Saranh

Saranh (सरान्ह) Saranha (सरान्हा) Saramgha (सरांघ)/(सराम्घ) Sarangh (सरांघ) Sarangha (सरांघ) Saramha (सरंहा) is a gotra of Jats.

Jat Gotras Namesake

• Saramgha = Sarangae (Pliny.vi.18)

Mention by Pliny

Pliny mentions Nations situated around the Hyrcanian Sea.... Beyond the nations already mentioned, are the Chorasmii,¹³ the Candari,¹⁴ the Attasini, the Paricani, the Sarangæ, the Marotiani, the Aorsi,¹⁵ the Gaëli, by the Greek writers called Cadusii,¹⁶ the Matiani, the city of Heraclea,¹⁷ which was founded by Alexander, but was afterwards destroyed, and rebuilt by Antiochus, and by him called Achaïs; the Derbices also,¹⁸ through the middle of whose territory the river Oxus¹⁹ runs, after rising in Lake Oxus,²⁰

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13 An extensive tribe of 'Sogdiana, now represented by the district of Khawarezm, in the desert country of Khiva.

14 A tribe in the north-western part of Sogdiana. They appear to have been situate to the east of the district of Khawarezm. It has been suggested that they derived their name from the Sanscrit Gandharas, a tribe beyond the Indus.

15 The chief seat of the Aorsi, who appear to have been a numerous and powerful people both of Europe and Asia, was in the country between the Tanais, the Euxine, the Caspian, and the Caucasus. It seems doubtful, however, whether it is these people who are alluded to in the present passage.

16 These would almost seem to be a different people from those mentioned in c. 15 of the present Book, as dwelling in Atropatene. The present appears to have been a tribe of Sogdiana.

17 Strabo mentions a town of this name, which he places, together with Apamea, in the direction of Rhagæ. If Pliny has observed anything like order in his recital of nations and places, the Heraclea here mentioned cannot be that spoken of by Strabo, but must have been distant nearly 1000 miles from it.

18 This was a tribe, apparently of Scythian origin, settled in Margiana, on the left bank of the Oxus. Strabo says that they worshipped the earth, and forbore to sacrifice or slay any female; but that they put to death their fellow-creatures as soon as they had passed their seventieth year, it being the privilege of the next of kin to eat the flesh of the deceased person. The aged women, however, they used to strangle, and then consign them to the earth.

19 The modern Jihoun or Amou. It now flows into the Sea of Aral, but the ancients universally speak of it as running into the Caspian; and there are still existing distinct traces of a channel extending in a southwesterly direction from the sea of Aral to the Caspian, by which at least a portion, and probably the whole of the waters of the Oxus found their way. into the Caspian; and not improbably the Sea of Aral itself was connected with the Caspian by this channel.

20 Most probably under this name he means the Sea of Aral.

History

Utar are mentioned by Herodotus as Utians, along with the Sarangians (Saramgha) and the Pactyans.

B S Dahiya writes:In an inscription found in Kashmir, relating to the seventh century A.D. there is a reference to a minister named Makar Singh, who is called a Saranha. He is stated to have constructed a city in Kashmir. In this reference we have the earliest known mention of this Jat clan. Perhaps they are the Sarangians of Herodotus who had the same areas as the Mandas in the battle of Thermopylae.

B S Dahiya writes that the Satapatha Brahmana mentions them under the name of Sringaya as well as Srinjaya the former being more correct Interestingly, a person named Sulpan Saranjya is mentioned to have changed his name into Sahadeva Saranjya after a sacrifice. The form, Sringaya, is the same as Sarangha; and the Avestan Zrayanh is the same as Saranha. Satapatha Brahmana also mentions a kingdom of Sringayas which lasted for 10 generations when it was overthrown, to be reestablished by Chakra Sathapati, a minister of Saramgha king, Dusntaritu in spite of opposition from Pratipiya, king of Balkah. A king of the Sarangaya’s named Daivata, became victorious over the Turvashas and Vrichivantas. Somaka was the son of Sahadeva, alias, Suplan and sages Narada and Parvata consecrated him on the throne. Rig Veda speaks of a Prastoka Sringya and his charity. Atharva Veda says that they annoyed the Bhrigus and therefore came to trouble, perhaps referring to the dethronements of Dusntaritu, mentioned above, But it was a temporary decline and was soon mended by recapturing the kingdom.

Bhim Singh Dahiya identifies this gotra with the Rigvedic tribe -Sarangya : A king, Daivavata, of this tribe, is named in RV l/27/7,4/15/4,7. Also the charity of Prastoka Sringya is mentioned in Rigveda. They are to be identified with the Sarangh clan of the Jats, and also with the Sarangai of the Greek authors and Sarank/Zarank of Iranian history.

अयं यः सर्ञ्जये पुरो दैववाते समिध्यते |

दयुमां अमित्रदम्भनः || (RV 4/15/4)

Bhim Singh Dahiya provides us following Clan Identification Chart

Sl	West Asian/Iranian	Greek	Chinese	Central Asian	Indian	Present name
	1	2	3	4	5	6
136.	Sarenaka	Sarangai	-	Sarai	Saramgha/Sarangya	Sarangha/Saranha

References

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