Kanker

From Jatland Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Map of Kanker district
Kotari River in Kanker district

Kanker (कांकेर) is a city and district in Chhattisgarh.

Variants

  • Kakayara (काकयर) - Mentioned in Verse-17 of Rajim Stone Inscription of Prithvideva II - Kalachuri Year 896 (=1145 AD) ....(V. 17) Who conquered with ease Kantara (कान्तार) (the forest-country), Kusumabhoga (कुसुमभोग), Kândâ-dôngara (कांदाडोंगर) and the country of Kakayara (काकयर)(p.457). ....Kâkayara (काकयर) still retains its old name in the form Kanker, formerly a feudatory state in Chhattisgarh. (p.453).[1]

Origin of name

Bison Horn Madia Tribal of Bastar

Kanker/Kanger probably get name after Mahabharata tribe named Kanka (कंक). In the list of The Mahabharata Tribes we find mention of Kanka (कङ्क), in the tribute list Mahabharata (II.47.26)[2] , as wearing horns, a practice among some Iranian tribes of Central Asia. Sandhya Jain[3] has identified it with A Jat tribe living between Beas and Sutlej in Punjab as Kang; who claim descent from solar race of Ayodhya.

The tradition of wearing horns, a practice among some Iranian tribes of Central Asia, has probably come down to Bison Horn Madia tribe of Bastar.

Location

The district's headquarters, Kanker town, is situated on the National Highway 30 almost halfway between Chhattisgarh's two major cities - Raipur, the state capital, and Jagdalpur, the headquarters of the neighbouring Bastar district. The district headquarters of Kanker is 140 kilometers from Raipur and 160 kilometers from Jagdalpur.

Jat Gotras Namesake

  • Kak (Jat clan) = Kakayara (काकयर) - Mentioned in Verse-17 of Rajim Stone Inscription of Prithvideva II - Kalachuri Year 896 (=1145 AD) ....(V. 17) Who (Jagapala) conquered with ease Kantara (कान्तार) (the forest-country), Kusumabhoga (कुसुमभोग), Kândâ-dôngara (कांदाडोंगर) and the country of Kakayara (काकयर)(p.457). ....Kâkayara (काकयर) still retains its old name in the form Kanker, formerly a feudatory state in Chhattisgarh. (p.453).[5]
  • Kak = Kākaira, mentioned in Kanker Copper Plates Of Pamparajadeva (Kalachuri) Samvat 965 And 966, dated Monday, the 12th August A.D. 1213, and Sunday, the 6th October A.D. 1214, respectively.

कंक-कंग जाटों का राज्य

दलीप सिंह अहलावत[6] के अनुसार कंक-कंग वंश के जाटों का राज्य महाभारतकाल में था। शक, तुषारों की तरह कंक देश के लोग महाराजा युधिष्ठिर के राजसूय यज्ञ में तीखी लम्बी तलवारें, फरसे तथा सहस्रों रत्न लाये थे। (महाभारत सभापर्व, अध्याय 51, श्लोक 26-29)। बौद्धकाल में इन लोगों ने बौद्ध धर्म अपनाया। ब्राह्मणों ने इस कंक वंश को भी अनार्य घोषित कर दिया था और इनका किरात, हूण, आन्ध्र आदि जातियों की भांति ही बहिष्कार कर दिया गया (भागवत पुराण 2/4/18)। सिकन्दर से अमू दरिया पर जाटों ने युद्ध किया, उनमें दहियाकंग जाट भी थे।

कुछ समय तक ये लुप्त जैसे रहे किन्तु दक्षिणी प्रांत वर्णन में विष्णु पुराण व ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण के ये पद सामने आए - अर्थात् “कंक वंश स्त्री राष्ट्र भोजक और भूषिक जनपद का भोग करेगा।” इस विषय में “रायल एशियाटिक सोसाईटी के जरनल” सन् 1905, पृष्ठ 293 पर फ्लीट और इसके बाद काशीप्रसाद जायसवाल ने प्रकट किया कि यह वर्णन दक्षिण हैदराबाद से दक्षिण की ओर बहने वाली मूसा नदी के समीपवर्ती प्रदेश का है। एक प्रकार से यह वंश दक्षिणी सम्राट् था। 350 ई० के लगभग इस कंक वंश ने सम्राट् समुद्रगुप्त (धारण गोत्री जाट) की अधीनता मानने से इन्कार कर दिया। नलगोण्डा से मिले शिलालेख से भी प्रान्तीय सामन्तों द्वारा इस वंश के राजा के मुकुट पर चंवर करने का उल्लेख ‘एपिग्राफिका इण्डिका’ 8-35 में किया गया है। किन्तु कंक लोग साम्राज्य स्थापित करने में असफल रहे। इसका कारण गुप्त साम्राज्य की निरन्तर वृद्धि थी।

