
References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Ajaya Rawat, History of Garhwal
Alexander Cunningham, 1996, Coins of Ancient India: From Earliest times down to the Seventh century 
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal , History of Kumaon
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1992, Kulinda Janpada
Michael Mitchiner, 1976, Indo Greek and Indo Scythian Coinage vol./79 page 617/632
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal, 1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
Gyan Swarup Gupta, 199, India: From Indus Valley civilization to Mauryas
G.P. Singh, 2008, Researches into History and Civilizations of Kiratas
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Imana Simha Cemjonga, 2003, History and Culture of Kirat People
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad,  India
Khemanand Chandola, 1987 Across the Himalaya through Ages: a study of relations between Central Himalayas and Westren Tibet
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
Kanti Prasad Nautiyal, 1969, The Archeology of Kumaon including Dehradun
K.P Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Emergence of Early culture in Garhwal, Central Himalaya
Nautiyal, K.P. B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Kuninda coins from Athoor, Tehri Garhwal, central Himalaya,JNSI, Volume-LIII, parts 1 and 2   

Lalan Ji Gopal and Vinod Chandra Shrivastava , History of Agriculture in India  (up to 1200AD(article of Dr K.P Nautiyal et all – Agriculture in Garhwal Himalayas o to 1200AD, page 162)

Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1990, Uttaranchal (Kumaon-Garhwal) : An Essay in Historical Anthropology, Shri Almora Book, Almora
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1989, Morphogenesis of Kunindas, Cir 200B.C.-cir A.D.300
Mathpal, Yashodhar, 1998, Kumaon Painting: A Story of Living Tradition of Painting in Kumaon 
Minyan G. Singh, 199, Wooden temples in Himachal
M.C.Joshi, 1978, the Khasas in the History of Uttarakhand, Swasti Sri, edited by K.V.Ravi , p.10),ND
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Mamta Chaudhari, 1977 Tribes of Ancient India
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
Dr. Naval  Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010  History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
Nitya Nand Mishra, 1994, Sources Materials of Kumauni History, Shri Almora Book Depot.
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360) 
Parmannad Gupta, 1989, Geography from Ancient Indian Coins and Seals
Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon valley Down the Ages, Dehradun, India 
R.C. Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
R.C. Naithani, 1999, Radiant Himalayas,
Ram Naresh Pandey (A.S.I), Ancient and Medieval History of Western Nepal 
S  S.S. Negi, Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society   
S.S.S. Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Sukhdev Singh Charak, 1979, History and Culture of Himalayan states
Savita  Saxena, 1995, The geographical Surveys of Puranas
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder Singh, 2008, History of Earlier and Medieval India.
Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology, State Museum, Shimla , Pages 3,5 and 65)
H. Sarkar, A.Banerji 2006, Hari Smriti , Chapter ‘ The Kunindas and their Archeology in Garhwal  Himalaya (pages-391-398).   
Http://www.thefreeliberary.com/cist +burial+Himalayas-a017422774
New cultural Dimension in the Central Himalayas, region of Uttarakhand, an Archeological assessment:
http://opar.unior.it/664/1/5/Annali 1986 (f1)K.p.nautiyal-B.M.Khanduri 
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
Uttar Pradesh District gazetteers, 1989, Volume-23
Plant, Richard, J., 1979, Greek, Semitic, Asiatic Coins and how to read them
R.C Majumdar, Ancient Colonies in the Far East
Shiv Pad Sen, 1988, Sources of History of India, Volume -5
 Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology
World Archeological Bulletin, 1989.p 18
Radheshyam Chaurasiya, 2002, History of Ancient India: Earliest time to 1000 AD
R.K. Nehra, 2010, Hinduism and Its Military Ethos
Chapters on African Presence in Early Asian Civilizations: A Historical Overview, Journal of African Civilizations, August 1995, Vol .X No.X pages 21-121
Radha Kumud Mukarji, 1988, Chandragupta Maurya and his Time
Om Gupta, 2006, Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
Edward James Rapson, 1923, Cambridge History of India (7 Volumes)
Almoda ki Shan Hain:Kunindake Sikke (Reference of Almora Museum in charge Manju Tiwari and Mohan Singh Gadiya,) www.himvan.com 
            Additional References for   Neo Kunindas/ Kulinda Era 
Molu Ram Thakur, 1997, Myths, Rituals and beliefs in Himachal Pradesh page 18
Ptolemy, Vol.1
Prasanna Bundela, 2003, Coin Splendor: A Journey into Past , page 105-108nwards
Ashok Kumar Bhattacharya ET all, 1994, Foundation of Indian Musicology, page 157
Raj Kumar, 2010, Early History of Jammu, page 498
S.K Sharma, 2006,Haryana: Past and Present, page 51-53
Shastri, K.A.N, 1988, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas
Bharcava, Purushottam, 1996, Chandragupta Maurya
Gergal Tania, Michael Wood, 2004, Alexander the Great 
Bose, S.C.1968, Land and People of the Himalayas
Various Sanskrit Literatures, Jatakas, 
Romila Thapar, 1966, A History of India, volume- one
Om Chanda Handa, 1994, Buddhist Art and Antiquates of Himachal Pradesh (Page 197) 
Devendra Handa, 2007, Tribal Coins of Ancient India, page 55 
Pargitar, Dynasties of Kali Age (Listings of Pauranik kings-Shungas)
Raychaudhri , 1953,political History of Ancient India
R.Mitra, 1880, Aintiques of Orisa
A.Cunningham 1914, Coins of Alexander’s successors in East
V.Smith, 1906, catalogues of coins in Indian Musium Calcutta.
Tran, W.W. 1951, The Greeks in Bactria and India
Epigraphia Indica
Yazdani, A. (edit), The early History of Deccan
Aiyangar, P.T.S., 1929, History of Tamils, to 600 AD
Pillai, K.N.S., 1932, Chronology of Early Tamils
N.P Chakravarti, India and central Asia
Stein, A., 1907, Ancient Khotan
Stein, A., 1921, Serindia
Augustine P.A, 1991 Social equity in Indian Societies (page 49)
Magil,F.N., 2013,Anccient World: Dictionary of World bibliography, volume -1, page 719
Banerjee, G.N., 1995, Hellenism in India
Kulke, Hemanat, D. Rothermund, 2004, A History of India (page 73)
Thapar, Romila, 1990, A History of India volume -1
Thapar, Romila, 2004, Early India,
B.K.Chaturvedi, 2004, Bhavishya Puran
Rivett-Camac,J.H, 1880, Memorandum on coins of Sunga Dynasty
Jha, D.N. Early India: A Concise History, page 150

