The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations/The Jaathra theory of Angad Sharma

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The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations

Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria)

Manthan Publications, Rohtak. ISBN 81-85235-22-8

Chapter I A:The Jaathra theory of Angad Sharma

Ridiculous and absurd theory

One of the most ridiculous and absurd theories relating to the origin of the Jats is the Jaathra theory propounded by Angad Sharma in 1869 in his book Jatthrotpatti (जाठरोत्पति) which is virtually "a catena of all the ancient Indian Sanskrit texts." These texts are indiscriminately lumped together to form a theory to satisfy the curiosity on this score of Pandit Giriprasadvarman, a Jat Sanskrit scholar and Raja of Besma (1870-74) in Aligarh district.

Angad Sharma's theory is an uncritical amalgam of several myths culled from orthodox Sanskrit literature. It is mainly based on the following account in the Padma Purana.1

"When Parasurama, the son of Bhrigu, annihilated twenty one times the entire Kshatriya class, their daughters, seeing the world empty Of the Kshatriyas, and being desirous of getting sons for reproducing their race afresh, laid hold of the Brahmans, and carefully cherishing thelr seed in their womb (Jatthra) (जठर), brought forth Kshatriya sons called Jaathras (जाठर)2 who gave their name to and inhabited the hills of Jatthra and Devkoot (जठर देवकूट) (Mbt:II.82.122), in the Himalayas". Depending mainly on the philological similarIty, Angad Sharma considered the Jats as the descendents of these Jaathras (जाठर).

The word Jatthra, occurring in the text, means womb. It sounds partially like Jat. Angad Sharma gathers together all the texts where the word Jatthra occurs, including those where Jatthra is the name of a mountain. He combines all the widely different texts together and hammers out this theory which has an unusual component of fantasy even for a mythological account.

The theory has been lightly treated and dismissed by Yogindra Paul Shastri3. Thakur Desh Raj4, Prof. K.R. Qanungo5, Prof.G.C. Dwivedi6 and Dr. A.B. Mukerji7. We are, however, not persuaded of the cogency and adequacy of their objections against it, which calls for a threadbare analysis to negate it. This is an obnoxious and slanderous theory, and we propose to deal with it more thoroughly and searchingly.

The following questions emerging from this theory, immediately strike any rational reader:

Wiki note: Vana Parva, Mahabharata/Book III Chapter 84 says: Devakuta (देवकूट) is resorted to by celestial Rishis, one acquireth the merit of the horse-sacrifice, and also delivereth his race. (देवकूटं समासाद्य बरह्मर्षिगणसेवितम, अश्वमेधम अवाप्नॊति कुलं चैव समुद्धरेत) (3.82.122)

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1. What sources has Angad Sharma utilized for his theory? How far are these sources organically related? Further, what is the incidence of reliability of these sources for building up a theory of ethnic origins?

2. How far is Angad Sharma's interpretation of these sources valid? Does he use rational and scientific tools of analysis developed to interpret myths?

3. How far is the story of the annihilation of a group of people spread over a vast area tenable on general grounds?

4. Is there any historical or mythological evidence to show that at any time during the orthodox epochs of the Treta, Dwapar or early Kaliyuga, Kshatriyas were totally extinct?

5. Is there any established connexion between Jats and the Jatthra mountain? Is there any Jaathra tribe/clan/social class extant? If so, where is it located?

6. Is the account of the Kshatriya women seeking to perpetuate their race with the help of those men who slaughtered their husbands tenable on grounds of human psychology in general? More specifically, does this fit in with the behaviour - patterns of the Brahman men and Kshatriya women involved?

7. In a patriarchal system, would children who have a Brahman father and a Kshatriya mother be regarded as Kshatriyas, especially according to the laws of Manu?

8. How do we evaluate the Parasurama myth?

Critical examination of the theory

To deal with these questions at any length may strike one as labouring the obvious, but we regard the exercise to be worthwhile. Apart from exposing a canard, such an examination will throw some light on the general and vital questions of the reliability of mythology as a source of ethnic research. It may also provide an insight into how myths are grafted with each other to create new myths, not as a part of popular perception, but as brain-child of a priestly class which had a monopoly of academic, literary and religious lore.

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1. The Sources and their Reliability.

Angad Sharma based himself on Padama Purana8, Brahmand Purana9, Vayu Purana10, Vishnu Puranall and the Bhagvata12. From these he has picked up the accounts of the birth of the "new" Kshatriya race and the Jatthra mount. The Parasurama myth occurs in the Ramayana13, Mahabharata14, the Bhagvata Purana15, the Padama Purana16 and the Agni Purana 17. In the typical method of myth-making prevalent in India for ages, Angad Sharma, as late as in 1869, when methods of rational evaluation of mythology were already well developed,joins the scraps of varied myths to create a new patchwork theory of his. His source material has no organic inter-relation. He yokes together discordant or unrelated material to form his theory.

Much has been written about the reliability and authenticity of the Epics and the Puranas as sources of historical and ethnic information. Researches conducted by V.S. Aggarwal, S.B. Chaudhuri, R.C. Hazra, P.C. Sarcar, Pargiter, M.R. Singh, R. Shafer, S.M. Ali, etc. have put the Puranas and the Epics in a comparatively favourable light. There is a broad agreement, however, that the Puranas and the Mahabharata have a large component of fantasy and they have to be carefully sifted to extract an ounce of fact from a ton of fiction. Pargiter18, the pioneer exegete of the Puranas, holds the brahmanical accounts contained in them, as a farrago of absurdities and impossibilities, chronological errors and inconsistencies, fabrications and concoctions which "utterly distort all the incidents"19. He furnishes many examples to illustrate his thesis20. He also points to the tendency of the myth-makers to build fantastic theories by misapplication of names of important personages21.

2. Angad Sharma's Use of Source-Material

As already pointed out, the only link that connects the material selected by Angad Sharma from various sources is the word Jatthra. He links the Jatthra (womb) of the Padama Purana account with Jatthra mountain mentioned in the other Puranas. Dr. S.M. Ali22, on the authority of the Vayu Purana, locates this mountain in the east of Meru (Pamir) across. the Himalayas. Shafer23, basing himself on the Mahabharata, places it in the South-eastern quarter of India. Angad, enamoured only by similarity of sound and the "link" between Jatthra

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(womb), Jat and Jatthra mountain in the centre (womb) of the high hills, accepts the mountain part of the myths uncritically, without bothering about its location. Had he gone deeper even into his source-material, he would have discovered that the distance between these two Jatthra mountains (as located by S.M. Ali and Shafer) is, according to the Bhagwata Purana24, as much as 18,000 Yojanas, which works out to be 72,000 miles25 or 1,15,200 kilometres. He might not have been aware that the circumference of the whole earth26 is only about 25,000 miles or 40,000 kilometres.

Again, the height of Jatthra-Devakut mountain is stated to be 2000 yojanas, i.e. more than 5000 miles or 12,800 kms, whereas the height of the highest peak of the world (Le. Mount Everest) is 29,635 feet (about 5.5 miles27 or above 9 kms. or 8,848 mts.) Our poor planet, Earth, is incapable of accommodating such stupendous Puranic distances. The Puranas on which Angad Sharma so blindly relies, have mythologised, not only history but also geography. Our orthodox Brahmanical heritage has killed our sense of history as well as geography. Such are the sources on which Angad Sharma relies to build a theory that attempts the origin of the down-to-earth Jats.

As we saw in an earlier section, the Puranas have been recognised to have value as source material, but only after a lot of sifting. Angad Sharma is incapable of such sifting. All the fantasy is as valid to him as the few facts which may be buried underneath. What is more, he does not care even for philology, nor does he collate the various fantasies that occur in different contexts. He does not observe the inconsistency imperative in fantasy. Obviously, Angad Sharma has used his material uncritically and eclectically. All that he has done is to add another fantastic myth to the already burgeoned stock of myths.

The Annihilation Story

3. The Annihilation Story

The story of the annihilation or the total destruction of the Kshatriyas twenty one times is ridiculous on many counts. First, "annihilation" can take place only once. It may be argued, however, that the first twenty "annihilations" were not total, but left some remnants, and that Parasurama was able to complete his task only at the 21st attempt. Even so, history has afforded ample evidence that such total

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destruction is an impossibility. Parasurama is said to have accomplished, all alone, a task (of exterminating the Kshatriyas) with the help of his single "parsa", which Hitler, with all the modern appliances like electric furnaces and all the sinews of war at his command could not achieve with the help of fanatical and hate-ruled Nazi followers. In the Padama Purana text the phrase used is (shunya), that is complete destruction. This may be accepted as poetic exaggeration, but not as a fact.

