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Katyuri kingdom

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The Katyuri kingdom also known as Katyuri dynasty was a medieval ruling kingdom of the suryavanshi [4][note 1] that ruled over the regions in Uttarakhand in India and western Nepal from 700 to 1200 CE. The founder of this dynasty, King Vasu Dev was originally a Buddhist ruler, but later he started following Hindu practices sometimes attributed to a vigorous campaign of Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara (788–820 CE).[6]

Karttikeyapur (Katyur) Kingdom
Kurmanchal
700 CE–1065 CE
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Location of the Katyuri kingdom, and main South Asian polities in 1000.[1]
StatusSovereign state
CapitalJoshimath later shifted to Baijnath, Uttarakhand[2][3]
Common languagesSanskrit
Religion
Hinduism,Buddhism
GovernmentMonarchy
Raja (King) 
• 700–849 CE
Vasu Dev
• 850–870 CE
Basantana Dev (founder of Baijnath)
• 870–880 CE
Kharpar Dev
• 955–970 CE
Bhu Dev
• brief period till 1065 CE
Bir Dev
History 
• Established
700 CE
• Transfer of capital to Karttikeyapur, Baijnath
850 CE
• Disestablished
1065 CE
 Succeeded by
Doti
Chand kingdom
Garhwal Kingdom
Today part ofIndia
Nepal

King Bhu Dev was known for extensively eradicating Buddhist practices in his kingdom and the Bageshwar stone inscription of Bhu Dev[7] writes himself as "Brahmana Parayana" and "Parama Shramana Rupu" meaning a follower of Brahmans and an arch rival of Buddhist Bhikshus.[8] The Katyuri Kings were known for constructing several Hindu temples in present-day Uttarakhand as later they followed Brahminical practices.[9]

After fragmentation and disestablishment of the Katyuri kingdoms, their offshoots rose as Askot Katyuri Pal Rajwar in Pithoragarh, another Katyuri Pal Doti Rainka in modern Doti district of Nepal, King Brahm Deo's branch state in Sui (Kaali Kumaon)(after whose name Brahmdeo Mandi of Nepal was founded), another Katyuri house at Baramandal, one of them maintained its sovereignty over Baijnath and finally one each Katyuri house in Dwarahat and Lakhanpur.[10]

Name

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They called their state Kurmanchal, the land of Kurma, the second avatar of Vishnu, from which the present name is derived. Their capital was Kartripura.[11]

History

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Origin

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Most scholars agree on the Suryavanshi origin of Katyuris.[4] European and Chinese historians believe Katyuris to be natives of Kumaon.[12] For example E. T. Atkinson, in the first volume of his book Himalayan Gazetter, proposes the Katyuris to be natives of Kumaon, and traces their roots in the ruined town of Karvirpur on the bank of the Gomati river.[2] However, historian Badri Datt Pandey proposed descent from the Shalivahana ruling house of Ayodhya[13][3][note 2] while historian Price Powell claims their origin back to the Kunindas, having found coins from the Kuninda period (Kuninda Kingdom).[5] The rule of Kunindas were limited only to the foothill tracts and not in the interiors of Uttarakhand and the coins could have reached in the interiors by travel of traders and pilgrims.[15] Another historian, Rahul Sankrityayan, traces their ancestry to Shakas and further identifies Khasas and Shakas to be a part of the same race.[4] The Shakas were in India before the first century BCE while the Khasas spread over the Himalaya and extensively populated the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand[4] and the later waves of Shakas got diffused into them.[4] Previously, Khasa had strongly established themselves from Afghanistan to Nepal from ancient period and as per internal evidences, they managed the village level theocratic republics like Gram-Rajya and Mandals under various local clans and identities.[16] Katyuri was one of the ruling houses of Joshimath that claimed the sovereignty over other Gram Rajyas of the entire territory.[17] The Katyuris ruled from Joshimath in the Alaknanda Valley and later they shifted their capital to Baijnath.[18]

Kingdom

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7th-century Nataraja relief on Temple 1 of Jageshwar Temples; Ganesha in upper right corner, Skanda-Kartikeya on his peacock in upper left, Parvati in lower left and a musician playing vadya in lower right.[19]

The Katyuri dynasty was founded by Vashudev Katyuri (sometimes spelled Vasu Dev or Basu Dev);[3] the ancient Basdeo temple in the city - the oldest stone temple in Uttarakhand - is attributed to him.[6] His reign is most commonly believed to be from 850 to 870 CE.[6] The Kingdom was then named Jyotiryana, and had its capital at Joshimath in the Alaknanda Valley.[2] Vasu Dev was of Buddhist origin, but later started following Hindu practices. The Hindu practices of Katyuri kings in general is sometimes attributed to a vigorous campaign of Adi Shankara (788-820 CE).[6]