Bhishma Kukreti

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The Kuninda Kings of Srughana Region Time (around 175 BCE to 77AD)


History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 45   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-42   
Political, Religious, Economical and Historical Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Rule in Uttarakhand (200BCE-400AD) -2

(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                      By: Bhishma Kukreti

                        The historians do not have complete agreement about whether Kunindas kingdom was a single kingdom or the kingdoms were republican kingdoms.  The historians of Saharanpur, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have certain inclination to prove that the important Kunindas/Kulindas kingdom was from their respective region.
                         The Kuninda /Kulinda era coins and inscriptions are found abundantly by historians. It seems that Kalkut (Kalsi) was the capital of Kunindas/Kulindas kingdom /kingdoms in the Ashoka time. However, there was shift of ruling centre from Kalkut to Srughna or today’s Sugh, Ambala district of Haryana. Sugh village or Srughna/Srughana is 38 miles western south of Kalkut/Kalsi at Yamuna river bank. 
            Ashoka built a Stupa in Srughna/Srughana (Buddhist record of  ...). There were also more Stupas nearby. 
                                         Coins of Srughna/Srughana kingdom
                         The historians found coins of Srughna/Srughana time from Sugh. The coins are related to three kings- Agaraj, Valbhuti and Amoghbhuti. In the silver and copper coins, Amoghbhuti is called the king of Kuninda/Kulinda.
   The historians found other seven other Kuninda/Kulinda coins those proof that the ruling centre of Kulinda/Kuninda shifted eastern of Sugh either in Behat of Saharanpur or more eastern side. 
               The kings in scripted on the coins are m-g-bh-t, Shiv Datt, Shivpalit and Hari Datt. It is suggested that those kings were heirs of Amoghbhuti. The ruling time of these kings would be around beginning of first century AD.
 The coins of other Kuninda/Kulinda kings Chhatreshwar, Bhanu, and Rawan are around decline of Kushan era.  The coins of Kuninda/Kulinda kings - are m-g-bh-t, Shiv Datt, Shivpalit and Hari Datt are found from Almora, Uttarakhand.

                                           Five Inscriptions of Kuninda/Kulinda kingdoms
           Historians have records for five inscriptions related to Kuninda regimes –
1-Bharathut Stupa- The eastern column was built by Vatsitanay Dhanbhuti . Dhanbhuti was son of Kautsi tanay Agraraj and grandson of Gargi Tanay Vishvadev
2-Bharathut Stupa  (vatanmar door)-contemporary king Agraraj built the column.
3-Bharathut Stupa (The donation plate shows)- Nagrakshita is wife of Dhanabhuti I.
4-Bharathut Stupa (donation plate) shows that Baghpal/vridhpal was son of Dhanabhuti
5-Mathura Stupa shows that Dhanbhuti II donated /built Vedika, clumn and Ratnagrih. Dhanabhuti II was son of Vridhpal and grandson of Dhanabhuti I.
                            The Kuninda Kings of Almora of Srughana Dynasty
  The Almora coins and Stupa inscriptions suggest following Almora kings of Srughana dynasty (150 BCE) (Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas 3rd, page 159 and supported by Dinesh Saklani).
--------Names from Inscription------------------King name on Coins-----------------Relation with earlier King
SN ------King--------------------------------Queen --------- ------King on Coins—
1---------? ------------------------------------Gagi/Gargi---      -------                                   -----------------
2- Visdev (Vishwdev)-----------------------Goti/Kautsi/Gopti----------             ------------------------Son
3-Agraju(Agraraj)---------------------------Vachhi (Vatsi) --------------Agraj -------------------------Son
4-Dhanbhuti (I)---------------------------- Vachhi, Nagrakshita----------------  -----                -------Son
5- Vadhpal (Vudhpal)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Son
6-Dhanbhuti II -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Son
7-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Valbhuti -------------------?
8- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Amoghbhuti ----------------?
8---------------------------------------------------------------------------------M.G Bh . T--------------------?
9----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shiv Dat--------------------?
10--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shivdatt------------------?
                             ---------------------------------------------------------------Hari-t--------------
11--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shivpali
12----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shivpalit --------------?
                           Dabral provides chronology of Kings of Kuninda Era
                                        Founder of Srughna Kingdom of Kunindas
   There is no record found for the founder of Srughna kingdom. Gargi might be his wife.
                                                 Vishvadev
                        In old time or even just decades back if a father had two wives the sons were recognized by their mother as in Mahabharata, Nakul was called Madriputra (Son of Madri ), Arjun was called kunti Putra. There is no mention of father of Vishvadev on coins but his mother name is given as Gargi/Gagi.
 The queen of Vishvadev was Gauti or Kautsi.
                                                        Agraraj                   
              Agraraj was the son of Vishvadev-Kautsi. Vachhi or vatsi was his queen. The coins of Agraraj were found in Srughn (Sugh, Ambala) and Kaushambi. It seems Agraraj developed his father’s kingdom.
    There was instability and higgledy-pigledy in Indian scenes at the time of Agraraj.
     Greek Attack- This was the time that Greek invaders Demetrius and Menander   attacked India and reached to Patliputra. As per history writing by Ptolemy, Greek rule was also on Kulindrain (Kuninda/Kulinda) with Patal, Saurashtra, Abhir, Gandhar, and Kashmir. It seems Greek invaders rules over Kuninda/Kulindas (Uttarakhand, Himachal, Saharanpur and parts of Haryana) for fifteen years. Greeks were cruel and they destroyed the self esteem symbols of Indians. They killed man in laksh and there was hsoratge of males in the territory. One man had to marry more than sixteen women for saving social structure.  There was acute draught famine in this Age. Thousands of people died.
 Kuninda under Shunga- Shunga threw Greeks from Kuninda territory and rules over there for some time. The brick coin found in Dehradun shows that Shunga had representative as governor. The script is as of Shunga scrip and states ‘Bhadramitrasya Dronighate’.  Bhadramitra might have been a shunga representative.
 It seems that Greek invaded Kuninda t the beginning of Agraraj rule and left t the last years of of his rule.
                                            Dhanbhuti first
   Dhanbhuti first of Kunindas/Kulindas seems to be the contemporary of Pushyamitra Shangu. Cunningham suggests the time of Dhanbhuti I rule from 240-220 BCE.. However, with various calculations and logical arguments Dabral criticized and suggests that Dhanbhuti I rule was from 160-140 BCE. Dabral seems to be right. 
Prosperity and peace- The area gained prosperity after Greek invasion and could wipe out the losses happened in the time of Greek. Srughna was main centre of business and was Mandi or connecting centre for business among other Indian kingdoms. Srughna became the centre for connecting India with western Asia.  The rise and development of mercantile communities was on the rise.
   The Buddhism had protection from the Dhanbhuti king and flourished at this time. Dabral states that this was Golden Period of Kuninda/Kulinda era of Srughna territory.
Family of Dhanbhuti- Mother of Dhanbhuti was from Vachhi or Vatsa family. Dhanbhuti first had two wives – Vatsi and Nagrakshita . Vadhpal or vridhpal was son from Vatsi. Nagrakshita did not have any issue.
            Perhaps, the birth place of Nagrakshita was in Morgiri near Ahobhang .
            Nagrakshita became Sanyasin (ascetic). Her mother’s name was Chakmochika who also became Sansyasin. The name of brother of Nagrakshita was Nagil or Nagrakshit.
            Nagrakshit that is brother of Nagrakshita had very high reputation as he is called Bhadant in inscription. Nagrakshit, Chakrmochika and Nagrakshita   donated and their names are mentioned in donation sheets.
                                           Vridhpal or Vudhpal
                   Dhanbhuti first was father of Vridhpal or Vudhpal. Vudhpal along with his father Dhanbhuti first donated for Bharhut Stupa’s further construction works. It seems Dhanbhuti had long ruling time. 
                                       Dhanbhuti second (II)
       Dhanbhuti second (II) donated for Mathura Stupa construction. The coins of Kuninda era the son of Dhanbhuti second (II) were also found in Mathura. That means Mathura was near to Srughna border. 
                                               Balbhuti
                There are no Kuninda coins of Dhanbhuti first, Vridhpal and Dhanbhuti second. In other words, till Dhanbhuti second Kuninda of Srughana region was under Shunga regime or Kuninda kings were Shunga governors.   It seems that there was weakening of Shunga ruling and Balbhuti the son of Dhanbhuti second became partially or totally free from Shunga of Pataliputra. Cunningham found the coins of Balbhuti. The coins are manufactured on the pattern of coins of Jyesthmitra of Shunga dynasty.


