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The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s3: Hill-States of the Panjâb.

The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s3

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Contents

Hill-States of the Panjâb.

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As the Chinese pilgrim has noticed so few of the many hill-states of the Panjâb, I will here add a brief outline of the information which I have myself been able to collect regarding them.

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According to popular opinion the petty states of the Alpine Panjâb, at the present time, consist of twenty-two Muhammadan and twenty-two Hindu chiefships, the former lying to the west, and the latter to the east of the Chenâb river. An older classification divides them into three groups, each named after the most powerful state which formed the head of the confederation. These were Kashmir, Dogra, and Trigartta. The first consisted of the rich valley of Kashmir, and all the petty states between the Indus and Jehlam; the second included Jammu, and the other of the Kunihâr river to the north-west of Kashmir. They are all Muhammadans, and are most probably the descendants of the early inhabitants of the country, who retired to their present position on the advance of the Afghân invaders.

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The Afghân chiefs hold the valleys of the Pakhli and Dor rivers, to the south-west of Kashmir. They are all Muhammadans, and their settlement in this part of the country is of recent date. Abul Fazl mentions that before the time of Akbar, the raja of Pakhli was a tributary of Kashmir. He also states that Timur left a small body of troops in this district, whose descendants were still there in his time.*

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The Gakar chiefs hold the lower valley of the Jhelam, and the upper course of the Haro river to the south-west of Kashmir. They are all Muhammadans; but their conversion is comparatively recent, as their names were Indian down to the invasion of Timur. Their occupation of these districts is of very early date; but they are Turanians, and not Arians, as none but a Gakar will intermarry with a Gakar, a practice that is utterly repugnant to Hinduism, which permits no man to marry one of his own tribe. The Gakars also occupy several portions of the eastern Doab, as Guliâna, near Gujar Khan, and Bugiâl, under the lofty hill of Bâlnâth. But these districts do not properly belong to the hills, although they were subject to Kashmir at the time of Hwen Thsang's visit in the seventh century.

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The following list gives the names and positions of the various states attached to the central, or Jammu division of the Alpine Panjâb:—

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∗ ‘Ayin Akbari,’ ii. 155.

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of the Jammu family, on which they were generally dependent. Punach was sometimes independent; but its proximity to Kashmir placed it at the mercy of its more powerful neighbour. *Rajaori* and *Kotali* were held in later times by two branches of the royal family of Kashmir, to which they were usually tributary. But in the middle ages, under the Hindu rulers, Kotali formed part of Punach, to which it naturally belonged as part of the same valley. *Bhimbar* and *Khariáli* were divisions of the Chibh, or Chibhân, branch of the Somvansi Rajas of Kângra and Jâlandhar. In early times the name of Bhimbar was little used, the common appellation being *Chibhân*, which is found in Sharifuddin's history of Timur, under the form of *Jibhâl*. The conversion of the family to Muhammadanism is probably of late date, as Ferishta mentions *Howns* Raja of Bhimbar in A.H. 891, or A.D. 1486.* But so many of these hill chiefs retained their Hindu names after they became Muhamadans, that the Hindu name alone cannot be taken as a decisive proof of his being unconverted. *Káshtwár* and *Bhadrwár* are situated on opposite banks of the upper Chenâb river, to the south-east of Kashmir, to which they were generally subject. These nine chiefships of the central division, added to the thirteen of the western division, form the twenty-two Muhamadan states which the popular belief assigns to the western half of the Alpine Panjâb.

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Of the eight remaining chiefships of this division I am not able to give much information, as many of them became extinct during the early period of Sikh rule, and all of them are now absorbed by the Jammu family in the great kingdom of Kashmir. *Jasrota*, in the outer range of hills, was once of some importance, and its chiefs intermarried with the other Rajput families of the Alpine Panjâb; but I can find no mention of it in any of the histories. *Ballâwar* and *Badwâl* were certainly at one time under a single chief, as Kalasa, the son of Tukka, who is twice mentioned in the ‘Raja Tarangini’* as lord of *Vallâpura* between 1028 and 1801, is found in the genealogical lists of both families. It is true that *Vaddivâsa* is noticed in the same chronicle† as a separate district at an earlier date, but as there is no mention of any chief, it may be inferred that it formed part of the small kingdom of Vallâpura. As the names in the two genealogical lists differ from Kalasa downwards, it seems probable that the state may have been dismembered after his death. It is certain that he was mixed up with Kashmirian politics; and as the contemporary Raja of the neighbouring state of Chamba was put to death by Ananta of Kashmir, I conclude that Ballâwar must have been subjected at the same time.

