Shivi

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Shivi (शिवी) or Sibi (सिबी) or Sibia (सिबिया) is a gotra of Jats. The descendants of Shiva ere called Shivi. Samrat Ushinara's son was Shivi. ^[1]Shivi was the name of a King and a gana in ancient India, ruled by democratic system of administration known as ganatantra. Kshudrakas had formed a sangha with Malavas. Sibia were the people descendants of Sibi. Shivis formed a sangha with a big federation or sangha known as Jat, which is clear from Panini's shloka in grammar of Aṣṭādhyāyī. The famous Sanskrit scholar Panini of 500 BCE has mentioned in his Sanskrit grammar known as Aṣṭādhyāyī in the form of shloka as जट झट संघाते or Jata Jhata Sanghāte. This means that the terms 'Jat' and 'democratic federation' are synonymous. ^[2]

The Shivi republic is very ancient and finds mention in Vedas. The Puranas write then as descendants of Ushinara. The Buddhist literature has also mentioned about this gana and mention that Tathagata once took birth in this gana.^[2]

At the time of invasion of India by Alexander the great, in 326 BCE, they were found inhabiting area in the vicinity of Malava tribes. The Greek writers have mentioned them wearing clothes similar to wild people even during the war. After some time of Alexander's war, they probably moved to Rajasthan along with Malavas. Thus they are found moveing from Punjab to Malwa and from their to Rajasthan. Their are ruins of an ancient town called 'Tamva-vati nagari' 11 miles north of Chittor. Ancient coins of Shivi people are found near this town bearng 'Majhamikaya Shivajanapadas', which means coins of 'Shiva janapada of Madhyamika'. The 'Tamvavati nagari' was called as 'Madhyamika nagari'. These coins are of the period first to second century BCE. ^[2]

The Shokeen or Shivakhande clan

According to Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria), it may, however, be interesting to note that a Jat tribe, living in about 25 contiguous villages in Jind district of Haryana and about 5 villages in Nangloi block of Delhi , goes by its gotra name as Shivakhande or Sheokhand. of late this gotra has been Arabicised as Shokeen in Delhi villages. Yet the elders of Sheokhand Khap area take pride in the fact that they originally hail from the Dharans, whose kingdom was rather misnomered as "Gupta Empire" in Indian history. Be that as it may, one thing is plausible about the Jats of Sheokhande clan. They must be the Sivas who fought against the Bharatas on the Jamuna River in one of the ten Rigvedic wars i.e. Battle of the Ten Kings. They are identified by scholars with the Shivis^[3] or the Sibis of the Usinara country in the north of Haridwar near the source of Ganges.^[4] The Sivas or Sibis became known as Shivakhande or Sheokhande from and after the Shivaliks, the abode of Lord Shiva, the highest deity of the Jats. Their descent from the Shivalik hills has provided good grounds to the author of Devasamhita to expound this theory. ^[5]

Shivi Kings

The Jatakas mention about rulers of this tribe. One of them was a religious and kind king named Sanjaya, who donaed every thing moved himself with his wifw Madri, son Jali Kumar and daughter Krishnajina Kumari to 'Bankagiri'. The Buddhist literature 'Avadan Kalplata' writes sanjay a Vishwamitra. These people were democratic rulers of ganasangha type. All works were done in these ganas with the consent of clan people. ^[2]

King Shivi (शिवि) was another great King of this tribe, powerful and generous king. Indra and Agni once tested his generosity by becoming birds when the king gave flesh from his body to fulfill his duty.

Sivi or Sibi Jats

The Jat historian Bhim Singh Dahiya has provided proofs of Sivi being Jats. The first proof is of course the name itself. Sibi or Sivi, is the original name of their ancestor and Sibiya/Sibia is derivative meaning the descendants of Sibi. This clan name is only found in the Jats and in no other population group of India. These Sibia Jats are still existing. Shri Gurbax Singh Sibia, ex-minister in Punjab Cabinet was a scion of this ancient clan. The second proof is in the name of their city - Jattararur (Chittor) - which is based on the word Jatta-city of Jats. Incidentally, this is another proof of the fact that Mewar was under the Jats for very long time. Hence the names of its cities like Jaisalmer, Sikar, Sirohi, etc. The last two are names of the Jat clan also. ^[6]

The Buddhist Sibi Jataka (No. 499) contains their history and legends, and Vesantara Jataka, is named after a son of Sibia King of Jattaraur (Chittor). Their capital in Punjab was Sibipura (Modern Shorkot) ^[7] Rig Veda mentions the Sibi people and Baudhayana Srauta Sutra mentions, their king, Usinara , whom Indra saved from foreign aggression. They are the Sibai of Arrian and Siboi, of Deodorus. ^{[8] [9]}

Notable persons from this clan

• Shri Gurbax Singh Sibia, ex-minister in Punjab Cabinet was a scion of this ancient clan.

Reference

1. ↑ Dr Mahendra Singh Arya, Dharmpal Singh Dudee, Kishan Singh Faujdar & Vijendra Singh Narwar: Ādhunik Jat Itihasa (The modern history of Jats), Agra 1998, p. 280
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Thakur Deshraj, Jat Itihas (Hindi), Maharaja Suraj Mal Smarak Shiksha Sansthan, Delhi, 1934, 2nd edition 1992 page 87-88.
3. ↑ Kathasaritsagar, vol.1 p. 11
4. ↑ ABORI, vol. XXIX, p. 117, fn. 9
5. ↑ Hukum Singh Panwar(Pauria):The Jats - Their Origin, Antiquity & Migrations, Rohtak, 1993. ISBN 81-85235-22-8, p. 38
6. ↑ Bhim Singh Dahiya: Jats the Ancient Rulers, p.79
7. ↑ Epigraphica Indica, 1921, p. 16; also Panini, IV/ 2/109
8. ↑ Indica, 5, 12
9. ↑ Bhim Singh Dahiya, Jats the Ancient Rulers ( A clan study), 1980, Sterling Publishers New Delhi , p. 289

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