****The Kuninda Kings of Srughana Region Time (around 175 BCE to 77AD) to be continued in History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -46
Political, Religious, Economical and Historical Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Rule in Uttarakhand –to be continued…3


Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 17/05/2013
(The write up is aimed for general readers)

History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -46
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…43

 
References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Ajaya Rawat, History of Garhwal
Alexander Cunningham, 1996, Coins of Ancient India: From Earliest times down to the Seventh century 
Alexander Cunningham, Archeological Survey of India Report, XIV
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal , History of Kumaon
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1992, Kulinda Janpada
Michael Mitchiner, 1976, Indo Greek and Indo Scythian Coinage vol./79 page 617/632
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal, 1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
Gyan Swarup Gupta, 199, India: From Indus Valley civilization to Mauryas
G.P. Singh, 2008, Researches into History and Civilizations of Kiratas
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Imana Simha Cemjonga, 2003, History and Culture of Kirat People
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad,  India
Khemanand Chandola, 1987 Across the Himalaya through Ages: a study of relations between Central Himalayas and Westren Tibet
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
Kanti Prasad Nautiyal, 1969, The Archeology of Kumaon including Dehradun
K.P Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Emergence of Early culture in Garhwal, Central Himalaya
Nautiyal, K.P. B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Kuninda coins from Athoor, Tehri Garhwal, central Himalaya,JNSI, Volume-LIII, parts 1 and 2   

Lalan Ji Gopal and Vinod Chandra Shrivastava , History of Agriculture in India  (up to 1200AD(article of Dr K.P Nautiyal et all – Agriculture in Garhwal Himalayas o to 1200AD, page 162)

Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1990, Uttaranchal (Kumaon-Garhwal) : An Essay in Historical Anthropology, Shri Almora Book, Almora
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1989, Morphogenesis of Kunindas, Cir 200B.C.-cir A.D.300
Mathpal, Yashodhar, 1998, Kumaon Painting: A Story of Living Tradition of Painting in Kumaon 
Minyan G. Singh, 199, Wooden temples in Himachal
M.C.Joshi, 1978, the Khasas in the History of Uttarakhand, Swasti Sri, edited by K.V.Ravi , p.10),ND
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Mamta Chaudhari, 1977 Tribes of Ancient India
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
Dr. Naval  Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010  History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
Nitya Nand Mishra, 1994, Sources Materials of Kumauni History, Shri Almora Book Depot.
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360) 
Parmannad Gupta, 1989, Geography from Ancient Indian Coins and Seals
Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon valley Down the Ages, Dehradun, India 
R.C. Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
R.C. Naithani, 1999, Radiant Himalayas,
Ram Naresh Pandey (A.S.I), Ancient and Medieval History of Western Nepal 
S  S.S. Negi, Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society   
S.S.S. Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Sukhdev Singh Charak, 1979, History and Culture of Himalayan states
Savita  Saxena, 1995, The geographical Surveys of Puranas
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder Singh, 2008, History of Earlier and Medieval India.
Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology, State Museum, Shimla , Pages 3,5 and 65)
H. Sarkar, A.Banerji 2006, Hari Smriti , Chapter ‘ The Kunindas and their Archeology in Garhwal  Himalaya (pages-391-398).   
Uma Prasad Thapliya, 2005, Uttaranchal: Historical and Cultural Perspectives
Http://www.thefreeliberary.com/cist +burial+Himalayas-a017422774
New cultural Dimension in the Central Himalayas, region of Uttarakhand, an Archeological assessment:
http://opar.unior.it/664/1/5/Annali 1986 (f1)K.p.nautiyal-B.M.Khanduri 
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
Uttar Pradesh District gazetteers, 1989, Volume-23
Plant, Richard, J., 1979, Greek, Semitic, Asiatic Coins and how to read them
R.C Majumdar, Ancient Colonies in the Far East
Shiv Pad Sen, 1988, Sources of History of India, Volume -5
 Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology
World Archeological Bulletin, 1989.p 18
Radheshyam Chaurasiya, 2002, History of Ancient India: Earliest time to 1000 AD
R.K. Nehra, 2010, Hinduism and Its Military Ethos
Chapters on African Presence in Early Asian Civilizations: A Historical Overview, Journal of African Civilizations, August 1995, Vol .X No.X pages 21-121
Radha Kumud Mukarji, 1988, Chandragupta Maurya and his Time
Om Gupta, 2006, Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
Edward James Rapson, 1923, Cambridge History of India (7 Volumes)
Almoda ki Shan Hain:Kunindake Sikke (Reference of Almora Museum in charge Manju Tiwari and Mohan Singh Gadiya,) www.himvan.com 

            Additional References for   Neo Kunindas/ Kulinda Era 
Molu Ram Thakur, 1997, Myths, Rituals and beliefs in Himachal Pradesh page 18
Ptolemy, Vol.1
Prasanna Bundela, 2003, Coin Splendor: A Journey into Past , page 105-108nwards
Ashok Kumar Bhattacharya ET all, 1994, Foundation of Indian Musicology, page 157
Raj Kumar, 2010, Early History of Jammu, page 498
S.K Sharma, 2006, Haryana: Past and Present, page 51-53
Shastri, K.A.N, 1988, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas
Bharcava, Purushottam, 1996, Chandragupta Maurya
Gergal Tania, Michael Wood, 2004, Alexander the Great 
Bose, S.C.1968, Land and People of the Himalayas
Various Sanskrit Literatures, Jatakas, 
Romila Thapar, 1966, A History of India, volume- one
Om Chanda Handa, 1994, Buddhist Art and Antiquates of Himachal Pradesh (Page 197) 
Devendra Handa, 2007, Tribal Coins of Ancient India, page 55 
Pargitar, Dynasties of Kali Age (Listings of Pauranik kings-Shungas)
Raychaudhri , 1953,political History of Ancient India
R.Mitra, 1880, Aintiques of Orisa
A.Cunningham 1914, Coins of Alexander’s successors in East
V.Smith, 1906, catalogues of coins in Indian Musium Calcutta.
Tran, W.W. 1951, The Greeks in Bactria and India
Epigraphia Indica
Yazdani, A. (edit), The early History of Deccan
Aiyangar, P.T.S., 1929, History of Tamils, to 600 AD
Pillai, K.N.S., 1932, Chronology of Early Tamils
N.P Chakravarti, India and central Asia
Stein, A., 1907, Ancient Khotan
Stein, A., 1921, Serindia
Augustine P.A, 1991 Social equity in Indian Societies (page 49)
Magil,F.N., 2013,Anccient World: Dictionary of World bibliography, volume -1, page 719
Banerjee, G.N., 1995, Hellenism in India
Kulke, Hemanat, D. Rothermund, 2004, A History of India (page 73)
Thapar, Romila, 1990, A History of India volume -1
Thapar, Romila, 2004, Early India,
B.K.Chaturvedi, 2004, Bhavishya Puran
Rivett-Camac,J.H, 1880, Memorandum on coins of Sunga Dynasty
Jha, D.N. Early India: A Concise History, page 150
Elliot and Dowson, 1969, History of India as Told by its own Historians
Alexander Cunningham, The Ancient Geography of India
Alexander Cunningham, Bharhut Stupa gatha (article ofby Neeraj KumarJain, edited by Ramnarayan Singh Rana)
Wilson, H.H., Summary review of the Travels of Hiouen  Thsang , from the Translation of the Si-yu-Ki by M.Julien  …Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland vol.17 page January 1860 reprinted 2011
Xuan Zang ,1884  Si-yu- Ki: Buddhist Records of Western world page 187
Imperial Gazetteers of Indian Provincial Series, Punjab, Volume II 1908 
William Soothill, 1995, A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms page -359

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Bhishma Kukreti

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Amoghbhuti: the Most Eminent Kuninda/Kulinda King of 100BCE

History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 46   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-43   

Political, Religious, Economical and Historical Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Rule in Uttarakhand (200BCE-400AD) -3

(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                      By: Bhishma Kukreti

                               Amoghbhuti Kuninda Coins
          The hoards of Kuninda/Kulinda coins are found from Garhwal and Kumaon ( Sumari, Bhattisera and Devalgarh (Pauri Garhwal), Athoor, Tehri Garhwal , Purola, Uttarkashi, Kashipur, Nainital and Almora ) apart from other places too. The coins of Amoghbhuti are important. The historian Dr. Gupta states that Amoghbhuti stands for Amogh and Bhuti the names of Shiva.
      It seems the Kuninda kingdom was extended from Sutlej, Jwalmukhi, Ambala, Saharanpur, Garhwal and Kumaon.