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∗ Briggs, ‘Ferishta,’ iv. 483.

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† Ibid., vi. 318, Nandigupta.

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I may remark that all the chiefs of the Central Division, whose genealogies I possess, trace their origin to the *Surajvansi*, or Solar Race, with the single exception of the intrusive *Chibhân* of Bhimbar. The chiefs of Jammu, Jasrota, and Ballâwar, with their offshoots, amounting together to eight of these petty states, all assert their descent from the Sun, a claim which is admitted by their Rajput neighbours.

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The following list gives the names and positions of the various states attached to the eastern, or Jâlandhar division of the Alpine Panjâb.

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∗ ‘Raja Tarangini,’ vii. 220, 589.

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| Somvansi . . . . | 1. Kângra, or Kâtoch. 2. Guler, to S.W. of Kângra. 3. Jaswâl, on Suhan R. 4. Datârpur, on lower Biâs R. 5. Siba, do. 6. Chamba, on Râvi R. 7. Kullu, on upper Biâs R. 8. Mandi, on middle Biâs R. 9. Sukhet, to south of Mandi. 10. Nûrpur, between Râvi and Biâs R. 11. Kotila, to E. of Nûrpur. 12. Kotlehar. |
| Surajvansi . . . . | |
| Pundir, or Pândayas. | |

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Of these twelve states no less than five are mere subdivisions of the once rich kingdom of Jâlandhar, which embraced the whole of the Doâb, or plain country, between the Biâs and Satlej, and all the hill country lying between the Râvi and the frontiers of Mandi and Sukket, to the south of the Dhaola-dhâr mountains. This included Nûrpur, Kotila, and Kotlehar; and as Mandi and Sukhet were at first under one rule, there were originally only four chiefships in the eastern division of the Alpine Panjâb, namely, Jâlandhar, Chamba, Kullu, and Mandi.

Jâlandhara.

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Since the occupation of the plains by the Muhamadans, the ancient kingdom of Jâlandhara has been confined almost entirely to its hill territories, which were generally known by the name of Kângra, after its most celebrated fortress. The district is also called Kâtoch, the meaning of which is unknown, and Trigartta,* which is the usual Sanskrit name found in the Purânas, and in the native chronicle of Kashmir.

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In the seventh century Jâlandhara is described by the Chinese pilgrim† as about 1000 *li*, or 167 miles in length from east to west, and 800 *li*, or 133 miles in breadth from north to south. If these dimensions are even approximately correct, Jâlandhar must then have included the state of Chamba on the north, with Mandi and Sukhet on the east, and Satadru on the south-east. As the last is the only district to the east of the Satlej, which is included in N. India, I infer that it must have belonged to the kingdom of Jâlandhar. With the addition of these districts the size of the province will agree very well with the dimensions assigned to it by the Chinese pilgrim.

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† Julien’s ‘Hiouen Thsang,’ ii. 202.

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At the time of Hwen Thsang’s visit, Jâlandhar itself was the capital, which he describes as from 12 to 13 *li*, or upwards of 2 miles in circuit. Its antiquity is undoubted, as it is mentioned by Ptolemy as Kulindrine, or Ktulindrine, which should probably be corrected to Sulindrine, as the *K* and Σ are frequently interchanged in Greek manuscripts. According to the Padma Purâna,‡ the city of Jâlandhara was the capital of the great Daitya king Jalandhara, who became so powerful by virtue of his austerities as to be invincible. At last, however, he was overcome by Siva, through a disgraceful fraud, and his body was devoured by the yoginis, or female demons. But the conclusion of the legend is differently given in the local Purâna,* which states that he was overwhelmed and crushed to death by a mass of mountains which Siva placed upon him. Flames then sprang out of his mouth, which was under Jwála-mukhi; his back was under the upper part of the Doâb, which is still called Jálandhara-pitha, or Jálandhar-pith, by the people; and his feet were under the lower part of the Doâb at Multân. Akbar partially adopted this version of the legend when he named the different Doâbs after the enclosing rivers, by calling the land between the Satlej and Biâs the Doâb-i-Bist Jálandhar, or Bit Jálandhar, instead of the Sab Doab, which it should have been if he had placed the initial of the eastern river first, as he did in the names of the Bâri and Chaj Doâbs.