4. Historical Evidence of Annihilation

Even if one restricts oneself solely to Pauranic texts, one finds nowhere a total absence of Kshatriyas as an acknowledged fact. Parasurama, according to these texts, spans the epochs of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. He has a Confrontation with Rama Dashrathi, and was the guru of Karana as well. Thus his life time extends over both Treta and Dwapara, right down to the onset of Kaliyuga. By the way, the total period involved, according to Puranic computations28 comes to 6000 "devvarshas" (Treta-3600"devvarsh" and Dwapara -2400 "dev varsh") (after 4800 "dev varsh" of Satyuga and before 1200 "dev varsh" of Kaliyuga). Parasurama beats Methuselah (969 years. Genesis, , V,27 )29 in longevity. During this entire period the Kshatriyas flourished everywhere and at all times. The Iksvakus of Ayodhya and Vaisali, Janakas of Mithila, Nagas of Bhogwati30 Rikshvahanas of the Pauravas, Sarvakarmas of Anga and Vatsas of Kasi31, the Kauravas of Hastinapur, the Pandavas of Indraprastha, the Purus, the Anavas still flourished in their respective kingdoms. Pargiter32, on the authority of the , Brahmanda Purana33, asserts that the text says nothing of the total , destruction of all Kshatriyas. The story of their total destruction, confined to the Parasurama legend, finds no corroboration anywhere else in the Epics and the Puranas other than the Padama and Vamana34 Puranas. It is, obviously a laudatory reference to the prowess of Parasurama, exaggerated in the usual Pauranic style, beyond all reason.

5. Jat, Jatthra and Jaathra Tribe

Neither history nor mythology indicates any connection between the Jats and the Jatthra mountain. Angad Sharma did not take even the elementary precaution of ascertaining if any Jat tribe ever existed in Jatthra mountains. whatever their location. Lured by the similarity of

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sounds, he links together Jatthra (womb) of the Padama Purana text, the mount Jatthra mentioned in the Brahmand Purana, Vayu Purana and the Mahabharata and the word "Jat". His nimble wit rides rough shod over all facts to form his theory. No Jat tribe has been traced in the Himalayan regions connected with mount Jatthra, but this does not matter for Angad Sharma.

The fact is that remnants of the Haihayas are still found between the rivers Kali and Tista in the tract which includes Avadh, as well as in the valleys of the Narbada and the Tapti35. Jaathras, a sub-section of the Maratha Brahamans (known as Karhada) are found only in South India36. Neither of them claims any tradition to that effect. Similar phonetic components, aided by a fancy that owes no respect to facts, has enabled Angad Sharma to establish a connection between Jat and Jaathra.

We may add that Angad Sharma's speculations ignore even Sanskrit philology. A derivation is always bigger than its root such as Pitarava from Pitra, Bhratarava from Bhrata, Gargya from Garg, Kaurava from Kuru, Janaki from Janak and so on. The possible derivations of Jatthra can be Jatthrava, Jatthral, Jatthrawat and the like, but certainly not Jaathra37. He further holds that the Jaathra people were born after Parasurama's persecution of the Kshatriyas and they went to inhabit mount Jatthra which derived its name form the Jaathras, but Bhagwata Purana38, mentions mount Jatthra as a part of the first Manu's division of his kingdom among his sons, and owes its name due to, its location in the centre of mountains.

6. The Psychological Monstrosity

The passage of the Padama Purana which forms the kernel of Angad Sharma's theory is based on an obvious psychological monstrosity. History records instances of women committing mass suicide and collective self-immolation rather than submitting their bodies to the lust of the conquering male.Even in 1947, at the time of the partition of India, such instances of immolation and suicides occurred on a large scale. History, also records instances of individual surrender by women, willing or forced, to the enemy. What the Padama Purana text suggests

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is a well thought of and coolly calculated surrender of a whole race of widowed women seeking to perpetuate their race by seeking out the murderers of their husbands.

This is suggested to be neither a part of stray acts by a few individuals nor a mass scale despoiling of women by an oppressive victorious horde, but a host of women almost jointly inviting the killers of their men to impregnate them! They seek a favour that is graciously granted! Then these women, carefully preserving the seed, retire to the mountains to give birth to the joint progeny of theirs and the murderers of their husbands in Sylvan surroundings. On the other hand, "the custom of the primitive warlike tribes attests," as pointed out by Altekar39, that "fighting races were very jealous of their women and often killed them rather than allow them the risk of going astray after their husbands' death." History is replete with examples that the women of the subjugated enemies were abducted and enslaved, imprisoned and confined to the harems40, molested and raped41, but we have no evidence to show that they mighht have ever thought of using their enemies for the purpose Angad Sharma has in his mind. Angad Sharma, however, notes no incongruity in this account; rather, he embroiders it and raises it to the status of a "theory" of the origins of a whole race of men.

What is more, this account pre-supposes a complete harmony between the Brahman men and the Widowed women. The Brahman is supposed to be a pious creature, a Kshatriya woman to be a proud one. Individual aberrations apart, these are behaviour patterns generally accepted as typical of such men and women. The Padama Purana account pre-supposes a collusion between the conquering party and the submissive vanquished, the slaughterers condescending to do a favour to the suppliant women whose husbands their leader has slaughtered. The business contract implied goes against all known norms of human behaviour .

The Paternity Issue

7. The Paternity Issue

A basic flaw in this account relates to the question of the nature of the progeny produced by this contract to perpetuate the race. In the patriarchal community envisaged in the Manu Smriti, the offspring of a Brahman male and a Kshatriya female can never be a Kshatriya. Such

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issue would either be a Brahman (as paternity, not maternity, determines "varna" descent) or a Varna-Shankar. To Manu, the son of a Brahman by a Kshatriya wife will be called Apasada (x-10). But the Jats are never ranked as Apasada. Manu42, however, gives a list of Varna-Shankar Communities, but he does not include the Jats in it. They neither belong to "anuloma" nor to 'pratiloma' 'jaatis'. Interestingly, C. V. Vaida43, the Champion of the Brahmanical tradition, holds that "if there are any Aryans in India, they are the Jats who belong to the Solar race of Aryans." The theory anuloma and pratiloma communities only illustrates an attitude and not a fact, is a much later invention of the Brahmans whereas "the Jats are the autochthonous race of India."43a By no stretch of imagination or reasoning could the children of such a sexual union be Kshatriyas. In other words, the surviving widows could perpetuate their race only by procuring Kshatriya males. Whatever the origin of the Padama Purana account, Angad Sharma should have pondered over this aspect of the version which, in our view, is of crucial and decisive importance.

We may add one more argument to refute Angad Sharma's claim about the Brahmanical ancestry of the Jats. Our argument is based on the gotra-system. We know that there has been in vogue since long, especially in north-western India, the institution of patriarchal families. In such a society, the successive generations have been invariably following the gotras of the male heads of their families and tribes that are sald44 to have been since time immemorial named after the Cow-stall cow-shed45, Which in Jatu dialects means gotwara or gitwara or gatwara or the eponymous Sage or rishi-ancestor46 who founded the family, the genesis Of the tribe. Tradition of the Jats, however, connects them with the Kshatriya sages, e.g. Agastya Mann or Mandharya, Atri, Visvamitra, Dadhichi, Rshika, Yayati and Sivi. Agastya, Atri and Visvamitra47, are said to have become Brahmans. Baudhyana precisely describes Manava, Aila and Paururava as Rsi Pravaras of the Kshatriyas.

To think that the Kshtriyas were gotraless or to presume that they did not preserve their gotra lists is, according to Fick48, nothing but arrogance of the priestly class, The orthodox gotrakaras have divided the: Jats, in to major sections49, i.e. Sivgotri and Kasyap gotri, which may also be a priestly after-thought. A few of the descendents

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of Bhrigu family, to which Parasurama also belonged, are stated50 to have become gotrakara Risis. In the given circumstances, it was not difficult for Angad Sharma to give their gotra to the Jats. But surprisingly nowhere did we come across the Bhrigu or Bhargava gotra among them, Even Panini51, who gives an exhaustive list of the "Ayudhjivi ganas' from whom the Jats are positively believed to have descended, does not mention Bhrigu or Bhargava as the gotra of any of the Republican ancestors of the Jats.

In other words, we may say that neither the forefathers of the Jats nor their descendents were ever Bhrigus or Bhargavas by gotra. Had the Jats been the descendents of Angad Sharma's Jaathras allegedly produced by the Bhirgu Brahmans, the latter would have never hesitated in assigning their own patronymic stamp, i.e. their gotras to the de novo raised race of [Kshatriyas]] and consequently to their supposed descendents, the Jats. If they ever did, history bears no testimony to show what became of them and whom did they merge with ?

The present stock of Indian Kshatriyas consists of the Jats, Yadavas, Rajputs, Gujars, Marathas, Khatris, Gorkhas and Dogras who claim martial ancestry since antiquity. Majority of them trace their descent, and rightly so, from the Lunar or the Solar races (Ailas an Iksvakus) of the Aryans. Were the ancestral tribes of these Kshatriyas raised by Bhrigus? If the answer is positive, why were all of them not called Jaathras after the assertion of Angad Sharma, as he would have us believe? How comes it that only the Jats of the present stock wet connected with the Jaathras by him? Surely, he has no relevant an plausible answer to the pertinent questions. At the most, he could have defended himself by pleading that since he was briefed only to trace the origin of the Jats, he has confined himself only to this task. The argument would, evidently, have no force since, according to his stand Parasnrama annihilated, not merely the Jats but the whole of the Kshatriya race. If so, all the Kshatriyas, produced afresh, and not mere Jats, should have been Jaathras, which he does not claim. The fact that (as established elsewhere by us) even Jats are not Jaathras.

Growse52 observes that "there is no great intrinsic improbability in the hypothesis that the word Jaathra has been shortened into Jat, but if one race is really descended from the other, it is exceedingly strange that the fact should never have been so stated before." Muir53 and

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Pargiter54 also state that the Kshatriyas of the post-Parasurama age were alleged to be all a mixed progeny of Kshtriya females and Brahman males. We can only say that their statement is a mere uncritical repetition of what Angad Sharma copied from the Puranas etc., in his Jatthrotpatti and such contentions have already been refuted. Further, it may only be pointed out that the Jats never claim to be the descendents of the reproduced Kshatriyas, if there were any. Even Manu Smriti55 does not include the Jats in the list of the "Vamashankra" tribes and peoples.

All sources agree that the Jat population has since long been spread over the contiguous compact Indo-Gangetic plains, northern part of Malwa Plateau, eastern and north-eastern Rajasthan; in other words, the wide area of Sapta-Sindhu, their cradle since time immemorial. This is confirmed by an ethno-geographical study of the Jats by Mukerji56, their historico-ethnographical study by Y.P Shashtri57, Deshraj58 and R. Pande59, their political system by Pradhan60, their cultural study by Drs. Westphals61 and Dr. Tiemann62, their demography by the Census reports of India (1891-1931) and to crown all, their tradition63. The limits of the area of the distribution of Jats are marked both by cultural affinity and natural contiguity, and is strongly testified by historical evidence.

Tradition64, on the other hand, connects Parasurama with South India, beyond Narbada and Tapti, which was never the home of the Jats. The Puranas have him destroy theKshatriyas of North India also whereas his arch enemies were the Yadavas of the South and South-west, who were assisted by the Haihaya (Scythians) of north-west India. The field of activity was limited to that region only. The whole host of evidence, as Mukerjee65 points out, makes Parasurama the progenitor of several castes, especially the lower ones. R.P. Chanda66 also, on the authority of Sahyadri Khand of the Skand Purana, confirms that Parasurama, the Avatara, in want of Brahmans to perform for him a 'Shraadha' produced the Konkanasthas or Chittapavanas from the 'chita' (funeral pyre), sixty of whom, he consecrated or endowed with Brahmanhood, bestowing on them learning and beauty and conferring on them fourteen gotras and sixteen 'upanamas' (sumames)67, besides making the Karhada Brahmans of Maharashtra from the camel's bones68.

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The Jaathras of Angad Sharma, the so-called reproduced Kshatriyas, were actually Brahmans, a sub-branch of the Karhadas. They still exist in Maharashtra. As Qanungo69 informs us, these Maharashtrian Brahmans (Jaathras) claim no connection with the Jats. Possibly the Jaathras of South India are the same people who are referred to in the Mahabharata. Interestingly, the 'Critical Edition' of the Epic mentions their parental stock, i.e. the Karhadas for the first time in the Bengali manuscript of 1640 and in Nilkantha's Devnagri manuscript of 174970. In view of the above evidence, it may be safely concluded that they are of much later origin and the reference to them was interpolated in the Epic in the 17th and 18th centuries to represent them as men of antiquity. As such, the Jats can in, no wise, be identified with them. Growse 71 also finds an unanswerable objection in a passage quoted by Angad Sharma from Brihatsamhita (XIV, 8) which places the Jaathras, as confirmed by Al Biruni72 as well, in the South-eastern quarters, whereas the Jats undoubtedly belonged to the north-western part of the Indian sub-continent.

The Parasurama Myth

8. The Parasurama Myth

The Brahmanical version of the Parasurama myth is perpetuated in the history text books. His alleged exploits like slaughtering the Kshatriyas twenty-one times and ridding the earth of the Kshatriyas receive the hall-mark of approval of some historians. Even a historian of the eminence of A.D. Pusalker 73 dismissed them without question, only observing that these are said to be "as the principal achievements of Parasuram a". Unfortunately, he ignores the Kshatriya version of the myth. We have already noted some of the absurdities inherent in the Parasurama myth. Since this myth forms the very backbone of Angad Sharma's theory, we may well examine this myth, its various versions and its legendary and historical background at some length, even at the price of somewhat straying from the main subject.

The Parasurama legend is of doubtful credibility even by mythological standards. It implies an "ansh avtara" (partial incarnation) side by side with two full "avataras" who flourished with a wide chronological gap. Parasurama is represented as a contemporary of Lord Rama as well as Lord Krishna whose epochs, according to mythological chronology, fall millions74 of years apart. There are grounds, therefore, for believing that this myth is a later concoction and interpolation,

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perhaps a by-product of the Brahman-Kshtari a rivalry which was generated by the invective diatribe of Devayani and armIs Sarmishtha, the Brahman and Kshatriya wives of Yayati75, and gained strength in the post - Vedic period, for supremacy Inddian society.

Legends about Parasurama's birth are given in the Puranas76. The legends about him as an incarnation of Vishnu occur in the Ramayana77. The story of his exploits is narrated at length twice in the Mahabharata 78, and in the Bhagawata 79, the Padma80 and the Agni Puranas81. In the Ramayana, Parasurama, as the incarnation of Vishnu, with the latter's bow on his shoulder, was made to meet Rama Chandra, the full incarnation of the same deity. Lord Rama spared his life, presumably to avoid the sin of "Brahman-hatya", but Parasurama was divested of his superhuman powers by Rama Chandra82. (By the way, what was the need of Visnu's bow, if Parasurama could rid the earth of the whole Kshatriya race with his axe only?) In the Mahabharata, Karna83 and Bhishma84 are made to learn the use of arms from Parasurama. D.P. Mishra85, an ardent follower of Brahmanical Tradition, strongly feels that "the Parasurama myth is marked by exaggerated frills and fancies" and "Bhishma's fight with him is obviously fictitious".

Our view about the dubious nature of the Parasurama myth is well supported by some of the top-most authorities. A.B. Keith86 does mention the Bhrigus twice but remains entirely silent over the Parasurama legends perhaps for the simple reason that they were a bunch of fictitious myths. Siddhanta87 and Pargiter88 hold that if the evidence of genealogies is to be relied on, Parasurama belonged to a much earlier time than the Mahabharata war and twelve generations89 before Bahu's son, Sagar, who was twenty-four (or twenty-seven) generations90 anterior to Lord Rama. Being disgusted with unrealistically manipulated anachronistic connections of Parasurama with the heroes of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, distantly separated by very long time, Pusalker91 very aptly observes that "these are clearly instances of anachronism as the result of the anxiety of the writers of the Bhargavas, and in order to get over these obvious anachronisms a theory was promulgated, at a later date, that Parasurama was "Chiranjiva" (immortal)

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Unfortunately, "often Kings with the same name, belonging to different ages, are confused with one another and history is seriously perverted"92 by the priestly class addicted to interpolating new myths into older texts without caring to collate them with the older ones, thus creating discrepancies. Wilkins93, an authority on Hindu mythology, opines that the Parasurama legend is an interpolation of a later date in the original poem. To RadhaKamal Mukerjee94, an authority on Indian culture and civilization, Parasurama's rise to avatar-hood was devised much later than the Mahabharata and Kalidasa's Raghuvamsam. Yoginder Pal Shastri95, Desh Raj96 and N.S. Chaudhari97 are also convinced that this legend is concocted by the authors of the Puranas and grafted on the two great Epics98. According to Monier-Williams99, he was "created to prevent Kshatriyas from arrogating dominion over the Brahmanical caste."

