History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c19.3

v1.c19.3

The valley of the Nerbudda was from ancient times occupied by a tribe of Kshatriyas known as Haihayas. They were lunar race Kshatriyas and their greatest ancient king was Sahasrārjuna, killed by the Brahmin hero Parśurāma. Their capital was Māhishmatī or Maheśvara on the Nerbudda. They appear to have spread into the forest-clad regions of the modern Central Provinces; and founded several kingdoms. Kośala was certainly one of these kingdoms and it was as old as the Mahābhārata. We have a legend in the Mahābhārata that these Haihayas had a great fight with the solar race Kshatriyas of Oudh under Sagara. This means, it appears, that at first the solar race Kshatriyas of Oudh held sway over this tract of the country which lay to their south, and over this country the solar Kshatriyas and the lunar Kshatriyas of the Nerbudda valley had a great fight; for the tradition also exists that Rāma divided the country of Kośala between his two sons and the portion to the north of the Ganges called Uttara Kośala he gave to his elder son and the portion to the south including the jungly tract he gave to his younger son. Thus this country came to be called Kośala and it eventually went into the possession of the Haihaya Kshatriyas. Some antiquarians have a doubt as to the Aryan race of these Haihayas and as usual they are connected with some ‘horse’-named Scythic people. We need not stop to discuss such strange theories suggested by similarity of sound and we proceed to relate such historical facts as can be gleaned about these Haihayas of Kośala or modern Central Provinces in their eastern portion.