यह इतिहास जिन दिनों का है वे दिन अभी तक ‘अन्धकार युग’ में माने जाते रहे। किन्तु बैरिस्टर जायसवाल ने ‘अन्धकार युगीन भारत’ नामक ग्रन्थ लिखकर इतिहास के स्वाध्यायी जनों का भारी उपकार किया है। यह वंश प्राचीन काल से है।

पंजाब में इस वंश की बहुत बड़ी स्थिति है। वहां के जाटों में कन्क के साथ कंग शब्द भी प्रचलित है। 1941 ई० की जनसंख्या में ये इस प्रकार पाए गए -

अमृतसर 2258, जालन्धर 1980, स्यालकोट 393, फिरोजपुर 880, लुधियाना 329, अम्बाला 1950, पटियाला 275 । इस वंश की बालूकी या डल्लेवालिया मिसल भी थी जिसकी


जाट वीरों का इतिहास: दलीप सिंह अहलावत, पृष्ठान्त-299


स्थापना कपूरथला राज्य में डल्ला गांव के सरदार तारासिंह ने की थी। इसके जत्थे ने अहमदशाह अब्दाली को लूटा था। धीरू मिर्जई या झब्बू भी लुधियाने के कंक जाटों का प्रमुख केन्द्र था जहां कि 1763 ई० से लेकर देर तक मुगल शासन पर चोट की जाती रही। (जाटों का उत्कर्ष पृ० 316-317, लेखक योगेन्द्रपाल शास्त्री)।

Tahsils in Kanker district

Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Charama, Durgkondal, Kanker, Narharpur, Pakhanjur,

Villages in Kanker Tahsil

Albeda, Amajhola, Andi, Anjani, Arjuni, Aturgaon, Awrabhat, Bagodar, Barchegondi, Bevarti, Bhairadih, Bhaisgaon, Bhirawahi, Borgaon, Budhiyarmari, Chiwranj, Dabena(Babu), Dashpur, Deori(Bar), Devkongera, Dhanelikanhar, Dhantulsi, Domaharra, Dumali, Gadhichhawadi, Gaurgaon, Ghothiya, Gobardhan, Gotpur, Hatkongera, Ichchhapur, Iradah, Jiwalamari, Kalmuchche, Kanagaon, Kanharpuri, Kanker, (M) Kapsi, Kewatintola, Khamdhodangi, Kirgapati, Kirgoli, Kodajunga, Kokadi, Kokanpur, Kokpur, Koliyari, Komalpur, Kondagaon, Koretha, Kotgaon(Niche), Kotgaon(Uper), Kulgaon, Kumkakudum, Kurustikur, Lulegondi, Makri Singrai, Makrikhuna, Malajkudum, Malaldobri, Malgaon, Mandri, Mankeshri, Mardapoti, Markatola(Fatechand), Marrapi, Matwada(Lal), Matwada(Modi), Mode, Mohpur, Muddongari, Mudpar (Subhiya), Mujalgondi, Murragaon, Nadanmara, Nara, Nawagaon(Bhavgir), Nawagaon(Nathiya), Pandarwahi, Patharri, Patoud, Petoli, Pidhapal, Potgaon, Pusajhar, Pusawand, Puswada, Rode, Salhebhat, Salhebhat(Makdi), Sarangpal, Satlor, Sidesar, Siltara, Suroli, Talakurra, Telawat, Tondamarka, Tultuli, Turakhar, Viyas Kongera,

Geography

The district headquarters of Kanker is 140 kilometers from Raipur and 160 kilometers from Jagadalpur. In 2018, the district got its first railway station in the form of Bhanupratappur railway station. Daily DEMU services connect Keoti and Bhanupratappur to Raipur.

The Mahanadi River, Doodh River, Hatkul River, Sondur River and Turu River all flow through small pockets of hills in the district.

