History of Chieftains of Bhilangana Valley and Barahat, Garhwal

History of Garhwal including Haridwar (1223- 1804 AD) –part -29

                                            

 History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon and Haridwar) -274

                       By: Bhishma Kukreti (A History Student)

                           Chieftains of Bhilanggadh

                In thirteenth century, barring Barahat and Bhilangana Valley there was Chauhan chieftains rule over Garhwal including Haridwar. There is no record available for chieftains ruling Bhilanggadh of Bhilangana Valley. Bhilanggadh was the capital of Barahat and Bhilangana Valley.

                                         Sonpal of Bhilanggadh

                 One of the Chieftains of Bhilanggadh was Sonpal who married his daughter with the founder of Panwar dynasty Kanakpal Panwar. Sonpal handed over his kingdom to Kanakpal Panwar.

  As per folklore collected by Atkinson, Sonpal was one of the strongest and influential chieftains of Garhwal. That shows that Kanakpal Panwar got influence in inheritance from Sonpal and his other father in law chieftain Bhanupal.

     There disputes among historians for existence of Kanakpal or timing for his arrival in Garhwal.

              There is no mention of Kanakpal in Manodayakavya created in the time of Garhwal King Man Shah. The name of Kanakpal is also not there on hand written notes of Bhavani Shah Record. The list from Almora and Maularam about Panwar family tree mentions Bhauna or Bhagwanpal as the initial Panwar King.

 Wiket and Williams   refers Kanakpal as starter of Panwar dynasty in Garhwal.

 In case, Kanakpal was contemporary of Sonpal and Bhanupratap that showed that Kanakpal married with their daughters for increasing his power and territory. If Mangal Singh was son of Bhanu Pratap , Mangal Singh established his separate kingdom in Kandargarh and South of Garhwal including Haridwar and Nagina (Bijnor).

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti Mumbai, India, bckukreti@gmail.com28/2//2014

                                      References

1-Dr. Shiv Prasad Dabral, 1971, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-4, Veer Gatha Press, Dogadda, Pauri Garhwal, India 

2-Harikrishna Raturi, Garhwal ka Itihas

3-Dr. Patiram, Garhwal Ancient and Modern

4-Rahul Sankrityayan, Garhwal

5- Oakley and Gairola, Himalayan Folklore

6- Bhakt Darshan, Garhwal ki Divangit Vibhutiyan

7-Foster, Early Travels in India William Finch

8-Upadhyaya, Shri Shankaracharya

9-Shering, Western Tibet and British

10-H.G. Walton, Gazetteer of British Garhwal

11-B.P.Kamboj, Early Wall Paintings of Garhwal

12-H.g Walton, Gazetteer of Dehradun

13- Vimal Chandra, Prachin Bharat ka Itihas

14-Meera Seth, Wall Paintings of Western Himalayas 

15-Furar, Monumental Antiquities

16-Haudiwala, Studies in Indo-Muslim History

17- Rahul Khari 2007, Jats and Gujjar Origin, History and Culture

18- Upendra Singh, 2006, Delhi: Ancient History, Barghahan Books

19- B.S. Dahiya, 1980, Jats the Ancient Rulers (A Clan Study) , Sterling Publications

20- Maithani, Bharat –Gotrapravardeepika

21 Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993 , The Doon Valley Down the Ages

22-Dashrath Sharma, Early Chauhan Dynasties

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

History of Garhwal from 1223-1804 to be continued in next chapter          

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -274