Kashi Prasad Jayaswal

K P Jayaswal 1981 stamp of India.jpeg

Kashi Prasad Jayaswal (1881 – 1937) (also K.P. Jayaswal) (काशी प्रसाद जायसवाल) was an Indian historian and lawyer. Jayaswal's works 'Hindu Polity' (1918) and 'History of India, 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.' (1933) are classics of ancient Indian historical literature. Among other things, he is credited with showing that Indian republics, based on the principles of representation and collective decision-making, were among the oldest and most powerful of the ancient world. Jayaswal is the grandfather of Oxford economist Sanjaya Lall.

Birth and Education

Jayaswal was born in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, and graduated from Allahabad University.He went on to Jesus College, Oxford University, where he was awarded the Davis Scholarship in Chinese and graduated with a M.A. in Ancient Indian History in 1909. He was called to the Bar of Lincoln's Inn in London in 1910. After returning to India, Jayaswal set up practice at the Calcutta High Court, where he came into contact with Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, who inspired Jayaswal to undertake further research in ancient Indian history. Jayaswal moved to Patna in 1916, and remained there permanently.

Career

Jayaswal wrote more than 120 research papers in addition to 11 books and numerous commentaries and translations. He also played a pioneering role in excavating and restoring ancient sites, including the university of Nalanda in modern Bihar. He was also an expert in Numismatics, and his discovery of several coins of the Maurya and Gupta periods led to his being the first Indian to be invited to speak at the Royal Asiatic Society of London in 1931. Jayaswal was twice elected president of the Numismatic Society of India, and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Cause) by Benares Hindu University and Patna University.

K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute

The K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute in Patna was established by the Government of Bihar in 1950 with the object of promoting "historical research, archaeological excavation and investigations and publication of works of permanent value to scholars".

On Jat History

Kashi Prasad Jayaswal has highlighted following clans of Jats in his text of History books:

Guptas were Jat - According to him Gupta is said to have been a Mathura-Jata (Sanskrit- Jata-vamsa). Jata-vamsa, that is, Jata Dynasty stands for Jarta, that is, Jat. That the Guptas were Jat; we already have good reasons to hold (JBORS, XIX. p. 1U). His Vaisali mother is the Lichchhavi lady.

Bhakal - K.P. Jayaswal writes about Turshka king in North India: "Then will rise in the North [uttarapatha] the Turushka king, of great army and great vigour. Up to the gate of Kashmir, Bashkala, Udyana (T.; S. -Udaya) with Kāviśa (570), for 700 yojanas he rules. 77,000 and 2,00,000 (revenue ?) will be his (571). 86,000 stupas he will make. 'He established in the country the Prajñāpāramitā the mother of the Buddhas and the foremost doctrine of Mahayana (Buddhism)' (574-75).

Comments: The description of the Turushka king is undoubtedly the description of Kanishka. The centre of his kingdom according to our text was Bashkala which was connected with Udyana-cum-Kapisa and Kashmir. The tract thus indicated by the word Bashkala is Balkh with a transposition in the second syllable lkh. According to the text, Turushka (Kanishka) was primarily a king of Afghanistan (Kavisa), Suwāt, and Kashmir on this side of the Himadri (in its wider significance) , and up to Balkh which was considered as one of the northern provinces of Bharatavarsha (I.A., 1933, p. 130).

Bhar - The ancient place of historical importance of Buddhist period, Bharhut gets the name after its rulers of clan Bhar. They are also called Bharashiva. This gotra started from their ancestral people of Nagavansh who started the new system of worship of Shiva with sivalinga carrying on shoulders. This fact is derived from an Inscription of Bharashiva people found at Balaghat mentioned in Epigraphia Indica Vol.I.

Dharan - K P Jayaswal brought this material out from his eminently scholarly book :An Imperial history of India C 700 BC – C 770 AD. K P Jayaswal has spotted and brought out the fact that the second Guptas, (Chandra Gupta II, Samudra Gupta etc circa 200 BCE to 600 BCE) were Jats, who came originally form the Mathura area. They were of the Dharan Gotra, as shown by the Plate inscription of the Prabhavatigupta , where she gives her father’s (and her) Gotra as Dharan. The Dharan Jats still can be found in the U.P. Mathura region and they proudly point to their ancient glory, of how their forefathers ruled Hindustan.

Gopal - K.P. Jayaswal writes that Gopala (730 AD) was the first ruler from the Pala Empire, who came to power in a landmark election by regional chieftains. The empire reached its peak under his successors Dharmapala and Devapala, who fought with the Rashtrakutas and the Gurjara-Pratiharas for the control of Kannauj.

Hathigumpha - K P Jayaswal; R D Banerji (1920). Epigraphia Indica Volume XX. Archaeological Survey of India. pp. 71–72

Kak/ Kakapura - K.P. Jayaswal's rendering 'the praise of the Kakas' ⁷⁰⁷ is more to the point. We know of the Kakas, an autonomous community mentioned in the Allahabad Inscription of Samudragupta. ⁷⁰⁸ In Eastern Malwa we have two ancient place-names connected with the Kakas. One is the hill now called Sanchi hill (the ancient) Kakanada. The other is an ancient village called Kakapura, some 20 miles north of Bhilsa, and full of ancient monuments. ⁷⁰⁹

---

707. Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Patna. Vol. XVIII, 1952, Pt. II, p. 212.

708. No. I, L. 22 : Corpus Inscripionum Indicarum, Vol. III by John Faithful Fleet , pp. 8,14.

709. Jayaswal, 'The Kakas... their location" Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Patna, Vol. XV1IT, 1932, Pt. II, pp. 212-13. P. 212 'Kakapura is situated on a river and a hill opposite the village by the road has two square temples and a few Gupta Sculptures. A large number of pillars and Sati memorials cover the plain in front of the temple hill. Medieval inscriptions are also in evidence. They with the temples testify to the continued importance of the place, from the Gupta to the medieval period.

Malla - In chapter 29 of "India of the Dark Ages" the ancestor of Tanks is mentioned as Raja Gajvkatra. In chapter 42 of the same book it is mentioned that Malla Jat Republic extended from Eastern Punjab to the Ganga and Yodhya republic extended into Rajasthan. Nagpur belonged to the Nags. Nagar Brahmins also originated from there.Ram Sarup Joon: History of the Jats/Chapter IV ,p.55</ref>

Mor - Bhim Singh Dahiya writes that Spooner rightly rejects any Greek influence on the Mauryan art and city palaces. According to him, "the evidences point to Persia only", and clearly show "upon the threshold of the historical period, a dynasty of almost purely Persian type." He mentions that the city of Merv was also called Maur. He has quoted K.P. Jayaswal who called attention to the fact that the name Maurya appears in the Avesta.

Naga - Kashi Prasad Jaiswal writes at Page 29 of his book entitled 'India of the Dark Ages' that the Nagas had three capitals i.e. Mathura, Kashipur and Padmavati after first century AD. The King of Padmavati was known by the name of Nag. The eldest of his dynasty was King Gajvarkar.

K.P. Jayaswal writes that ....The dynasty of Naga-Senas. [150 A.D.-348 A.D.]...At the close there (will be) the Naga-Senas, and then they ceased (viluptā) (612)..... The important thing to note is that the Saka dynasty is placed in North Madhyadesa, and that they were Imperial, that is, the reference is not to the Western Satraps, but to the Kushans.

The Nagasenas are the Naga dynasty of the Bharasivas where-in Virasena Naga was the first king (of the Nava Nagas of the Puranas) who defeated them and dislodged them from Mathura, and earlier still some king who founded Kantipuri below the Vindhyas (Mirzapur) dispossessed them from Eastern Aryavarta. (JBORS,, XIX, I.) It seems very probable that the compound "Naga-Senas" is made up of the "Nagas"

Panwar - According to ‘Panwar Darpan’ prior to Vikramaditya was king Dharagiri who founded Dara (Dharagiri) near Damiscus who were Malav descends. James Todd has written that Parmaras (Panwar) rulers of Arbud (Abu) were Jat (vansha).

Rathi: The name Saurastra is known after them, as per K P Jayaswal. Arthashastra mentions Surastra as well as their Rastrika government. In Asoka’s inscriptions they are mentioned as Rastikas, in the Girnar, Rathikas in the Shah Bazgarhi, and Rathakas in the Mansehra inscription (For the use of the word Rathika, see Barua’s Old Brahmi Inscription).

Tank - In chapter 29 of "India of the Dark Ages" the ancestor of Tanks is mentioned as Raja Gajvkatra. In chapter 42 of the same book it is mentioned that Malla Jat Republic extended from Eastern Punjab to the Ganga and Yodhya republic extended into Rajasthan. Nagpur belonged to the Nags. Nagar Brahmins also originated from there.Ram Sarup Joon: History of the Jats/Chapter IV ,p.55</ref>

Tewatia - There are observations of late Dr. K P Jayaswal about Tewatias. His reading of the name, Tubathi is practically correct it should be tevathi / Tuvathi but it is not place name it is a clan name of the Jats. The symbols of water (with fish) and earth (with tree) are the tradition symbols of the Jats (Dharti-Pani in Hindi) It is perhaps, older than Mauryan times. Tabiti is the name of the fire goddess of the Scythians. If these suppositions are correct then it shows that the Tevathiya Jats came to India during Achaemenid disturbance.

Guptas were Jats of Dharan gotra

The Guptas of Gupta Empire have been proved by historians to be Dharan Jats. The Arya Manjushri Mul kalpa, is a history of India covering the period 700 BCE to 770 AD. The history was a Buddhist Mahayana work, by a Tibetan scholar, and was composed sometime in the 8th century CE.

K P Jayaswal brought this material out from above book in his eminently scholarly book :An Imperial history of India C 700 BC – C 770 AD. K P Jayaswal has spotted and brought out the fact that the second Guptas, (Chandra Gupta II, Samudra Gupta etc circa 200 BCE to 600 BCE) were Jats, who came originally form the Mathura area. They were of the Dharan Gotra, as shown by the Plate inscription of the Prabhavatigupta , where she gives her father’s (and her) Gotra as Dharan. The Dharan Jats still can be found in the U.P. Mathura region and they proudly point to their ancient glory, of how their forefathers ruled Hindustan.

According to him Gupta is said to have been a Mathura-Jata (Sanskrit- Jata-vamsa). Jata-vamsa, that is, Jata Dynasty stands for Jarta, that is, Jat. That the Guptas were Jat; we already have good reasons to hold (JBORS, XIX. p. 1U). His Vaisali mother is the Lichchhavi lady.

Here is produced point wise account from a famous historian K.P. Jayaswal's book, History of India, PP 115-16 :

• That nowhere Guptas disclose their origin or Caste status. That their caste sub-division was Dharan. Since Prabhavati Gupta daughter of Chandra Gupta II and queen of Rudrasen II Vakataka in her copper plate grant of Pune has shown sub-caste of her family (Gupta) as Dharan (EI XV-41 P-42).
• The Salvas were a branch of the Madras and were ruling at Sialkot. These Madras had a branch named Kuninda, who were related to Koliya Naga.
• Karaskars were thus a Punjabi people a sub-division of the Madras. We know that the Madras were Vahikas and Jartas. This community, thus, consisted of several sub-divisions.
• Since according to grammatical illustration of Chandra-gomin the Jarta defeated the Huns, which means Skanda Gupta defeated the Huns. Hence Guptas were Jartas or Jat.

References

---

Back to Jat Historians