MeraPahad Community Of Uttarakhand Lovers

Historical Features of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) in Krishna Era of Mahabharata, Ramayana and Purans -4

History of Kumaon, Garhwal (Uttarakhand) - Part 20   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-17                     
Historical Aspects of Garhwal & Kumaon in Epics-Mahabharata, Ramayana and Purans -4    

                                          Bhishma Kukreti

                                 Uttarakhand in   Krishna Era or in Mahabharata era
 As already discussed that first brave King of India was Bharat and he was Garhwali who was born in Kanvashram, Bhabhar Garhwal.
Decline of Suryavansh- After time gap, there was decline of Suryavansh. In Dwapar era, Paurav, Panchal, Yadav became stronger in India.
Kuruvansh- the Kuru king of Paurav kingdom (capital was Hastinapur, today’s Haryana region) was the strongest king. Kuru extended his kingdom and was called Kurukshetra and Kurujangal. One of the kings of Kuruvansh was Shantanu. Shantanu had a son Devbrata who vowed not to marry and later was called Bhishma. Shantuna married Styavati who had two sons. One of sons died early. Vichitryviry ruled kuru for some time but died early. After the death of Vichitravirya, through Niyog technique with Vyasa, his three wives (including maid servant) had sons Dhritrarashtra (blind), Pandu( weak in color) and Vidur.
 It is said in Mahabharata that there was shradh of Shantanu the father of Bhishma and Vichitravirya  in Gangadwar (Hardwar),(Mahabharata, Anushashan parva).
Pandu- Since the eldest sons of Kuruvansha Dhritarashtra was blind, Pandu became the king of Kurukshetra or Kurujangal.  Pandu extended his kingdom
Mahabharata states that Pandu was hunting lover and he hunted regularly in dense Bhabhar forest with Shal trees. Today too, in Bhabhar, there is one valley called Panduvalasot (Adiparv, 113/8).

Pandu had to leave kingdom and he reached Shatshring near Badri-Kedar shrines travelling through Nagast (today’s Nagthat, Near Mussoorie); kalkoot (today’s Kalsi); Gandhmadhan (Mahabharata, Adiparva 124/3-4). Shatshring was two hundred miles away from Hastinapaur (Haryana) the capital of Kuru kingdom. Five Pandavas were born in Uttarakhand (Shatshringi). When Pandu died, his queen Kunti and five sons Pandavas reached back from Shatshrigi to Hastinapur in sixteen days.
Pandavas and Kaurvas- Pandavas were sons of Pandu and Kauravas (Duryodhan and other hundred sons) were sons of Dhritrrashtra. 
 Duryodhan the eldest son of Dhritrashtra was not ready to accept Pandavas as heir of Kuruvansh. He conceived a plan to kill Pandavas in a palace made by resin. Pandavas ran away from the resin palace.     
                 From resin palace, Pandavas went to a forest at the Dhaumya Brahmin Ashrama , near Gangadwar ( Hardwar)  at the bank of Ganga. Dhyaumya was Garhwali Brahmin. There, Bhima killed a Rakshas Hidamba . One of Pandavas, Bhima married to Hidambana the sister of Hidamb. Ghatotkachh was son of Bhima and Hidambana.  From there, with the advice of vyasa , Pandavas went to Ekchakranagari (today’s Chakrata). In Ekchakranagari (Chakrata), Bhima killed a Bak rakhshas (Mahabharata, Adiparva).
Purohit Dhyaumya of Mahabharata epic- There was Swaymbar of Draupadi at Panchal and Arjun won Draupadi the princess of Panchal. Draupadi had to marry with all five brothers Pandavas (Yudhishthar, Bhima, Arjun, Nakul and Sahdev ). Dhyaumay was the main priest of Draupadi- Pandavas marriage. Dhyaumya was a Garhwali priest (Dabral, 1968, Mahabharata, Adiparva, 182/7-9). The Garhwali priest Dhyaumya also performed the rituals for many Sanskars for sons of Pandavas.
Arjun’s son Irwan- for a punishment one of Pandavas Arjun had to spend twelve years in forest. Once, Arjun was roaming in Gangadwar (Hardwar, Uttarakhand). There a Ulipi the princesses of Nagraj Kaurvya fell in love with Arjun. Arjun married Ulipi and they had a son Irvan (Mahabharata, Adiparva, 213)
Historical Features of Garhwal & Kumaon in Epics-Mahabharata and Ramayana and Purans to be continued…5
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 20/4/2013
****Reference for Historical Aspects of Garhwal & Kumaon in Epics-Mahabharata and Ramayana and Purans.
B.D. Pandey, Kumaon ka Itihas, pages 157-179
Shiv Prasad Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas part 2, pages 283-319
B.D. Chatopadhyaya , 2003, Studying Early India: Archeology, Texts and Historical  Issues
(The write up is for general readers and may not be properly suitable for history research scholars)
History of Garhwal –Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -21
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…18