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∗ ‘Hema-Kosha.’ Jâlandharâs Trigarttâsyuh—“Jâlandhara, that is Trigartta.”

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‡ Uttara Khanda of the Padma Purâna. Kennedy’s ‘Hindu Mythology,’ p. 456.

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The royal family of Jâlandhara and Kângra is one of the oldest in India, and their genealogy from the time of the founder, Susarma Chandra, appears to me to have a much stronger claim to our belief than any one of the long strings of names now shown by the more powerful families of Rajputana. All the different scions of this house claim to be of Somavansi descent; and they assert that their ancestors held the district of Multân and fought in the Great War on the side of Duryodhan against the five Pându brothers. After the war they lost their country, and retired under the leadership of Susarma Chandra to the Jâlandhar Doâb, where they established themselves, and built the stronghold of Kangra. The expedition of Alexander terminated on the banks of the Hyphasis, or Biâs; but he received the submission of Phegelast or Phegæus, the king of the district, beyond the river, that is of the Jâlandhar Doâb. Towards the end of the fifth century, the kingdom of Trigartta was presented to Pravaresa by the Raja of Kashmir.* In the seventh century, the Chinese pilgrim, Hwen Thsang, was courteously entertained for a whole month by Raja U-ti-to, or Udita,† whom I would identify with Adima of the genealogical lists. One hundred and sixty years later, in an inscription dated A.D. 804, the Raja of Jâlandhara is named Jaya Chandra, who is the Jaya Malla Chandra of the lists, the seventh in descent from Adima. Lastly, Avanta, king of Kashmir, from A.D. 1028 to 1081, married two daughters of Indu Chandra,‡ Raja of Jâlandhara, who is the Indra Chandra of the genealogical lists of Kângra. These instances are sufficient to show that Jâlandhara existed as an independent State for many centuries before the Muhammadan conquest.

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∗ Jâlandhara Purâna. † Diodorus, xvii. 51, “Phegæus.” Curtius, ix. 1, 2, “Phegelas erat gentis proximæ rex.”

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The smaller chiefships of Guler, Jaswâl, Datârpur, and Siba, are offshoots from the parent stem of Kângra. The independence of Guler, or Haripur, was established by Hari Chandra, about A.D. 1400, when he yielded Kângra to his younger brother, Karmma Chandra. The date of the foundation of the other principalities is unknown, but I believe that they were always tributary to the parent state until the time of the Muhammadans, when the capture of Kângra by Mahmud of Ghazni afforded them an opportunity of asserting their independence.

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The French traveller Thevenot,§ in his account of the dominions of the Emperor of Delhi, mentions that "there are many Rajas who own not the authority of the Great Mogul." But the territories of these Rajas must have been far in the interior of the hills, as we know that the chiefs of all the outer hills were subjected by the Mogul emperors. Thevenot specially mentions the province of "Ayoud, or Haoud," as containing "the most northern countries that belong to the Great Mogul, as Caucares, Bankish, Nagarcut, Siba, and others." The Caucares must be the Gakars who hold the lower hills to the west of the Jhelam. Terry* calls them Kakares, and their principal cities Dekalee and Purhola (or Dângali and Pharwâla). The Bankish are the Banchish of Terry,† whose "chief city, called Bishur (Peshâwar) lyeth east (read west) somewhat southerly from Chishmere, from which it is divided by the river Indus." Nagarcut is Kângra or Nagarkot, which is mentioned under the same name by Abu Rihân,‡ who was present at its capture by Mahmud of Ghazni. Siba is not as we might suppose, the small state in the neighbourhood of Kângra, but a district on the Ganges, of which the chief city, according to Terry, was "Hardware (or Haridwâra), where the river Ganges, passing through or amongst large rocks, makes presently after a pretty full current." From these accounts it is clear that the whole of the states in the lower hills, from Peshâwar on the west to the Ganges on the east, were subject to the emperor of Delhi. Regarding the general name of Ayoud, or Haoud, which Thevenot applies to them, I can only conjecture that it may be some corrupt form of Himavat, or Himwat, one of the well-known names of the Himálaya mountains, which the Greeks have preserved under the two different forms of Emódos and Imäus.

