Panduvanshi

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Panduvanshis (पाण्डुवंशी) are descendants of Pandu of Mahabharata. Few of their earlier records mention their origin from the Pandava race. Hence they are known as the Panduvamshis. There are two Panduvamshi dynasties ruling in the central India regions, one over Mekala (present Amarkantak region) and another at Kosala.

Variants

• Pandu Vanshi/Pandu vanshi
• Pandav vansi/Pandav Vansi
• Panduvamshi
• Panduvanshis
• Panduvamshis
• Pandava Dynasty

Origin

As we have two Panduvamshi dynasties so there is a probability that these two could be related. V V Mirashi suggests a link where Udayana, the first known king of the Panduvamshis of Kosala, was shown as the son of Bharatabala, the last known king of the Panduvamshis of Mekala. This Bharatabala was also known as Indra. Now Udayana also had a son named Indrabala. And as a tradition in India, grandson is often christened after his grandfather, so it fits well with the proposed suggestion of Mirashi. A M Shastri mentions that Bharatabala was not the last king of the Panduvamshis of Mekala but it was Surabala. Now there are two possibilities, either Udayana was the son of Surabala or his brother. As there is no proper evidence to support this theory hence we need to leave this as it is till the discovery of further evidences.

Panduvamshis of Mekala

Panduvamshis of Mekala: The Panduvamshis (पांडुवंशी) or Pandavas were an Indian dynasty that ruled the historical Mekala region in present-day Chhattisgarh state of India, during the 6th and the 7th centuries. The Panduvamshi kings, who were Shaivites, claimed descent from the legendary Pandavas and also claimed to be members of the lunar dynasty. They may have been Gupta feudatories, and may have been related to the Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala, but this cannot be said with certainty.

According to the Bamhani inscription, Bharatabala's queen Lokaprakasha came from the Amaraja kula (family) of Kosala. Earlier scholars variously identified this family as Panduvamshis of Kosala, Sharabhapuriyas and Shuras, all of which ruled the Dakshina Kosala region. However, these identifications are no longer considered tenable after the discovery of an inscription of a ruler named Vyaghraraja. The Malhar inscription of Vyaghraraja describes him as a member of the Amararya kula, which seems to be same as the Amaraja kula.

Based on the epigraphic evidence, the inscriptions of the Panduvamshis of Mekala cannot be dated earlier than the late 6th or early 7th century. Shastri places Jayabala to c. 500-525 CE. He theorizes that Jayabala and his son Vatsaraja acknowledged Gupta suzerainty, and Vatsaraja's son Nagabala asserted sovereignty after the decline of the Guptas.

Territory: The Panduvamshis ruled the historical Mekala region, which covered the area around the Maikal Hills, whose name derives from the word Mekala. The core Panduvamshi territory included parts of the present-day Mandla, Shahdol, and Bilaspur districts.

The location of the dynasty's capital is not certain, as its inscriptions do not mention the place of their issue. Historian V. V. Mirashi theorized that it was located at present-day Bandhavgarh. Mirashi connected the Panduvamshis to an earlier dynasty whose inscriptions have been found at Bandhavgarh. These inscriptions mention Mahasenapati (military general) Bhadrabāla and his son Vaishravana, whom Mirashi speculated to be the ancestors of Jayabala. However, Mirashi's theory is based on incorrect reading of the name "Bhadrabāla" as "Bhadrabala". Moreover, there is strong evidence to connect the Bandhavgarh chiefs with the Magha kings, who formed a distinct dynasty. Therefore, Mirashi's conjecture is not tenable. Historian K. D. Bajpai believed that the capital was located at present-day Malhar, which according to Bajpai, was known as Sharabhapura in the ancient period. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this theory either.

Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala

The Panduvamshis were an Indian dynasty that ruled the historical Dakshina Kosala region in present-day Chhattisgarh state of India, during the 7th and the 8th centuries. They may have been related to the earlier Panduvamshis of Mekala: both dynasties claimed lunar lineage and descent from the legendary Pandavas.

After the fall of the Sharabhapuriyas in the late 6th century, Dakshina Kosala appears to have been controlled by petty chiefs until the Panduvamshis gained control of the region. The Panduvamshis may have captured a part of the neighbouring Utkala and Vidarbha regions at different times, but their control of these regions did not last long.