References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
Dr. Naval  Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010  History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad,  India
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360) 
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)
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
R.C.Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal ,1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas, 
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 
Ajya Rawat, History of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal history of Kumaon
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
 S.s Negi ,Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
S.S.s Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder  Singh, 2008,History of Earlier and Medieval India.
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
Notes on Historical aspects of Uttarakhand in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Kumaon in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Tihri Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Jaunsar Bhabhar Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Uttarkashi Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Hardwar Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Dehradun Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Chamoli Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Rudraprayag Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Pauri Garhwal in Mahabharata epic; Historical aspects of Gangasalan Garhwal in Mahabharata epic to be continued…

Historical phases of Garhwal, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) in Krishna Period of Mahabharata, Ramayana and Purans -6
History of Kumaon, Garhwal (Uttarakhand) - Part 21   
Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-19                     
Historical Phases of Garhwal & Kumaon in Epics-Mahabharata, Ramayana and Purans-6    

                                          Bhishma Kukreti
           Dyutkreeda or gambling among Kauravas and Pandavas and Uttarakhand
           There is description in Mahabharata that Duryodhan the king of Hastinapur invited his cousin brother Yudhishthir for gambling. In gambling with cousin Duryodhan, the king of Indraprasth Yudhishthir lost his kingdom, brothers and wife Draupadi. Due to conditions of gambling law, Pandavas had to live into forests for thirteen years and one year Agyat vas.
          In those years, Arjun went to Uttarakhand and he collected divine weapons from deities from heaven. Arjun got divine weapons the Himalayan regions at the Ganges bank (Mahabharata, Vanparva, 40/41).
                   Pandavas as Pilgrim Travel in Uttarakhand   
 Pandavas, Draupadi along with Garhwali family priest and Lomas sage travelled to Uttarakhand as pilgrims and visited Usheerbeej, Mainak, Kalshail near Ganges bank (Mahabharata, Vanparva, 139/1). The Kulind king Subahu welcomed Pandavas (Vanparva, 140/25).  Pandvas travelled Badrikashram along the bank of Alaknanda River.
In Himalayan region of Uttarakhand (today’s Chamoli Garhwal) Pandavas met giants and Bhīma killed them. In Uttarkahnd Pandavas also visited Nar Naryan hills, Kailash, too. There is description in Mahbharata met Darad and Tushar communities of Kulind kingdom (Mahabharata, Vanparva 17715).
 Duryodhan came there in Himalayan region to insult Pandavas but was defeated by Himalayan Gandharvas and Gandharvas caught Duryodhan and jailed. Yudhisthir fought Gandharvas to free Duryodhan. Duryodhan felt insulted and wanted to kill himself. To sooth Duryodhan, Karna won the territories of Himwant and Nepal of central Himalayan region (Mahabharata, Vanparva, 254/5-6).
                    Great battle of Kurukshetra and Role of Uttarakhandis
 Mahabharata is more famous among general public because of Kurukshetra battle (Mahabharata means great battle).
 The Kulind king Subahu and his three sons participated in Kurukshetra battle the Mahabharata and Subahu supported Pandvas (Mahabharata, Karna parva, 85/4-19). Pashanyudhi (those use stones as weapon) Mlechh supported Kauravas and fought for Duryodhan (Mahabharata, Dronparva, 121/13-43).
  Nagkanya Ulipi was one of wives of Arjun and belonged to Gangadwar (Hardwar, Uttarakhand) and they had son Irwan. Irwan fought the battle with brevity (Mahabharata, Bhishma parva).
 Ghatotkachh was the son of Bhīma and Hidmba the mother of Ghatotkachh was a giantess of Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Ghatotkachh fought with great valor in great Kurukshetra battle (Mahabharata Dronaparva).
 When Pandavas won the war they decided to celebrate it by Ashwmedh Yagya. Arjun got resources from Uttarakhand (Mahabharat, Ashwmedhikparva 63-65)
  Gandhari, Kunti , Dhritirashtra and many went to Gangadwar (Hardwar, Uttarakhand) for paying /libation to dead ones (Mahabharata, Ashramvasik parva 29/32) . Kunti, Dhritrashtra ,Gandhari with Sanjay died by fire in Uttarakhand (Mahabharata, Ashramvasik parva 37).
 Pandavas went to Himalayan shrine of Uttarakhand and Yudhishthir entered heaven bodily.
 
