History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c23.4

v1.c23.4

Taking Jalandhara first, a name still surviving in the Jalandhara city we find the following short notice of it by Cunningham which we take from his "Coins of Mediaeval India" (pp. 99-100) "The rich district of Jalandhara originally comprised the two Doabs lying between the rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The capital of the country was Jalandhara and Kot Kangra was its chief stronghold. The name is derived from the Danava Jalandhara killed by Siva.* The dead demon stretched: it is said, across the Panjab. The Titan's mouth is said to be Jvalamukhi and his feet are at Multan; and the part about Jalandhara is said to be his back and hence it is called Jalandhara Pitha a name slightly altered by Akbar to Jalandhara Bit. Another name for this country is Trigarta i. e. watered by the three rivers Ravi, Bias and Sutlej. Hemachandra in his Kosa says जालंधरास्त्रिगर्ताः स्युः and this name Trigarta is also still in use being handed down from the days of the Mahabharata. The royal family of Trigarta believes that they are descended from Susarman of the Mahabharata fame (who with Duryodhana made a raid on Matsya cattle) and who fought in the great war against the Pandavas. They are lunar race Kshatriyas and take the suffix of Chandra to their name all along. An inscription in the temple of Baijanath at Kīragrāma dated A. D. 804 names Jayachandra as the Rāja of Jālandhara. The Rājatarangiṇī states that Prithvi Chandra the Rāja of Trigarta fled before Śankaravarman. Kalhaṇa again mentions one Indra Chandra as the Rāja of Jālandhara about 1040 A. D. Their coins show the same symbol viz: a horseman which symbol is used by most coins of the Panjab and of Kabul and Prithviraj of Delhi and even Mahomedan kings like Mahmud and Ghori copied it”.