The physical area of Kanker is heterogeneous and is a mix between flat land and undulating hills. Most of the land is between 300 and 600 meters above sea level, and about 80% of the area of Kanker is flat. These flat lands can be divided into two parts, the Mahanadi Plane and the Kotri Plane.

The northeastern part of Kanker is on the Mahanadi Plane. The majority of this plane lies at an elevation less than 500 meters above sea level. The main river in that area is the Mahanadi River. Hatkul, Chinar, Doodh, Sondur, Nakti, and Toori are the other rivers of the area. Bhanupratappur is located on the Kotri Plane. The majority of this plane lies at an elevation less than 400 meters above sea level. Kotri River and Valler River are the main rivers of this area. The topography of Kanker district is also dotted with a multitude of hilly regions. These can be divided into the following three groups:

A. Vindhyana Hill Group: These hill groups are spread in the south eastern part of Kanker district, where the soil constitutes six phases of quartile and sand.

B. Archian Hill Groups: 95% of the area of Kanker is covered by Archian Hill Group. In this area, granite and gneiss rocks are spread over almost all the geographical area of the district.

C. Dharwar Hill Group: This hill group is very crude and broken in shape and form. These hills are spread all over the northern region of the district, in the areas close to Sambalpur and Bhanupratappur.

The tributaries for Kotri River

The tributaries for Kotri River are Waler, Jemri, Karakassa, Bharke, Belengar, Mendaki, Dondri and Khandi. [7]

Under the aquifer mapping Programme of Kanker district, three blocks of Kanker District namely Charama, Kanker and Narharpur were taken up covering an area of 1989 sq. km. The remaining blocks Bhanupratappur, Koylibeda, Durgkondal and Antagarh are excluded as they are naxal affected. The total population of the study area as per 2011 Census is 7,48,941 out of which rural population is 6,72,180 & the urban population is only 76,761. Nearly 75 % of the area is drained by Kotri River, which is tributary to Godavari River. The tributaries for Kotri River are Waler, Jemri, Karakassa, Bharke, Belengar, Mendaki, Dondri and Khandi. The remaining 25% of the area is drained by Mahanadi River in the east with the tributaries of Duth, Hatkal, Turi, Kukari, Nani, Jura and Baroda. The study area experiences sub-tropical climate. [8]

History

The History of Kanker is started from Stone era. With reference of Ramayana and Mahabharata there was a dense forest area named Dandakaranya and the Kanker state belonged to Dandakaranya. According to myths the Kanker was the land of monks. A lot of Rishis (monks) named Kanka (कंक), Lomesha, Shringi, Angira lived here. In sixth century BC the region was affected by Buddhism. The ancient history of Kanker tells that it remained always independent state.

In 106 AD the Kanker state was under the Satavahana dynasty And the king was Satkarni, This fact is also described by Chinese visitor Xuanzang. After Satkarni his disasters named Pulumavi, Shivshri and Shivskand became the king. After Satvahans the state was under control of Nagas, Vakatakas and Gupta dynasties time to time.

After the Vakatakas the Kanker state came under control of Nala dynasty. according to historians Vyghraraj was the first king of Nalas. the second king Varahraj won the whole region of Dandakaranya. after Varahraj , Bhavdutta Verma became the king of Kanker state. During the kingdom of Bhavdutt Verma Vakataka king Narendra Sen attacked on state and won a little part of state, but after some years Bhavdutt Verma recollect the lost part and also expand his state up to Orrisa and Maharashtra. After the death of Bhavdutt verma his son Arthpati became the king. He got a bigger state from his father but he was a poor king and had not the qualities like his father and lost some part of states to Vatakatakas. In 475 Skand Verma became the king of Kanker state and ruled up to 500 AD. He was the last memorable king of Nala dynasty. After his death the Kanker state suffered a lot of attacks and divided into many parts. After the downfall of Nal kings the state was won by famous king Pulkeshin II of Chalukya dynasty, he also won the some part of Orrisa. During his kingdom a lot of temples were constructed in Kanker state. After Pulkeshin, Vikramaditya, Vinayaditya, Vinayaditya, Vikramaditya II, Kirtiverman II were the other kings of Chalukya. They Ruled the state up to 788 AD after Chalukya the state was ruled by different dynasties time to time like Nalas, Nagas, Kalchuris etc up to 1100 AD.