                    Contemporary Rules at the time of Kuninda King Amoghbhuti Rule
  The historians guess that Kuninda King Amoghbhuti got the throne around 100BCE. Panchal, Ayodhya, Kaushambi, Mathura were free from Patliputra Kingdom.
                   It seems that up to certain extent, though weakened, there was Greek rule (grandson of Menander, Appolophanes) over   West of Yamuna, Shimla. Even, the Yaudhedhey were under Greece warriors.
  At this time only, Yaudheya republicans   freed south-western Yamuna valley and Amdumbar republicans freed lower Sutlej and lower Vyas Valley from Greece warriors. While, Kuninda king Amoghbhuti freed the regions of central Himalayan hills that is from Vyas ,  Satluj Yamuna ,  Garhwal, Kumaon including Saharanpur.
          The coins found of this Age proof that these three republicans freed their respective territories from Greece at the same time. The Audumbar king was Gharghoss at the time of Kuninda King Amoghbhuti. 
              The silver coins of Kuninda (Amoghbhuti) and Audumbar republic of this time resemble with coins of Appolophanes in terms of symbols, scripts and manufacturing styles.

                    Ruling Time of Kuninda King Amoghbhuti

  The silver coins of Amoghbhuti, Dhanabhuti of Kunindas; Gharghosh of Audumbar republicans were found together in a failed of Jwalamukhi of Himachal Pradesh. There is disagreement among historians about rule time of Kuninda King Amoghbhuti, historian Dabral suggest the timing around 100BCE. It seems that he died near 60BCe at the age of seventy.

                    Geographical Regions of Kuninda King Amoghbhuti

     It seems the rule of Kuninda King Amoghbhuti was from Himachal, Srugh (Sugh) of Haryana, part of Garhwal and part of Kumaon. It might be that the ruled through republic representation as Asoka and Shunga ruled Uttarakhand though republic kings as their governors. 
      Amoghbhuti showed him as Maharaj on his cons. Amoghbhuti paid much attention of Maharaja than Kunindas words
                                          Economic Development

         Amoghbhuti was wise statesman as he publicized him as ‘Maharaja’. He spread his coins beyond his Kuninda rule. The spread of Kuninda coins as in Mathura means the spread of economic supremacy. His coins were competing with Greece coins. His capital was well connected with Sakal, Mathura, Ahichhatra, Sthanvaneshwar, Tamas (Upper Himachal and Shimla) , Tangan (Bhotiya region) Rank regions of Nepal and Kumaon. It seems the region of Amoghbhuti was running on the path of other Indian regions that is rise of mercantile communities.

                                       Scythian (Shaka) Invasion and Kuninda Kingdom
             Scythians of Iran also invaded North West India. They latter were absorbed into Indian communities.  It is guessed that Scythians captured Mathura around 60 BCE. Srughana was nearer to Mathura and the road was easy too due to commercial attachment. Scythians also captured Kuninda of Srughana (Sugh, Haryana). That means the ruling time of Amoghbhuti was up to 600 B.C.E. or nearer.
  Due to attack of Scythians on Mathura and latter on Srughana; the Kunindas shifted the capital towards east.
   Scythians and later on Kushan rulers replaced the coins of Kuninda and introduced their own coins.

                                         Personality of Amoghbhuti

       Amoghbhuti was famous king of central Himalayan region. Many historians of his time wrote about Amoghbhuti. It seems he ruled the regions of Garhwal- Kumaon (Ranku, Atrey (govishan), Tangan, Bhardwaj);  Srughna, Tamas ( Saharanpur, part of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. He was brave and wise, well versed about diplomacy, influencing factors of administration, foreign policies and economic policies. 
          The Kuninda king Amoghbhuti was expert of economics and knew the challenges and strategies of commerce. The Kuninda king Amoghbhuti was clever enough for understanding the contemporary characteristics of his neighboring regions.
            The Kuninda King Amoghbhuti took clue from Greece kings for manufacturing his own Kuninda coins but he Indianite or indigenized them as per his own needs. 
                            An Art Lover Kuninda King Amoghbhuti
              The coins of Kuninda king Amoghbhuti are proof that he was art lover. The exclusiveness on his coins among other contemporary king coins show that Kuninda king Amoghbhuti knew or was well versed about the factor and importance of exclusivity, individuality.
 
            The history speaks that after Kuninda King Amoghbhuti Kuninda rule was over from Haryana and major parts of Himachal Pradesh and Kuninda kingdoms/republicans were limited to hills of Uttarakhand.

 
             
 


Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 18/05/2013
(The write up is aimed for general readers)

History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -47
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…44
Political, Religious, Economical and Historical Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Rule in Uttarakhand (200BCE-400AD) –to be continued…4

Bhishma Kukreti

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Political, Religious, Economical, Cultural History of Kuninda /Kulinda kings of Almora

History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 47   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-44   

Historical , Political, Religious, Economical and Historical Characteristics of Kunindas/Kulindas Rule in Uttarakhand (200BCE-100AD) -4

(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                                                       By: Bhishma Kukreti

               Historians found Kuninda/Kulinda coins from Almora those are of the time after the Kuninda/kulindraine or Kulinda coins of Amoghbhuti. There are four Kuninda Kings coins found from Almora and are called Almora Kuninda coins. There are differences regarding types and sizes between Almora Kuninda/Kulinda coins and other Kunindas coins found in other parts of North India.   However, there are some characteristics on Almora coins that those coins are definitely supposed the Kuninda coins (Rapson). Dr Dabral and Dr. M.P Joshi (Morphogenesis of Kunindas) discussed these coins in details than other historians.

                               Historical Aspects of Four Kuninda Kings of Almora

                                      Mrigbhuti or Margabhuti; a Kuninda King
         
                 At the time of Kuninda, the metallurgy science was at developing stage and there were some mistake in carving the coins for Brahmi or Kharoshti vowels. In one type of Almora Kuninda coin the words are M-G-Bh-T-S-. The coins are as of Shiv Datt coins. Dabral suggested by logical analysis that the king of such coins must be Mrigbhuti or Margbhuti.