Their capital was probably located at Shripura (modern Sirpur). The later Somavamshi dynasty, which claimed lunar lineage, appears to have been related to them, but this cannot be said with certainty.

Period: The inscriptions of the Panduvamshi kings are dated in their regnal years instead of a calendar era. Therefore, historians have tried to determine the period of their rule using various other methods. V. V. Mirashi and D. C. Sircar dated the Panduvamshi ruler Tivaradeva to the 6th century, but A. M. Shastri later disputed their methodology, and theorized that Tivaradeva ascended the throne around 660 CE. According to Shastri's theory, the Panduvamshi rule in Dakshina Kosala started in the early 7th century, and ended in the 8th century.

Chronology of rulers:

The following is a chronology of the dynasty's rulers, according to A. M. Shastri's methodology (the rulers are sons of their predecessors, unless specified otherwise):

• Udayana, r. c. 600-620 CE, probably did not rule Dakshina Kosala
• Indrabala, r. c. 620-640 CE
  • Indrabala's brother, whose name is lost in the damaged part of the Arang stone inscription, probably ruled simultaneously
• Nannaraja I, c. 640-660 CE
  • Ishanadeva (a brother of Nannaraja I) and Bhavadeva (a son of Indrabala's brother) may have ruled independently, or as vassals of Nannaraja I
• Mahashiva Tivara alias Tivara-deva, r. c. 660-680 CE
• Nannaraja II alias Nanna II, r. c. 680-700 CE
• Chandragupta, r. c. 700-710 CE
• Harshagupta alias Harsha-deva, r. c. 710-730 CE
• Maha-Shivagupta alias Shivagupta alias Balarjuna, r. c. 730-790 CE

Territory: The Panduvamhis ruled the historical Dakshina Kosala region in the present-day Chhattisgarh. Except the Kalinjar inscription of Udayana, all of the dynasty's inscriptions have been discovered in Chhattisgarh, which suggests that their core territory was limited to Chhattisgarh.

The inscriptions of Tivaradeva describe him as Kosaladhipati ("Lord of Kosala"). The Adbhar inscription of his son Nannaraja II states that he became lord of all Kosala, Utkala and other mandalas (provinces) "by the valour of his own arms". However, Nannaraja II himself is mentioned only as the lord of Kosala. This suggests that Tivaradeva's control of other regions such as Utkala did not last long. The Sonakpaat (or Senkapat) inscription from Shivagupta suggests that the Panduvamshi kingdom included a part of the Vidarbha region in present-day Maharashtra, but this too, was temporary.

Some earlier scholars believed that the dynasty originated from Vidarbha, based on an inscription from the reign of Nannaraja I, which records the construction of a Buddhist temple by his relative Bhavadeva. Rev. Dr. Stevenson, who first published this inscription, gave the find spot of this inscription as Bhadravati (Bhandak) in the Vidarbha region. However, Indologist Lorenz Franz Kielhorn stated that this inscription was found at Ratanpur in Chhattisgarh, from which it was moved to the Nagpur Central Museum in Vidarbha. Historian V. V. Mirashi, who once traced the dynasty's origin to Vidarbha based on this inscription, later changed his view, and agreed that the inscription was originally found in Chhattisgarh. Mirashi and Y. K. Deshpande later determined that the inscription was originally found at a temple in Arang in Chhattisgarh, based on the testimony of Vinayakrao Aurangabadkar, who was the first person to transcribe it. Hira Lal, in Inscriptions In the Central Provinces And Berar, earlier described a fragmentary inscription that mentions Ranakesarin. Based on this, historian D. C. Sircar speculated that there were two different inscriptions with similar content: one found at Arang (mentioned by Hira Lal and Aurangabadkar), and the other at Bhadravati (mentioned by Rev. Dr. Stevenson). However, historian A. M. Shastri pointed out that the inscriptions mentioned by Hira Lal and Aurangabadkar cannot be same: Hira Lal's inscription is a Vaishnavite record found at the Mahamayi temple in Arang, and begins with an invocation to Vishnu. Aurangabadkar's inscription, on the other hand, is a Buddhist record (although Aurangabadkar wrongly mentioned the temple commissioned by Ranakesarin as a Jain shrine, confused by the use of the term jina). Therefore, there is no evidence to suggest that the Panduvamshis originated from Vidarbha.

