Historical Aspects of Kulindas or Kunindas Janpad of Uttarakhand (1400-400 B.C.)
History of Kumaon, Garhwal (Uttarakhand) - Part 23
Historical Aspects of Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas-20
Historical Aspects of Kulindas or Kunindas Janpad of Uttarakhand (1400-400 B.C.) part-1
The Kulindas or Kunindas Period
Most or all the historians support the theory that there were kingdom /kingdoms of Kulindas or Kunindas in Saharanpur, Himachal, Garhwal, and Kumaon including Nepal before Buddhist period. Mahabharata throws light on Kulindas or Kunindas communities. There mentions of Kulindas and Kunindas in Panini’s Ashtadhyayi . The coins found in Behit, Sharanpour , Srinagar are having Kulindas words. That suggests that Kulindas or Kunindas regime was till 300-400 BCE. Dr Dabral taking the clue from Mahabharata suggests the period of King Subahu of Kulindas or Kunindas was around 1400-1000 B.C.
Though there are least evidences but it might be said that Kulindas or Kunindas regime was from 1400-400 BCE.
Mahabharata mentions that Pandavas travelled Uttarakhand with the help of Subahu the Kulindas or Kunindas kingdom.
Kulindas or Kunindas Territories in Uttarakhand
As per Mahabharata, King Subahu of Kulindas or Kunindas ruled the territories from Gangadwar (Haridwar/Hardwar) till Nepal (Vanparva 140/25). Historians found coins related to Kukindas or Kunindas from Satlaj (Punjab, Himachal) to Kali River (Kumaon). According to Talmi (7/1/42) the Kulindas or Kunindas regime was from Satlaj to eastern part of Yamuna and source of Ganges Rivers (Uttarakhand).
Mahabharata mentions the names of hills of Uttarakhand related to Subahu and Kulindas or Kunindas regime. These shrines are Ushirbij (hills near Kankhal), Kalshail ( Kalsi hills), Nagshat (Nagtibba hills) and Neelparvat ( eastern part of Neeldhara), Kailas shrines, badrikashram, Shwetgiri (might be Mana). Dabral suggests that Gandhmadhan of Mahabharata are the shrines from Shrinagar to Nar and The Narayan near Badrinath.
The shrines of nearby Hemkut of Mahabharata are Nanda Shrines. Mandarchal shrine of Mahabharata is today’s shrines from Ranihat to Kedar valley and still the name is Mandrachal. Meru of Mahabharata is nearby shrines of Gangotari. There were Bugyal (pushpudyan or flower gardens) in Yamunaparvat. Harivars mountain of Mahbharata is near Nanda Devi Mountains.
Dabral suggest that Neelparvat, Kraunch Parvat, Manas dwar, Malyvan, Munjpusht, Brishdansh of Mahabharata might be situated near India-Tibetan border. Dabral suggests that Malyavan shrine would be today’s Joshimath to Neeti shrine.
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti 28/4/2013
(The write up is for general readers and may not be properly suitable for history research scholars)
History of Garhwal –Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to be continued… Part -24
Ancient communities of Kumaon-Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Himalayas- to be continued…21
Historical Aspects of Kulindas or Kunindas Janpad of Uttarakhand (1400-400 B.C.) to be continued…2
References and Further Reading Suggestions:
Ajya Rawat, History of Garhwal
Alexander Cunningham, 1996, Coins of Ancient India: From Earliest times down to the Seventh century
Badri Datt Pandey, 1937, Kumaun ka Itihas, (second edition.) Shyam Prakashan, Almora (page 155-179)
B.P. Kamboj, 2003, Early Wall painting of Garhwal
C.M Agarwal history of Kumaon
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1968, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-2, (pages117 to321), Veer Gath Press, Dogadda, India
Dabral, Shiv Prasad, 1992, Kulinda Janpada
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, 1998, Ancient Communities of the Himalayas
D.D Sharma, 2009, Cultural History of Uttarakhand
D.P Agarwal, Jeewan Singh Kharakwal, 1995, Cist Burials of the Kumaun Himalayas
D.P Agarwal, J Kharakwal, 1995, Kumaon Archeology and Tradition, Almora Book, Almora
Hari Krishna Raturi, 1921, Garhwal ka Itihas
Maheshwar Prasad Joshi, 1990, Uttaranchal (Kumaon-Garhwal) : An Essay in Historical Anthropology, Shri Almora Book, Almora
Jagdish Bahadur , 2003 Indian Himalayas
J.C. Agarwal, S.P.Agarwal, S.S. Gupta, 1995, Uttarakhand: Past, Present and Future
John Whelpton, 2005, History of Nepal (page 22 , Khasa)
Khadak Singh Valdiya , 2001, Himalaya: Emergence and Evolution , Uni Press, Hyderabad, India
K.P.Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1997, Him Kanti (page 85 for Khasa)
Kanti Prasad Nautiyal, 1969, The Archeology of Kumaon including Dehradun
K.P Nautiyal, B.M. Khanduri, 1991, Emergence of Early culture in Garhwal, Central Himalaya
Lalan Ji Gopal and Vinod Chandra Shrivastava , History of Agriculture in India (up to 1200AD(article of Dr K.P Nautiyal et all – Agriculture in Garhwal Himalayas o to 1200AD, page 162)
Minyan G. Singh, 199, Wooden temples in Himachal
M.S. S Rawat (editor), Himalaya: a Regional Perspective
Narendra Singh Bisht and T. S Bankoti, 2004, Encyclopedic Ethnography of the Himalayan Tribes (Page for Khasa – 736)
Dr. Naval Viyogi, Professor M A Ansari, 2010 History of the Later Harappans and Shilpkara Movement (two volumes) Kalpaz Publication, Delhi, India
O.C. Handa, 2003, History of Uttaranchal (Page 22 for Khashas)
O.C. Handa, 2009, Art and Architecture of Uttarakhand
O.P Kandari and O.P Gusain, 2001, Garhwal Himalaya (Pages for Khasa- 309/360)
Parmannad Gupta, 1989, Geography from Ancient Indian Coins and Seals
Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon valley Down the Ages, Dehradun, India
R.C.Bhatt, K.P. Nautiyal, 1987-88Trans Himalayan Burials, visa vis Malari, an Assessment, JOSHARD, Vol11-12 (pp 95-101)
R.C. Naithani, 1999, Radiant Himalayas,
S S.s Negi, Back and beyond, Garhwal Himalaya: Nature, Culture and Society
S.S.s Negi, Himalayan Rivers, lakes and Glaciers
Surendra Singh, 1995, Urbanization in Garhwal Himalaya: a geographical Interpretation
Upinder Singh, 2008, History of Earlier and Medieval India.
Vishwa Chandra Ohri, 1980, Himachal Art and Archeology, State Museum, Shimla , Pages 3,5 and 65)
H. Sarkar, A.Banerji 2006, Hari Smriti , Chapter ‘ The Kunindas and their Archeology in Garhwal Himalaya (pages-391-398).
New cultural Dimension in the Central Himalayas, region of Uttarakhand, an Archeological assessment:
Carleton Stevens Coon, 1962, The Origin of Race
C.S. Coon, The Races of Europe
an interesting article. enjoyed reading Uttarakhand
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