Jalandhar

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District map of Jalandhar

Jalandhar (Punjabi: ਜਲੰਧਰ, Hindi: जलंधर) is an ancient city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India.

Variants

Antiquity

It was the capital of Trigartas (people living in the "land between three rivers": Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) in the times of Mahabharata war. According to Alexander Cunningham[1] Trigartta is the usual Sanskrit name found in the Puranas. 'Hema-Kosha.' writes Jâlandharâs Trigarttâsyuh — "Jalandhara, that is Trigartta."

V. S. Agrawala[2] mentions Vishayas known to Panini which includes - Jalandharayana (जालंधरायण), under Rajanyadi (राजन्यादि) (IV.2.53).

Tahsils in Jalandhar

Location

Jalandhar is located at [show location on an interactive map] 31.33° N 75.58° E[1]. It has an average elevation of 229 metres (751 feet).

The city is located almost 375 km from Delhi, 142 km from Chandigarh and about 90 km from Amritsar.

Origin of name

Jalandhar is named after Jalandhara, a demon king who lived in water as his name suggests Jal (water) and Andhar (in). Others say Jalandhar is derived from the fact that it is located between two rivers Jal and Andhar. During British occupation it was called Jullundur.

In fact we find Andhar as a gotra of Jats, Origin of the which was place called Attock in Sindh.[3] This way the city was founded by Andhar Jats.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census[2], Jalandhar had a population of 701,223. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Jalandhar has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 72%. In Jalandhar, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

V. S. Agrawala[4] writes that Ashtadhyayi of Panini mentions janapada Trigarta (त्रिगर्त) (V.3.116) - It is mentioned by Panini as ayudhajivi sangha, and a confederation of six states known as Trigarta-Shashtha. The name Trigarta denotes the region drained by three Rivers: Ravi, Beas & Satluj, and corresponds to the Jalandhar group of states which had retained their geographical identity all these years. It contains Pātānaprastha (=Paithan or Pathankot) situated at the entrance of Kangra Valley. (p.53)

V. S. Agrawala[5] writes that The central portion of the Trigarta formed by the Valley of the Beas was also named Kulūta (same as the Uluka of Sabhaparva (27.5-16), now known as the Kulū. Its ancient capital was at Nagara on the Beas. Maṇḍamatī was perhaps Maṇḍi, lying to south of Kuluta. Panini mentions special mention of Bhārgāyaṇa Gotra in the Trigarta Country (IV.1.111).

The earliest historical mention of Jalandhar occurs in the reign of Kanishka, the Kushan King of northern India in whose time, a council of Buddhist theologians was held near Jalandhar c.100 A.D. to collect and arrange the sacred writings of Buddhism and to bring about reconciliation between its various sects. This makes Jalandhar along with Multan the oldest surviving city of the Punjab region.

The Jalandhar Doab ( the region surrounding the city between Beas and Sutlej rivers) also marked the easternmost territory of the empire of Alexander the great. He erected giant altars in this area to mark the eastern most extent of his empire and also founded a city named Alexandria in the vicinity and left many Macedonian veterans there.

In the 7th Century, when the famous Chinese traveller and pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited Jalandhar in 735 AD during the reign of Harsha Vardhana, the Kingdom of Jalandhara or Trigartta was under the rule of Raja Utito (whom Alexander Cunningham identifies with the Raja Attar Chandra of the Katoch dynasty). The kingdom was said to have extended 167 miles (269 km) from east to west and 133 miles (214 km) from north to south, thus including the hill states of Chamba, Mandi and Suket (Himachal Pradesh) and Satadru or Sirhind in the plains.

Raja Utito was a tributary of Harsh Vardhana, who appear to have continued to rule over the country right up to the 12th century, with occasional interruptions, but their capital was Jalandhar and Kangra formed an important stronghold.

According to the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien, who traveled India between 399 and 411 C.E., there were a great many Viharas of Buddhism in India. In the Jalandhar Doab, there were as many as 50 Viharas of Buddhism. The Buddhist religion was adopted by a large number of people.

From the later half of the tenth century up to AD 1019, the district was included in the Shahi Kingdom of the Punjab and Jalandhar was an important city in the region.

In 1750 A.D Maharaja Ghamand Chandra of the Katoch dynasty was made the (first ever Rajput) Nizam of Jalandhar by the Durranis. Many Rajputs lived in and around the surrounding areas of Jalandhar before the partition in 1947. With the partition of the country, many like the Rawal Rajputs went to settle in the Pakistan side of the Punjab, whilst some went to other countries.

जलंधर

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[6] ने लेख किया है ...जलंधर (पंजाब) (AS, p.359) पंजाब का प्रसिद्ध प्राचीन नगर है. कहा जाता है इसका नाम पौराणिक कथाओं--पद्मपुराण आदि में प्रसिद्ध जलंधर नामक दैत्य के नाम पर हुआ था जो इसी प्रदेश का निवासी था और जिसे विष्णु ने मारा था. जलंधर का नाम चीनी यात्री युवानच्वांग के यात्रावृतांत में मिलता. वह सातवीं सदी के पूर्वार्ध में इस स्थान पर आया था. इस समय उत्तरी भारत में महाराज हर्ष का शासन था. जलंधर में युवानच्वांग ने नगरधन नामक एक प्रसिद्ध विहार देखा था. यहां चार मास ठहरकर उसने चंद्रवर्मा नामक विद्वान से बौद्ध ग्रंथों का अध्ययन किया था. जलंधर-दोआब का प्राचीन नाम त्रिगर्त है. (देखें हेमकोष) इसका योगिनी तंत्र (1,11; 2,2;2,9 में उल्लेख है.

In Rajatarangini

Rajatarangini[7] mentions that....when asked by Simhadeva, he shewed some indications of performing what he promised to Sujji. When Sujji reached Jalandhara, on the evening previous to the morning on which he was to go to Bhikshachara, a messenger came to him from Somapala. Advised by Jyashthapala, but prohibited by Bhāgika, Sujji relied on the words of the messenger and did not join the enemy. [VIII(i), p.145]

Visit by Xuanzang in 635 AD

Alexander Cunningham[8] writes that Since the occupation of the plains by the Muhammadans, the ancient kingdom of Jalandhara has been confined almost entirely to its hill territories, which were generally known by the name of Kangra, after its most celebrated fortress. The district is also called Katoch, the meaning of which is unknown, and

[p.137]: Trigartta,1 which is the usual Sanskrit name found in the Puranas, and in the native chronicle of Kashmir.

In the seventh century Jalandhara is described by the Chinese pilgrim2 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, Jalandhar 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 Jalandhar. 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.

At the time of Hwen Thsang's visit, Jalandhar 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 Purana,3 the city of Jalandhara 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

1 ' Hema-Koaha.' Jâlandharâs Trigarttâsyuh — " Jalandhara, that is Trigartta."

2 Julien's ' Hiouen Thsang,' ii. 202.

3 Uttara Khanda of the Padma Purana. Kennedy's ' Hindu Mythology,' p. 456.

[p.138]: local Purana,1 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 Jwala-mukhi ; his back was under the upper part of the Doab, which is still called Jalandhara-pitha, or Jalandhar-pith, by the people ; and his feet were under the lower part of the Doab at Multan. Akbar partially adopted this version of the legend when he named the different Doabs after the enclosing rivers, by calling the land between the Satlej and Bias the Doab-i-Bist Jalandhar or Bit Jalandhar, 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 Bari and Chaj Doabs.

The royal family of Jalandhara and Kangra 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 Multan and fought in the Great War on the side of Duryodhan against the five Pandu brothers. After the war they lost their country, and retired under the leadership of Susarma Chandra to the Jalandhar Doab, where they established themselves, and built the stronghold of Kangra. The expedition of Alexander terminated on the banks of the Hyphasis, or Bias ; but he received the submission of Phegelas2 or

1 Jalaudhara Purana.

2 Diodorus, xvii. 51, " Phegaeus." Curtius, ix. 1, 3, " Phegelae erat gontis proximae rex."

[p.139]: Phegaeus, the king of the district, beyond the river, that is of the Jalandhar Doab. Towards the end of the fifth century, the kingdom of Trigartta was presented to Pravaresa by the Raja of Kashmir.1

In the seventh century, the Chinese pilgrim, Hwen Thsang, was courteously entertained for a whole month by Raja U-ti-to, or Udita,2 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 Jalandhara 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, 3 Raja of Jalandhara, who is the Indra Chandra of the genealogical lists of Kangra. These instances are sufficient to show that Jalandhara existed as an independent State for many centuries before the Muhammadan conquest.

The smaller chiefships of Guler, Jaswal, Datarpur, and Siba, are offshoots from the parent stem of Kangra. The independence of Guler, or Haripur, was established by Hari Chandra, about A.D. 1400, when he yielded Kangra 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 Kangra by Mahmud of Ghazni afforded them an opportunity of asserting their independence.

The French traveller Thevenot,4 in his account of the dominions of the Emperor of Delhi, mentions

1 'Raja Tarangini,' iii. 100. 2 Julien's ' Hiouen Thsang,' i. 261. 3 ' Raja Tarangini,' vii. 150. 4 ' Travels,' part iii. c. 37.