                                  Shivdatt: A Kuninda King

    Sivdatas is engraved in this type of Almora Kuninda coins. The script is Brahmi. Nandi is standing before trailing tree. There is wave or cobra. Stage or other animal (?) is there.
  On reverse, Nandipad and Indraysti are there as found on Kumudsen and Ajvarm coins from Ayodhya. 

                                      Shivpalit: a Kuninda king
      There is rawness on the letterings of these types of Almora Kuninda coins. As the tradition was to ending the King name ‘itasya’ but on coins, it is Shivpalitas.  There is deity or human image on reverse side of coins.
                                          Time Period of Kuninda Coins of Almora Coins
                           
                     There is very less disagreement among for supposing Almora coins as Kuninda coins of after the time of Amoghbhuti.  However, there are some disputes among historians for the time period of Kuninda Kings of Almora Coins.   
   After analysis,   Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral states the time period of Kings of Almora kings from 60 BCE to 20 AD. After, these kings, there was invasion of Shaka, Panchnad, Kuru on the territories.

                                 Decline in Economic Conditions
                    The Kuninda Almora kings did not have their capital in Srugh (Today’s Sugh, Ambala, Haryana). It seems that after death of Amoghbhuti, Kunindas shifted the capital from Srugh (Sugh) towards east on Himalayan foothills that are Govishan (Kashipur Region of Almora). The four types of Almora Kuninda coins show that there was decline of economic, political and diplomacy conditions of Kuninda Kings/king.  Govishan was on that time the one of the major business centers of North India.

                                       Religions of Kuninda Kings of Post Amoghbhuti

                 It seems that the regions of post Amoghbhuti Kuninda supported Hindu or Sanatan sects than Buddhism as Amoghbhuti etc supported Buddhism.
  The Kuninda Kings of Govishan (Kumaon) used to worship deities/goddesses as Vrikshdevta, Nag devta. It seems the worshipping of Nag Devta  was spread more in the post Amoghbhuti Kuninda period in Uttarakhand. 
  There were conducible relations of Govishan (Kumaon) Kuninda with neighboring Panchal and Ayodha Kingdoms.
   
                            Economical, Political, Social, Cultural and Geographical Aspects of Kuninda Era

              Panini’s Mahabhashya- There are various literature available about Post Mahabharata Kuninda communities.  Pantajali or Panini wrote much about Kuninda in his Mahabhashya. Panini wrote about Srughnanagar (Srugh). Panini was court priest of Pushyamitra but travelled Kuninda region including Kankhal, Hardwar.

Himalaya: the Attraction for Tourists- There was great attractions for tourists for visiting central Himalaya or Uttarakhand.  There are descriptions of Himalayan fauna and floras in Panini’s Mahabhashya. The Chamar cow and Gangajal of Ganges had significance.
 The Pilgrim places of Uttarakhand had an important place in the life of Indians.

Shivalik of Uttrakhand – Shivalik region was famous for elephants.

Capital Srughna- Panini described about Srughna in full details.
                    Srughana was situated on bank of Yamuna. Today, Yamuna does not flow there and it seems Yamuna had changed the direction.
             The City Srughana was protected by brick walls. The width of external wall of cities was wide and armed men used to walk on the protecting wall.  It seems that on that period, there were the protecting walls for capital in Patliputra and Srughana.
                 There were wide Yamuna canals sounding the protecting wall of Srughana.  There were folding bridges were used as doors on Yamuna canals.
             There were residing areas and buildings for King and administrative employees; court, stores; arms stores in Srughana. There were entertaining places, taxation buildings. The roads were wide, elite statesmen used to live in palaces types of buildings, subject were inside the city .The low cadres of workers used to reside outer side of city. 
             The buildings had various facilities as drainage, windows, big courtyards, bathrooms, hangers, and separate place for keeping earthen lamps, good arrangement for closing doors.
    There was difference between common men buildings and buildings for elite.
        The works and properties of elite had importance for enhancing the fame and name of the city.
             The palaces of Srughana and Patliputra were unique than other kingdom palaces.
            Srughana had importance place for business roads or links. There were business roads/links from Srughana to Mathura. Sakal, Patliputra, Hastinapur, Kankhal, Magadh, Banaras, Kosal-Ayodhya and western parts of India.

Transportation in Post Mahabharata Kunindas Age-The transportation medium were animals as sheep, goat, bulls, buffalos, horses and bullock carts or buffalo carts, horse carts. The roads were comfortable of that age context.
    The leather was used for cover of carts.
            There were arrangements of Saray or Dharamshalas or motels in Bawar regions.
             There were various medium for crossing rivers as leather bag etc. There were boats for crossing rivers as boats made by wood and bamboo or fruits of cucumber -Tumdi.
                     Villages and Village Life in Post Mahabharata Kunindas
             Panini and or Patanjali travelled Bhardwaj (Garhwal) region extensively. Panini described two villages of Bhardwaj (Garhwal) –Krikarna and Parn. Patanjali described two Bhardwaj (Garhwal) villages – Ainik and Saushuk.
Houses--    Houses were made by mud, stones and wood. The archeological excavations in various places Uttarakhand around this and after Age this show various development in hose building techniques
Home utensils and appliances- The bedding system was developed than past. Cots, wooden wood pallets were used for sleeping and sting by richer ones. Clay /wood, stone vessels were common as bowl, pitchers.
 There are evidences of metal appliances used by riches.
 The vessels of storing cereals etc were made by wood, grasses and bamboo. There were agricultural appliances in uses.
Dresses of Post Mahabharata Kuninda Age- The dresses were –langot, Kachhauta (ghuttna), Kaybandh, Uttariya, ushniy ( Pagdi) , etc as dresses.
The hill people used blanket; woolen and hemp- dresses and leather dresses.
The ornaments were common for both *es and all age.
Agriculture and animal herds – The main occupation was agriculture, domestic animals, forest produces.  Goth system was thee at that age too. The today’s cereals were started sowing on that time.
Meat eating, taking liquor was common.
Social structure- Four caste system –Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Shudra were also common in Buddhist of hills.
Religious culture- The religious culture of Khasas –kirat of Mahabharata era, Sanatan or Vedic culture; Buddhism for a couple of centuries in plains of Uttarakhand, and Jainism in couple of places for some time were there.  Travelling for pilgrim places in Uttarakhand was common.
 Administration in Post Mahabharata Kuninda Age- Republic /Ganasngha/Janapada system was common. The previous kings were usually made governors by winners was common. Initially, collective wisdom was popular but slowly authoritative system took place.  Perhaps making King as deity was also started at this time.

