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ravichaudhary
June 5th, 2003, 08:45 PM
Hukam Singh Pauria, in his Monumental book- The Jats, Origins, antiquities, and migrations, 1993, Manthan Press Rohtak, wrote one of the defining books on our History,

The product of a lifetime of love and dedication.

He passed away a few away a few years ago.

In tribute to him, I have posted some extracts from his book, which is out of print, for a broader awareness, discussion, and additional research.

Part I am reproduced below, and the other two parts are in the Jathistory site, URL below: Messages 560, 561, 562

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/

Feedback welcome

ravichaudhary
June 5th, 2003, 08:46 PM
Extracts from HS Pauria's book Ch 2, The Jats

CH II- THE THEORY OF THE ORIGIN 0F THE JATS FROM THE MATTED LOCKS (JATA) 0F LORD SIVA

Ch2 part 1

Another mythological theory was propounded in the Deva Samhita,
written probably by Gorakh Sinha during the early medieval period.
That fanciful story runs as follows:

"Once Parvati asked Siva, "0 Lord Bhutesha, knower of all
religions, kindly narrate to me the birth and exploits of the Jat
race who is their father? Who is their mother? Which race are they?
When were they born? " Having read the mind of Parvati, Lord Siva
said, "O mother of the world, I may tell you honestly the origin and
exploits of the Jats about whom none else has so far revealed
anything to you. They are a symbol of sacrifice, bravery and
industry. They are, like gods; firm of determination and of all
Kshatriyas the Jats are the prime rulers of the earth. They are the
progeny of Virabhadra (Siva's son) and Gani the daughter of Daksha,
son of Brahma. Their history is extremely wonderful and there
antiquity glorious. The Pundits of history did not record their
annals lest it should injure and impair the false pride of
the 'vipras' and gods [2]".


The two ethnologists, Russell [3] and Hira Lal [4] give a different
version of the above anecdote in the "Brhamanical legends of the
origin of the Jats" which is reproduced below.


"The Jats relate the legend thus. On the occasion when Himachal
or Daksha Raja, the father-in-law of Mahadeva was performing a great
sacrifice, he invited all the gods to be present except his son-in-
law Mahadeva (Siva). The latter's wife, Parvati, was, however, very
eager to go; so she asked Mahadeva to let her attend, even though she
had not been invited. Mahadeva was unwilling to allow her, but
finally consented. Daksha treated Parvati with great want of respect
at the sacrifice, so she came home and told Mahadeva about her
plight. When Mahadeva beard all this he was filled with wrath and
untying his matted hair (jata) clashed it on the ground, whence two
powerful beings arose from it. He sent them to destroy Daksha's
sacrifice and they went and
Destroyed it, and from these were descended the race of Jats and they
take their name from the matted locks (jata) of Lord Mahadeva.

Another saying of the Jats is that ancestor of the Rajputs was
Kashyapa and that of the Jats Siva. In the beginning these were the
only two races in India."


This theory was set afloat during the medieval age, which is
marked by the ascendancy of powerful Rajput warriors. It was a period
of "the unhealthy growth of blind superstitions, the decay and death
of the spirit of adventure in science and thought in practical life",
a period during which "the fairy of the fortune of the Jats,
particularly after Harsha Vardhana, had gone to sleep." The theory
cast a spell on the mind of the simple Jat folk and soon became
popular with them. They were taken in by the pious fraud that they
were born of the highest bodily part (jata) of the highest god (Siva)
whereas all others are born of the lower parts of Brahma. In
comparison to other communities who boast of their having descended
from Lord Siva, they are also Sivagotri. Almost every Jat village in
the North is sanctified with a Siva temple called 'Sivalaya'. The
Jats commemorate their association with Siva, their alleged
progenitor, by bedecking every newly born main child with an amulet,
popularly known as 'Siva's Crescent,' made of silver or gold and
gifted either by the maternal-uncle of the child or the head of the
family on the auspicious sixth night after the birth of the child.
Lord Siva is believed to visit the new baby and bless him with good
fortune. The ladies of the family keep vigil during that night and do
let of singing and dancing with distribution of sweets around. On the
festival of Sivaratin the Jat young ladies (Sivasana) observe a total
fast, pass the whole night singing in honour of their highest deity
(Siva), and offer grain and sweets the following morning to the god
and the poor.



'Har har Mahadeva', besides 'Jai Bajrang Bali ki' and
especially 'Jat Balwaan Jai Bhagwan' (Krishna)' is the war cry of the
Jat Kshatriyas. The Bull, the mount (Vahana) of Siva is held in the
highest reverence by the Jat peasantry. "The Jats," writes Dr. M.C.
Pradhan [5] feel nearer to Siva than to the other incarnations, he
being their deity whom they worship regularly and pray to.
Attributing the character of the Jats to Siva, he [6] further
observes that "Siva is the chief deity of the Jats. His attributes
are simplicity and asceticism, but he is believed to be easily
excited and can be revengeful when aroused. On the whole, however, he
is believed to be benevolent; he really comes to the help of his
devotees. The sum total of these desirable as well as not so
desirable
Qualities, attributed to Siva, mirror themselves in the general day-
to-day behavior of the Jats to an appreciable extent. Taking revenge,
being vindictive, or having an excitable temper, are of course, not
considered very desirable qualities, but the rationale makes these
human frailty more understandable, and the Jat society takes a
somewhat permissive view of these. Similarly, simple living and
helping others are qualities commonly found among the Jats. They
believe that by observing these qualities they win the approbation of
their deity and would gain his grace and favour."

Such is the magic cast by the theory on the Jat-mind and their
ethos.

With such a background in view, to attempt a critical analysis, and
consequently, to reject the theory propounded in the Devasamhita and
noted by Russell and Hira Lal, particularly when the Jats seem to
have tacitly accepted it, may not be less embarrassing for the
analyst. Moreover, to question the validity of the theories, in which
venerated gods lire involved, especially when the orthodox section of
the Jats place their reliance upon them, may not always be free from
danger for the critic who may be censured as a heretic. This is quite
a dilemma. If we accept the theory, we continue to be victim of the
orthodox Brahminical 'piafraus' and if reject it; we may incur the
wrath of Siva as well as of his Jat devotees. Whatever be our fate
here or hereafter, in this age of science and reason our …..


*************
Part I is reproduced above, and the other two parts are in the Jathistory site, URL below: Messages 560, 561, 562

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/


Feedback welcome: