Origin of the Jats

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Author: Laxman Burdak लक्ष्मण बुरड़क

There are numerous theories about the origin of the Jats, ranging from their sudden appearance from Shiva's locks to their lineage in the Aryan race.

Indo-Aryan stock

Jats are commonly considered to be of Indo-Aryan stock in view of the similar ethnological, cultural, physical features, and common practices.

Dr Natthan Singh writes that Jats were the pure Aryans and their original homeland was Sapta Sindhu. On the basis of historical facts the Jats are reported to be present in India from 3102 BC. [1] [2] They had to migrate from India on economic, social and political reasons for some period but they returned back to India. In the migration also they did not leave their language and cultural traditions. Due to this reason only Jats do not have linguistic or physical similarities with Huns and Scythians. [3] This view is also supported by Thakur Deshraj who writes that on the basis of ethnological, physical, cultural and linguistic standards Jats are pure Aryans who inhabited the areas on the banks of Ganga-Yamuna or Sarswati-Sindhu during Vedic civilization. [4]

Thakur Deshraj, [5] Ram Lal Hala [6] and Al-Biruni[7] consider Jats to be the descendants of Krishna.

Sir Herbert Risley declared the Rajput and the Jat to be the true representatives of the Vedic Aryans. [8] Risley has mentioned in 1901 census report that as per their physique Jats are pure Aryans.[9]

Qanungo appeared to rely on Sir Risley's theory. Qanungo wrote, "The European pioneers of Indian antiquities and ethnology apparently started with the presumption that fine and energetic martial peoples like the Rajput and the Jat must have been comparatively newcomer from the north-west into India who overcame the effete descendants of the Vedic Aryans (Hindus). [10]

If popular tradition counts for anything, it points to the view that they (Jats) are an essentially Indo-Aryan People who have migrated from the east to the west and not Indo-Scythian and No Hindu has been ever known to claim a Chinese origin, but the people of China [11]

The Jats has been declared by all eminent authorities, to pass successfully the combined test of the physical type and language of true Aryan.” [12]

Khushwant Singh (A well respected Indian Journalist) wrote,

"It is now generally accepted that the Jats who made the northern plains of India their home were of Aryan stock. The origin of the Jats has been exhaustively dealt with by K.R. Qanungo, who states emphatically that the Jats are of Aryan stock (Hindus) that came from Rajasthan into Punjab". [13]

Dr. Trump and Beams very strongly claimed a pure Indo-Aryan descent for Jats both in consideration of their physical type and language, which has been authoritatively pronounced as a pure dialect of Hindi, without slightest trace of Scythian.

C.V.Vaidya in History of Medieval Hindu India writes that-

“Lastly we have to speak about the Jats. Their ethnological characteristics also we have already seen, are clearly Aryans. They are fair tall high nosed and long headed. Does their history contradict of their being Aryans ? ….. They are the purest Aryans in India and belong to the first race of Aryans invaders according to our view the solar race of Aryans. …There is not a scrap of historical evidence even to suggest much less to prove such immigration there is neither foreign mention of their coming into India nor have they any tradition of their own sometime coming into India nor is there any historical India record stone inscription or other of their so coming, and we can only ascribe such theories to that unaccountable bias of the winds of many European and native scholars to assign a foreign and Scythic origin to every fine and energetic caste in India.” [14]


E.B.Havell writes based on physical features and the language that Ethnographic investigations show that the Indo Aryan type described in Hindu epic a tall fair complexioned long headed race with narrow prominent noses broad shoulders long arms thin waists like a lion and legs like a deer is how (as it was in the earliest) most confined to Kashmir the Punjab and Rajputana and represented by the Khattris, Jats and Rajputs. [15]

The Jat historian Thakur Deshraj refers to E.B.Havell as above and Mr. Nesfield who said that-

“If appearance goes for anything the Jat could not be Aryans.” He further refers to distribution of races of ‘North Western Provinces of India’ where it has been said that the arguments derived from language are strongly in favour of the pure Aryan origin of the Jats. If they were Scythian conquerors where there Scythian language gone to and how came it that they now speak and have for centuries spoken an Aryan language, a dialect of Hindi”. [16]

“Jat” approaches closely to that ascribed to the traditional Aryan colonies of India. The stature is mostly tall, complexion fair, eyes dark, hair on face plentiful, head long. Nose narrow and prominent but very long. [17][18]

The original home of Jats is certainly connected with original home of Aryans, since Jat is definitely a tribe of Aryan race. [19]

Indo-Scythian stock

A Scythian Warrior horseman from 300 BC.
Animation highlighting the Ancestral ethnic Scythian Migration component of the Jats of South Asia.
The Jat People Genetic DNA Profiles
Map of area around the Oxus River valley (modern name Amu Darya)
Asia in 323 BC, showing various Central Asian tribes including the Massagetae, Scythians, Dahae and their neighbors.
Map showing Scythia, including the Indo-Scythian region (modern name Punjab region).
The Sindh valley is at the base of the Zojila Pass
Scythian King - Azes II Drawing.
Scythian Gold - Bimaran Casket.