The most forthright denunciation of the myth regarding the annihilation of Kshatriyas by Brahmans and especially Parasurama, occurs in a very bold analysis of Indo-Aryan Literature and Culture made by Nagendranath Ghoshe. He says, "I have to dismiss the statements recorded in the extant completely Brahmanised Puranas, that the Brahmans unaided repeatedly rid the earth of the recalcitrant Kshatriyas by force of arms, as propaganda run mad," (emphasis) added.

This emphatic statement has, in its background, the detailed study of how new ceremonials were devised to extend the scope of Brahman hegemony, and how these (especially the Vratya ceremony) were used as propaganda. Ghoshe then makes a specific reference to Parasurama: "The Parasurama of the Puranas, in particular, with whom these stories are mostly associated, is even more impossible than the stories themselves (Nagendranath Ghose, Indo-Aryan Literature and Culture-Origins-page 28, footnote no. 11). Ghose, at another place in the book, lists some of the absurd tales that imply longevity of several Puranic sages. "This Dvaipayana sage appears from the accounts to share with Vasistha and Visvamitra, (also sages of Puranic celebrity), longevity of such phenomenal duration that we of the present century and of Kaliyuga find ourselves entirely unable to place any credence upon it." This ironically critical statement is supplemented by a footnote: "I might add Parasurama to

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the list" (Ibid, page 183, footnote no. 75). Ghose is a bold and original thinker and his insights about the Parasurama myth deserve respect. Throughout this memorable book the author regards the Puranas as "Brahamanised", and characterises them as "Propoganda literature". The Parasurama myth is a part of this brahmanical "razzmatazz".

A possible reason for this concoction

A possible reason for this concoction is that it is an effort to counter the Kshatriya boast that Rama, Krishna and the Buddha were all of their caste. The authors of the Puranas raised Buddha, who challenged Brahmanical supremacy, to their pantheon along with Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, presenting them as incarnations of Vishnu100. This was meant to take the shine out of the Buddha101. It tamed a rebel and an iconoclast by elevating him to godhood. It also gave them leeway to create new deities like Parasurama. This line of reasoning is supported by Bhattacharya102 who holds that the legends of the ten "avataras" (of Vishnu)103, including that of Parasurama, seem to have been invented by the Brahmans to provide them with a ready made answer to the claim of superiority made by Kshatriyas on the basis of the Kshatriya "avataras". Brahmans could now cite Parasurama's godhood to assert that "God knows no caste"l04. Parasurama thus was perhaps no more than their counter blast to the Kshatriya monopoly of "avataras".

Parasurama, in all probability, was a historical personage but was made to carry 'parasu' (axe) to distinguish him from Rama Dashrathi. He lived at least thirty nine generations prior to the latter. He is described as belonging to the Ur family of the Kusha dynasty of the Guti race105. He reigned for nine years, established Brahmans as the first hereditary caste106, destroyed his sun-cult enemies (Haryasvas) besides slaying his mother who also probably followed this cult107 and arrogated himself his own deification in his own life time to vie with Indra, the Father-God, whom perhaps he remembered as a man108. The Ur dynasty was notorious for human sacrifices109. Woolley, Moortgat and Saggs110 confirm this. The Rig Veda, according to Wadell111 refers to his offering of human sacrifices which was abhorrent to Sun-worshippers, whose Solar priest was Visvamitra, an inveterate opponent of this practice of the Urvas (Bhrigus).

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Parasurama along with Agastya is said112 to be the pioneer of the Aryan settlement of South India, with his traditional home at mount Mahendra on the eastern coast of mount Sahradri on the Western coast. The region enclosed between the two mounts is called Parasurama Kshetra (a Brahmanical counter part of Kurukshetra). We know from Monier-Williams, that "Parasurama, a deified Brahman who is especially connected with the Konkon (caned after him Parasurama Khetra) and is regarded as the god of the Konkana...tha Brahmans"113. He is said to have belonged to the Bhrigu family, also called Urua114 or Aurva115, because of its derivation from Ur116, a dynasty, founded by Urva Richika, husband of Satyawati, sister of Visvamitra and daughter of Gadhi117. The Bhirgu family is shown as dwelling in Anarta (Gujrat) and to have come in clash with the Haihayas (Scythians or Sakas) after they dominated western India and spread over the area South of Malwa and the Tapti River 118.

To us, all this appears to be obviously a Pauranic myth. The names of the family and dynasty suggest, and history testifies what Waddell119, (an archaeologist, whose findings were initially not considered valuable but are now gaining recognition), holds, namely, that the; Ur dynasty a section of the Kusakas or Kusikas or Kusikal20, belonged to and ruled over Ur, Nippur and Sus in Mesopotamial21, and Bhrigu and Bhargava are titles of Sumerian origin122. The sanskritic look of their names does not prove their Aryan origin123. If this evidence is reliable, we are left with no choice but to believe the Bhrigu family to be, of foreign origin and consequently their so-call~d "traditional home in South India" is rendered dubious and questionable.


The evidence of the Rig Veda, (which is entirely innocent of the life and people of South and South-western India), is, in this connection conclusive. According to Rig Veda, the Ur (s) were given to human sacrifices, a practice said124 to have been current in ancient Mesopotamia. Further, the Rig Veda's mention of Uru and Khisti, identifiedl25 by historians with ancient Ur and Kish in Mesopotamia, (which cities are conspicuous by their absence in South and South-western India), leads us to the irresistible conclusion that the Parasurama family was originally connected with the Mesopotamian city of Ur, and that his grand father was known as Uru-Richikal26. All this establishes our thesis beyond doubt. The importance of this evidence can hardly be

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underestimated. In furtherance of our argument we cite Dr. Brough (1947 :85,89) who tells us that "jamdagneyas came from outside, that is, from other Aryan communities living on the fringes of the society to which the Rig Veda belonged" and wonders how this "comparatively insignificant family, which could not have their own collection, assumed a position of very great importance in the pravara list", That Parasurama, as we have already shown, had to create certain Brahmans in the south "to perform for him a Shraadh", gives us sufficient cause to suspect that Parasurama was unacceptable to the native brahmanas of India because he was of foreign origin. But, surprisingly enough, later on, perhaps after his "baptism" by the Indian priestly class, his father, Jamadagni is, no doubt, represented as an author of certain hymns of a few Mandalas of the Rig Veda, but Weber (1914: 23, 41, 315) rejects them as later interpolations. Similarly, Vaidya (1904: 20,163,168,70) discredits Saraswati- Upakhyana and (Parasu) Ramopakhyana in certain Parvas of the Mahabharata as "clumsy interpolations" by Sauti, who was a Bhargava.

These interpolations must have been effected in the post- Paninian period, for, according to V.S. Sukthankar ("The Bhrigus and the Bharata" in ABORI, Vol. XVIII, pp. 15-76), Panini (Vi, 2, 38) knew the "Mahabharata" as "Bharata" only. Sukthankar further clearly states (Ibid.) that the Bhrigus were responsible for expanding the "Bharata" by adding to it political, philosophical and religious matter (Dharama and Niti) besides legends (upakhyanas) in later times.

Association of Parasurama's family with tirthas in Haryana

The myth of the association of Parasurama's family with certain tirthas in Haryana' need to be fully explored and critically assessed. The Vamana Purana, a product of medieval period-900 A.D.-1700 A.D. (Parui, 1976: 3f), dedicated to Thaneshwar (CHI, Vol.I: 268), associate the ancient pilgrimage of Ramahrada, identified with village Ramray near Jind (ASI, Vol. XIV: 91; N.L.Dey, 1899: 166;JHS. Vol.VIII, Nos. 1-2, 1976: 18), with Parasurama who, according to Mahabharata (III,81,26f; 117, 9ff), filled the five tanks (Samantapanchaka) with the blood of Kshatriyas, annihilated twenty-one times by him. He is said to have performed tarpana with their blood (Adiparava, 1,2,5)† in the lakes made by him (Vanaparva, 81, 22)*. These lakes, made by him, are said to have been full of blood-like water.