[p.140]: 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. Terry1 calls them Kakares, and their principal cities Dekalee and Furhola (or Dangali and Pharwala). The Bankish are the Banchish of Terry,2 I whose " chief city, called Bishur (Peshawar) lyeth east (read west) somewhat southerly from Chishmere, from which it is divided by the river Indus." Nagarcut is Kangra or Nagarkot, which is mentioned under the same name by Abu Rihan,3 who was present at its capture by Mahmud of Ghazni. Siba is not as we might suppose, the small state in the neighbourhood of Kangra, but a district on the Ganges, of which the chief city, according to Terry, was " Hardware (or Haridwara), 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 Peshawar 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, --- 1 ' Voyage to East India,' p. 88. 2 Ibid., p. 81 : London, 1655. 3 ' Fragments Arabes, etc.,' 149.

[p.141]: one of the well-known names of the Hmalaya mountains, which the Greeks have preserved under the two different forms of Emddos and Iiiidus.

Jat Gotras

According to B S Dhillon the population of Jat clans in Jalandhar district is as under[9]:

Jat Sikh clans of Jalandhar Division

Below is a list of Jatt Sikh clans and their population in the Jullunder Division of the Punjab province, British India copied from various district and provincial gazetteers of British India published between 1908 and 1931. In 1908, the division consisted of five districts, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Jullundur, Hoshiarpur, and Kangra and a number of princely states.[10]

Jalandhar District

The total Jat population of Jalandhar District, according to the 1931 Census of India was 193,921, of which Jatt Sikhs numbered 160,286 or 82% of the total population. Their main clans according to 1911 Census were:[11]


Tribe Jalandhar Tehsil Nakodar Tehsil Phillaur Tehsil Nawanshahr Tehsil Total
Atwal 1,149 31 26 894 2,100
Ahluwalia 986 41 183 212 1962
Bains 1,117 14 305 252 1,688
Bajwa 3 458 31 27 519
Banga 2113 897 1886 5322
Bal 104 302 47 23 476
Basi 119 57 1,604 16 1,796
Bhullar 19 276 8 4 307
Chahal 103 196 106 193 598
Chatha 668 14 682
Cheema 60 15 669 19 762
Clair 150 115 369 919 1553
Dhariwal 445 465 451 157 1,518
Dhillon 487 255 784 349 1,875
Dhindsa 150 134 223 507
Dosanjh 453 267 1,629
Ghumman 4 44 24 72
Gill 925 316 520 891 2,652
Heer 106 811 256 16 1,189
Jaura 70 8 16 15 109
Johal 462 90 2,466 36 3,054
Kahlon 496 1 5 63 565
Kang 1,255
Maan 55 435 222 628 1,340
Mahil 74 41 59 482 656
Matharu 21 16 31 18 292
Parhar 575 57 31 523 1186
Pawania 2 100 14 492 608
Randhawa 628 89 126 32 875
Ramewal 600
Sahi 136 33 2 171
Sahota 1 4 2,152 44 2,201
Samra 137 124 1,165 141 1,567
Sangere 29 294 375 6 704
Sandhu 635 584 1,971 859 4,049
Sarai 254 33 21 19 327
Sidhu 249 553 229 169 1,200
Sohal 583 246 79 28 936
Virdi 2 103 53 158
Virk 8 4 255 217 484

Ludhiana District

The total Jat population of Ludhiana District, according to the 1931 Census of India was 239,140, of which Jatt Sikhs numbered 211,682 or 88% of the total population. There main clans according to 1911 Census were:[12]


Tribe Ludhiana Tehsil Samrala Tehsil Jagraon Tehsil Total
Aulakh 230 102 318 650
Bains 103 15 104 222
Bal 736 16 121 873
Bhangu 306 610 188 1,104
Bhullar 1,418 73 541 2,032
Boparai 303 17 441 761
Buttar 3 1 832 836
Chahal 1,226 207 859 2,292
Cheema 1,175 13 683 1,571
Deo 105 118 175 398
Dhariwal 4,138 197 4,889 9,224
Dhillon 1,898 421 1,281 3,600
Dhindsa 72 267 47 386
Grewal 10,814 404 1,548 12,136
Gill 2,643 452 4,592 7,687
Heer 37 181 814 1,032
Kang 14 233 3 250
Maan 513 388 39 2,346
Mangat 534 544 99 1,177
Matharu 11 88 302
Parhar 17 35 23 75
Randhawa 93 395 187 675
Sahi 257 491 748
Samra 243 300 542
Sandhu 574 562 2,258 3,394
Sarai 2,014
Sidhu 2,667 292 7,827 10,786
Seerha 18 14 13 45
Thind 6,923 127 291 7,241
Virk 338 5 373 716

Hoshiarpur District

The total Jat population of Hoshiarpur District, according to the 1931 Census of India was 154,221, of which Jatt Sikhs numbered 88,263 or 58% of the total population. There main clans according to 1911 Census were:[13]


Tribe Hoshiarpur Tehsil Dasuya Tehsil Garhshanker Tehsil Una Tehsil Total
Atwal 96 68 57 221
Ahluwalia 281 19 113 172 585
Bains 872 28 2,093 161 3,154
Chahal 60 38 108 27 233
Dhariwal 31 192 7 12 242
Dhillon 219 94 715 13 1,041
Dhami
Gill 115 324 1,183 121 1,743
Heer 437 35 791 35 1,298
Kang 292 114 368 16 790
Maan 52 17 857 52 978
Mahil 2 1 104 31 138
Parhar 115 18 41 495 669
Randhawa 156 162 126 44 488
Sahotra 787 17 37 2 843
Sandhu 190 314 466 98 1,068
Sandhar 90 400 150 175 815
Sidhu 74 37 522 5 638
Sohal 1 112 32 145
Thind 27 2 325 3 357

Firozpur District

The total Jat population of Firozpur District, according to the 1931 Census of India was 282,629, of which Jatt Sikhs numbered 231,532 or 82% of the total population. There main clans according to 1911 Census were:[14]

Tribe Firozpur Tehsil Zira Tehsil Moga Tehsil Muktsar Tehsil Fazilka Tehsil Total
Aulakh 173 409 280 509 1,371
Bahar 424 73 507
Bains 10 10
Batth 259 306 22 587
Bhatti 364 4 5 373
Bhullar 257 28 1,085 1,242 682 3,294
Buttar 91 1,070 1,161
Chahal 659 531 495 403 2,088
Cheema 318 118 182 186 42 826
Dhariwal 1,174 132 11,297 1,518 1,344 15,455
Dhillon 1,519 38 2,730 1,567 1,741 7,595
Dhami
Garund 109 693 124 182 1,108
Gill 5,543 1,084 17,293 2,086 1,714 27,720
Heer 4 370 229 41 644
Jakhar 2 87 89
Johal 16 796 40 5 857
Kaler 194 55 428 41 88 716
Kang 437 123 78 162 800
Kangra 33 119 383 19 544
Khaira 44 49 660 28 15 791
Khosa 2,741 41 1,069 191 204 4,216
Korotaneh 27 502 375 4 11 919
Maan 966 27 1,653 1,920 2,255 6,921
Mahi 576 576
Mahil 355 6 361
Pannu 15 85 5 105
Parhar 17 9 7 23 11 67
Rai 105 74 661 41 11 892
Randhawa 307
Samra 413 28 73 28 8 549
Sandhu 6,288 391 2,842 1,222 10,743
Sang 162 1,246 52 1,460
Sangha 1 355 155 511
Sarai 1,087 49 1,118 932 1,096 4,282
Sekhon 268 53 891 83 512 1,807
Sidhu 67,947
Virk 57 28 232 91 88 496
Wandar 65 1,354 96 1,515

Notable persons

Unit - 20 Sikh Regiment

External Links

References

  1. ↑ The Ancient Geography of India,p.136-137
  2. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p.499
  3. ↑ Dr Mahendra Singh Arya, Dharmpal Singh Dudee, Kishan Singh Faujdar & Vijendra Singh Narwar: Ādhunik Jat Itihasa (The modern history of Jats), Agra 1998
  4. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p.53
  5. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p.54
  6. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.359
  7. ↑ Kings of Kashmira Vol 2 (Rajatarangini of Kalhana)/Book VIII (i),p.145
  8. ↑ The Ancient Geography of India,p.136-141
  9. ↑ History and study of the Jats, By Professor B.S Dhillon. ISBN-10: 1895603021 or ISBN-13: 978-1895603026. p.127
  10. ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series, Punjab, Volume 1: The Province; Mountains, Rivers, Canals, and Historic Areas; and the Delhi and Jullundur Divisions, Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, 1908,
  11. ↑ Jullumder District Gazetteer Part B 1912 Table 15 pages xxix to xxxii
  12. ↑ Ludhiana District Gazetteer Part B 1912 Table 15 pages xxv to xxvii
  13. ↑ Hoshiarpur District Gazetteer Part B 1912 Table 15 pages xxx to xxxi
  14. ↑ Firuzpur District Gazetteer Part B 1912 Table 15

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