James Tod[20] writes that the tribes here alluded to are the Haihaya or Aswa, the Takshak, and the Jat or Getae; the similitude of whose theogony, names in their early genealogies, and many other points, with the Chinese, Tatar, Mogul, Hindu, and Scythic races, would appear to warrant the assertion of one common origin.

Professor B. S. Dhillon states that the Jats are mainly of Indo-Scythian lineage with composite mixing of Sarmatians, Goths & Jutes in History and study of the Jats,[21] and recent DNA genetic research studies have shown large amounts of Scythian and White Hun genes in Jats.

Historian James Tod agreed in considering the Jats to be of Indo-Scythian Stock.[22] Moreover, Sir Alexander Cunningham, Former Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, considered the Jats to be the Xanthii (a Scythian tribe) of Scythian stock who he considered very likely called the Zaths (Jats) of early Arab writers.[23] He stated "their name is found in Northern India from the beginning of the Christian era." These people were considered by early Arab writers to have descended from Meds and Zaths.[24][25] Sir Cunningham believed that they "were in full possession of the valley of the Indus towards the end of the seventh century.[26] Sir Alexander Cunningham held that the Rajputs belonged to the original Scythian stock, and the Jats to a late wave of immigrants from the north west, of Scythian race.[26]

Stephen Fuchs suggests that the Jats probably migrated from Central Asia to India as a "predatory nomadic tribe".[27] Natalya Romanovna Guseva considered the Jats to be the descendants of the Sakas.[28]


  • Sir Alexander Cunningham, (Former Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India) wrote: The Xanthii (a Scythian tribe) are very probably the Zaths (Jats) of the early Arab writers. As the Zaths were in Sindh to the west of the Indus, this location agrees very well with what we know of the settlement of the Sakas (Scythians) on the Indian frontier.[29]


  • Sir John Marshall, (Former Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India) wrote: "These Scythian invaders came principally from the three great tribes of Massagetae (great Jats), Sacaraucae, and Dahae (still exists as a Jat clan of Punjab)[30], whose home at the beginning of the second century B.C. was in the country between the Caspian sea (sea) and the Jaxartes river (Central Asia).[31]


  • Arthur Edward Barstow wrote: "Greeks of Bactria (partly modern Afghanistan), expelled by the hordes of Scythians, entered India in the second and first centuries BC and are said to have penetrated as far as Orissa (an Indian province in south-east). Meanwhile the Medii, Xanthii, Jatii, Getae and other Scythian races, were gradually working their way from the banks of the Oxus (River valley in Central Asia) into Southern Afghanistan and the pastoral highland about Quetta (a Pakistani city), whence they forced their way by the Bolan Pass, through the Sulaiman Mountains into India, settling in the Punjab about the beginning of the first century AD. It is from these Scythian immigrants that most of the Jat tribes are at any rate partly descended."[32]


  • A. H. Bingley wrote: "It is from these Scythian Immigrants that most of the Jat tribes are at any rate partly descended."[33]


  • Professor Joyce Pettigrew wrote: "Another view holds that the Jats came from Asia Minor and Armenia in the successive invasions during the period 600 B.C. to A.D. 600."[34]


  • Professor Henry Smith Williams wrote: "The extent of the Scythian invasion has been variously estimated. Some scholars believe that they virtually supplanted the previous population of India (means Punjab), and there seems little doubt that by far the most numerous section of the Punjab population is of Scythian origin."[35]



  • Professor Tadeusz Sulimirski wrote: "The evidence of both the ancient authors and the archaeological remains point to a massive migration of Sacian (Sakas)/Massagetan ("great" Jat) tribes from the Syr Daria Delta (Central Asia) by the middle of the second century B.C. Some of the Syr Darian tribes; they also invaded North India."[37]


  • Horace Arthur Rose wrote: "Many of the Jat tribes of the Punjab have customs which apparently point to non-Aryan origin. Suffice it to say that both Sir Alexander Cunningham and Colonel Tod agreed in considering the Jats to be of Indo-Scythian Stock. The former identified them with the Zanthi of Strabo (Greek Geographer of the ancient times) and the Jatii of Pliny (Roman writer) and Ptolemy (Another Greek Geographer of the ancient times); and held that they probably entered the Punjab from their home on the Oxus (in Central Asia) very shortly after the Meds or Mands (still exist as one of the Jat clans of the Punjab), who also were Indo-Scythians, and who moved into the Punjab about a century before Christ."[38]


  • Sir Henry Miers Elliot wrote: "These ignorant tribes (Jats) pointing to the remote Ghazni (Afghanistan) as their original seat, the very spot we know to have been occupied by the Yuechi, or, as Klaproth says, more correctly, Yuti, in the first centuries of our era, after the Sakas (a Scythian tribe) were repelled back from the frontiers of India, and left the country between India and Persia open for their occupation. The Jat tribes not doubt emigrated, no at all once, but at different times, and it is probable that those in the North-West are among the latest importations."[39]


  • I. Sara wrote: "Recent excavations in the Ukraine and Crimea. The finds points to the visible links of the Jat and Scythians."[40]




  • James Francis Katherinus Hewitt wrote: "Further evidence both of the early history and origin of the race of Jats, or Getae, is given by the customs and geographical position of another tribe of the same stock, called the Massagetae, or great (massa) Getae."[43]


