History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Kumaon

  (History of Kumaon from 1000-1790 AD)

       Characteristics of Chand Rule in Kumaon    

                          

History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar) - Part 245

                                              By: Bhishma Kukreti

        There were Brahmin scholars settled in Kartikeypur /Joshimath at the time of Katyuri Period. Chand Kings used to sponsor scholars.

   King Rudra Chandra- King Rudra Chandra was Sanskrit scholar who created Sanskrit classics as Usharagodiya Natika; Shyainik Shastram, Traivanik Dharam-Niyam and Yayati Charitram.Kashi Pundits appreciated Traivanik Dharam-Niyam and they had discussions on the book.

 In Shyainik Shastram, the name of creator is Shrikurmachaldhipati Rudradev.

The name of creator of Usharagodiya Natika is written Shrikurmagirivareshwar –Shrimatpratapvaritatamobhashkar Shrimat Rudra Chandra Dev.

            Hari Hiramani came to Kumaon from Bandhavgadh because of fame of Usharagodiya Natika. Hiramani copied Usharagodiya Natika in 1582 in Kumaon.

King Trimall Chandra- According to Kaushtubh Smirit by Anant Dev, king Tirumall Chandrd used to sponsor scholars.

Bajbahadur Chandra – King Bajbahadur Chandra had scholars in his court as Hiramani Joshi of Malaganv, Ramapati of Sarpaganv, astrologer Manorath Joshi of Bherang village.

Scholar Anant Dev- Anant Dev was son of scholar Apdev of Narmada region. Bajbahadur arranged Anant Dev studying in Kashi.

Influenced by Bajbahadur, Anant  Dev created a large Sanskrit classic Sriti Kuashtabh. This book describes Sanskar, Achar, Rajdharma, Dan, Utsarg, Pratishtha, Tithi and Sanvatsar in each part.

Anant Dev also created books as Prayshchit Deepika, Kalnirnayvindu, Agnihotra Prayog, Chaturmasasy Prayog, Antyeshti Paddhati, Nakshatrasatraprayog. Anat Dev wrote commentary on  Bhagvannamkaumadi, Bhagvadbhaktinirnay, Mathurasetu, Meemansha, Nyayprakash, Vakyabhedbhav and Devatatvavichar.

Honoring of scholars by Kumaon Kings- Udyot Chandra and Gyan Chandra honored scholars from other parts of India as Matiram, Bhushan, etc.

 Premnidhi Pant a Kumaoni Scholar in Kashi (1700-1760) – Premnidhi Pant was son of Umapati Pant of Kumaon. He settled in Kashi in middle of eighteenth century. Premnidhi Pant became famous for his Tantrik Vidya. Premnidhi wrote Prithwipremodaya (1737); Prayaschitpradip (1753), Ghritdan Paddhati, Prayogratna, Samayaram, commentary on Sharadatilak, commentary on Shivtandava, Kartviryasaparya,

 Premnidhi was titled by scholars as ,Tantraraj’. There is a book -commentary on ‘Sudarshana’became famous among Tantriks. It is said that the book was written by his third wife Pranmanjari. It is said that Pranmanjari created another book ‘Shrividyanityakarm’.

Vishweshwar Pandey – Visheshwar Pandey was Kumaon scholar and became famous in Kashi. He became famous at the age of thirty two. His father was Lakshmi Dhar Pandey of Patiya village near Almora. Lakshmidhar settled in Kashi.

 Vishweshar Pandey wrote Sanskrit classics as Kavya Arya Saptshati,  Rukmaniparinaya, commentary on Naishdhiya epic, Mandarmanjari (prose –poetry), Alankarkaustubh, Alankar kulpradip, commentary on Rasmanjari, Siddhant Sudhnidhi (Grmmar), Tarkkautuhal (Nyaya). Vishweshar Pandey expired at the age of thirty two.  It seems he lived before 1830.

Kalyanchandraodayakavya- A Poet wrote a poetry book Kalyanchandraodayakavya that praised the King Doti Kalyan Chandra

Commentries- Padmadev Pandey wrote commentaries on Raghuvansh and Saptashati in the period of King Jagat Chandra (1702-1720).