† Wiki note: Adi Parva, Mahabharata/Mahabharata Book I Chapter 2

स तेषु रुधिराम्भःसु हरथेषु करॊधमूर्च्छितः
पितॄन संतर्पयाम आस रुधिरेणेति नः शरुतम (1.2.5)

* Wiki note: Vana Parva, Mahabharata/Book III Chapter 81 shloka 22:

ततॊ रामह्रदान गच्छेत तीर्थसेवी नराधिप
यत्र रामेण राजेन्द्र तरसा दीप्ततेजसा
कषत्रम उत्साद्य वीर्येण हरदाः पञ्च निवेशिताः (3.81.22)

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The Renukatiratha [matritiratha] is said to be at Ranayacha (JHS, op.cit.; Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, 1969; 319, 797f, 800, 996; Parui, 1976: 74, 102), a village in south east of Pehowa in Guhla tehsil of the Kurukshetra district. Jamani, a village between Jind and Safidon, is said to be the birth-place of Jamadagni.

These accounts are challenged by historians on various grounds. As already pointed out, C.V. Vaidya and Sukthankar reject them as later additions in the Mahabharata. Similarly, Dr. Sesanka Sekhar Parui, who made a detailed study of the tirthas of Kurukshetra, regards

Parsurama's association with Ramahrada (Ramray) as of later origin, and that too, based on hearsay. As a matter of fact, "to suggest that a particular chapter or story in the Mahabharata is a subbsequent addition would always be distasteful and exasperating to the ear of a Hindu", especially an orthodox Brahman. but as the matters stood and the available evidence warrants, it is difficult to run away from facts.

That Parasurama performed the great sacrifice (tatpana) with the blood of the Kshatriyas at Ramahrada (Ramray) is not only Pre-posterous but also violative of all canons of Brahman morality of the day, unless we are prepared, as Waddell would have us believe (supra), to accept that Parasurama was given to the barbarous practice of human sacrifice. Further, that the lakes were filled by Parasurama with Kshatriyas' blood and also that the water of those lakes remained consequently blood-like for long sounds not only outrageous but also scientifically untenable. The water was blood-like because of reddish silt brought by Sarasvati river from its catchment area in the Sivaslaka hills, and not due to Kshtriyas' blood, for human blood turns black within six hours in the open, settles down as black clots after leaving white plasma on the surface in stagnant or running water, making it reddish only temporarily (Dr. S.B. Siwach, M.D.; FICA (USA); FICP, Delhi Road, Rohtak),

That the lakes of Ramahrada (Ramray) were made by (Parasu) Rama (Vanaprava, 81,22) conflicts With historical evidence available from Cunningham (ASI, Vol. XIV: 91), Sayana (Monier-Williams, Skt. Eng. Dic., 1057) and mentioned in Rigveda (1, 84, 14 and 1, 117,22) that those lakes and tanks were associated with the ashramas of Sharyanavata and Dadhiyancha rishis. Similarly, Ramahrada was Rama's lake or was the name of a sacred bathing place (Monier-Williams,

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ibid.878), but it is nowhere stated that the suggested Rama was Parasurama. What is true of Parasurama myth, may also hold equally good for the legendary connections of his parents, Jamadagni and Renuka, with temples and shrines in the north.

That tradition attaches Jamadagni with Jamani village as his birth-place is also not beyond doubt, for we have proved (supra) that he belonged to south India (Parasuramakshetra}. This tradition is tradition is misleading, for ancient literary evidence (Jaminiya Upnishada Erahmana, IV, 26;, and Panchavinsa Brahmana, XXV, 10, 6) indicates that the supposed birth-place (Jamani) may have actually been the ashrama of Jaimini rishi who compiled the Sam Veda (Pargiter, 1922: 324 and Weber, 1914: 240) and this village lied near Vinashana (Hissar) where the Saraswati river loses itself after taking a westerly course from Thanesvar (N.L. Dey, 1899: 37). The present Jamani is of much later origin. Thus it can not be the birth place of Jamadagni who lived before Ramadasharathi. The similarity of the names of Jaimini, Jamani and Jamadagni seems to have been exploited.

According to the Kshatriya tradition, the Haihayas forced Parasurama and his cohorts to flee Parasuramakshetra for shelter in Madhyadesha and beyond. If this is true, temples and shrines of Sarasvati khanda may be attributed to them. But, as common sense and experience show, the war-torn and fatigued fugitives, with their deadly enemies on their heels, would have naturally been more concerued about their safety then about building temples and tirthas which require enough peace and plenty. In brief it may be remarked that the opinions of C.V. Vaidya, Sukthankar and Parui are too convincing to be challenged.

In view of the above evidence, we have to admit that the Bhrigu family might have migrated from Mesopotamia to Gujrat, and then to South India by the time of Parasurama. It may also be observe that the change in the name of his family from Ur or Urua or Urava to Bhrigu or Bhargava may be a clever stratagem to dissociate themselves from their forefathers who were fond of human sacrifices, which were opposed strongly by their kith and kin, and also perhaps to acquit themselves of the abominable charge to become ideal Brahmans in India, as they are represented in the Brahmanical literature.

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Parasurama's military exploits in India were mainly directed against the Haihayas, who are reputed to be a branch of the Yadavas. The accounts of his inroads, however, also suffer from serious discrepancies, as we shall see in the following pages. It seems that long struggles ensued between the Bhrigus and the Yadavas, assisted by the Haihayas (the Scythians or Sakas) 127 on the refusal of the Bhrigus to return the wealth of Kritavirya to his descendents. The father of Parasurama, Jamadagni, a peaceful rishi, was molested by them in his hermitage. His celebrated divine cow and/or its calf were forcibly taken away by Kartaviryasl28 in the absence of Parasurama129.

Kritavirya, the Haihaya sovereign was supposed to have been blessed by Dattatreya. Thus he became an incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva and was supposed to have thousand arms, due to which he became famous as 'Sahasarbahu' or Sahasararjuna130. He was accorded proper reception by Renuka and Jamadagni, the parents of Parasurama. But Kritavirya, intoxicated with his valour and strength, destroyed their hermitage, oppressed the rishis, gods and all creatures, who approached Vishnu. Vishnu, with the help of Indra, who has often been made a scapegoat in the Rig Vedic Dasharajna wars also, devised the means of destroying the Kartaviryas. It was Parasurama, the revengeful, the so-called sixth incarnation of Vishnu, who lopped off Kritavirya's thousand arms and slaughtered him like on ordinary animal. Thereafter on the advice of his father, he set out on a pilgrimage to expiate the sin of killing Kritavirya Sahasararjuna, the incarnation of the three supreme gods.


The myth bristles with contradictions. A few pertinent questions may here be asked. Why should Jamadagni, who could absolve Parasurama of the sin of killing his mother (Renuka) for either "a moral slip on her part" or for following the Sun-cult, send him on pilgrimage to expiate the sin of killing Kritavirya? Matricide is certainly the most heinous sin. If it could be forgiven by Jamdagni, anything could be forgiven, including the slaughter of Kritavirya. Further, if Jarnadagni had the divine power of restoring Renuka to life as a boon besought by his son, Parasurama, and of making him invincible, why could he not use his divine power to foresee the evil designs of Sahasrarjuna? Why could he not do away with him or at least incapacitate him (as Parasurama was done by Rama Dasharathi or Laxman)? If through the

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blessing of his celebrated Kamdhenu (cow), Jamadagni, reported as peaceful and not militant, was gracious enough to accord royal hospitality to his wicked enemy, why, then, did he not invoke the Kamdhenu or his own divine power or that of both in order to destroy Kritavirya?

The sole reason for Jamadagni's "inaction", perhaps, is that it was intended to glorify Parasurama, the only Brahman incarnation of Vishnu, as the conqueror of Sahasarjuna who was blessed by all three gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva through Dattatreya. This was meant to impress the pre-eminent martial potentiality of the Brahman over the Kshatriya. The entire myth has, obviously enough, been devised to idealise a Brahman at the expense of a Kshatriya. Perhaps a quarrel with the Ailas over a mere trifle131 was thus blown out of proportion in the typical manner of most Brahmanical myths heavily loaded in favour of the priestly class who had the monopoly of education and literary invention. Parasurama is shown as going on a pilgrimage to wash off his sin, but we have evidence to believe that he had to flee the field on the advice of his priest, Kasyapa132 or, as Pargiter informs us, he was banished by Kasyapa to the southern ocean after the sacrifice at Ramatiratha133 in the Parasuramakshetra.

The Brahmanical version of the Parasurama myth may well be matched by a Kshatriya version, for most of the time there have been "two great streams of distinct traditions, the Kshatriya tradition and the Brahmanical tradition", and "this distinction is very important" 134. The former "describes events and expresses feelings as they would appear to Brahmans, illustrates Brahmanical ideas, maintains the dignity, sanctity, supremacy and even the super-human character of Brahmans, enunciates Brahmanical doctrines and advocates whatever subserves the interests of Brahmans135. This is obviously enough, true of the Parasurama myth.

