History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s18.5

v3.c35.s18.5

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.