Himalayan History of Predecessors of the First King of Garhwal Ajaypal

History of Garhwal including Haridwar (1223- 1804 AD) –part -75      

                                            

 History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon and Haridwar) -320 

                       By: Bhishma Kukreti (A History Research Student)

                          Jagatpal

               According to Hardwick List of Garhwal Kings, no record is available about thirteen generations after the founder Bhogdatt. Ajaypal was fifteenth King and the list goes up to Pradyuman Shah.

       According to Hardwick list, Ajaypal established Shrinagar as capital of Garhwal.

           According to Beckett list, Ajaypal was born in thirteenth generations from Kandilpal Panwar. Ajaypal captured many Garhis and expanded Garhwal Kingdom. Ajaypal established Shrinagar as Garhwal Kingdom capital.

           The Williams list state that Ajaypal was founder and he captured the Kingdom of his father in law the King of Chandpur. There was a low caste (Khas) king in Garhwal but was honest and religious too. The Khas King of Chandpur used to pay tribute to the King of Baidyanath Kartikeypur. Ajaypal came from Haridwar and took service under Khas King of Chandpur Garhi. Later on Ajaypal captured the Kingdom by force and tactics.

                Two Garhwal Kingdom court poets Bharat and Medhkar Shastri also vouched Ajaypal as founder of Garhwal Kingdom. Ajaypal had to establish first Devalgarh as capital and in later stage at Shrinagar.

          There is a inscription at Devprayag (1445) that mentions a King Jagtipal. The language of inscription is the Garhwali of fifteenth century. The title of Jagtipal is Rajwar. Rajwar was as equal to Maharaj for Kings of other areas.

 The Devprayag inscription does not mention the region on which Jagtipal ruled. By logic, Dr. Dabral states that Jagtpal or Jagtipal was at least ruling over Devprayag, Shrinagar, Chandpur, Barahsyun and Pindar valley.

                              Ruins of Chandpur Garh Fort

 The Kumaon King Gyan Chandra destroyed Chandpur Garh Fort. The ruins show that once, the fort was strong fort. Dr. Dabral states that most probably, Chandpur fort was built in between 1425 to 1500. That also suggests that Jagtipal might have built Chandpur Garh fort.

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti Mumbai, India, bckukreti@gmail.com20/4//2014

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -321 

                                                              

                                      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

23- Shailndra Nath Sen, Ancient History and Civilization

24-H.M Elliot, 1867, The History of India as told by its Own Historians

25- Jaswant Lal Mehta, 1979, Advance Study in Medieval India

26- Nau Nihal Singh, 2003, The Royal Gurjars: their contribution to India, Anmol Publications 

(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          

Notes on South Asian Medieval History of Garhwal;  SouthAsian Medieval History of Pauri Garhwal;  Medieval History of Chamoli Garhwal;  South Asian Medieval History of Rudraprayag Garhwal;  South Asian Medieval History of Tehri Garhwal;  Medieval History of Uttarkashi Garhwal;  South Asian Medieval History of Dehradun, Garhwal;  Medieval History of Haridwar ;  South Asian Medieval History of Manglaur, Haridwar;  South Asian Medieval History of Rurkee Haridwar ;  South Asian Medieval History of Bahadarpur Haridwar ; South Asian History of Haridwar district to be continued