                             Manaskhand

             The various scholars wrote Sanskrit classic Manaskhand in Chand Kingdom time. It seems that the last part of Manaskhand was completed in Bajbahadur Chandra period.

             Though, it is said that Manaskhand is part of Skandpuran but no publishers (Mumbai, Lucknow and Gorakhpur) of Skandpuran included Manaskhand in Skandpuran. It is sure that Manaskhand written by various scholars at various periods is not part of Skandpuran.

  Manaskhand starts from the dialogues between Janamjey and Sut. Janamjey asks the road for Mansarovar. Sut replies and describes the places as Kurmachal (Kali Kumaon), Gind (Gindhiya River). Loha Bati River (Loha Ghat), Kurmshila parvat (Kanddev Mountain), Saryu, Darun, Jhankar Kshetra (jageshwar), Patal Bhuvneshwar, Ramganga, Baleshwar, Kaligiri confluence, Chaturdrast (Chaundas), Vyasashram (Vyans), Kalimu, Keal hills, Gauri hills, Mansarovar, Rawanhrid (rakshash Tal), origin of Saryu River, Khecharteerth (Khocharnath), Brahmkapali, Rameshwar, Rinmochan, Brahmsarovar, nanda Mountain, Viadyanath (Baijnath), Mallikadevi ( Maldevi of Baura Rau).

  The descriptions of geographical places show that the places are limited to places of Chand Kingdom. Therefore, it is sure that Manaskhand was created in Chand Period.

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti -bckukreti@gmail.com 13/1/2014

                                      References

Dr. Shiv Prasad Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag 10, Kumaon ka Itihas 1000-1790

Badri Datt Pande, 1937, Kumaon ka Itihas, Shri Almora Book Depo Almora

Devidas Kaysth, Itihas Kumaon Pradesh

Katyur ka Itihas, Pundit Ram Datt Tiwari

Oakley and Gairola, Himalayan Folklore

Atkinson, History of District Gazette

Menhadi Husain, Tuglak Dynasty

Malfujat- E Timuri

Tarikh -e-Mubarakshahi vol 4

Kumar Suresh Singh2005, People of India

Justin Marozzi, 2006, Tamerlane: Sword of Islam

Bakshsingh Nijar, 1968, Punjab under Sultans 1000-1526 

The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 13 page 52 

Bhakt Darshan, Gadhwal ki Divangit Vibhutiyan

Mahajan V.D.1991, History of Medieval India

Majumdar R.C. (edited) 2006, The Sultanate

Rizvi, Uttar Taimur Kalin Bharat

Tarikhe Daudi

Vishweshara nand , Bharat Bharti lekhmala

Aine-e Akbari

Akbari Darbar

Tareekh Badauni

Eraly Abraham, 2004 The Mogul Throne

The Tazuk-i-Jahangiri

Maularam- Gadh Rajvansh Kavya

Ramayan Pradeep

Annatdev’s Smriti-Kaustubh

Sarkar, History of Aurangzeb

Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzeb

Sarkar, fall of Mogul Empire

Sailendra Nath Sen, 2010, An Advanced History of Modern India

Kanti Kumar Nautiyal , Archeology of Kumaon including Dehradun , Chaukhamba Prakash

Hema Uniyal Kumaon ke Mandir (Book and Cassette Disc)

Madan Jit Singh, Himalayan Arts

Krishna Chand Bhatt, Information about Thefts of Archeological Materials from Kumaon, Pahad

Gopinath Kaviraj, Kashi ki Sarswat –Sadhnana

(The History of Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar write up is aimed for general readers)

                           

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -246  

History of Kumaon (1000-1790) to be continued….

Himalayan, Indian History of Chand Dynasty rule in Kumaon to be continued…

  (Himalayan, Indian History (740-1790 AD to be continued…)

Xx

History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Pithoragarh Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Champawat Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Dwarhat Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Saryu valley Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Mansarovar region Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Kali Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Jageshwar Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Bageshwar Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Almora Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Nainital Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Udham Singh Nagar Kumaon; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Kumaon, Uttarkahand; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Kumaon, Himalaya; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Kumaon, North India; History Review of Manaskhand, Scholars, Honoring of Scholars in Chand Kingdom Period, Kumaon, South Asia;