Tadkeshwar

Tadkeshwar (ताड़केश्वर), also spelt Tarkeshwar, (Gujarati:તડ્કેશ્વર) is a town located in the district of Surat, Gujarat, India. It is situated approximately 36 km away from Surat City and on the Kim-Mandvi Road north of the River Tapti. It belongs to the Mandavi Taluka of Surat Panchayat, and is very close to Bharuch District.

Origin

Tarkeshwar is combination of words Tarka and Ishwara. We find Tarka (तारका) Taraka (तारका) is Jat Gotra in Punjab. They are considered descendants of Tarkshya, one of thousand names of Shiva. They have been mentioned in Shalya Parva, Mahabharata/Book IX Chapter 44 shloka 80 as one of combatants who came along woth the Mahajatharas to the ceremony for investing Kartikeya with the status of generalissimo:

महाजठर पादाङ्गास तारकाक्शाश च भारत

पारावत मुखाश चान्ये तदा वृषमुखाः परे ।। 80 ।।

Distribution

Tarka population is 390 in Patiala district.

History

Arabic, Persian and Urdu Inscriptions of West India book at S.No. 273. mentions Tadkeshwar in Surat district in Gujarat.

The town was previously called Bhim-Nagar derived from the name of Raja Bhimdev I of the Solanki dynasty, who ruled most of Gujarat at the time. During Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna's invasions into Gujarat, the town was both attacked and conquered by his armies, sometime between the years 1024-1026 AD. Thirty Five thousand Ghaznavid soldiers are said to have conquered the town. This is attested by the fact that old stones can be found around the town with the name of the conqueror Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi engraved on them. The town became known as Turk-sar, which in the Turkic language means 'beset by the Turks'.

Over time, the words combined to form "Tarkeshwar". Most of the town's original Hindu population were killed. Some Kshatriyas in the town are said to have converted to Islam. Some of his soldiers settled in the town and over time adopted the use of Hindu surnames or titles. A common surname today found in Tadkeshwar is Turki, which literally means of Turkic origin. Some families in Tadkeshwar claim to be descended from the Ghaznavid soldiers that settled in the town and there are many families in which light skin and Blue eyes is noticed including Chauhan, Nakhuda, Bana, Ingar, Saeed and Kazi.

The town has a subsequent history of foreign and local settlements including Parsi's, Nakhuda's and Pashtuns. Many pious Muslims and saints are associated with the town and are responsible for many people embracing Islam. Four mausoleums dedicated to Muslim saints surround the town at all four directions, and are said to give the town divine blessing. Two of the more famous saints are Hazrat Maulana Nizamuddin Bajouri, an Afghan Pashtun from Bajour, who lived and died in Tadkeshwar in the 19th century; and his disciple Hazrat Shaikh Moosaji Mehtar. Their graves are located together on a hill and are often visited by the locals.

Today, the majority of Tadkeshwar is populated by Muslims, and about 40% are Hindus. The town has seven mosques and three Hindu Temples including a Jain Temple. The more prominent Muslim families are Chauhan, Nakhuda, Bana, Ingar, Turki, Kazi, Desai, Mehtar, Arya, Dedat, Nurgat and Patel.

Among the Hindu families Brahmins, Rajputs, Parmars, Solanki, Ahirs as well as Patels, Shah and Kathiawar's are found. The town also has a Parsi street, and previously they were many Parsi's most of whom have now moved to Mumbai or Surat and today only one elderly member of this community remains. There is also one Afghan (Achakzai) family originally from Spin Boldak in Kandahar, settled in the village since 1947. They still speak Pashto among themselves and Urdu with others. The patriarch of this family Maulana Sher Ali Kandahari is the most senior Maulana in the town's Madressa and was born in Afghanistan. There is also one Sikh family.

External links

• Tadkeshwar on Map

References

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