                                     Krishna and Uttarakhand
  There is description of lord Krishna visiting Uttarakhand to meet Pandvas in Mahabharata (Vanparva, Dronparva ).
Krishna also visited Kalsi with Pandavas (Mahabharata, Sabhaparava)
Krishna also travelled Uttarakhand for getting blessing to get sons (Mahabharata, Anushasanparva).
The two mountains on Nar, Narayan back side of Badrinath are called incarnation of Arjun and Krishna respectively. (Mahabharata, vanparva).
 
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 27/4/2013
****Reference for Historical Aspects of Garhwal & Kumaon in Epics-Mahabharata and Ramayana and Purans.
B.D. Pandey, Kumaon ka Itihas, pages 157-179
Shiv Prasad Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas part 2, pages 283-319
B.D. Chatopadhyaya , 2003, Studying Early India: Archeology, Texts and Historical  Issues
(The write up is for general readers and may not be properly suitable for history research scholars)
History of Garhwal –Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -23
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…20

References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
Dr. Naval  Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010  History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad,  India
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360) 
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)
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
R.C.Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal ,1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas, 
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 
Ajya Rawat, History of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal history of Kumaon
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
 S.s Negi, Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
S.S.s Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder Singh, 2008,History of Earlier and Medieval India.
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
Notes on History of Uttarakhand, History of Garhwal, Notes on History of Kumaon,  History of Pauri Garhwal,  History of Chamoli Garhwal,  History of Rudraprayag,  History of Tihri Garhwal,  History of Uttarkashi,  History of Dehradun,  History of Haridwar/Hardwar,  History of Udham Singh Nagar,  History of Nainital,  History of Almora,  History of Champawat,  History of Bageshwar,  History of Pithauragarh to be continued….

 Social Structure, Social behaviors and Societies of Kumaon and Garhwal (Uttarakhand) in Mahabharata Kulinda/Kuninda Era

History of Kumaon, Garhwal (Uttarakhand) - Part 28   

Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-25                     
Historical Aspects of Kulindas or Kunindas Janpad of Uttarakhand (1400-400 B.C.) part-6
(All the History write ups are dedicated to great Historians Hari Krishna Raturi, Badri Datt Pandey and Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral)
                                         By: Bhishma Kukreti
 Mahabharata describes anthropological, ethnographical details of Garhwal and Kumaon of Mahabharata Kulindas/Kunindas Era.
 Vanaparva (140/25’ 177/11); Sabhaparva (28/6..; 52/3) of Mahabharata provide details of various social structures, social behavior and societies of Kumaon and Garhwal (Uttarakhand) of Kulindas /Kunindas Era.  There are descriptions of following Garhwali – Kumaoni social communities or inhabitants (Castes or Jati) of this Age (Dabral, 1968 and journal of Anthropological Survey of India, 2003, volume -52, page 52):
Ekasan or Sthirvasi or Stable Khas community or settled Khas jati;
Jyoha/ Johari Bhotantik  or inhabitants of Johar region;
Deerghvenik Pradar (People wearing plaited long hair) community;
Darad –The inhabitants of passes and were very strong;
Pushup Kirat (Pastoral Kirat or Kulinddas)-All over Himachal and Mid Himalayas;
Tangan and Pratanagan (Traders of Borax and horses);
          Since, the name for Janpad of most of the Uttarakhand territories was Kulinda the large population of Uttarakhand belonged to Kulinda. Today’s Kanet/Kunait/Kanait of Garhwal, Kumaon, and Himachal Pradesh are Kulindas of Mahabharata Age.
 Kulindas of Uttarakhand of Mahabharata Age were pastoral community or they were domestic animal owners and used to trade domestic animals. 
 Mahabharata also describes Subahu the Kulinda king as Kirat king. It means The Kirat community was as strong as Kulinda community in Uttarakhand.  Few Kirat communities were dependent on forest vegetations. Kirat used to put on leather dresses and were cruel or fearless in nature. Kirat women were great hunters.
           Historians recognize Jyoha community of Mahabharata of Uttarakhand / Kulinda as today’s Johari Bhotaiya community (Dabral, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas pt -2; Motichandra, Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India page-11).
    The people of Deerghvenik Pradar community were sporting long hair and are recognized as the communities of today’s Tibetians or Bhotias.  They have strange customs and culture than other Kulinda communities.
            Tangan and Paratanagan (Traders of Borax and horses) communities used to live nearby today’s Tanknaur Pargana, Tangni chatti, Tangniya regions. Today’s Tangniya Rajpur clans are said to be Mahabharata’s Tangan and Paratanagan (Traders of Borax and horses) communities.
    Khasas  (ekasan or Sthirwasi) were more urbanized that used to live in villages and used to perform agricultural activities.
          Darad were found from Dardistan to Nepal.
     Tushar communities of Kulinda region in Mahabharata are recognized as Kushan community.
             There were some communities those were as prehistoric communities and used to eat raw mutton and were ignorant about metal uses.
 There is mention of Brahmins in Kulinda Era in Mahabharata and used live of vegetation only. Sage like Vishwamitra used to be attracted by beautiful girls of Kulinda regions.
                      Abnormal Human communities of Kulinda Era of Mahabharata
 The Mahabharata details the abnormal human communities of Kulinda region. These abnormal communities were Gandharva, Kinnar, Yaksha, army of Kordhvas  Rakshas, army of Ghatotkach, Army of Rauda and Maira, Apsara,
There is mention of nag community residing near Hardwar (Gangadwar). 


Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 2/05/2013
(The write up is for general readers and may not be suitable for history research scholars)
History of Garhwal – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -29
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…26
Historical Aspects of Kulindas or Kunindas Janpad of Uttarakhand (1400-400 B.C.) to be continued…7 

 
References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Ajya 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

Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1990, Uttaranchal (Kumaon-Garhwal) : An Essay in Historical Anthropology, Shri Almora Book, Almora
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)
Minyan G. Singh, 199, Wooden temples in Himachal
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
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
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,
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
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
This chapter comprises social structure and social communities of Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Pithoragarh Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Dwarhat Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; communities of Champawat Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Bageshwar Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Almora Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Nainital Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Udham Singh Nagar Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Rurki Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Hardwar Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Dehradun Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Pauri Garhwal Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Rudraprayag Garhwal Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Chamoli Garhwal Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Tihri Garhwal, Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age; social structure and social communities of Uttarkashi Garhwal, Uttarakhand in Mahabharata Age.

महान स्वतंत्रता सेनानी बीडी पांडे भी रहे अल्मोड़ा के सांसद

अल्मोड़ा। आज के समय में लोग रातों रात धनबल, परिवारवाद और अन्य रास्तों से राजनीतिक दलों में प्रवेश कर देश की संसद में विराजमान हो जाते हैं। दूसरी तरफ आजादी के बाद के शुरुआती दौर को देखें तो कई महान हस्तियां और देश को आजादी दिलाने के लिए वर्षों जेल में रहे देशभक्त सांसद चुने जाते थे। आजादी के आंदोलन में पांच बार जेल गए प्रख्यात स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानी बद्री दत्त पांडे भी उन्हीं में से थे। कुमाऊं केसरी बद्री दत्त पांडे 1957 के उप चुनाव में अल्मोड़ा के सांसद चुने गए। वह स्वतंत्रता सेनानी होने के साथ जाने माने पत्रकार भी थे और उन्होंने जेल में रहते कुमाऊं का इतिहास पुस्तक की भी रचना की। उनकी लिखी यह पुस्तक आज भी काफी पढ़ी जाती है।
कुमाऊं केसरी बद्री दत्त पांडे के पिता स्व. विनायक पांडे हरिद्वार में प्रसिद्ध वैद्य थे। बद्री दत्त पांडे का जन्म 15 फरवरी 1882 को कनखल हरिद्वार में ही हुआ, लेकिन सात वर्ष की आयु में उनके माता-पिता का निधन हो गया। बद्री दत्त पांडे मूल रूप से अल्मोड़ा के रहने वाले थे। इसलिए माता पिता के निधन के बाद वह अल्मोड़ा आ गए। अल्मोड़ा में ही उन्होंने पढ़ाई की। 1903 में उन्होंने नैनीताल में एक स्कूल में शिक्षण कार्य किया। कुछ समय बाद देहरादून में उनकी सरकारी नौकरी लग गई, लेकिन जल्दी ही उन्होंने नौकरी से त्यागपत्र दे दिया और पत्रकारिता में आ गए।
उन्होंने 1903 से 1910 तक देहरादून में लीडर नामक अखबार में काम किया। 1913 में उन्होंने अल्मोड़ा अखबार की स्थापना की। उन्होंने इस अखबार के जरिए स्वतंत्रता आंदोलन को गति देने का काम किया। इसी कारण कई बार अंग्रेज अफसर इस अखबार के प्रकाशन पर रोक लगा देते थे। अल्मोड़ा अखबार को ही उन्होंने शक्ति अखबार का रूप दिया। शक्ति साप्ताहिक अखबार आज भी लगातार प्रकाशित हो रहा है। 1921 में कुली बेगार आंदोलन में बीडी पांडे की भूमिका को हमेशा याद किया जाता है। उन्हें कुमाऊं केसरी की उपाधि से भी नवाजा गया। स्व. पांडे 1921 में एक साल, 1930 में 18 माह, 1932 में एक साल, 1941 में तीन माह जेल में रहे। 1942 के भारत छोड़ो आंदोलन में भी उन्हें जेल भेजा गया। आजादी के बाद भी अल्मोड़ा में रहकर वह सामाजिक कार्यों में सक्रियता से हिस्सा लेते रहे। 1957 में दूसरी लोकसभा के लिए हुए चुनाव में स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानी हरगोविंद पंत चुने गए, लेकिन कुछ ही माह में उनका निधन हो गया। इसके बाद सितंबर 1957 में हुए उपचुनाव में कांग्रेस ने बीडी पांडे को प्रत्याशी बनाया और वह विजयी हुए। स्व. पांडे बहुत बेबाक माने जाते थे। उन्होंने स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानियों को मिलने वाली पेंशन आदि का लाभ भी नहीं लिया। 1962 के चीन युद्ध के समय अपने सारे मेडल, पुरस्कार आदि सरकार को भेंट कर दिए।