MOHYAL HISTORY
This is the main section relating to a serious study of Mohyal History. Our book AFGHANISTAN REVISITED was a game changer in Mohyal historiography. Mohyal history – rule by Mohyal sovereigns and other related issues – were important events in the History of India. These needed to be ‘contextualised’ in the mainstream history, with the narration duly authenticated by credible ‘primary sources’ to meet the accepted canons of historical research. The book received notice and was reviewed in a couple of prestigious journals dealing with research in history and strategy. We then tried to publish our authenticated Mohyal version, based on AFGHANISTAN REVISITED, in Research Journals of History, through Research Papers, so as to make it vailable to the academia for critical evaluation. It is proposed to first reproduce these Research Papers here, giving a detailed account of the history of ancestors of the present day Chhibber, Datt and Vaid castes – who ruled over Sindh, Afghanistan and Punjab, respectively, as published in the Research Journal, ITIHAS DARPAN. For a still deeper study you can get the book AFGHANISTAN REVISITED: The Brahmana Hindu Shahis of Afghanistan and the Punjab (c. 840-1026 CE).
As stated on the ‘Home’ page, several useful books have followed in this NEW WAVE Mohyal historiography. It shall be our endeavour to also introduce the gist of those books here, if their learned authors, who hold the copy right, so volunteer.
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PRELIMINARY
There are a few questions that come to mind of every intelligent person taking interest in Mohyal History. We shall first discuss these popular issues:
1. What does the world Mohyal mean? What does it represent?
2. How old is the word Mohyal? When were our Mohyal Biradari and castes formed, as we find them today?
3. What is a Gotra? How have we managed to remember the name of our Gotra Rishi after several thousand years?
4. Confusion about the Gotra of Datt and Vaid Castes.
5. Honorific Titles used by Mohyals.
6 Mohyals are Brahmanas but have the warrior-profession of Kshatriyas. When did we break from the mainstream orthodox Brahmanas?
You may have read, or heard, a different version about some of these matters. Old versions always need to be revisited and reassessed in the light of current knowledge. Unaware of the Indo-Arabic relations in the seventh century, in the matter of presence of Sidh Datt and other Brahmanas in Arabia, the author of Tarikhe Vaidan (late 1890s) coined the theory that Ashvathama, and six of his friends had gone to Arabia after Mahabharat. This has continued to be parroted, without giving any critical thought to the matter. It becomes difficult to defend such fanciful fables, eroding the credibility of Mohyal History itself.
You are welcome to offer your frank queries/views/comments on these – as also any other issue relating to Mohyal History.
WE THE MOHYALS
Word Mohyal or Muhiyal is composed of Mahi or Muhi (land) + aal → Muhiyal → Mohyal.
It is the collective name of our Biradari – the seven-castes group of Bali, Bhimwal, Chhibber, Datt, Lau, Mohan and Vaid. Members of each caste, marry within their own Biradari (endogamy), leaving out their own caste (exogamy). Mohyals are therefore very proud of the purity of blood of their race
Mohyals are not the only Biradari, or inter-marriage caste fraternity. The whole Hindu society is in fact an aggregation of such caste-Biradaris – from Brahmanas to Shudras. Khukhrain, Aggarwal, Tyagi, Bhumihar … are some other Biradaris. While modernity may be eroding somewhat the tradition of marrying within the Biradari, caste-politics is strengthening caste consciousness. India does not give up certain traditions easily. Whatever one’s Varna, each person is very proud of his own caste and considers it a point of honour getting married within his own Biradari. Being very small in numbers, Muhiyals would be losing their identity as a distinct community, if they do not stick to this tradition. Being a universal tradition, outsiders are generally not very welcome by the new clan, when one marries into a different community.
2. FORMATION OF MOHYAL FRATERNITY
The word MOHYAL does not appear in ancient records. Bhimadeva, Jayapala and Dahar – whom we claim as our ancestors – they were not suffixing the caste Datt, Vaid, Chhibber with their names. The contemporary chronicles refer to them as ‘Brahmanas’. So when were the present-day castes and the seven-castes marriage-fraternity i.e. the Mohyal Biradari, formed? Here we shall try to explain this enigma. Since this knowledge is not known to several historians also, kindly go through it carefully.
From ancient times Hindu society had four classifications called Varnas: Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. In Gita Lord Krishna Himself explains to Arjuna the dharma (duties) of each varna. As a Kshatriya, fighting to win was Arjuna’s dharma (i.e. duty). After prevalence of Jainism and Buddhism, the Hindus probably needed a written religious code for their guidance. Manu codified the “traditional” laws of Hinduism in his Manusmriti (c.200 BCE-200 CE). Among other guidelines, the Smriti confirms the division of society into “four varnas divinely ordained”, and asserting “there is no fifth varna”. The duties of each varna have been restated – as also the advisability of marrying within one’s own varna. Thus a Brahmana could choose a spouse from the whole of his varna : there was no mention of any sub-divisions within a varna, till then.
This classification of society into four groups i.e. varnas, continued throughout the first millennium of the Christian era. This is confirmed by Indian sources, such as Kautilya’s Arthashastra (fourth century CE) and foreign travellers like Huen Tsang (seventh century CE). Most recent and authentic record, confirming the four-fold division of Hindu society, is by Abu Rihan, commonly known as Al Beruni, who came to India during the times of Mahmud Ghaznavi (early eleventh century).
Rule by Datt and Vaid Kings over Kabul/Punjab (c. 840-1026 CE), had provided a great bulwark against the march of Islamic arms towards mainland India. Once that defence by Mohyals crumbled, the country was in a great turmoil due to repeated attacks by the Turks and annexation of Punjab to the Ghaznavid kingdom (1021-1186). By then India had a taste of this new religion – ISLAM – which was ruling in Sindh, Afghanistan and Punjab. To save the Hindu population from mass conversions, as happened elsewhere, “the fundamental values of Dharmshastras were readjusted … to provide defensive ramparts in order to provide a solid front to an aggressive and alien culture and religion. … Caste divided and sub-divided … but remained unmixed. They made compromises with the rulers when compelled to do so, they served when they could not help doing so. But they did not let them defile their homes and their castes, social and religious observations by encouraging indiscriminate contact with the Muslims”. The history of Mohans of Mamdot is a shining example of this Laxman Rekha between demands of profession and protection of self-esteem. (See ‘History of Mohans’ under AT A GLANCE.
Caste Proliferation
In the land records during the period 700-1000 CE, the Brahmana donees are not mentioned as Kanojias or Dravidas etc. There is no mention of their castes. The same is applicable to other varnas. “The complete disintegration of the nation into numerous and distinct castes was subsequent to the Muslim conquest of India.” (Romesh Chander Dutt, Mymensingh, 1890) “Distinct castes arose after the Muslim conquest.” (A. Kumar Mazumdar, Dacca, 1917). C.V.Vaidya also confirms this position by extensive study of land grant documents (Poona, 1921-26). Several other scholars also confirm this position. “It is only by the end of the period … 1030-1194 (that) we find all Brahmanas do not belong to one unit.”(B. P. Mazumdar, Calcutta, 1960)
At this stage (end of twelfth century) (i) the varnas disintegrated into numerous jatis or castes – each having a distinct gotra; (ii) groups of these castes (of the same varna) bunched together to form separate caste-clusters (or biradaris) for marriage within their own group but outside their own gotra (caste); and (iii) each person started identifying himself by suffixing his caste to his name.
Origin of the word MOHYAL
During this period of cultural transformation, when the whole of Hindu society was forming exclusive marriage fraternities, our ancestors also had to follow suit. In his history booklet Islahe Mohyali (c. 1908), Bakshi Ratan Chand Vaid states (page 19) that Jai Chand, the Raja of Kanauj and Banaras, performed a Rajsuya Yajna around 1190 CE at which seven Mohyal chiefs (whose names have been mentioned) were also represented. It was during this august gathering that these prominent leaders decided to form their seven-castes marriage group and styled themselves collectively as MOHYALS. Devoid of their royal status after the loss of sovereignty over Punjab by Trilochanapala and Bhimapala Vaid (1026 CE) they were, then, just landowners. Mahi or Muhi (land) + aal › Mahial › Muhiyal › Mohyal was decided as their collective caste insignia. Other biradaris (caste fraternities) also had their group names: some Punjabi Khatri castes are collectively known as Khukhrain.
At the time of establishment of the General Mohyal Sabha (GMS) at Lahore in the last decade of the nineteenth century, the founding fathers were certainly aware that while the Mohyal tribes were descended from ancient Rishis, the seven-castes Mohyal fraternity was of a, comparatively, recent origin. One of the three main objectives (or guiding principles) of the newly formed sabha (GMS) was “to eradicate social evils and customs that had crept from other communities – after the creation of Mohyal fraternity”. They were obviously aware that the formation of Mohyal biradari did not have its origin in the hoary past.
This knowledge about implosion of varnas into numerous castes around twelfth century did not have a wide circulation among the historians and researchers who were chiefly led by the western scholars. In English language the word “caste” is used to represent varna, biradari, jati – and much else, causing confusion in clearly understanding caste related issues. The writers of Mohyal history books were also not aware of this development. So, someone brought in a mythological figure like Ashvathama, dispatched him to Arabia and crowned him and his six friends as the progenitors of the seven Mohyal castes! It is time, we completely discard this un-historic and un-defendable theory – and a few other like this.
Descended from the ancient Rishis, our ancestors formed their seven-caste fraternity (biradari) and named it as the MUHIYALS in c.1190 CE, during which period the rest of the four varna Hindu society was also undergoing similar social churning.
Those who are interested in a still more detailed discussion on the subject, may see our RESEARCH PAPER :”Origin of Caste System and Mohyal Brahmanas” by ‘opening’ the Research Magazine ITIHAS DARPAN, Vol XIX (1), 2014 CE, in this column.
3. MOHYAL GOTRAS
There is considerable interest among the young Mohyals about their GOTRAS, as one observes from the discussions on Facebook. A young person considering himself ‘modern’ may feel disinterested in parochial issues like caste and religion, but he is deeply into it whether he realises it or not. His main identity (if his name is say Tarun Datta) is by his caste only. Likewise, all his friends: Anil Gupta, Binod Bandopadhyay, Chenna Reddy, Vinay Kapoor … are all identified, primarily, by their respective castes – which also give away broad information about their region of origin, varna and traditional profession of their community.
Mohyals are an inter-marriage caste-fraternity or Biradari of seven castes – each descended from a progenitor Gotra Rishi. A question can be asked how we can identify our gotra Rishi, with thousands of generations in between, when we hardly remember the name of our great grandfather. How have we kept the memory of this direct lineal descent? Marriage within one’s own caste (= gotra) is a strict taboo for Hindus, which custom is not violated even today. But how did Hindus manage to keep a tab on the gotra of each clan to avoid same-gotra marriages?
Hindus had some unique traditions for this. “The pravara and gotra system laid down in several sutras of the Vedas, preserves among the Indo-Aryans the memory of descent, not to be witnessed anywhere else in the world.” Pravara (meaning great or chief) were those Rishis who had composed hymns in the Rigveda and had praised Agni by these hymns or suktas. Pravara Rishi is the original progenitor from whom the family is descended. Gotra Rishi is the Pravara himself or a prominent descendant, who could start a new sub-branch (new gotra) with his own name. Such a gotrakar ancestor may or may not be composer of hymns in Rigveda. With the passage of time there would be a clutch of gotras – or distinct clans (now castes) – under the same Pravara patriarch. For example, Mohans are ‘directly’ descended from Kashyap, who is their Pravara and Gotra Rishi. But Kashyapa, the Pravar, had 127 gotrakar descendants (each of whom started his own gotra). One of these is Shandilya. Members of this caste have Kashyap pravara and Shandilya gotra.
But how have these identifying attributes come down the memory of these clans through the ages? There was a system in place for that. One’s pravara and gotra (together with two more attributes – Ved and Shakha) were repeated with the name when a person performed a yajna (which was a daily ritual in Vedic times) and identified himself. In the marriage ceremony of Hindus, which is still performed according to Vedic rites (vivah padhiti), there is a section called gotrachar: stating the gotra. Here the groom is required to identify himself by declaring that he is so and so (the groom’s name), of this pravara and gotra, great grandson of so and so, grandson of so and so, and son of so and so. The original text required this to be repeated thrice (to leave no doubt about the identity of the groom?). However, in the simplified rituals of modern times it is pronounced only once – but never skipped. So to avoid any embarrassment remain knowledgeable about this data when you sit in the mandap to tie the nuptial knot! As neither the groom knows the name of his pravara Rishi, nor the present-day priest understands its significance, the latter chants “amuk pravara” (meaning ‘such and such’ pravara) without anyone being the wiser for it.
Following are the gotras of Mohyals:
CASTE Name of progenitor The progeny may be
(Pravara) Rishi called:
BALI Prashar पराशर Pârâshar पाराशर
BHIMWAL Koshal कोशल Kaushalya कौशल्य
CHHIBBER Bhrigu भृगु Bhârgava भार्गव
DATT Bhardwâj भरद्वाज Bhârdwâj भारद्वाज
LAU Vasishtha वसिष्ठ Vâsishtha वासिष्ठ
MOHAN Kashyap कश्यप Kâshyapa काश्यप
VAID Bhardwâj भरद्वाज Bhârdwâj भारद्वाज
Dhanvatri धन्वन्तरि
[Here â represents the elongated sound of a – as in balm or calm.]
According to a rule in Sanskrit grammar, the first vowel in a progenitor’s name takes a vridhi (sound gets elongated) and some suffix may be added to it to form a new name, signifying the name of son, which may be used by all other descendants. According to this rule, while Bhrigu is the name of the gotra Rishi of Chhibber caste, the members of Chhibber clan (vansh) are Bhargavas.
Mohyals are a sub-branch of Sarasvata Brahmans.
Trust you now understand the significance of gotras. Your comments are welcome. In case you have any questions or doubts, feel free to ask and these will be replied.
4. CONFUSION ABOUT THE GOTRAS OF DATT AND VAID CASTES
Hindus do not marry within their own gotra i.e. in the family of one’s father (Manu Smriti, X-4 and III-5). All Mohyal Historians are agreed that Datts and Vaids have a common Gotra Rishi – Bhardwaj: Raizada Harichand Vaid (Gulshane Mohyali, Vol. II, pages 52 and 171); Ch. Chuni Lal Datt (Mohyal History, pages 95 and 176); P. N. Bali (pages 102, 128); and more importantly, Dr. Lajja Devi Mohan (Hamare Poorvaj Pramukh Rishi, page 90). So, there should be no confusion about these two castes being sagotras i.e. same gotra.
This would normally preclude their mutual marriage relationships. As we have explained already, the Mohyal Biradari of seven castes was formed around 1190 CE. According to ‘Islahe Mohyali’ – a treatise on Mohyal History – this anomalous circumstance was highlighted on that occasion but the elders allowed the continuance of such alliances knowingly (deeda daanistaa). During the predominance of Buddhism for a long period there was a laxity in observance of Vedic precepts and traditions. It is likely that during this period our Datt and Vaid tribes were also affected by this. Presented with the fait accompli of existence of such relationships, the founding fathers could not overturn a surviving tradition of long standing. This issue was again raised seriously in 1908 and debated vigorously by Mohyal leadership but had to be left undecided because of the difficulty of finding suitable relationships within our small community – the same constraint that had probably weighed with the founding fathers. This is the well recorded historical background. (Gulshane Mohyali, Vol. II, page 172)
Adoption of Dhanvatri as their Gotra Rishi by some Vaids is a recent face saving device but has acquired currency. Commenting on the Issue, Sh. P. N. Bali has recorded (p. 128) that “Notwithstanding the controversy in the past over Bhardwaj being the common gotra, marriages between the two castes are consumed freely … The confusion on the above point has been completely set at rest, with the acceptance of Dhanwantri as the gotra of Vaids by all concerned”.
From time to time some agitated voices come up – curiously directed against the Mohyal organisations, which can hardly do anything in the matter, even if their writ had the power to enforce. There is no compulsion in choosing a spouse. The conscientious objectors can avoid same gotra alliance which is certainly a contravention of a religious injunction.
5 – HONORIFIC TITLES OF MOHYALS
Mohyals had the rare honour of prefixing certain honorific titles to their names. These were Bakshi, Dewan, Raizada, Mehta, Chaudhari, Bhai, Rai etc. So the full name would be: Bakshi Ram Das Chhibber. The ladies also shared that honour and the wives were referred to as Bakshiani, Mehtiani, Chaudhrani etc. among the women.
It would be interesting to investigate what do these titles mean, and how Mohyals came to acquire them. Were these titles ‘conferred’ on the individuals, like the latter day Rai Saheb and Padam Vibhushan, or these were the names of high posts in the administration to which certain persons arose by virtue of their performance. Each appellation has a different origin but these do not precede the Islamic rule in India.
Dewan and Bakshi under the Mughals
In his Baburnama, Babur refers to his Bakshi as also to his Dewan: their names were Sultan Mohammad and Maghfur, respectively. Dewan was the king’s Minister par excellence. The work of every Minister came under his supervision. After Dewan came Mir Bakshi. He was the Chief Military Adviser. He worked as the Inspector General of the Mansabdars, and their pay-master. These find a mention in Wakiat-e-Jahangiri also. With some modifications, the offices of Dewan and Bakshi remained a feature of the Muslim kingdoms, during the post Mughal period. Tipu Sultan of Mysore, had seven principle Cucheries (departments) at the centre. Each was headed by a Dewan. Mysore army was divided in to Cushoons (Brigades). Each Cushoon was commanded by a Bakshi.
We thus see that Dewan and Bakshi were high ranks or posts in the administration. Broadly speaking, Dewan was the Revenue Head of the state and Bakshi was a very high rank in the army. These were not honorary titles conferred on individuals.
Small states also tended to copy the regalia and customs of Kings and Rajas. We have the identity of Mohyals who served as Dewans in J&K and other princely states. It was a common practice that a family or a clan adopted the title or rank of its exalted member. Patel was the rank of a functionary who managed the village under Tipu, as also under other Rajas. Today, Patels are a sizeable community
Raizada literally means the son of a king (Rai), i.e. a prince or coming from a royal family.
Mehta means in-charge of finances/property. There are some Khatris and Aroras among the Panjabis, with Mehta as their caste. It is very common surname in Gujrat and Maharashtra.
Chaudhari is used as title by Datts of Kanjrur, Viram, Zaffarwal etc. (villages in Gurdaspur district). With large land holdings and predominant numbers for several centuries, they were the traditional headmen i.e. Chaudharies.
Bhai is a revered title in Sikh religion. This title was conferred by the Sikh Gurus on several Chhibbers of Karyala (Jhelum district) for their devotion and sacrifices.
Rai: When the Mohyal fraternity was formed during the Rajsu Yagya in 1191, the representatives of our community had been invited because they were the descendants of the Brahman rulers displaced by the Ghaznavids. The memory of the event was fresh then. They were conferred the title of Rai (Princes), because of their royal connection. However, in course of time, the title seems to have fallen in to disuse probably because certain lower elements in the society (Bhatts and Mirasis) were being addressed as Rais.
Linkage between Caste and Title
These titles were not, normally, caste specific, although some titles were more common in certain castes. Persons from more than one caste could have risen to a particular rank (of Dewan or Bakshi) during different periods. Still Bakashi is the title used mostly by Chhibbers and Raizada by Balis. Members of Datt, Mohan, Lau and Bhimwal castes commonly prefix Mehta to their names.
Ancestors of Chhibbers, Datts and Vaid were sovereign rulers of Sindh, Afghanistan and Punjab, respectively. Families tracing their direct descent from these royal families, would style themselves as Raizada. The author of the book Gulshane Mohyali, Raizada Harichand Vaid traced his ancestry from the Vaid kings of Punjab. Several Datt families, particularly from Guliana and Malikpur, prefix the title of Bakshi or Dewan. Their ancestors held these exalted positions under the Sikh government and Kashmir Raj.
Several families are now suffixing the appellation Bakshi/Dewan/Mehta to their names, instead of their caste Chhibber/Datt/Lau etc.
Since Bakshi/Dewan etc. were ranks to which many others from the Indian society must have also arisen, some other Brahman, Khatri, Muslim families also have these surnames.
Bakshi and Dewan were high administrative ranks or posts. Raizada means, son of Rai (king) or prince. Mehta connotes in-charge of finance/property. Datts of Kanjrur villages have traditionally been the Chaudhari (headmen) by virtue of their extensive land holdings there. Bhai is a reve
red title conferred by the Sikh Gurus on certain devotees – some Chhibbers of Karyala among them.
6 – THE WARRIOR BRAHMANAS
Hindus had four Varnas with well-defined duties. Ruling and fighting was the normal function of Kshatriyas. So, a question is often asked as to when and why the ancestors of Mohyals gave up the priestly functions and took up arms? Here we shall explain this plausible enigma. The Mohyal Brahmanas did not violate any divinely ordained injunctions in becoming warriors and they did not break away from the mainstream.
Adhyayna (study) and Adhyaapan (teaching) were among the prescribed functions of the Brahmanas. By deep study and research, the Brahmanas developed knowledge and they were the hereditary repository of that knowledge. Different families of Brahmanas specialised in some field of scholarship – philosophy, religion, astrology, astronomy, medicine etc. – including the development and use of arms, i.e. the art of war. They were responsible for its adhyayna as also its adhyaapan. So, princes and warriors came to these masters of martial arts for training in all aspects of warfare.
We find that Luv and Kush learnt the use of arms while growing up in the Ashram of Valmiki Rishi. Dronacharya trained the princes of Kaurvas, Pandavas, and some other kingdoms, in the use of various arms. The Brahmana tutor had to be a senapati on the side of the king in Mahabharta war. Thus certain Brahmana kulas were experts in the art of war and evidently Mohyals must be descended from such families.
During the early Vedic, and even the Epic, Period the Brahmanas did not occupy the throne. Even after conquering the whole country, Parshuram refrained from occupying the throne or establishing his royal dynasty. The only exception was Sri Lanka where Ravana, the erudite Brahmana, established a kingdom of his own. However, in that polity, the Brahmana guru wielded more power than the Kshatriya monarch. But when we come to the later period, we find the Brahmanas discarded this self-imposed restriction of not holding the royal sceptre. Here we narrate an episode from recorded history.
Taking advantage of disarray in the Mauryan Empire, Bectrian Greeks consolidated their power at Kapisha (near Kabul), Taxila, Sialkot, Mathura, Ayodhya and knocked at the portals of Patliputra, the capital of Mauryas. Brihadrath, the grandson of Ashoka, who was a weakling, started hob-knobbing with the enemy, trying to buy off the Greek Chief, Demitrious, by sending gold. In the year 190 BC, Pushyamitra Shunga, a Brahmana of Kashyapa gotra, was the Commander-in-Chief of the imperial forces. Vexed at the deteriorating political situation and incensed at the inaptitude of the King, he killed Brihadratha in full view of an army parade. Taking the defence of the empire in his own hands, Pushymitra cleared the country of Greek marauders. He performed two Ashvamedh Yajnas – the second on the bank of river Sindh.
Brahmanas as Kings, Ministers and Commanders
The Shunga dynasty of nine kings ruled for about 120 years. They were overthrown by another Brahmana dynasty of Kanwas (c. 72 BCE), whose four kings ruled for 45 years. The Satvahanas, also Brahmanas, subverted the Kanwas and the remnants of the Shunga power. In its heydays, the vast Satvahana Empire, extended from the southern seas to the Himalayas. They are known to have ruled for 30 generations, spanning at least 300 years (circa first century to third century CE).
The Brahmanas are also seen as ministers, commanders and fighters, during the first millennium of the Common Era (= AD). Devapala (830-865 CE) of the Pala dynasty in Bengal had Darbhapani, his son Somesvara and grandson Kedar Mishra, serving as Ministers/Commanders. “The Buddhist Pala Kings honoured and feared the Brahmana Ministers” who served them well. (A. K. Mazumdar, Early Hindu India, A Dynastic Study, p. 699). The inscriptions of Chandela, Kaluchri and Chalukiya dynasties also mention Brahmanas as military officers.