Soma Dynasty

Due to weakness of Kalchuris king Gayakarna, A brave person Singh Raj won the Kanker state and kept the foundation of Soma dynasty. He ruled the state from 1125 to 1140.

After the death of Singh Raj his son Vyaghra Raj became the king. He expanded his state, In fourth year of his kingdom he suffered bye the attack of a Kalchuri king and lost some part of state. He was a brave person. Although he suffered defeat but he ruled his state successfully up to 1166 AD. He donated some land for the construction of a temple of Kal Bhairav.

In 1166 AD Bop Dev became the king of state after the death of his father. In starting he was the governor of the state but the main power was under Kalchuri kings. but Bop Dev took advantage of weakness of Kalchuris and became independent but soon the Kalchuris awoke and again dominated Bop Dev. He ruled the state up to 1184 AD under control of Kalchuris.

Bop Dev had two sons Krishna and Som Raj. After the death of Bop Dev both princes fought for the kingdom and in last Krishna got success and became the king. For the satisfaction of his brother Som Raj he divide the state in two parts. So after the death of Bop Dev the Som dynasty divided into two branches. Karna Raj (Krishna) was a brave and religious king. He got constructed Lord Shiva's Temple in Sihava and the Ramnath temple on the bank of Doodh River in Kanker. He ruled the state up to 1206. There is no details available about the other branch of Soma dynasty.

After the death of Karna Raj his son Jait Raj became the king. He was very brave person and attacked on neighboring states fro expansion his kingdom. During his kingdom the other branch of Som dynasty mixed with main branch again. In 1258 Jait Raj was expired. After that his son Som Chandra became king during his kingdom the Kanker state became stronger and prospers. He ruled the state up to1306. In 1306 Bhanu Dev became the king of state. During his kingdom he had suffered a lot of attacks by neighboring states but he came out successfully and saved his kingdom. He was religious king and brought prosperity. After the death of Bhanu Dev his son Chandrasen Dev became the king. He got constructed a Lord Shiva's temple. He ruled the state up to 1344. He was the last king of Som dynasty.

Kandra Dynasty

After the downfall of Soma A brave and strong person Dharam Dev kept the foundation of KANDRA dynasty. His original name was Dharman. He was a tribal leader. He won the Khalgarh and made it his capital after the death of last king of Som dynasty. He got constructed a fort in Muchkund fountain. He was a famous king. Once the king of Hiragarh arranged a competition for the marriage of his daughter. The king Dharam Dev won the competition and married with Hiradevi, a beautiful princess. Due to this marriage the neighboring king were jealous. According to myth the king of Bastar Annam Dev attacked on Sihava for getting Hiradevi. So Dharam Dev came to Kanker with his family. In his absence Annam Dev won the Sihava fort and on other end Dharam Dev won the Kanker and made his capital to Gadhiya fountain a natural and safe fort. After some years He again won the Sihava. He had two daughters and two sons. The king Dharam Dev was very good and popular king in peoples. He got dug so many tanks in Kanker. He never misused the money of state. He ruled the state from 1345 to 1367 AD. After his death, his son Chhatar Dev became the king but due to his poor administration he lost the some part of state and died in 1385 AD.

Chandra Dynasty

After the downfall of KANDRA the Chandra dynasty came. Some historian assume the Chandra dynasty was related to Som dynasty. According to a myth the first king of this dynasty was Veer Kanhar Dev. Previously he was the king of Jagannath Puri in Orissa, but due to suffering from leprosy he left his kingdom and came to Sihava and started to pass his time in worship. One night he saw a dream that if he takes bath in a special tank at Sihava he will get healthy. Then by keeping the faith on that dream he took the bath in that tank and wonderfully he got healthy. In Sihava the people surprised by this event and elected him the king. He proved himself as a good king and ruled the state up to 1404 AD.


After the death of Veer Kanhar Dev, Veer Kishore Dev became the king of the state. He was a wise and brave person. He expanded his state by winning the neighboring states. He declared his capital at Nagri instead of Sihava. He ruled the state up to 1425 AD. After his death his son Tanu Dev became the king. His kingdom is famous for the change of capital. He declared his capital at Kanker. He was very popular in people he ruled up to 1461.


