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History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s18: 3 Chambā.

History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s18

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3 Chambā.

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We have already given in Vol. I a short account of the Chambā state which comes before us proceeding south-east from Kashmir. It was subordinate generally to Kashmir. This kingly line was founded about 620 A. D. by Ādivarman of the solar race (Vol. I p. 378), as Cunningham calculated. But later information from inscriptions on stone and copper read by Dr. Vogel and published in Archaeological Survey Report, New Imp. Series Vol. XXXVI part I (1911) and summarised by Dr. Hutchinson in J. Panjab H. S. Vol. II (pp. 75-80) shows that the state was founded by one Meruvarman of the solar race from Kalāpa town in the Gangetic valley about 700 A. D. The territory of the state gradually extended in the Rāvi valley the capital being Brahmapura or Brahmor. One of his descendants Sāhilavarman (a household name in the state) founded the present capital Champā. His son Yugākaravarman recorded two copper-plate grants which are the oldest yet found. There are no dates given in Champā records except regnal years before A. D. 1330 when first the Śāstra or Kaliyuga era or the Vikrama era figure is given and these are recorded in Gupta characters generally and later on in Śāradā and next Nāgari characters. On palæographic grounds these two records may be placed in the 10th century A. D. From Rājatarangiṇī we know that Ananta (1028-1039) invaded Champā and conquered Sālavarman. Āsaṭavarman visited Kashmir in the days of Kalaśa in 1087 A. D. his sister Bappikā being Kalaśa's queen. Their son was the unfortunate Harsha and Āsaṭa assisted him and his son Bhoja and Āsaṭa's son Jāsata assisted without avail Bhikshāchāra son of Bhoja in 1103 A. D. Jāsata's successor Udayavarman, however, assisted Sussala in 1121 A. D. as Sussala had married two Chambā princesses. The civil war in Kashmir probably made Chambā independent (p. 79).

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We need not mention the names of the later kings of Chambā upto 1200 A. D. But it may be stated that this family still rules in Chambā. This hill state was not troubled by Mahomedan invaders whether in the days of the Ghaznavide family of Mahmud or of Muhammad Ghori or later Sultans down to the days of Akbar.

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The kings are Kshatriyas of the solar race with Moshināsva (Yuvanāsva ?) gotra and are called Rajas. There are local chiefs who came to the country earlier; they are called Rāṇās (Rājānakas of inscriptions) and earlier still came the Rathis or Thakurs who now are probably a mixed race lower in rank than the Rāṇās (‘Chanāl Jetha Rathi Kanetha’).

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4 NURPUR.

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The kingdom of Nurpur is not an old Himalayan state. According to Nurpur tradition it was founded by a Tomara prince from Delhi. He is said to have dispossessed a Pathan chief from Pathankot and from thence going into the hills he built a fort at Nurpur the original name of which was Dhaner (Nurpur being a name given, it is said, by Nurjahan). The date of the founding of a kingdom at Pathankot is believed to be the middle of the 11th century. But the story seems improbable as Panjab was at this time under the strong rule of Ghazni and it is difficult to believe that any Rajput prince could have been allowed to dispossess a Pathan force from Pathankot and found a kingdom. The story is, on the face of it, a name-legend based upon the name Pathankot. But the name Pathan here is really the Prakrit form of Pratiṣṭhāna and it seems to us that there was some Tomara king in Pratiṣṭhāna in pre-Mahmud days and in consequence of Mahmud’s raids he removed into the hills and founded the kingdom of Dhaner. He built the fort of Nurpur (which is now in a ruinous condition) in a convenient strong place by the side of a river. His family ruled in this part during the sub-period treated of in this volume and continues even to this day, the present chief being, however, not a ruling prince.

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The gotra of these Pathania Rajputs is Atri which raises a doubt as to whether they are really Tomaras. They also call themselves Pandirs or descendants of the Pāndavas, but the gotra of the Pāndavas as also of the Tomaras who are their modern representatives is Vaiyāghrapadya. Perhaps the Pathanias changed their gotra when they came to Dhaner and adopted a new Purohita, according to the wrong dictum of Vijnāneśvara or they are really lunar race Kshatriyas but not Tomaras.

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The Panjab Historical Society's Journal Vol. II (p. 17) states that the original town of Pathankot was on the high ground to the east of the old fort the site of which is marked by high mounds where old coins have been found. This shows that Pathankot is an ancient town and its ancient name must have been Pratishthāna. Two genealogical lists of the ruling family at Nurpur have been available differing in many details. Cunningham gave 1095 A. D. as the date of the founding of the Nurpur family and Jyethpāla, the founder, is said to have been a younger brother of a king of Delhi. A remark in the genealogy against Jaspāla states that he was 15th from the founder and opposed Allauddin Khilji (1295-1315). This takes Jyethpāla to about 1000 A. D. by the average of 20 years and it is extremely probable that these Tomaras did not come from Delhi which was not in existence at that time but from the plains of the Panjab itself, through the stress of Mahmud's invasions and took possession first of Pratishthāna already existing and from thence moved into the hills to Nurpur alias Dhaner.

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NOTE--THE FORT OF NURPUR AND ITS TEMPLES.

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The ruined fort of Dhaner or Nurpur is a very interesting fort near the town of Nurpur and the present Tahsil and hospital are built inside the fort. There are many tanks in the fort which was thus well supplied with water. There is a small temple well-preserved of Mahādeva; but the most interesting structure in this fort is the basement of an old temple the upper part of which is gone, which has been recently excavated from debris. The basement is well-preserved and there can be seen very beautiful figures carved in stone, depicting scenes in the Purāṇas and also of men, elephants, horses, camels, cows as they moved in the actual social life of mediæval Hindu period. The figures are true to nature and prove the great art of the carvers. These carvings are as beautiful, if not more, as the carvings on the pillars used in the Kutub mosque at Delhi. This temple appears to have been a Vishnu temple. The heads of the figures have all been chiselled off by Mahomedan idol-breakers.

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At some distance from this old temple there is a new temple, probably built in Akbar's days, wherein is to be seen a fine black statue of Muralīdhara (Krishna sounding his pipe). The idol is placed in the upper story which is quite unusual. In the hall underneath and also on the second story there are paintings on the walls of scenes from Krishna's early life which are very creditable and which give an idea of the dress, the ornaments and the social life of the people in Akbar's days at Nurpur.

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