Mohyal Sovereign Rulers
Around 620 CE, a Brahmana named Chach, who had come from Mathura, secured an appointment in the office of the Chamberlain (Vazir) – a Brahmana named Ram – at Aror, the capital of Rai Sahsi II, the king of Sindh. Because of his proficiency in the field of diplomacy and administration, he gradually rose to be the Vazir; and was finally anointed as the King of Sindh. His dynasty ruled over Sindh for 80 years (632-712 CE). (Chachnama: An Ancient History of Sindh) Chach was an ancestor of the present day Chhibber caste of Mohyals.
“Hindus had kings residing in Kabul … for generations, the number of which is said to be about sixty. The last king of this race was Lagaturman (Katorman) and his Vazir was Kallar, a Brahman … Lagaturman’s thoughts and actions were evil. The Vazir put him in chains, imprisoned him for correction and occupied the royal throne.” (Alberuni’s India, Vol. II, page 13) Kallar was impressed by the valour of a Commander, named Vaka, whom he sent at the head of “eight fold forces” to conquer the northern territory of Afghanistan, which task was accomplished successfully. Vaka continued to administer the area of Mazare Sharif and its environs efficiently. Impressed by the skills of this Commander, Kallar anointed Vaka as the King of the state of Kabul and gave him the new name Samantadeva. His son, Kamalavarman and his grandson, Bhimadeva, also ruled over Kabul with power and glory. Samantadeva was an ancestor of the present day Datta caste of Mohyal Brahmanas.
Likewise, while this Datt dynasty was reigning in Kabul, a Vaid dynasty was ruling over Punjab. Since Bhimadeva did not have a male heir, the kingdom of Kabul was merged with the neighbouring friendly state of Punjab. Jayapala, the fifth king of the Vaid royal family of Punjab, thus became the king of a vast region between Sirhind and Kabul. A new centre of Muslim power was rising as the Sultanate of Ghazni. Jayapala twice attacked Ghazni to nip this budding problem in the bud, but did not succeed. (Utbi’s Tarikh Yamini in Elliot and Dowson, History of India by Its Own Historians, Vol. II, pages 20-24) His successors, Anandapala and Trilochanapala, played a stellar role in resisting aggression by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. We shall be highlighting, in detail, the stellar role of these Mohyal sovereigns in this section.
Recapitulating: The Mohyals as Brahm-Kshatras, Brahmnas performing the functions of Kshatriyas, do not pose any riddle. They must be descendants of Brahmana families that were engaged in perfecting, and teaching, the art of warfare, from ancient times.
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The issue of Origin of Castes, as we find these today is very important. As explained above (Item No. 2), the tradition of divinely ordained Varnas, is indeed very ancient but implosion of Varnas into numerous castes and bunching together of casets to form inter-marriage fraternities (Biradaris), is of a comparatively recent origin (eight centuries old). However very few historians and Pandits are aware of this. So, it was thought appropriate to disseminate this knowledge through a Research Journal.
We reproduce below our RESEARCH PAPER titled ‘Origin of Caste System and Mohyal Brahmanas’ as published in ITIHAS DARPAN, Vol. XIX (1), April, 2014 CE.
The Paper can be read by clicking on the title, highlighted in Blue colour..
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A RESEARCH PAPER published in a Research Journal, ITIHAS DARPAN, Vol XX(1), April 2015, giving a detailed account of rule by these Mohyal sovereigns of Sindh, Afghanistan and Punjab – based on this book – will follow.
The Arabs conquered Iran in c. 640 CE. The Muslim Arms could penetrate The Khyber Pass and reach mainland India, as late as 1000 CE. Hindu states in Afghanistan defeated the Arabs in 698 CE and then managed to defend the Khyber Pass, the gateway to India, for the next three centuries. The history of the intervening “Three Glorious Centuries of Hindu History” was not allowed to be revealed during the long foreign rule. Mohyal History (rule by the ancestors of Datts and Vaids), ruling astride the Khyber Pass, was part of that splendid story. Hence the title, glorifying three centuries, and putting the Mohyal History of that period in its proper context. Contemporary chronicles refer to these Mohyal rulers as the Brahmana Hindu Shahis.
The paper can be read by clicking on the title highlighted in Blue colour.