  • Sir George Fletcher MacMunn (Sir and Lt. General) wrote: "Alexander came to India in his capacity as the holder of the Persian throne. From his camp near Kabul (Afghanistan), the Macedonian (Alexander) summoned those chiefs whom Skylax (Persian general) had conquered in the old time afore, to come and renew their homage to their ancient Persian overlord in the person of himself. Several obeyed his summons, others did not, and it has been surmised that those who did were later arrivals, of Jat or Scythian origin, outside the normal Aryan fold as later comers to India."[44]


  • Syed Muhammad Latif wrote: "A considerable portion of the routed army of the Scythians settled in the Punjab, and a race of them, called Nomardy, inhabited the country on the west bank of the Indus (river). They are described as a nomadic tribe, living in wooden houses, after the old Scythian fashion, and settling where they found sufficient pasturage. A portion of these settlers, the descendants of Massagetae, were called Getes, from whom sprung the modern Jats."[45]


  • Dr. Gopal Singh wrote: "The Jats of the Panjab, are Scythians in origin and came from Central Asia, whose one branch migrated as far south in Europe as Bulgaria. "[46]


  • N. Singh wrote: "The Scythians appear to originate from Central Asia. They reached Punjab between 50 B.C. and A.D. 50. It seems probable that the Scythian ancestors of the Jats entered the Sindh Valley (presently in Pakistan Kashmir) between 100 B.C. and A.D. 100."[47]



  • Bakhshish Singh Nijjar wrote: "The Jats are the descendants of Scythians, whose kingdom's capital was Scythia, in the present Ukraine (Ukrainian), Soviet Social Republic, is the constituent Republic of the European USSR (Population 49,757,000) in 1947. Now Ukraine's capital is Kiev, the third leading city in Russia. Before the invasion of the golden herd, 13th century B.C. Scythian, ancient kingdom of indeterminate boundaries, centered in the area north of the Black Sea."[49]


  • Rima Hooja suggests that the Jats are "probably descendants of the Scythians who entered India in early historical times".[50]


(ख) सीथिया देश -

इस देश का कुछ भाग यूरोप में तथा कुछ भाग एशिया में स्थित था। देन्यूब नदी (Danube) से लेकर ठीक दक्षिणी रूस के पार तक, कैस्पियन सागर के पूर्व में अमू दरियासिर दरिया की घाटी तक, पामीर पहाड़ियों की शृंखला तक तथा पूर्वी तुर्किस्तान की तारिम नदी की घाटी तक यह सीथिया देश फैला हुआ था।[51]

Formation of Jat Sangha

The most acceptable theory about the origin of the word, 'Jat' is that it has originated from the Sanskrit language word “Jnati” (ज्ञाति). The Mahabharata mentions in chapter 25, shloka 26 that Lord Krishna founded a federation ‘Gana-sangha’ of the Andhaka and Vrishni clans. This federation was known as ‘Gyati-sangh’. Over a period of time ‘Gyati’ (ज्ञाति) became Jnat or ‘Gyat’ and it changed to Jat.

Prior to Mahabharata War the kshatriyas were known by their vansha. Pandava vanshi were known as Pandavas, Gandhar Vanshi as Gandhars, Raghuvansha as Raghuvanshi etc. After Mahabharata War the population of kshatriyas came down due to large number of them killed in Mahabharata war. The kshatriyas became week as there was no uniting force. Krishna realized the dangers of this situation. He was a great politician, visionary personality and an expert planner. He knew very well the divisive approach of the various kshatriyas and that their attitude of enmity could not be resolved without bringing them under one umbrella of organization. He therefore united all the kshatriya clans under one organization which was known as Gyati Sangha which was accepted by all kshatriya. All democratic clans were included in this Sangha. [52]

The vansha of Krishna was also Jat. The idea of formation of federation or sangha was supported by Pandava vanshi Yudhisthira and his brothers. Large number of Mahabharata Period kshatriya clans are found in present day Jats. Pandava vanshi Jats are found in today’s Jat community in Gujaranwala city in Punjab. The then existing Rajavanshas such as Gandhara, Yadava, Sindhu, Naga, Lava, Kushama, Bandar (vanar), Nardeya etc. accepted the proposal of formation of the Jat Sangha and merged into this sangha. The Gandhar clan of Jats is found in Raghunathpura in district Badaun and Aligarh. The Yadava vanshi Jats are found in Dharmpur in district Badaun. Sindhu is a well known clan who gave names to the country Sindh and the Sindhu River. Sindhu Jats are found in Punjab and Haryana. The Naga clan Jats are found in villages Khudaganj and Rampuria in Badaun district. Lava and Kushama gotra are descendants of Rama’s son Lava and Kusha. Both these Jat gotras are found in Nagla Magola (नागला मगोला), Soniga Kheda (सोनिगा खेड़ा) district Badaun. Similarly Bandar or Vanar gotra (the gotra of Hanuman) is found in Punjab and Haryana. Nardeya gotra Jats are also found in Kant (कांट) district Muradabad. These are only few examples. There were large number of Jat gotra who accepted Jat Sangha are still found amongst Jats. [53]

From Gauts or Goths

The other prominent theory of the word's origins is that Jat came from the word Gaut tribal name of some Indo-Aryan tribes of Central Asia (such as those which later became Gauts/Goths and settled in Europe), which was written in 'Jattan Da Ithihas'. It has also been mentioned by Bhim Singh Dahiya.