                Tentative or Suggestive Time Period of Post Mahabharata Kuninda Age 

     Dr Dabral suggested following time period of Post Mahabharata Kuninda Age-
                                                                                             
                                            Gandhar Greek rulers
Demetrius- 192-167BCE
Demetrius Indian campaign -188-167 BCE
Menander   era (149-70BCE)

                                Shunga Kings of Magadha

 Pushyamitra- 184-148BCE
Agnimitra- 148-140BCE
Jyesthmitra- 140-133 BCE
Vasumitra -133-123 BCE
Post Shunga Kings- 123-72BCE
                         
                              Kuninda of Kalkut (Kalsi) -Srughana

Republicans/Janapada/Ganasangh—232-200BCE
First founding King- 200BCE
Vishwadev, Agraraj-  ?-103 BCE
Greece rule- 186-170BCE
Dhanbhuti first- 160-140BCE
Bridhpal, Dhanbhuti, Balbhuti second- 140-100BCE

                                           Kuninda Kings of Almora/Kumaon

Mrigbhuti (Margbhuti), Shivdatt, Haridatta, Shivpalit- 60 BCE-20 AD
 
                                   Contemporary Shaka Kshatraps of Mathura
Moga Shaka -77-58 BCE
Winning Mathura- 60BCE
Kshatrap Hagam- 60-40BCE
Hagan, Rajubal, Sondas and post era- 40BCE to 80 AD
   
                                         
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 19/05/2013
(The write up is aimed for general readers)

History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -48
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…45
[Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Kashipur, Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Nainital, Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Almora, Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Champawat, Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Bageshwar,  Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Hardwar, Uttarakhand; History of Dehradun Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Tehri Uttarakhand; History of Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Chamoli Garhwal, Uttarakhand; History of Pauri, Garhwal,  Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Uttarakhand; History of Bawar , Uttarakhand; Political, Religious, Economical , Cultural History of Rudraprayag, Garhwal Uttarakhand]

Bhishma Kukreti

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   Political History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) in Shaka or Scythians Period
History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 48   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-45   


(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                                                       By: Bhishma Kukreti

             After death of Greece king Menander (Milind of Buddhist literature), many soldiers established their own kingdoms in and around Punjab and they were under Greece rule just for sake of it. Audumbar, Kuninda, Yaudheya freed themselves from Greece rulers. The regional ambitions increased. 
         Around 115 BCE the pastorals or central Asian tribes entered India. Asfar as ruling iss concerned, the period of Shaka rule is supposed to be from 60 BCE to 80AD.           
           Moga or Maues was the great kings among all Shaka/Scythians who ruled first Taxila and then extended his rule to Mathura. The Shaka/Scythians king Moga orr Maues followed same rout as Applodemetrous used for rule extension.
            Moga or Mues distributed his kingdoms into five ‘Satrap’ or Chhatrap or ‘Kshatrap ’ . There were main five branches of Scythians or Shakas in India. One Shaka branch was in Indian Afghanistan. Second branch of Shakas or Scythians was in Punjab having capital in Taxila. The third Shaka/Scythians branch was in Mathura, The fourth Scythians or Shaka branch was around Kathiyabar and Bharuch. The fifth Shaka or Scythians branch was around upper Deccan.  Moga established his capital in Mathura. The Shaka/Scythians regional kings of these branches were very close relatives of Moga or Mues.  Moga captured the commercial roads and by that way became king.
                                            Decline of Kuninda Janapada
             When Moga or Mues established the Shaka or Scythians kingdom in Mathura the Kuninda kingdom or Kuninda republicans came in danger.  Kuninda capital Srughana was near to Mathura. The roads and transport facilities were easier. The time of Moga or Mues establishing  Mathura kingdom and death of  Kuninda king Amoghbhuti  are at same period.
  The historians state many possibilities by studying the coins and inscriptions of Shaka or Scythian age. It might be that some part of Kuninda went under Shaka/Scythians, Shaka used to attack on Kuninda or and Kuninda shifted to east (Kumaon/Garhwal).
                                     The Parthian Invaders
  The Purans and other literature suggest that Parthian (Pahlavas) also invaded India and established kingdom in Kandhar/Gandhar and had relationships with Moga. 
                                    The Shaka or Indo-Scythians Rulers/Regional Kings/Satrap
Maues- 85-60BCE
Vonones- 75-65BCE
Spalahores -75-65BCE
Spalgadames -50BCE
Azilises –before 60BCE
Azes 60-20BCE
Zeionises -10BCe-10AD
Kharahostes- 10BCe-10AD
Hajatriya –

                                  Scythian or Shaka Culture
  They were rustic, and roamers. The today’s Gujjar or Bangujar  of Uttarakhand are called the descendent of Shaka or Scythians.
Scythians were white color, had beard, long hair, long nose with deep eyes. The coins show that they used to love horse riding and used to keep Khadga. Shakas were completely non vegetarian. They liked onion and garlic very much.  The brothers used to have one wife or one wife had many husbands.

                                  Faith of Shakas or Scythians
 Shaka/Scythians used to worship diu (lamp), earth and Sun. The sun used put long boot.
  It seems when Shaka king became weekend the Shaka dissolved with other communities. In Uttarakhand, Shaka became part of Khasa communities or they diffused with local communities.
                It might be that Shakas did not rule over but there are many cultural symbols those were initiated by Shakas in Uttarakhand as one wife by all brothers; offering animal blood to deities and goddesses; Sun deity putting long boot etc remind that Shaka had effects on Uttarakhand. 
                The historians state that ‘couplets’ poetry creating art was introduced by Shakas.





Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 20/05/2013
(The History of Garhwal, Kumaon write up is aimed for general readers)

History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -49
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…46


Bhishma Kukreti

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Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Uttarakhand Kushan Period

History of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part 49   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-46   


(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)

                                                       By: Bhishma Kukreti
                                     Origin of Kushan
       Chinese sources describe Kushan, as one of the five aristocratic tribes of the Yuezh.
General Cunningham identified Kushan as ‘Gujjar ‘as still ‘Gujjar ‘also called as ‘Gusur’. A few scholars state that ‘Gusur’ means Kulputra or man or woman born in high family.                                               

                                           Arrival of Kushans
                       Before, Kushan established empire; they were well versed with Indian civilization. Scythians destroyed Greece rules, Pahlavi took the rule from Shaka or Scythians and Kushan threw away Pahlavi. Dr Dabral states that Mahabharata describes Kushan as Tushar and Pahlavi as Parad. In Maurya Empire, Kushan were at Khotan near Gandhar/Kandahar. 
 There are disagreements among historians for exact dates of Kushan period. For example, John Hill (2009, Through the Jade gate to Rome) describes the  f Kujula the First Kushan King period from 80-95 AD and Dr Dabral takes the dates set by Dr Puri  (1965, India under Kushan) who describes from 25-78AD.
                   The Major Kings of Kushan Empire

                                        Kujula Kadphises the First Kushan King (80-95AD)

                      A few historians state that Kujula Kadphises established his rule over Kabul, Kandahar at started of first century AD and snatched Takshila from Pahlavi King.  Kushan King Kujula Kadphises had his rule in west up to Marva. Some state that Kushan King Kujula Kadphises was great grandfather of Kanishka. The first Kushan King Kujula Kadphises died at the age of eighty. Kushan king Kujula Kadphises fathered at least two sons.
                       Vima Taktu, Sadashkana (in Chinese, Yangaozhen)- 95-127 AD
          Vima Kadphises was son of Kujula.  Vima expanded his empire towards east from Kapisa- Kandahar to Kuru-Panchal to Banaras /Kashi.  The period had many changes but trade was main stream culture. Therefore, Vima distributed or familiarized his coins from Takshsila to Tiruhit.  Vima coins are found in many places in North India abundantly. Many historians state that archeological ruins of Antarjikhed-Aita, Alwar and central India are ruins of Vima period.
                   At this period, Shiva was first time put on or carved on the coins in India.
                                            Vima’s Kushan Rule over South Uttarakhand

              It seems that Vima ruled over south part (plains) of Uttarakhand. The fort ruins of king Ben in Hardiwar (Mayapur)  (raja Ben ka Kila) are  said to be the fort ruins of Kushan King Vima (Cunningham).  Vima captured all the commercial roads of India those were connecting to Rome and China. The archeological excavations of Birbhadra show the proof of Kushan rule over Uttarakhand (Uma Prasad Thapliyal, 2005). Vima was first India King to introduce gold coins along with existing custom of silver and copper coins.
                                    Kushan Satrap Rule

                      It also believed that vim did not have sons or heirs and his regional governors took over their own territories and became rulers. The coins suggest following Kushan governors who established their kingdoms after death of Kushan king Vima Kadphises
1-Zeoneses in Taxila
2-Shivsen- in Abhisar
3-Chashtan and Rudradasan in Ujjain (They were governors of Vima in Ujjain)
4-Soter Megas
             The coins of Soter Megas (Mahrakshak /the unknown king) are found from Mathura, Punjab, Kandahar, and Kabul. It shows that the king ruled in all these territories. Soter Megas is a title. Historians as Puri called him a regional governor of Mathura who ruled in the name of Kushan King. The rule of Soter Megas was same over Uttarakhand as of Vima.

                         Kanishka the great among Kushan Kings (127-140AD)
               Kanishka is called fifth Kushan king who ruled over India.  Kanishka rules huge territories virtually complete north India including Kulendians (Kuninda/Kulinda), beyond Patliputra, south to Ujjain. Kanishka established two capitals –Mathura and Purushapura (Peshwar). He also employed strong regional governors at strategic territories.  Maximum coins of Kushan Kingdom are found of Kanishka. The summer capital of Kushan king Kanishka was Kapisa (Begram). Kapisa was also a centre for connecting art and culture of east to west and China. Falk Harry’s ground breaking research sates that Kanishka period was from 127 to 140 Ad (2004, Silk Road, Art and Archeology)
                                             Vasishka or Kanishka second (140-160AD)
Kushan king Vasishka rule is supposed to be far south to Vidisha..
                                               Havishka /Ooiski 160-190 AD
                     
       The Kushan King Havishka is supposed be a strong ruler and controller. The Kushan King Havishka did retrenchment and consolidated the Kushan Empire from Mathura. The historians found abundant numbers of coins and inscription of Havishka era.

                                       Vasudeva /Bazodeo (in Chinese –Bodiao) -190-230AD

Vasudeva /Bazodeo (in Chinese –Bodiao) was last great Kushan emperor. Vasudeva was now totally a Hindustani king and was Hindu /Buddhist King.
   His death also coincides with the Sassanid invasion.

Read about Historical Religious, political, administrative, social and cultural aspects of Kushan Era…..in History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) - Part -50
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 21/05/2013
(The History of Garhwal, Kumaon write up is aimed for general readers)

History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -50
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…47
The chapter contains- Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Bageshwar, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Champawat,  Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Dwarhat, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Almora, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Nainital, Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Rudraprayag, Garhwal, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Uttarkashi Garhwal, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Haridwar, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Birbhadra, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Dehradun, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Saharanpur of ancient Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Tehri, Garhwal Uttarakhand in Kushan Period; Political, Social, Religious, Cultural History of Chamoli Garhwal, Uttarakhand in Kushan Period;

 

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