Jatashankara Fort

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Jatashankara Fort (जटाशंकर किला) is a Fort in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh. The site of Jata Shankar Fort managed by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Jabalpur Circle (S.No. N-MP-42).

Variants

• Jata Shankar Fort (जटाशंकर किला)
• Jatashankara (जटाशंकर)

Location

• Jatashankara is a fort 8 miles from Hata in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh.

Etymology

Jata Shankar (जटाशंकर) = Jata (जटा) + Shankara (शंकर). Jata means matted hair and Shankara is another name of Shiva.

History

We know from (96) Jatashankara Inscription of Vijayasimha that Jatashankara is a fort, 8 miles from Hata. The record found there is in Rajasthani and Sanskrit. It recites that one Vijayapala, born in the Vishvamitra gotra, conquered a great hero named Kāī (काई). The vanquished hero named Kāī (काई) was apparently in charge of the Jatashankara Fort. He has left his name in Kaikheda (काईखेड़ा), a small village 3 miles away from the Fort. The conquerors left no trace of their raid except this inscription, the language of which points to their home in Rajasthan.

Jatashankar temple Damoh

Jatashankar Damoh

Jatashankar (जटाशंकर) Jatashankar is a temple situated on the periphery of Damoh city. It houses the icons of Lord Shiva. It’s a place of pilgrimage as well as scenic beauty for visitors. Peace seekers as well as girls urging for good matrimonial matches throng here to please Lord Shiva, So as to grand there wishes. This structure has got invaluable Archeological importance.

(96) Jatashankara Inscription of Vijayasimha

(Deposited in the Nagpur Museum)

Source - Inscriptions in the Central Provinces and Berar by Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Nagpur, 1932,p.55

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[p.55]: Jatashankara is a fort 8 miles from Hata, the head quarters of the tahsil in which it is situated. The record found there is in Rajasthani and Sanskrit, the one being a free translation of the other. It recites that one Vijayapala was born in the Vishvamitra gotra. He conquered a great hero named Kāī (काई). His son was Bhuvanapala, whose son Harsharaja is stated to have defeated the kings of Kalanjara, Dahali (Dāhal), Gurjara and the Deccan. Harsharaja's son was Vijayasimha, a virtuous man devoted to Bhumbhukadeva. He is said to have fought at Chittor, conquered the Delhi armies, scattered the Deccan forces close to Mahāgadh, and driven out the Gurjaras.

The absence of any regal title indicates that the persons named in the record were perhaps commanders of armies who overran a number of countries, including Dahala, the Kalachuris' kingdom, which included Damoh.

In this district, they vanquished a hero named Kāī (काई), who was apparently in charge of the Jatashankara Fort. He has left his name in Kaikheda (काईखेड़ा), a small village 3 miles away from the Fort. The conquerors left no trace of their raid except this inscription, the language of which points to their home in Rajasthan.

It is possible that they may have been related to the Guhila Princes of Mevad. In that dynasty there was one Vijayasimha who married Syamaladevi, daughter of Udayaditya of Malwa, by whom he had a daughter Alhanadevi who married Gayakarna of Dahala. Unfortunately the stone is broken, so that if there was any date it is lost.

(Hira Lal's Damoh Dipaka, 2nd edition, pages 11 and 12; Nagari Pracharini Patrika, Benaras, Vol.VI, page 5ff)

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Wiki editor Notes:

1. Jat (जाट) → Jatashankara (जटाशंकर). Jatashankara is a fort 8 miles from Hata in Damoh district. It is find place of the (96) Jatashankara Inscription of Vijayasimha.

2. Kāī (काई) : (96) Jatashankara Inscription of Vijayasimha tells us that Vijayapala conquered a great hero named Kāī. Who was Kai? It is not clear. We find one Kai in genealogy of Barar Jat clan in Punjab. {Rao Barar → Rao Paur (+ Rao Dhul) → Rao Bairath → Kai → Bao → Rao Sanghar → Bariam (d.1560)} Further research is needed in this matter.

Lepel H. Griffin writes that founder of Barar clan Rao Barar had two sons, Rao Paur and Rao Dhul, the younger of whom is the ancestor of the Raja of Faridkot, and of the Barar tribe, which holds almost the whole of the districts of Mari, Mudki and Muktsar, Buchan, Mehraj, Sultan Khan and Bhadour in the Firozpur district, the whole of Faridkot, and many villages in Pattiala, Nabha, Jhumba and Malod. The two brothers quarreled, and the elder, Rao Paur, being worsted, fell into great poverty, in which his family remained for several generations, till Rao Sanghar restored their fortunes. {Rao Barar → Rao Paur (+ Rao Dhul) → Rao Bairath → Kai → Bao → Rao Sanghar → Bariam (d.1560)}

If we assume 25 years as a period of one generation Kai must have been present around 1485 AD.

3. Bhambhu (भांभू) (Jat clan) → Bhumbhukadeva. Bhumbhukadeva is mentioned in (96) Jatashankara Inscription of Vijayasimha, which tells us that Vijayasimha was a virtuous man devoted to Bhambhukadeva. Vijayasimha is said to have fought at Chittor, conquered the Delhi armies, scattered the Deccan forces close to Mahāgadh, and driven out the Gurjaras. This record is in Rajasthani and Sanskrit. It recites that one Vijayapala was born in the Visvamitra gotra. He conquered a great hero named Kāī. His son was Bhuvanapala, whose son Harsharaja is stated to have defeated the kings of Kalanjara, Dahali (Dāhal), Gurjara and the Deccan, Harsharaja's son was Vijayasimha. (Vijayapala → Bhuvanapala → Harsharaja → Vijayasimha). The absence of any regal title indicates that the persons named in the record were perhaps commanders of armies who overran a number of countries, including Dahala, the Kalachuris' kingdom, which included Damoh. They left no trace of their raid except this inscription, the language of which points to their home in Rajasthan. . Here Bhambhukadeva probably was ancestor of Vijayasimha of the Damoh inscription and was the ruler of Bhambhu Gotra.

4. Mahagarh (महागढ़): Mahagarh is a village in tahsil Manasa of Nimach district in Madhya Pradesh. (68) Damoh Stone Inscription of Vijayasimha tells us that... Vijayasimha is said to have fought at Chittor, conquered the Delhi armies, scattered the Deccan forces close to Mahāgadh, and driven out the Gurjaras.

We know that Damoh had been under Malwa rulers. The Gupta Empire had been weakened by the attacks of the Indo-Hephthalites, known in India as the Hunas, towards the end of the 5th century, which caused it to break up into smaller states. Yasodharman defeated a Huna army in 528, which checked the Huna expansion in India. Twin monolithic pillars at Sondani in Mandsaur District were erected by Yasodharman as a record of his victory.

Three inscriptions of Yasodharman have been found in Mandsaur. One of these is of samvat 589 (532 AD). Yasodharman had acquired the title of Vikramaditya. He started the vikram samvat calendar of Hindus based on Lunar movements. The Kashmiri poet Kalhana has mentioned about three Kalidasas. The second Kalidasa, who wrote the books 'Raguvansha' and 'Jyotirvidabharan', was court poet of Yasodharman. Kalidasa has mentioned the victories of Yasodharman as 'Raghu-digvijaya'. His rule extended from Himalayas in the north to Travancore in south. The ruler of Magadha had become his friend. Chinese traveler Faxian visited India during his rule. The victory of Yasodharman is mentioned in the sentence “Ajay Jarto Hunan” in the grammer of Chandra of the fifth century. This mention in the phrase sentence अजय जर्टो हुणान or “Ajay Jarto Huṇān”, refers to the defeat of Huns by the Jats under the leadership of Yasodharman.

The Bijayagadh Stone Pillar Inscription of Vishnuvardhan shows that Yasodharman, the father of Vishnuvardhana, was a king of Virk gotra. Thakur Deshraj and CV Vaidya have concluded that the inscription of Mandsaur indicate that Yasodharman, the ruler of Malwa, was a Jat king of the Virk gotra ( clan).

(116) Jatashankara Hindi Inscription 1857 AD

(In situ)

Source - Inscriptions in the Central Provinces and Berar by Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Nagpur, 1932,p.62

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[p.62]: At Jatashankara a Hindi verse in Savaiya Chhanda praises Shiva while a Doha invokes blessings on Bakhatesha, apparently same as Bakhatabali Raja of Shahgarh in the Sougar district, who was exiled for having taken part in the mutiny of 1857 AD.

जटातीर्थ

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है ...जटातीर्थ (AS, p.353) रामेश्वरम् (चेन्नई) के निकट स्थित एक कुंड है। कहा जाता है कि लंका से युद्ध के पश्चात् रामचन्द्रजी ने अपने केशों का 'प्रक्षालन'(पूर्ण सफाई) इसी स्थान पर किया था। जटातीर्थ में जटाशंकर शिव का एक मंदिर भी है। यहाँ से एक मील दक्षिण की ओर जंगल में देवी काली का अति प्राचीन मंदिर भी है।