From Yat

According to the historian 'Ram Lal Hala' the word Jat is drived from word 'Yat'. There was a king named 'Yat' in Chandravanshi clan who was ancestor of Lord Krishna. The Jats are descendants of King Yat. 'Yat' later changed to 'Jat'.


Ram Sarup Joon[54] writes that... There are three main theories about the ancient roots of the word ‘Jat’ Viz. ‘A race originated from ‘the “Jatas’ of ‘Lord Shiva and thus came to be known as Jats.”

Jat is a phonetic corruption of ‘Yat’ which is from the Sanskrit root -‘ya’ - meaning performer or protector of a Yagya.”

‘Jat originated from ‘Yayat’ who was one of the earliest ruler of Chandra Vanshi Aryans.’

A detailed analysis of these shows that all the three theories are credible and interconnected.

There is a common saying amongst the Jats as follows:

[Hindi verse]
“Jata Jata te Nikso Gangaji ko Prath
Jathe va ko Chahiye haro sumran din rath”

History of the Jats, End of Page-15


It means that the Jat was born out of Shiv Ji’s Jata and is the brother of the Ganga; he should, therefore remember God day and night.

According to Shiva Purana, Shavi, or Shiv Ji, the elder son of Raja Ushinar was married to Sati, daughter of Raja Daksha of Kankhal. He became a Yogi. Raja Daksha did not approve of this. When Raja Daksha performed a Yagya, (sacrifice) he invited all except Shiv Ji and Sati. Sati considering it an unintentional omission on the part of her father went uninvited but was completely neglected by Raja Daksha, who neither greeted her nor gave her any present out or the Yagya.

Sati could not bear the insult, jumped into the fire of the Yagya and burnt herself alive. When Shiv Ji’s followers returned and narrated the story, Shiv Ji became furious. He plucked his Jata (long hair) and stuck it against a stone. It broke into two; one piece was transformed into Vir Bhadra and other into an army. On Shiv Ji’s instructions Vir Bhadra went and severed the head of Daksha. One belief is that descendants of Vir Bhadra came to be known as Jats because he was created out of Shiv Ji’s Jatas.

The above story has been presented in the Shiva Purana in a dramatic manner in those days, as was the literary style in those days, and is meant to be interpreted metaphorically and not literally.

The facts are that Shiv Ji lived in Gangotri Hills which, due to Shiv Ji’s popularity, came to be known as Shiv ki Jata. The mountain ranges in that area is now known as Shivaliks. Raja Vir Bhadra of the Puru dynasty was the ruler of Talkha Pur near Haridwar, which also formed part of the area known as Shiv ki Jata.

This is the area around Haridwar. King Bhagirath brought the Ganga to the plains in this region. According to legend the Ganga flows out from Shiv Ji’s Jata. Actually this also means that


History of the Jats, End of Page-16


the Ganga flows out from the area known as Shiv ki Jata, the birthplace of the Jat Raja Vir Bhadra who was a follower and admirer of Shivji. On hearing of Sati’s tragedy, Shiv Ji went to the durbar of Vir Bhadra and pulled at his hair in fury while narrating the story. This infuriated Vir Bhadra and with his army, are invaded Kankhal and killed Daksha.

Raja Vir Bhadra had five sons and two grand sons named Pon Bhadra, Jakh Bhadra, Kalhan Bhadra, Brahma Bhadra, Ati Sur Bhadra, Dahi Bhadra and Anjana Jata Shankar. Seven major Jat gotras are named after these seven descendants of Vir Bhadra. A detailed account of these is found in the family history of Rana of Dholpur. This proves the descent of some Jats from Vir Bhadra.

Raja Vir Bhadra’s descendants were however not the only Jats. A famous Jat gotra is Shavi, whose yet other famous branches are Takshak and Bachhik and they claim their lineage from Shiv Ji. In the Matsya Puran it is mentioned that King Ushinar father of Shiv Ji, and grandson of King Shishu Bandha performed one hundred Yagyas and was given the title of Yat. It is, therefore, believed that the descendants of Ushinar began to be called Yats and later on Jats. This is also a reasonable inference as Shavi gotra is found in a large number amongst the Jats.

Ancient Khokra-kot excavated near Rohtak; Haryana (60 km north of Delhi) has been the capital of Shiv Vanshis for a long time. Mehttam, (Meham) Serkahp (Sirsa) have also been their capitals. There is a story in the XXXII chapter of Sabhaparva of the Mahabharata that Nakula invited the king Swami Kartikavan of Rohtak in the Sabha of Sabha. It is mentioned in the Adi-parva Mahabharat that Indraprastha had been the capital of Takshaka Shiva before the Pandavas made it their capital. Mathura had been the kingdom of Parma Chhak Shiva as well as the capital of Naga Shiva for a long period. Ganesha is propitiated at every function of the Jats. No other


History of the Jats, End of Page-17


temples except Shivalyas are found in the Jat territory.

Names after Shiva such as Sheo Singh, Sheo Karan, Sheo Chand, Sheo Ram, Sheo Nath, Sheo Charan, Shiv Bahadur, Sheo Datt, Sheo Lal, Bhola Ram are common amongst the Jats.

Both these tribes i.e. of Vir Bhadra and Shiva, however, belonged to Yadu and Puru, two of the five branches of ‘Yayati’ dynasty of the earliest Aryans who had originally settled in this very area.

There are other gotras of Jats based on the other three branches of ‘Yayati’ i.e. Druhyu, Anu and Urdas who also lived in the same area. It would therefore be correct to say that not only ‘Yat’. But ‘Yayat’ got converted into Jat. It is also possible that in these dynasties Ushinar was not the first and only one to earn the title of ‘Yat’ which was an honour bestowed on one who did outstanding noble deeds.

In many books, there are references to the five main dynasties of Yayati, which spread far and wide in Asia and Europe and became known as Yayati, writers of European history have named them variously as Yayati, Yati, Yucchi, Jat, Jati, Jeets, Jutes, Gat, Gote and Gatae.

It is easy to understand the conversion of ‘Yayat’ or Yat into Jat. A large number of Hindi and Sanskrit words, which were originally pronounced with ‘Ya’, are now pronounced with ‘Ja’. Some examples are Jas for Yash, Jatan for Yatan, Jogi, for Yogi, Jamuna for Yamuna, Joban for Yovan, Jama for Yama and Jati for Yati etc.

The conclusion, therefore, is that 'Jats are descendants of Yayati in whose dynasty Yat was the highest title and their ancient stronghold was known as Shiv ki jata.

To proceed with the history of the Jats it is necessary to start from the earliest known facts about the Aryans.


History of the Jats, End of Page-18


Origin of Jats from Shiva's Locks

Shiva and Parvati

The mythological theory of Origin of Jats from Shiva's Locks was propounded by the author of Deva Samhita. Deva Samhita [55][56][57] is a collection of Sanskrit hymns by Gorakh Sinha during the early medieval period. Devasamhita records the theory of Origin of the Jats in the form of discussion between Shiva and Parvati expressed in shloka (verses) numbering from 12 - 17. Some relevant verses are given below.

Pārvatī asks Shiva, O Lord Bhutesha, knower of all religions, kindly narrate about the birth and exploits of the Jat race. Who is their father?, Who is their mother? Which race are they? When were they born? Having read the mind of Parvati, Shiva said, "O mother of the world, I may tell you honestly the origin and exploits of the Jats about whom none else has so far revealed anything to you. They are symbol of sacrifice, bravery and industry. They are, like gods, firm of determination and of all the kshatriyā, the Jats are the prime rulers of the earth. They are the progeny of the Virabhadra (Shiva's son) and gani, the daughter of Daksha, son of Brahma. The history of origin of Jats is extremely wonderful and their antiquity glorious. The Pundits of history did not record their annals lest it should injure and impair their false pride and of the vipras and gods.

भगवन् सर्वं भूतेश सर्व धर्म विदांबरः।
कृपया कथ्यतां नाथ जाटानां जन्म कर्मजम् ।।12।।
Translation - Pārvatī asks Shiva, O Lord Bhutesha, knower of all religions, kindly narrate about the birth and exploits of the Jat race.
का च माता पिता ह्वेषां का जाति वद किकुलं।
कस्तिन काले शुभे जाता प्रश्नानेतान वद प्रभो ।|13।।
Translation - Pārvatī asks Shiva, Who is their father?, Who is their mother? Which race are they? When were they born?
श्रृणु देवि जगद्वन्दे सत्यमं सत्यमं वदामिते।
जटानां जन्मकर्माणि यन्न पूर्व प्रकाशितं ।|14।।
Translation - Having read the mind of Parvati, Shiva said, "O mother of the world, I may tell you honestly the origin and exploits of the Jats about whom none else has so far revealed anything to you.


महाबला महावीर्या, महासत्य पराक्रमाः Mahābalā mahāvīryā, Mahāsatya parākramāḥ
सर्वाग्रे क्षत्रिया जट्‌टा देवकल्‍पा दृढ़-व्रता: Sarvāgre kshatriyā Jattā Devakalpā dridh-vratāḥ || 15 ||
Translation - "Shiva said, They are symbol of sacrifice, bravery and industry. They are, like gods, firm of determination and of all the kshatriyā, the Jats are the prime rulers of the earth."


श्रृष्टेरादौ महामाये वीर भद्रस्य शक्तित: Shrishterādau mahāmāye Virabhadrasya shaktitaḥ
कन्यानां दक्षस्य गर्भे जाता जट्टा महेश्वरी Kanyānām Dakshasya garbhe jātā Jattā maheshwarī. || 16 ||
Translation – "Shiva said, In the beginning of the universe with the personification of the illusionary powers of Virabhadra and Daksha's daughter gani's womb originated the caste of Jats."