After the death of Tanu Dev, Vasu Dev became the king of Kanker state. He got started to celebrate the festival of Rath Yatra at Kanker. In this festival they walked in a procession with the statues of lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra. This festival was very popular in villagers. He ruled the state up to 1482. After his death Kapeel Narendra Dev became the king. He got constructed the temple of lord Shiva on the bank of Mahanadi. He ruled the state up to 1504. After his death Dhar Hameer Dev ruled the state up to 1522 and after that Hameer Dev ruled the state up to 1539.

After the death of Hameer Dev, Rudra Dev became the king. He was very much brave person. He established the peace in his state. He was married with the daughter of neighboring state and got that state in dowry. He declared Rudri as his capital of the state. He got constructed the temple of lord Shiva on the bank of Mahanadi, This temple is famous by the name of Rudreshwar. He got constructed a big fort and two tanks in Dhamtari. He was a popular king. His state was wealthy and peaceful. He ruled the state from 1539 to 1588. After that the respective kings were Himanchal Dev, Shyam Sai Dev, Harihar Sai Dev, Lal Sai Dev and Ghoor Sai Dev. They ruled the state up to 1729. But their detail information is not available.

After the death of Ghoor Sai Dev his son Harpal Dev became the king. He had good administrative qualities. He settled his sister's marriage with the Dalpat Dev, Who was the prince of neighboring state Bastar. And both the neighboring states lived friendly till the death of Dalpat Dev. Harpal Dev ruled the Kanker state up to 1775. After his death Dhiraj Singh Dev, Ram Raj Singh Devand Shyam Singh Dev were the other kings and they ruled the state up to 1802.

Maratha and British Rule

During the kingdom of Shyam Singh Dev, Marathas had started attacks on Kanker and Bastar States due to prosperity of these states. When Mahipal Dev was the king of Bastar State then Marathas attacked on Bastar at that time the king of Kanker was Bhoop Dev. Since Kanker and Bastar were neighboring states, therefore they affected each other. When the two princes Mahipal Dev and Umrao Singh were fighting for kingdom Bhoop Dev supported to Mahipal Dev due to their family relations. And also in the case of Marathas Bhoop dev supported to Mahipal Dev so Marathas could not get success. But they got angry with Bhoop Dev and attacked on Kanker state. Bhoop Dev surrendered and ran away and Marathas won the Kanker state. Bhoop Dev lived in a small village near Dhamtari for 9 years in last he did an agreement with the resident of Nagpur state Mr. Jenkins on behalf of Marathas and got his sate again but for that he had to pay some tax per year and had to obey some conditions. Bhoop Dev remained faithful towards Nagpur state up to his death in 1839.


After the death of Bhoop Dev his son Padma Dev (Padma Singh) became the king. He followed his father regarding Marathas and remained faithful till death. The king of Nagpur Bhosla Raja was very much impress with Padma Dev because of his faithful behaviour. People were very happy during his kingdom. He Got constructed a temple of goddess Durga. He ruled the state up to 1853.

After the death of Padma Singh his elder son Narhari Dev became the king. He has three brothers named Laxman Dev, Shiv Charan Dev and Ghanshyam Singh Dev. His wife was Padmalaya Devi, who was the daughter of Bhairam Dev, the king of the Bastar state. During his kingdom the Kanker state came under control of British from Marathas. British government gave the adoption to Narhari Dev and He gave the acknowledge of fealty to British. In 1882 the control of Kanker State handed over to Commissioner Raipur. The deputy commissioner Raipur visited the Kanker State and submitted the precious report of Narhari Dev to government. Narhari Dev had good administrative qualities, After getting power he concentrated on administration. During his kingdom A palace near Gadiya mountain, printing press, library, Radhakrishna Temple, Ramjanki temple, Jagannath temple and Balaji temple were constructed. He was so much popular in people. He made a plan named Ratna Bhandar for keeping grain in stock for his people. He had two sons but they both died in 14 and 16 years of age. So Narhari Dev got very much sad and left the kingdom and went to holy town Vrindavan. But due to pressure of people and British government he came back. He had smart personality and was very wise and religious, He often donated a lot of money and land to different temples. He established a new town named Narharpur near Kanker. He was expired in 1903.

In 1904 Komal Dev became the king of Kanker. He was the nephew of Narhari Dev. He controlled the state with the help of his minister Anand Rao. He had three queens. He was a good king. During his kingdom one English high school, one Girls school and 15 primary Schools were established and also two hospitals one in Kanker and the other in Sambalpur were constructed. He established a new town near Kanker named Govindpur. He also tried to make capital Govindpur instead of Kanker. He expired on 8 January 1925. After his death, Bhanupratap Dev became the king. He was a relative of Komal Dev because Komal Dev had no son. Bhanupratap Dev was the last king of Kanker before independence of India after independence He was elected M. L. A. from Kanker constituency two times. He expired on 14 August 1969.

A few years after the death of the last king of Kanker, Bhanupratap Dev (b. 1922 - d. 1969)[9], a village was established in his memory, named Bhanupratappur.

Kanker in Inscriptions

No. 20.- Kanker Copper Plates Of Pamparajadeva (Kalachuri) Samvat 965 And 966 = 12.08.1213 and 06.10.1214 By Hira Lal, B.A., Nagpur.[10] mention the towns and villages Kakaira, Padi, Kogara, Andali, Jaipara, Chikhali and Vanikotta.

Kakaira is the modern Kanker, where the present chief of the state resides. It is 88 miles from Raipur, the headquarters of the Chhattisgarh Division, in which the Kanker state is included.

No. 20.- Kanker Copper Plates Of Pamparajadeva (Kalachuri) Samvat 965 And 966.

No. 20.- Kanker Copper Plates Of Pamparajadeva (Kalachuri) Samvat 965 And 966.

By Hira Lal, B.A., Nagpur.

Source – Epigraphia Indica Vol. IX (1907-08): A S I, Edited by E. Hultzsoh, Ph.D. & Sten Konow, Ph.D., p.166


These are two copper plates which were found in an old well in the Village Tahankapar, 18 miles from Kanker, the capital of the state of the same name in the Chhattisgarh, Division of the Central Provinces. They are now in the possession of the chief of that state and were sent to me by his Divan Pandit Durgaprasad. Ink impressions were kindly taken for me at Nagpur by Mr. T. GK Green, Superintendent of the Government Press, and they are reproduced in the accompanying plate.

There are two different records issued at an interval of a year. Both the plates are 7-7/8" long, but they differ in height and weight, one measuring 3-3/4" and the other 3-1/4" , the bigger one


1 This may be true in the seme that he ruled over so big a population, who, as subjects, could at any time be called out for military service. In Bastar and adjoining tracts almost every man knows the use of the bow and arrow, with which they even kill tiger. The probability, however, if that ' nine lac ' was a conventional term for the highest number. In the Hoṭṭūr inscription (Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. I, Part II, p. 433) the Chalukya ling Styairaya is stated to have put to flight a Chola king who had collected a force numbering nine lacs, indirectly insinuating that he defeated the biggest army that could be brought in the field. Similarly it has become idiomatic to speak of Bawangarh (52 forts), 700 chelas (disciples), 108 shris, etc.

2 Ind. Ant. xxi. p. 108, and Duff's Chronology of India, p. 213.


[p.167]: weighing 6 oz. and the smaller 6 oz. 10 drs. The former has an oblong hole at the top, measuring 1/8" x 1/16", apparently for stringing it with otter plates. It is uniformly and sufficiently thick, and is in a good state of preservation. The smaller one is thick in the middle but very thin at the ends, so thin indeed that the commencement Om svasti has cut through the plate leaving holes in the engraved portion, and, similarly, at the diagonally opposite end, a portion is exceedingly worn- out leaving irregular holes there. The corners of this plate were rounded off. It has at the end an ornamental figure representing the moon. This was probably the family crest.

The average size of the letters in the bigger plate is 3/16" and in the smaller 1/8". The former appears to be a palimpsest. Both the sides contain minute scratches of letters of almost doable the size, which are altogether illegible.

The characters in both the plates, which were written at an interval of a year only, are Nagari, and the language in both is corrupt Sanskrit prose. Both the plates were engraved by Sethi or Sao Keshava, who apparently lived at Pāḍi (town).

There is very little to note about orthographical peculiarities. The letters dha, ra, ṇa, ksha, bha, jna, and the figures 9 and 5 appear in a somewhat antiquated form, and the usual indifference to the use of s for ṡ is conspicuous. Spelling mistakes there are many ; they have been noticed in the footnotes under the text.