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∗ ‘Rajâ Tarangini,’ iii. 100. † Julien’s ‘Hiouen Thsang,’ i. 261. ‡ ‘Raja Tarangini,’ vii. 150. § ‘Travels,’ part iii. c. 37.

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∗ 'Voyage to East India,' p. 88.

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† Ibid., p. 81: London, 1655.

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‡ 'Fragments Arabes, etc.,' 149.

Champa, or Chamba.

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Chamba is a large district, which includes the valleys of all the sources of the Râvi, and a portion of the upper valley of the Chenâb, between Lâhul and Kâshmír. It is not mentioned by Hwen Thsang, and was therefore, probably included by him within the limits of Kashmir. The ancient capital was Varmapur, or Varmâwar, on the Budhil river, where many fine temples, and a brazen bull, of life size, still exist to attest the wealth and piety of its early rulers. According to the inscriptions these works belong to the ninth and tenth centuries. The country is frequently mentioned in the native chronicle of Kashmir, under the name of Champa, and each notice is confirmed by the local genealogies. Between A.D. 1028 and 1031 the district was invaded by Ananta of Kashmir,[*] when the native Raja, named Sála, was defeated and put to death. His son founded a new capital, Champapura, called after the goddess Champávati Devi; which, under the name of Chamba, is still the chief place in the district. The Rajas of Kashmir afterwards intermarried with the Chamba family;[†] and during the troubles that followed the Muhammadan invasions this petty state became independent, and remained so until reduced by Gulâb Singh, early in the present century.

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∗ Briggs's ‘Ferishta,’ i. 283. The Gakars inhabited the banks of the Nilâb (or Indus) up to the foot of the mountains of Siwâlik.

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† ‘Raja Tarangini,’ vii. 218.

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† *Ibid.*, vii. 589, 1520; viii. 1092.

Kullu.

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The kingdom of *Kiu-lu-to* is placed by Hwen Thsang at 700 *li*, or 117 miles, to the north-east of Jâlandhar,* which corresponds exactly with the position of the district of *Kullu*, in the upper valley of the Byâs river. The Vishnu Purâna† mentions a people called *Ulûta*, or *Kulûta*, who are most probably the same as the *Kaulutas* of the ‘Râmâyana’ and the ‘Brihat Sanhitâ.’‡ As this form of the word agrees precisely with the Chinese *Kiuluto*, I conclude that the modern *Kullu* must be only an abbreviation of the ancient name. The district is stated to be 3000 *li*, or 500 miles, in circuit, and entirely surrounded by mountains. The size is very much exaggerated for the present restricted limits of *Kullu*; but as the ancient kingdom is said by the people themselves to have included Mandi and Sukhet on the west, and a large tract of territory to the south of the Satlej, it is probable that the frontier measurement of 500 miles may be very near the truth if taken in road distance.

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† Wilson's ‘Vishnu Purâna,’ edited by Hall, ii. 3, vol. ii. p. 174.

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‡ Kern's ‘Brihat Sanhita,’ xiv. 29.

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The present capital of the valley is Sultânpur; but the old capital of Makarsa is still called Nagar, or the city, by which name it is most generally known. Hwen Thsang states that gold, silver, and copper are all found in the district, which is only partially true, as the amount of gold to be obtained by washing is very small, and the silver and copper mines have long been abandoned.