गर्व खर्चोत्र विग्राणां देवानां च महेश्वरी Garva kharchotra vigrānam devānām cha maheshwarī
विचित्रं विस्‍मयं सत्‍वं पौराण कै साङ्गीपितं Vichitram vismayam satvam Pauran kai sāngīpitam || 17 ||


Translation - "Shiva said, The history of origin of Jats is extremely wonderful and their antiquity glorious. The Pundits of history did not record their annals, lest it should injure and impair their false pride and of the vipras and gods."


The two ethnologists, Russel and Hira Lal [58] give a different version of the above anecdote in the "Brahmanical legends of origin of the Jats", which is reproduced below:

"The Jats relate the legend thus. On the occasion when Raja Daksha, father-in-law of Mahadeva (Shiva) was performing a great sacrifice, he invited all the gods to present except his son-in-law Mahadeva. The latter's wife, Parvati, was, however, very eager to go; so she asked Mahadeva to let her attend, even though she had not been invited. Mahadeva was unwilling to allow her, but finally consented. Daksha treated Parvati with great want of respect at the sacrifice, so she came home and told Mahadeva about her plight. When Mahadeva heard all this he was filled with wrath and untying his matted hair (jata) dashed it on the ground, whence two powerful beings arose from it. He sent them to destroy Daksha's sacrifice and they went and destroyed it. From these were descended the race of Jats, and they take their name from the matted locks (jata) of the Lord Shiva. Another saying of the Jats is that the ancestors of the Rajputs was from Kashyapa and that of the Jats from the Shiva. In the beginning these were the only two races in India." [59]

It is also mentioned that after the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice by Virabhadra and his Ganas, the followers of Shiva, the defeated gods sought Brahma and asked his counsel. Brahma advised the gods to make their peace with Shiva. Shiva accepted his advice and restored the burnt head of Daksha and the broken limbs were made whole. Then the devas thanked Shiva for his gentleness, and invited him to sacrifice. There Daksha looked on him with reverence, the rite was duly performed, and there also Vishnu appeared. A compromise was achieved between Vaishnavas and followers of Shiva.

The above theory was set afloat during the medieval age which is marked by ascendancy of powerful Rajput warriors. It was a period of unhealthy growth of blind superstitions, the decay and death of adventure in science and thought in practical life. It was a period during which "the fairy of the fortune of the Jats, particularly after Harsha Vardhana, had gone to sleep." The theory cast a spell on the mind of the simple Jat folk and soon became popular with them. They were taken by pious fraud that they were born from the highest bodily part (jata) of the highest god (Shiva) where as all others are born of the lower part of Brahma.[60]

According to Y.P. Shastri, [61] the theory was propounded to win back the Jats, who had en mass embraced Buddhism, to Neo-Hinduism preached and propagated by Shankaracharya and his followers. This theory seemed to work wonders as there are no followers of Buddhism in Jats. Whereas Y.P. Shastri hints at religious purpose of the theory, Dr.A.B. Mukerjee,[62] an ethno-geographer stresses its political and social purpose. According to him " at the end of the ancient period of Indian History great instability prevailed in the social structure of the people and great political changes were effected. The Rajputs became the rulers and Jats their subject, a fact very well borne out by historical data (Ibbetson:1916) consequently, the social status of the latter groups declined and they were regarded as of lowly ranks. Of course, after the fall of Harsha Vardhana of the Aulikar or Virk gotra, the political and social status of the Jats especially in Rajasthan, had declined to a great extent. Possibly to counteract the intolerable superiority assumed by the Rajputs, this theory might have been invented. [63]


Bhim Singh Dahiya[64] points to yet another purpose of the theory. According to him "Something must have happened in the sixth or seventh century AD, during the course of the revival of orthodox Brahmanism, which made these people (Jats) persona non grata with the new orthodox. That is why when the Puranas were revised, their historical details and even their names were removed therefrom. It is perhaps to this state of affairs that the Deva Samhita refers when it records that " nobody has published the truth about the origin and activities of the Jat race." At another place he assumes that "the Jats were the first rulers in the vast central asian plains as per Deva Samhita." [65]


The theory is obviously figurative and its use is simply allegorical. The meaning it conveys is that there were so many Ganas of warrior tribes at the command of Virabhadra or Kartikeya, the son of Shiva, whose abode was the Sivalak mountain. The function of this mythological theory is to ensure a more honourable antiquity and status to the Jats in comparison with others, especially Brahmans like Kephart, Jewitt and Waddel count the Jats among the ruling races of prehistoric times in India.[66]

According to Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria)[67], it may, however, be interesting to note that a Jat tribe, living in about 25 contiguous villages in Jind district of Haryana and about 5 villages in Nangloi block of Delhi , goes by its gotra name as Shivakhande or Sheokhand. Of late this gotra has been Arabicised as Shokeen in Delhi villages. Yet the elders of Sheokhand Khap area take pride in the fact that they originally hail from the Dharans, whose kingdom was rather misnomered as "Gupta empire" in Indian history. Be that as it may, one thing is plausible about the Jats of Sheokhande clan. They must be the Sivas who fought against the Bharatas on the Jamuna River in one of the ten Rigvedic wars. They are identified by scholars with the Shivis [68] or the Sibis of the Usinara country in the north of Haridwar near the source of Ganges.[69] The Sivas or Sibis became known as Shivakhande or Sheokhande from and after the Shivalaks, the abode of Lord Shiva, the highest deity of the Jats. Their descent from the Shivalak hills has provided good grounds to the author of Devasamhita to expound this theory.