The bigger plate, which is the older of the two and was issued from, the Kākaira residence, is a state document conferring a village with a fixed revenue on the village priest Lakshmidharasharman,. This refers to Jaiparā village, but Chikhali is also incidentally mentioned. The smaller plate records the gift of two villages, Kogara (कौगरा) and Andali (अंडाली), to the same person on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun. These transaction were made by the Mahamandalika Pamparajadeva of the Somavamsha (Lunar race) in the presense of his queen Lakshmidevi, prince Vopadeva and eight Government officials including the minister. In the village document these officials appear as witnesses. The recipient of the villages was himself one of them.

The village document is business-like and contains abbreviations which were no doubt very well understood at that time, but are now difficult to make out. It does not indulge in genealogies. In the gift, however, we are told that Pamparajadeva meditated on the feet of Somarajadeva, who meditated on the feet of Vopadeva. I take this Vopadeva to be identical with that of the Kanker stone inscription of the Saka year 1242 (see above, page 124). I shall discuss this question in another paper on the Sihawa inscription, which also gives a genealogy of this family,

The bigger plate is dated in Samvat 985, in the Bhadrapada month, in the Mriga lunar mansion, on Monday, the 10th of the dark fortnight, and the smaller one in the Ishvara- samvatsara, in the month of Karttika, in the Chitra lunar mansion, on Sunday, at the solar eclipse, the year being given in figures at the end as 966. It is not stated to what era these dates belong, but Professor Kielhorn, who has kindly calculated them for me, has conclusively proved that they refer to the Kalachuri era. The reader is referred to the postscript added by him at the end of my article on the Kanker stone inscription (see above, pp. 128 and ff.), -where he has fully discussed the question. The English equivalents of these dates, as calculated by him, are Monday, the 12th August A.D. 1213, and Sunday, the 6th October A.D. 1214, respectively.

The towns and villages mentioned in the plates are Kakaira, Padi, Kogara, Andali, Jaipara, Chikhali and Vanikotta. Kakaira is the modern Kanker, where the present chief of the state resides. It is 88 miles from Raipur, the headquarters of the Chhattisgarh Division, in which the Kanker state is included. Kogara has now been corrupted into Kongera (कोंगेरा). There are two villages of this name in the state, and for distinction one is called Deo Kongera (8 miles


[p.168]: south-east of Kanker), and the other Hat Kongera (6 miles north of Kanker). The former is associated with gods, and the latter with a market, which is held there. In the inscription a Kogara is said to be close to the shrine of Prankeshvara, which has now disappeared, but has apparently left its reminiscence in the suggestive adjunct Deo which Kongera now bears. I therefore, identify our Kogara with Deo Kongera. Jaipara is the modern Jepra (Indian Ant. quarter sheet 92, N. W., Long. 81 31', Lat. 20 28'), a village 15 miles north of Kanger and Chikhali is about 21 miles in the same direction just on the borders of the state. It is now included in the Dhamtari tahsil, which formerly formed part of the Kanker state. Andali is probably represented by the present Andni (Anjni), 10 miles east of [[Kanker. Padi can not be identified. The same is the case with Vanikotta about which it is doubtful whether it is the name of a village at all.

Note - See Text and translation of Plates-I and II here - Kanker Copper Plates Of Pamparajadeva (Kalachuri) Samvat 965 And 966. pp.169-170

Kanker Rock Paintings

10 000 year old cave paintings in bastar depict aliens ufos

10000 years old rock paintings in caves depicting aliens & UFOs of Rohela People discovered in Charama region of Kanker district, Chhattisgarh state, India.[11]

Archaeologists in India have found stunning cave paintings showing that ancient human beings were aware of the possibility that they were not alone in the universe. In a stunning new report, released by The Times of India, archaeologist J.R. Bhagat discusses the incredible find in the Charama region near Chhatisgarh, specifically located in the Kanker region near Bastar. These cave painting depict what can only be described as large, extra-terrestrial humanoid beings descending from the sky in round objects, and interacting with smaller individuals – presumably, humans. According to archaeologist JR Bhagat, these paintings have depicted aliens like those shown in Hollywood and Bollywood flicks. Located about 130km from Raipur, the caves come under village Chandeli and Gotitola. There are several beliefs among locals in these villages. While few worship the paintings, others narrate stories they have heard from ancestors about "rohela people" — the small sized ones — who used to land from sky in a round shaped flying object and take away one or two persons of village who never returned.[12]

Jat History

Rakesh Nehra1.jpg
Narendra Singh Meharia-1.jpg

Notable persons

External links

References


Back to Chhattisgarh