Pargiter, on the whole, gives more credence to the Kshatriya tradition as compared to the Brahmanical one. He compares the Brahmanical and Kshatriya versions of the Trisanku myth as an example and concludes, "the Kshatriya ballad gives a simple and natural account, while the Brahmanical versions are a farrago of absurdities and impossibilities, utterly distorting all the incidents."136 This characterisation of Trisanku myth perfectly fits the nature of the Brahmanical versions of the Parasurama myth.

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Pargiter makes a number of observations about this version. They are scattered all over his book. He is, on the whole, very critical of this version137. He discredits the story of Parasurama's killing the Kshatriyas twenty-one timesl38 and points to the impossibility of the contemporaneity of Rama Dashrathi and Rama Jamadaganeya139 (Parasurama). His sober matter-of-fact summary of what he regard to be the true facts of the story rejects the absurd accretions made out of the Brahmanical version140. He concludes that the Brahmanical version ascribes to Parasurama all the subsequent killings, especially of the Haihayas, by whomsoever carried out, right up to and including those perpetrated by Sagar almost twelve generations or nearly three hundred years later.

It will be worth-wile, therefore, to piece out a Kshatriya version of the myth on the basis of the insights provided by Pargiter and others. The Kshatriya version of the Bhrigu-Haihaya tragedy would point to an altogether different, more cogent and convincing causes of their conflict magnified from a mole-hill into a mountain. Firstly, there is the despoiling of the riches of the Haihayas by Richika (Urva) who was consequently driven by them to the north141. Secondly, in the Combodian and Siamese Ramayana the conflict of Yaarjuna (Kritaviryarjuna) and Ramasura (Parasurama) centers round a jewel possessed by the sea-goddess, Manimekhla; Parasurama, though described as a victor, is yet viewed as an aggressor and looked down upon as a fiend142. Thirdly, Arjuna (Sahasarjuna) made efforts to get control of sea trade with western world from the Bhrigus who were agents of the foreigners and who thrived at the cost of the nation, much against the wishes of the Haihaya King143. Lastly, Jamadagnil44, who was emboldened by his alleged matrimonial and military alliances with the ruling Kshatriya dynasties of Kanya-Kubja and Ayodhya145, challenged the Haihayas.

Whatever be the causes, the devastating struggle continued for long. The sons146 of Arjuna, in the absence of Parasurama, slew the meditating147 Jamadagni148 out of revenge. Parasurama, extremely enraged, is shown to have wreaked vengeance, not only on the Haihayas but also to have declared a vendetta against the Kshatriyas as a whole twenty-one times and is said to have rid the earth of them. After Parasurama was killed by Ailas (Yadavas), the latter pursued their

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offensive in the north, over-ran Kanya Kubja and Ayodhya, until their progress was arrested by Vaisali Kings. Ultimately, Sagar, an ancestor of Rama-Dashrathi by twenty-four (or twenty-seven) generations, dealt a final blow to their power149. The civil war between two varnas must have cost thousands of Kshatriyas on both sides and continued for more than a century150, probably from 2350 to 2200 B.C.151.

A critical interpretation of the Kshatriya version also raises certain doubts regarding the intention of the champions of the Bhrigu's cause. Jamadagni is shown as peaceful despite his challenge to all the Haihayas. He is said to have been slain by Arjuna or his sons while he was meditating. This version seems to be a sheer effort to revile the Haihayas and impress posterity with a wickedness they did not possess.

The Bhrigus ere self-seekers rather than patriots. They thrived at the expense of the nation and acted as agents of the aliens, but they were eulogised as defenders of faith and cream of brahmanhood. On the other hand, the Haihayas, who wanted to take over or nationalize trade and commerce in the best interests of the state and people, were branded as cruel and criminal, as killers of Brahman elders. The despoilers of the Haihaya wealth, in fact, tarnished their own name and fame, and 'dimmed' their own fire152 by the smoke of their unpriestly sinister designs. They painted Kritavirya as a devil whereas he has been described in all accounts as an ideal monarch, unparalleled in penance, charities, learning and virtues, and he is further reputed to have conquered the whole earth and to have ruled it with perfect justice153.

The Brahmancial myth of Parasurama claims that he exterminated the whole race of Kshatriyas, but the green truth is that "as leader of the Bhrigus, he wrought havoc only on the Kshatriya clans all along the western coast and carried his arms southwards into Kerala where he seems to have settled many Bhrigu families.154" This, however, is not the only tradition about Parasurama. According to the Jain legends155, Subhuma, the son of Kritavirya, killed Parasurama and rooted out the Brahmans of India twenty-one times. Devi Bhagawat Maha Purana156 also corroborates that the Haihayas once totally destroyed the Brahmans and captured their women to annihilate their pregnancy. The terrified and trembling Brahmans are said to have sought shelter in Madhyadesa and the Himalayas157. Angad Sharma

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does not refer to all these legends, lest he should have been forced to enlighten us how the widowed Bhrigu ladies and their daughters reproduced the Brahman caste, and through whom.

It could thus reasonably be asserted that the entire Brahmanical version of the Parasurama myth is a deliberate effort to extol their rishis by unimaginable exaggeration without any historical base160~. Pargiter161, asserts that the text of Brahamand Purana162, says nothing of the total destruction of all Kshatriyas. Dr. Pusalker163, on the authority of Karandikar holds that the annihilation of the Kshatriyas twenty-one times may point to destruction of the Haihayas in the Narbada region a number of times in order to wipe out the memory of their popular chief, Kritavirya. Or. S.M. Punekar (i984:65) dismisses Parasurama's attempts at annihilating the Kshatriyas as nothing more than "destroying their seals preserved in libraries so as to wipe out the names of their Kings from earth.

Instances of Brahmans taking up arms occur frequently in our myths and legends but this was always done generally in national interest. We have unimpeachable evidence from Indian history to believe that the "Brahmans had exchanged their 'Shaastras' for the 'Shastras' and their ladles for lances in defence of the country and Dharma in evil times". Besides Parasurama, Visvamitra and Vashistha, the Brahman leaders in the Rigvedic Dashrajna wars, Dronacharya and Asvatthama, the Epic Brahman warriors, were no less important examples. In the later period, the Brahmans, the 'men of spirit' in the language of Arrian, opposed Alexander the Great, (though they had to face fiasco), "to shake off the ignominy of foreign thraldom".164 Kautalya165 also refers to Brahman armies known for their decorous behaviour towards the prostrate enemy. Further, we have in the assassin of Brihadratha (184 B.C.), the last Maurya King, his Brahman Commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Sunga, who usurped the Maurya thronel66 and who earned the stigma of persecutor of the Buddhists and for his notorious declaration at Sakala for setting a prize of one hundred gold coins on the head of every Buddhist monk.167

It is significant that none of the above mentioned Brahman warriors, in spite of their military exploits, was embellished with the title of either 'an avatara of Vishnu' or 'an exterminator of all Kshatriyas'. These titles were reserved by the orthodox authors only for

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Parasurama for the simple reason that he was the first alleged founder of the hereditary Brahman caste. To all intents and purposes, it may be said in the words of Dr. Ghurye68 that "the Brahmins, as if not being content with showing the superiority of Brahmanic lustre over martial prowess, created in Parasurama, a Brahman, who overpowered the Kshatriyas not by the usual Brahmanic weapon of spiritual force, but by their own military weapons".

Essential points of our thesis

In conclusion, we may sum up the essential points of our thesis as follows:

  • The Parasurama legend and the related evidence of the Puranas upon which Angad Sharma based his theory are hardly reliable.
  • The myth is merely an attempt to popularise the exaggerated Brahmanic version of the unimaginable exploits of Parasurama to impress upon the Kshatriyas that the Brahmans are immensely superior to them.
  • The Jaathras are still surviving in the South. They are Brahmans without any connexion with the Jats.
  • Similarly, the remnants of the Haihayas, probably due to long lapse of time, make no such proposition.
  • Both of these people were and are even now connected with South India whereas the Jats mainly belong to the Indo-Gangetic plains (Sapta Sindhu).
  • The Bhrigus, the first founder of the hereditary Brahman caste, produced certain lower castes and Brahmans in the south but not the Kshatriyas and particularly not the Jats.
  • Parasuramopakhyana & the temples attributed to him and his mother, Renuka, are later interpolations in the Brahmanical literature.
  • His family may be of foreign origin, brahmanised at a later stage, as already noted.
  • Angad Sharma was simply swayed by the similarity of soundsof Jatthra, Jaathra and Jat. Had the Jat race been raised by the Bhrigu Brahmans, they must have carried the latter's surname, which is a rarity among the Jats.
  • Angad Sharma's theory is as impossible as an effort to "fit a camel in a match box'.
  • Ultimately, it may be remarked in the words of Y.P. Shastri169 that Angad Sharma, a self-deluded and self-styled author, reflected his naive intention and prejudice, through his incredible hypothesis, against all the Kshatriyas in general and the Jats in particular, whom he tried to notoriously show as 'Varanshankara' (mixed caste).
  • In fact, in spite of living in the heart of the Jats, he seems to be more ignorant of their origin and tradition than even the Europeans.