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To the north-east of Kullu Hwen Thsang places the district of *Lo-hu-lo*, which is clearly the *Lho-yal* of the Tibetans, and the *Láhul* of the people of Kullu and other neighbouring states. Still further to the north he places the district of *Mo-lo-so*, which, from his position, must certainly be Ladâk. I would, therefore, alter the Chinese name to *Mo-lo-po*, which is an exact transcript of *Mar-po*, the actual name of the province of Ladâk, as *Mar-po-yul*, or the “Red district,” in allusion to the general appearance of its soil and mountains. The Chinese syllables *so* and *po* are so much alike that they are frequently interchanged, as in the well-known name of Salatura, the birth-place of Pânini, which is given in the original Chinese of Hwen Thsang’s travels as *Po-lo-tu-lo*, or *Palatura*.

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∗ Julien's ‘Hiouen Thsang,’ ii. 203.

Mandi and Sukhet.

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The petty chiefships of *Mandi* and *Sukhet* were originally a single state, bounded by Kângra on the west and Kullu on the east, and by the Dhaoladhâr mountains on the north and the Satlej on the south. *Mandi* means the “market;” and its favourable position on the Biâs river, at the junction of the two roads from the west and south, must have ensured its early occupation, which was rendered prosperous and lasting by the existence of valuable mines of iron and black salt in its immediate vicinity.

Nûrpûr, or Pathániya.

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The town of Nûrpûr derives its name from the celebrated Nûr Jahân, the wife of the emperor Jahânjîr. Its original name was *Dahmari*, or *Dahmála*; or as Abul Fazl writes, *Dahmahri*, although he mentions no fort. The people pronounce the name as if written *Dahmeri*. In the ‘Târikh-i-Alfi’ it is called *Damál*, an dis described as “situated on the summit of a high hill, on the borders of Hindustan.” The fort was taken after a long siege by Ibrahim Ghaznavi. The name of the district is *Patháwat*, and the old capital in the plains was called *Pathián*, or *Pathiánkot*, which is now slightly altered to *Pathánkot*. But the name is derived from the Pathân tribe of Hindu Rajpûts, and not from the well-known Muhammadan Pathâns, or Afghâns. The Raja was imprisoned in 1815 by Ranjit Singh, who took possession of his country.

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The petty chief of Kotila, to the east of Nûrpûr, who was a scion of the Pathâniya family, was seized about the same time, and his estate incorporated with the Sikh dominions.

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Kotlehar is a petty state in the Jaswâl Dûn, to the south-east of Jwâla-Mukhi. It was generally a dependency of Kangra.

Satadru.

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The district of *She-to-tu-lo*, or *Satadru*, is described by the Chinese pilgrim* as 2000 *li*, or 333 miles in circuit, with a large river forming its western boundary. The capital is placed at 700 *li*, or 117 miles, to the south of Kullu, and 800 *li*, or 133 miles, to the north-east of Bairât. But there is a mistake in one of these numbers, as the distance between the capital of Kullu and Bairât is 336 miles, measured direct on the map, or not less than 360 miles, by road. There is a deficiency, therefore, in one of the distances of about 110 miles, or nearly 700 *li*, in a direct line between the two places, or of about 150 miles, or nearly 1000 *li*, in the detour, as shown by his bearings. Now it is remarkable that there is a deficiency of about the same amount in the return journey along a parallel line of road, from Mathura to Thanesar, which the pilgrim makes only 500 *li*, or 83 miles,* instead of 1200 *li*, or 200 miles, the actual distance being 199 miles. As it would seem that both routes, for some unknown reason, had been subjected to the same amount of curtailment, it is probable that the deficiency in the western line will lie in the southern portion between Satadru and Bairât, which is contiguous to the parallel line between Mathura and Thanesar. I would, therefore, increase the distance between the two former places by 150 miles, or in round numbers 1000 *li*, which would make the total distance 283 miles, or nearly 1800 *li*, instead of 800 *li*. Taking this corrected distance from Bairât, and the recorded distance of 117 miles south from Kullu, the position of Satadru will correspond almost exactly with the large city of Sarhind, which both history and tradition affirm to be the oldest place in this part of the country.

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∗ Julien's ‘Hiouen Thsang,’ ii. 205.

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The present ruins of Sarhind consist almost entirely of Muhammadan buildings of a late period; but it must have been a place of some consequence in the time of the Hindus, as it was besieged and captured by Muhammad Ghori, the first Mussulman king of Delhi.† The name of *Sarhind*, or "frontier of Hind" is popularly said to have been given to the city at an earlier period, when it was the boundary town between the Hindus and the later Muhammadan kingdom of Ghazni and Lahor. But the name is probably much older, as the astronomer Varâha Mihira mentions the *Sairindhas** immediately after the *Kulûtas*, or people of Kullu, and just before *Brahmapura*, which, as we learn from the Chinese pilgrim, was the capital of the hill country to the north of Haridwâr. The *Sairindhas*, or people of *Sirindha*, must, therefore, have occupied the very tract of country in which the present Sarhind is situated, and there can be little doubt that the two names are the same. But the geographical list of Varâha Mihira is copied almost *verbatim* from that of the still earlier astronomer Parâsara, who is believed to have flourished not later than the first century after Christ.†

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∗ Julien's 'Hiouen Thsang,' i. 104, and ii. 211. † Dowson's edition of Sir H. Elliot's 'Muhammadan Historians of India,' ii. 295.

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† Kern's Preface to the ‘Brihat Sanhitâ,’ p. 32.

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If we apply the correction of 110 miles, or about 700 *li*, to the northern half of the line between Kullu and Satadru, the position of the latter will be brought down to Hânsi, which is an ancient fortified city of even greater strength and reputation than Sarhind. But as Hwen Thsang specially notes that the territory of Satadru was only 2000 *li*, or 333 miles, in circuit, and that it was bounded on the west by a great river, which can only be the Satlej or Satadru, it is quite impossible that Hânsi could be the place intended, as it is upwards of 130 miles distant from the nearest point of that river.

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The position of the celebrated fortress of Bhatner would suit the description of a small district bounded on the west by the Satlej, and would also agree with the corrected distance from Kullu: but the direction is south-west instead of south, and the distance from Bairât is upwards of 200 miles, instead of 800 *li*, or 133 miles, as stated by the pilgrim. The bearing of Bairât is, however, in favour of Bhatner, as the pilgrim’s south-west is certainly a mistake for south-east, otherwise the distance of Bairât from Mathura would be nearly 1500 *li*, or 250 miles, instead of 500 *li*, or 83 miles, as recorded. If we might read 1500 *li* instead of 500 *li*, the relative positions of Bhatner and Bairât would correspond very well with the pilgrim’s account, as the road distance between the two places, *viâ* Hânsi, is about 250 miles. It is quite possible also that there may be a mistake in the initial Chinese character, *She* or *Ṣa*, which is very much like *Po* or *Bha*; and if so, the Chinese syllables *Po-to-tu-lo* would represent *Bhaṭasthala*, or Bhatner. The latter name means the “fortress of the Bhaṭis,” but the town itself was called *Band*, or *Bando*, which was probably the contracted form of *Bhaṭasthala*, just as *Máru* is now the common contracted form of *Marusthala*. But in spite of these plausible agreements both in name and in position, I am inclined to think that Sarhind must be the place indicated by the pilgrim as the capital of the ancient district of *Śatadru*. This conclusion is strengthened by the pilgrim’s statement that the country produced gold, which, so far as I know, can only apply to the lower hills lying to the north of Sarhind, where gold is still found in some of the smaller affluents of the Satlej.

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∗ Dr. Kern's edition of the ‘Brihat Sanhitâ,’ b. xiv. 29, 30.

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Accepting Sarhind as the capital of *Śatadru*, the boundaries of the district may be determined approximately from its size. On the west and north it was bounded by the Satlej for upwards of 100 miles from the neighbourhood of Simla to Tihâra, below Lûdiâna. On the south the boundary extended for about 100 miles from Tihâra to Ambâla, and on the east for about the same distance, from Ambâla to Simla. The circuit thus described embraces a considerable portion of the hill states to the west and south of Simla, together with the districts of Sarhind proper and Lûdiâna in the plains. As it is the only district lying to east of the Satlej that is included within the limits of Northern India, I infer that it must have been a dependency of the neighbouring state of Jâlandhar.

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