Capital: The capital of the dynasty was most probably located at Shripura (modern Sirpur), which had also served as the capital of the preceding Sharabhapuriya kings. The copper-plate charters of Tivaradeva and his son Nannaraja II state that they were issued from Shripura. The subsequent inscriptions of the dynasty do not mention their place of issue, but many of them, issued during the reign of Balarjuna, have been discovered at Sirpur. This suggests that Shripura continued to serve as the dynasty's capital in the later times.

छत्तीसगढ़ का इतिहास

मध्य प्रदेश से बनाया गया यह राज्य भारतीय संघ के 26 वें राज्य के रूप में 1 नवंबर, 2000 को पूर्ण अस्तित्व में आया। इससे पूर्व छत्तीसगढ़ 44 वर्ष तक मध्य प्रदेश का एक अंग रहा था। प्राचीन काल में इस क्षेत्र को 'दक्षिण कौशल' के नाम से जाना जाता था। इस क्षेत्र का उल्लेख रामायण और महाभारत में भी मिलता है। छठी और बारहवीं शताब्दियों के बीच सरभपूरिया, पांडुवंशी, सोमवंशी, कलचुरी और नागवंशी शासकों ने इस क्षेत्र पर शासन किया। कलचुरी और नागवंशी शासकों ने इस क्षेत्र पर लम्बे समय तक शासन किया। कलचुरियों ने छत्तीसगढ़ पर सन् 980 से लेकर 1791 तक राज किया। सन् 1854 में अंग्रेज़ों के आक्रमण के बाद महत्त्व बढ़ गया। सन् 1904 में संबलपुर उड़ीसा में चला गया और 'सरगुजा' रियासत बंगाल से छत्तीसगढ़ के पास आ गई।

संदर्भ: भारतकोश-छत्तीसगढ़

Jat History

• Janjua Jatt tribe is a branch of the ancient Pandava dynasty through the Valiant warrior hero Prince Arjun Pandav, who is the ancestor of the Janjua.
• Janmeda Jat clan is said to be originated from Panduvanshi king named Janamejaya.

• Kathua - कठुआ शब्द कश्यप के नाम से बना है। पहले इसे कठुई के नाम से जाना जाता था लेकिन बाद में इसका नाम बदलकर कठुआ रख दिया गया। ऐतिहासिक दृष्टि से भी काफी महत्वपूर्ण माना जाने वाला यह जिला लगभग 2000 वर्ष पुराना माना जाता है। कठुआ जिले का ठीक-ठीक अभिलेखित इतिहास उपलब्ध नहीं है। कहा जाता है कि 2000 वर्ष पूर्व पांडुवंशी दिल्ली के तोमरों का एक वंशज अंडरोता गोत्र का जोधसी हस्तिनापुर से कठुआ आया था। उसके तीन पुत्र थे - 1. तेज़ू, 2. भजू, और 3. किंदल। इन्होने अपने-अपने नाम से बस्तियां बसाई और उनके वंशज आजकल तेजवालिया, भजवालिया और कंदवालिया नाम से जाने जाते हैं।

• Raja Jiwan (481 BC-455 BC) (जीवन जाट) was ruler of Delhi who was Pandav vansi Jat. Tomar Jats are also Panduvanshi.
• Saunkh is an ancient village in Mathura tahsil and district in Uttar Pradesh, founded by the descendants of Panduvanshi- Jats. It is site of Jat Fort and one of the villages of Khutela Jat Khaps.
• Tomar (Jat clan) - Raja Jiwan (481 BC-455 BC) (जीवन जाट) was ruler of Delhi who was Pandav vansi Jat. Tomar Jats are also Panduvanshi.

See also

• Bamhani Plates Of Bharatabala discovered at the village Bamhani in the Sohagpur tahsil of the former Rewa State. The inscription is one of Maharaja Bharata or Bharatabala of the Pandava lineage, who ruled over the country of Mekala.