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Notes and References

1. Jatthrotpatti (1869), Aligarh, pub. by author (Angad Sharma); quoted by Qanungo, His, of Jats, p. 15, fn. cf Weber, His. Ind.Lit., 1914, London, p. 116, fn.
2. For the sake of distinction, the name of the mountain will be written as Jatthra and that of the people 'as Jaathra.
3. Prachin Raj Vansa and Jat Kshatriya Itihas, 1944, Jat Shakti Ashrama, Kankhal, (U.P.), pp. 4047.
4. Jat Itihas, 1934, Shri Brijendra Sahitya Smiti, Agra, pp. n ff.
5. Qanungo, op. cit., pp. 14-17.
6. Jour. of Ind. His., Vol. XIVIII, Pt. 11, 1970, S. No. 143, p.377.
7. Geog, Rev. of India, June 1937, Vol. XXIX, No. 2. pp. 80 f.
8. Pad. Pur. q. by Qanungo, op. cit., fn. (Wilson & S.M. A1i place its composition between 12th & 16th century A.D., but to Pargiter it existed long before 500 A.D.).
9. Bd. Pur. (3rd-4th Cen. A.D.) 111,47,67-73; q. Pargiter,loc. cit., p. 267, fn. 6.
10. Va. Pur. (3rd-4th Cen. A.D.), q. by Pargiter, loc. cit., p.50.
11. Vis. Pur. Gorakhpur Ed., 1952, 2, 2-29 & 40, pp. 140 f.
12. Bhag, Pur., (3rd-4th Cen. A.D.) q. by Angad Sharma, p. 6; Chaudhary, N.S.; Jat Prashnottri, Jat Hitkari Prakashan. Gopinath Bazar, Vrindavan, Mathura, n.d. pp. 10-15.
13. Ram. (Urdu, n.d., Sant Singh and Sons, Lahore, 1,48 & 74-76; Mbt. 111,99, q. by Siddhanta, N.K.; The Heroic Age of India, p. 109.
14. Mbt., V.178 ff; 1,130; Vlll, 34; q. by Siddhanta, op. cit., p.109; Pargiter, Anc, Ind. His. Trad., p. 267, fn. 1.
15. Bhag. Pur., VI, 73-74, 158,209,268; q. by Pargiter, op. cit., p. 267, fn. 4.
16. Pad. Pur., VI, 268, 23-76; Br. Pur., 213,114-118.
17. Ag. Pur., 4,12-19; Hv. 42, 2317.
18. Pargiter, op. cit., p. 73; cf also Singh, M.R; A Cri. Stu. of Geog. Data in Ear. Purs., 1972, Punthi Pustak, Calcutta, pp. Foreword.
19. Ibid., pp. 60, 67.
20. Ibid., pp. 67-71.
21. Ibid., p. 75.
22. A1i, S.M.; Geog. of Puranas. PPH., N. Delhi, 1973, pp.57, 99, 100, 102.
23. Shafer, Robert; Ethnogr. of Anc. Ind. (1954), p. 133.
24. Angad Sharma, op. cit., p.6.
25. Chudhary, N.S.; op. cit., pp. 11 f.

The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations:End of p.25

26. Equatorial circumference of our earth is 40093 kms. = 25048.125 mls. and Polar circumference is 39958.75 mls., total area is 51 krore sq. kms., Average Diameter is 12736 kms. & Pol. Dia. is 12714 kms.
27. Height of Mt. Everest is 29635 ft.
28. Vaidya, Gurudutt; tihas men Bhartiya Pramprain, Bharti Sahltya Sadan, New Delhi, 1970, pp. 100 f.
29. The Bible (Authorised Version), The British & Foreign Bible Society, 146, Queen Victoria Street, London, 5, 27; p. 7.
30. Shastri, Y.P., op. cit., p. 45.
31. Pusalker, A.D.; in His & Cul. of Ind. Peo., Vo1. 1, 'The Vedic Age', 1965, Bombay, p. 285.
32. Pargiter, op. cit., p. 267.
33. Bd. Pur., 111,47,64-57; q. by Pargiter, Ibid.
34. Vamana Pur., 53.5, 63.4.
35. Wilson, H.H., Visnu Pur., p. 335, fn. 20.
36. Russell, RV. & Hira Lal, Tribes and Castes of C.P. of Ind., Vol. 1, p. 374.
37. Desh Raj, op. cit., p. 78.
38. Ibid.,
39. Altekar, A.S.: Posi. of Women in Hindu Civil, 1938, pp. 137; Cf. also Dr. (Miss) Shakambri Jayal, Status of Women in the Epics, 1966, Delhi; pp. 241-43.
40. Altekar, op. cit., pp. 377-79.
41. Pakistani Soldiers were reported to have committed such acts in 1971 war in Bangladesh.
42. Chattopadhaya, Sudhakar; Racial Affinities of Ear. N.Ind. Tribes, New Delhi, 1973. pp. 31, 92. Manu-Samhita, Eng. Tr., Calcutta, 1909, ch.x.
43. C.V.Vaidya, His. of Med. Hindu, Ind., Vol. I, pp. 86 ff. Kunte, M.M.; The Vicissitudes of the Aryan Civilization in India, 1974, Delhi, p. 517.
43a. Ibid.
44. Panini, VI. 3.85; Mat. Pur., Chs. 194-201; Dr. Caland in Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. VIII, pp. 415-468.; Aggarwal , V.S.; Gotras in Panini, Banaras, 1963; Ghurye, G.S.; Two Brahmanical Institutions (Gotra and Charana), Bombay, 1972, pp. 15-19: Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad: Lokayat, PPH, Bombay; 1973, 'Caste Organisation' pp. 199-217; M.L. Bhargava, 'Are the Gotras and Pravaras of the Kshatriyas the same as those of Brahmans?' In the Pro. & Trans. of the Sixth All Ind. Orient. Conf. Patna, 1930.
45. Chattopadhyay, op. cit., p. 207; JBBRAS, Vol. XXVI, p. 21.
46. As in fn. 39 above.
47. Bhargava, op. cit., p. 330 f.
48. Ency. of Reli. & Ethics, Vol. 6,1913, q. by Ghurye, op. cit., p. 78.

The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations:End of p.26

49. Hissar Dist. Gaz., 1892, p. 121; Muzzaffarnagar Dist. Gaz.1876, p. 511; Ph. Cen. Rep. 1901. Vol. I. p. 326; Russell & Hira Lal. op. cit.. Vol. III. p. 236.
50. Aggarwat, op. cit., p. 4.
51. Aggarwal, V.S.; Ind. as known to Panini, Appendix III. pp. 522-560
52. Growse, F.S.; Mathura Dist. Memoirs; 1874, pp. 21 f: q. by Qanungo, op. cit., p.16.
53. Muir, J.; Orient. Sansk. Texts, Vol. I, 1872, q. by Ghurye. G.S.: Caste, Class & Occupation, 1961, Bombay, p. 67.
54. Anc. Ind. His. Trad., p. 271, fn. 3.
55. Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar, op. cit., pp. 31,92.
56. Geog. Rev. of Ind., Vol. XXIX, No. 1, 1967.
57. Jat Kshatriya Itihas, 1944.
58. Jat Itihas, 1934.
59. Ain-i-Akbari, q. In. The Jat, 1974.
60. The Pol. Sys. of the Jats of Nor. India.
61. Zur Geschichte und Kultur der Jat, 1968
62. The Jars-An Enthnographic Survey-Unpublished thesis, Oxf. Uni., 1962.
63. Prakash, Buddha; Soc. & Pol. Movs, in Anc. Pb., 1964.
64. Mukerjee, Radha Kamal; A His. of Hindu Civi., Vol I, 1958, Hind Kitab Ltd. Bombay, p. 63.
65. Ibid.
66. Chanda, RP.; Indo-Aryan Races, 1969, Calcutta, pp. 95 f.
67. Wilson, John; Ind. Caste, Vol. 11,1887, Bombay, p. 19.
68. Ibid., p. 21.
69. Qanungo, op. cit., p. 17.
70. Shafer, op. cit., pp. 63, 78, 121.
71. Qanungo, op. cit., p. 16.
72. Sachau, E; Al Biruni's India, Vol. I, 1990, London, p. 301.
73. Pusalker, op. cit., p. 284.
74. Cf. Gurudatt Vaidya, op. cit., pp. 100 f.
75. Siddanta, N.K., op. cit.
76. Va. Pur., 89-91; Bd. Pur., 111,60-66; Br. Pur., 10,50-53; Hv, 27, 1453-55.
77. Ram, op. cit., 1,48, pp. 248-58; Mbt., 111,99;Siddhanra. N. K.; op. cit., p. 109
78. Mbt, V. 178-80, 1, 130 VIII, 34; Pargiter, op. cit., p 267, fn.1
79. Bhag. Pur,. vi,268,273-74, 200, 168, Partiger, op.cit. 267, fn.1
80. Pad. Pur., 268, 23-76; Br. Pur., 213: 114-118.
81. Ag. Pur., 4,12-19; Hv., 42, 2317.

The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations:End of p.27


82. Ram. Urdu ed. op. cit., pp. 248-58; Mbt. 111,99.
83. Mbt. VIII, 34; Siddhanta, N.K.; op. cit., p. 109.
84. Ibid.
85. Mishra, D.P.; Studies in the Proto-His. of Ind., 1971; Orient Longman, N. Delhi, pp; 129, 165.
86. Cam. His. of Ind., Vol. I, pp. 73,109.
87. Heroic Age of Ind., p. 109.
88. Anc. Ind. His. Trd., 144 ff, 265 ff, etc.
89. Pusalker, op. cit., p. 283.
90. Ibid., App. 11, Genealogical Tables bet pp. 222 & 223. Siddhanta Shastri, R; His. of Pre-Kaliyuga Ind., 1978, Inter India Pubns., Delhi, pp. 42 f.
91. Ibid., p. 265.
92. Siddhanta, op. cit., p. 109.
93. Wilkins, W.G ; Hindu Mythology, 1973, Rupa & Co. Delhi, p.170.
94. Op. cit., p. 98.
95. Op. cit., p. 42.
96. Op. cit., p. 78.
97. Op. cit., p. 10-15.
98. Ibid., p. 12.
99. Hinduism, 1971, Rare Books, Delhi, p. 106.
100. Bhattacharya, J.N.; Hindu Castes and Sects, 1968, Editions Indian, Calcutta, p.330.
101. Ibid.
102. Ibid., p. 331.
103. Jha, D.N.; Anc. Ind. 1977, PPH, New Delhi, p. 167. He states that "according to some texts Vishnu goes through as many as 39 avataras, though in the most usual classification the number is fixed at ten, i.e., Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vaman, Parasurama, Rama, Krsna, Buddha and Kalki. A different list is found in the Vayu Puran, a work of Gupta period, i.e. Narayana, Narasimha, Vamana, Dattatreya, Mandhata, Jamadagnya, Rama, Vidaryas, Krsna and Kalki. The first three are described as divine incarnations and rest as human ones."
104. Ibid
105. Waddell, LA, Makers of Civilization in Race & History, 1929, Luzac & co., London, p. 371.
106. Ibid., p. 396.
107. Ibid., p. 397
108. Ibid., p. 398. Pargiter, op. cit., p. 192.

The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations:End of p.28

109. Waddell, LA.; Indo-Sumerian Seals Deciphered, 1976; Sailani Prakasban, Darya Ganj, Delhi, p.60; Cf. Kalyanaramana, A.; Aryatringini, Vol.I, 1969, Asia Pub. House, Bombay, p. 280.
110. Saggs, H.W.F.; Greatness that was Babylon, 1962, London, pp. 373 ff.
111. Rig Ved, 10,110; V. 10; q. by Waddell, op.cit., pp. 6O-62, Cf. Rahurkar, 1964: 28ff.
112. Mukerjee, Radha Kamal; op.cit., pp. 92f.
113. Monier-Williams, op.cit., p. 167.
114. Waddell, op.cit., p. 59.
115. Ibid.
116. Ibid.
117. Ibid., p. 58.
118. Chaudhury, S.B. ; Ethnic Settlements, in Anc, Ind., Part I, 1955, Gen. Print, & Pub. Ltd. Calcutta, p. 69; Pargiter, op.cit., p. 267; Mar. Pur., p. 371.
119. Kalyanaramana, op.cit., p. 15.
120. Waddell, op.cit., p. 58.
121. Ibid., pp. 55f,62.
122. Ibid., pp. 29f. Malik, S.C.; Indian Civilization, Simla, 1987,p. 136.
123. Pargiter, op.cit., pp. 307, 319, fn. 2. JRAS 1913, pp. 396f
124. Ibid., pp. 125-26.
125. Ibid., pp. 125-26
126. Waddell, op.cit.,p. 59.
127. Tod, Ann. & Anti. of Raj., Vol.I, p. 76; Wilson, Vis, Pur. P. 336; H.D. Sankalia. Exca. at Mahaeshwar & Navdatoli, 1958, Poona, p. 252.
128. Wilkins, op.cit. p. 167; Buddha Prakash, op.cit., p. 71.
129. Pusalker, op. cit:, p. 284.
130. Wilkins, op. cit., p. 229. He was designated as Sahasarbahu because with the help of the Atris he built a navy of ten ships of 100 oars each, i.e. carrying 1000 oars in all (Kalyanaramana, op.cit., p. 44).
131. Buddha Prakash, op.cit., p. 71.
132. Chakraberty, Chandra; Anc. Races & Myths, n.d., Vijay Krishna Brs., Calcutta. p.69.
133. Pargiter, op.cit., p.200
134. Ibid., p.6.
135. Ibid.,p.69.
136. Ibid.,p.60.
137. Ibid., p. 68.
138. Ibid., pp 73, 177.

The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations:End of p.29

139. Ibid., p. 177.
140. Ibid., pp. 270-71.
141. Ibid., p. 265; Chakraberty, op.cit., p.6.
142. Buddha Prakash, op.cit., p. 71.
143. Pusalker, op.cit., pp. 286f.
144. Kosambi, D.D., Cul. & Civi. of Anc. Ind., p. 82
145. Pargiter, op.cit., pp. 198,267; Chakraberty. op. cit., p.6.
146. Pargiter, op.cit., pp. 198,267; Chakraberty, op.cit., p.6.
147. Pargiter, op.cit., pp. 151.199.
148. Pusalker, op.cit., p. 285.
149. Pargiter, op.cit., pp. 151,199.
150. Dange, S.A.; From Primitive Communism to Slavery. 1951, PPH. Bombay, p. 148.
151. Waddell, Makers of Civilization in Race & His., p. 386.
152. Bhrigus were accredited with invention of fire-Jamad + agni = Jarnadagni: Cf. Waddell, op.cit., p. 392; Hewitt, J.F. ; Ruling Races of Prehistoric Times. 1972, Orient Pub., Delhi, pp. XV, 37,ii,83,109, 114, vi, 500.
153. Pusalker, op.cit., p. 286.
154. Kalyanaramana, op.cit. p. 44.
155. Buddha Prakash, op.cit., p. 71, Sylvain Levi, "On Mani-Mekhla, The Guardian Deity of the Sea", in Ind. His. Quar. Vol. VII, 1931, pp. 371-77.
156. Sagar, S.L. Hindu Cul. & Caste Sys. In India, 1975, Uppal Book Store, Delhi. p.41.
157. Ibid.
158. Pargiter, op.cit. p. 73.
159. Pusalker, op.cit., p. 285.
160. Pargiter, op.cit., pp. 60ff, 73 & preface.
161. Ibid., p. 267.
162. Bd. Pur. 111,47, 64-87.
163. Pusalker, op.cit., p. 287.
164. Arrian, VI. 7; M' Crindle, Invasion of Alexander. p. 144.
165. Shamashastri, R.: Kautalya's Arthashastra, 1929. Mysore. p. 373.
166. Tripathi, R.S.; Anc. His. of Ind. 1960. Delhi. p. 187.
167. Cowell & Neil. Divyavadana. pp. 433f. q. by Tripathi. op.cit. p. 137. fn. 2.
168. Ghurye, G.S. ; Caste, Class and Occupations,1961, Bombay, p.67
169. Shastri, Y.P.: op.cit. p. 42.

The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations:End of p.30

End of Chapter 1A: The Jaathra theory of Angad Sharma
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