Nomenclature of Jat

The nomenclature of the word Jat is variously spelt, in different periods, as Jit, Jat (pl. Jatān), Jat, finally Jāt. The sixth century Pali inscription (dated samvat 597-56 = 541 AD) mentions the race as Jit. Thus the term ‘Jit’ probably derives its nomenclature after the epithet of the founder of the tribe Jit Salindra. [70] According to James Tod, in Rajasthan and Punjab the tribe retained their ancient name Jit. [71] [72]


The Persianized form of the ancient term Jit is Jat (जट) with short vowel and double short ‘t’. [73]

The Jatt is generally referred by the Ghaznavid chronicler of the eleventh century (Gardezi, Alberuni, and Baihaqi); [74] [75] [76] in the history of Sind (Chachnama and Tarikh-i-Masumi); by the Delhi Sultanate’s chronicler’s Isami; [77] and by the 18th century mystic writer Shah Wali Allah in his political letters. [78] Thus, in the Indus Valley up to Saurashtra, the tribes are known as Jat. [79] The author of Majmulat-Tawarikh tends to believe that the Arabs called the Sindh people Jat. [80] In Sindhi dialect, the term is pronounced as ‘Yat’ and means ‘a camel-driver or breeder of camels’ [81] While the author of Dabistan-i-Mazahib (c. 1665) states that ‘Jat’ in the language of Punjab (read Jataki) means ‘a villager, a rustic’ (dahistani, rusta’i). [82] [83]


During Mughal period, phonetic and dialectic changes occurred, thus Deccan chronicler Firishta mentions them as ‘Jat (जट)’ with short vowel and hard ‘t’. [84] Finally the term gained the present day phonetic in Ain-i-Akbari, when Abul Fazl mentions the tribe as ‘Jāt’ with long vowel ‘a’ and hard ‘t’. It is said that the term derives from middle Indo-Aryan term 'Jata'. [85] [86] In view of O’Brien in Jataki language the ‘Jat (जात)’ – the herdsmen and camel grazer is spelt with soft ‘t’, while the ‘Jat (जाट)’- the cultivator with hard ‘t’. [87] However, in present day the tribes, almost all the cultivators, are known as Jāt (जाट) especially in the Yamuna-Ganges Valley. [88]


In Arabanized form, the term is mentioned as Zat or Zutt (in Arabic 'J' changes for 'Z') by the Arab geographers. [89] [90] [91] Thus, the nomenclature of the tribe is of post-sanskrit Indian origin and belongs to the Indo-Aryan language. [92]

Study on Origin and Diversity of the Jat Population

David G. Mahal and Ianis G. Matsoukas conducted studies on Y-STR Haplogroup Diversity in the Jat Population which Reveals Several Different Ancient Origins. A brief about this study is as under:

The Jats represent a large ethnic community that has inhabited the northwest region of India and Pakistan for several thousand years. It is estimated the community has a population of over 123 million people. Many historians and academics have asserted that the Jats are descendants of Aryans, Scythians, or other ancient people that arrived and lived in northern India at one time. Essentially, the specific origin of these people has remained a matter of contention for a long time.

This study demonstrated that the Origins of Jats can be clarified by identifying their Y-chromosome haplogroups and tracing their genetic markers on the Y-DNA haplogroup tree. A sample of 302 Y-chromosome haplotypes of Jats in India and Pakistan was analyzed. The results showed that the sample population had several different lines of ancestry and emerged from at least nine different geographical regions of the world. It also became evident that the Jats did not have a unique set of genes, but shared an underlying genetic unity with several other ethnic communities in the Indian subcontinent. A startling new assessment of the genetic ancient origins of these people was revealed with DNA science.

Details of this study can be seen here.

See also

External links

References

  1. Dr Natthan Singh: Jat - Itihas (Hindi), Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad Gwalior, 2004 (Page 9)
  2. CV Vaidya: Mahabharata a criticizm, Bombay 1904 (Page 55-78)
  3. Dr Natthan Singh: Jat - Itihas (Hindi), Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad Gwalior, 2004 (Page 38)
  4. Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas, Page 64
  5. Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas, Page 65
  6. Ram Lal Hala, Jat Kshatriya Itihas
  7. Al-Biruni, India:Trans by Kayamuddin, Published by National Book Trust, India, 1997 page-176
  8. Sir Herbert Risley : The People of India
  9. Sir Herbert Risley: Census of India report 1901, Page 500
  10. Qanungo: History of the Jats
  11. Qanungo: History of the Jats
  12. Qanungo: History of the Jats
  13. Khushwant Singh: The History of the Sikhs, 1963
  14. C.V.Vaidya: History of Medieval Hindu India
  15. E.B.Havell: The history of Aryan rule in India, page 32
  16. Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas
  17. Risley, H., The People of India
  18. Qanungo: History of the Jats
  19. Mangal Sen Jindal: History of Origin of Some Clans in India
  20. Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Volume I,, James Todd Annals/Chapter 6 Genealogical history of the Rajput tribes subsequent to Vikramaditya
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  27. Fuchs, Stephen (1973). The Aboriginal Tribes of India (1st ed.). Macmillan Publishers (Holtzbrinck Publishing Group). p. 129. ISBN 0333900227, 9780333900222. Quote: "The overall analysis of the nomadic tribes in northern India suggests that they fall into three main categories: (a) one group belongs to a basically primitive foodgathering and hunting stage of culture; (b) the second group belongs to a more advanced culture of jungle dwellers and primitive cultivators, akin perhaps to the Doms, and the aborigines of north-eastern India in their past; and (c) a third group which probably belonged to originally predatory nomadic tribes, immigrants from central Asia, such as the Jats and Rajputs."
  28. Author: Наталья Романовна Гусева (1994). Book: Индия в зеркале веков: религия, быт, культура. Publisher: Российская академия наук, Ин-т этнологии и антропологии им. Н.Н. Миклухо-Маклая. Page: 49. Quote: " Саки были тем этногенетическим пластом, на основе которого сформировались джаты, составляющие и в наше время подавляющую маооу населения Пенджаба. "
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  37. Professor T. Sulimirski, The Sarmatians, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1970, pp. 113-114.
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  39. Sir H. M. Elliot, Encyclopaedia of Caste, Customs, Rites and Superstitions of the Races of Northern India, Vol. 1, Reprinted by Sumit Publications, Delhi, 1985, first published in 1870, pp. 133-134.
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  51. Jat History Dalip Singh Ahlawat/Chapter IV (Page 317)
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  53. Kishori Lal Faujdar: “Mahabharatkalin Jat vansha” Jat Samaj, Agra, July 1995, p. 7
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  55. Y.P.Shastri, op.cit., p.40-41
  56. Dr Ram Swarup Joon, History of the Jats (Eng), 1967, p.14-15
  57. Thakur Deshraj, Jat Itihas, 1934, p. 85-86
  58. R.V.Russell and Hira Lal, op. cit., Vol.III, Delhi,1975, p.232-233
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  60. Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria):The Jats - Their Origin, Antiquity & Migrations, Rohtak, 1993. ISBN 81-85235-22-8, p. 34
  61. Op. cit., p.40
  62. Dr.A.B. Mukerjee, The Deccan Geographer, Jan., 1968, No.1, p. 32-33
  63. Hukum Singh Panwar(Pauria):The Jats - Their Origin, Antiquity & Migrations, Rohtak, 1993. ISBN 81-85235-22-8, p. 36
  64. Bhim Singh Dahiya:Jats the Ancient Rulers (A clan study), Delhi,1980, p.18
  65. Ibid.,p. 22
  66. Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria):The Jats - Their Origin, Antiquity & Migrations, Rohtak, 1993. ISBN 81-85235-22-8, p. 38
  67. Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria):The Jats - Their Origin, Antiquity & Migrations, Rohtak, 1993. ISBN 81-85235-22-8, p. 38
  68. Kathasaritsagar, vol.1 p. 11
  69. ABORI, vol. XXIX, p. 117, fn. 9
  70. James Todd, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, inscription No. I,, pp. 622
  71. Ibid., op. cit., p.88
  72. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 54
  73. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 54
  74. Abd al-Hayy b Abd al Zahhak, Zain ul-Akhbar ed. Hayy Habibi, (Iran, 1347), p.191-192
  75. Abu Railian Ibn Ahmad b. Muhammad Al-Beruni, Kitab fi Tahqiq mali’l-Hind, text ed. by E.C. Sachau (London, 1887), Vol. I, p. 336
  76. Abu Fazl Muhammad b. Hussain Baihaqi, Tarikh-i- Baihaqi ed. Q. Ghani and A.A. Fayyaz, (Tehra, 1946), p. 434
  77. Abd al-Malik Isami, Futuh us-Salatin, ed. M.Usha, (Madras 1948), p.139
  78. K.A. Nizami, Shah Waliullah Ke Siyasi Hutut, Aligarh, 1954
  79. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 54
  80. Majmulat-Tawarikh in Elliot and Dowson, The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, (London:1867), Aligarh rep. Vol.I, p. 104
  81. Richard F. Burton, Sind and the Races that inhabit the valley of the Indus with notices of the Topography and History of Province (London, 1851), 1992, p. 411
  82. Muhsin Fani Kashmiri, Dabistan-i-Mazahib , Nawal Kishore ed., (Kanpur:1904), p. 224
  83. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55
  84. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55
  85. Encyclopedia of Islam, S.V.Djat, Vol. II, (Leiden, 1965), p. 488
  86. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55
  87. O’Brien, Multan Glossary, cited by Ibbetson, op. cit., p. 103
  88. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55
  89. Ibn Hauqal, Kitab Masalik Wa al-Mamalik, in Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., I, p.40
  90. Muhammad Tahir al-Patani, Mujma bihar al-Anwar (Kanpur:1283), II, S.V.Zutti, The tribes are mentioned in Iraq, and Syria as Zutt, while in Egypt as Zitt.
  91. Cf. Gabriel Ferrand, S.V. Zutt, Urdu Daira-i-Ma’arif-i-Islamiya, X, p. 459
  92. Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55

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