Later they shifted their capital to Baijnath from Joshimath,[3][13] during their reign they dominated lands of varying extent from the "Katyur" (modern-day Baijnath) valley in Kumaon, between 7th and 11th centuries C.E., and established their capital at Baijnath in Bageshwar district; which was then known as Kartikeyapura and lies in the centre of "Katyur" valley. Brahmadev mandi (a trading and business center in a flat area of the then Katyuri kingdom) in the Kanchanpur District of Nepal was established by Katyuris king Brahma Deo (Brahma Dev). Brahmadeo Mandi still exists by this name.

At its peak, the Katyuri dynasty of Kumaon extended from Sikkim in the east to Kabul, Afghanistan They were known as Katoor around Chitral Gilgit Hindukush, in the west, before fragmenting into numerous principalities by the 12th century.[20] it is believed that from king Dham Deo and Vir Deo the downfall of this powerful dynasty began. Virdeo used to collect heavy taxes and forced his people to work as his slaves, King Virdeo teased his subjects by his tyranny to the extent that he forcibly married his own maternal aunt Tila (Tilottama Devi). It is said that the Kumaoni folk song "Mami tile dharo bola" became popular from that very day.[9] After the death of king Virdeo a civil war among his sons started. Fierce fight took place among them. Whole of the kingdom was ruined. The people of this very family divided the whole kingdom among themselves, they declared themselves independent kings and established their own kingdoms in various parts of Kumaon,[6][13]

King Brahmdeo of this family (after whose name Brahmdeo Mandi was founded) established his kingdom in Sui. His first fort lay in Sui and the Rawat king of Dumkot [sv] was under him. The second branch started ruling Doti. The third established itself at Askot. Fourth settled down at Baramandal. The fifth maintained its sovereignty over Baijnath and . The sixth branch ruled in Dwarahat,[21] later they were displaced by Chand kings.[22][23]

Later offshoots

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The Rajwar dynasty of Askot in Pithoragarh was set up in the 1279 AD, by a branch of the Katyuri Kings,[6] headed by Abhay Pal Deo, who was the grandson of Katyuri king, Brahm Deo. The dynasty ruled the region until it became part of the British Raj through the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816. Doti, another branch of the Katyuri dynasty, came under Nepal through Gurkha expansion in 1790.[9]

Later one more strong offshoot was Mahuli Mahson Raj, (Basti), Uttar Pradesh. The feudal kingdom stretched (47 kilometers) 14 kose. After Brahm Deo's reign the empire disintegrated, with his grandson Abhay Pal Deo continuing his reign from the kingdom of Askote in Kumaon's Pithoragarh district. Abhay Pal, Deo's two younger sons, Alakh Deo and Tilak Deo set out from Askote in 1305 with a large army and after passing through the Terai region and the plains of U.P, came to Gonda/Gorakhpur. This region was covered in thick jungles and swamps and was inhabited by fierce Bhar tribals. The Ghagra river in the south and Rapti river in the east protected the region from heavy attacks.

List of Rulers

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The period of certain Katyuri rulers, is generally determined as below, although there is some ambiguity in respect to exact number of years ruled by each King[24]

List–
  • Vasu Dev (700–849 CE) (Possibly legendary)
  • Basantana Dev (850–870 CE)
  • Kharpar Dev (870–880 CE)
  • Abhiraj Dev (880–890 CE)
  • Tribhuvanraj Dev (890–900 CE)
  • Nimbarta Dev (900–915 CE)
  • Istanga (915–930 CE)
  • Lalitasura Dev (930–955 CE)
  • Bhu Dev (955–970 CE)
  • Salonaditya (970–985 CE)
  • Ichchhata Dev (985–1000 CE)
  • Deshat Dev (1000–1015 CE)
  • Padmata Dev (1015–1045 CE)
  • Subhiksharaja Dev (1045–1060 CE)
  • Dham Dev (1060–1064 CE)
  • Bir Dev (Very short period till 1065 CE)
  • Trilok pal dev

Legacy

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Architecture

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The Katyuri Kings were known for constructing several temples in present-day Uttarakhand and they followed Brahminical practices.[9] Most of the ancient temples in Uttarakhand are architectural contributions by the Katyuri dynasty.[25] Vasu Dev temple at Joshimath, several shelters and small shrines along the route to Badrinath, as well as the Lakulesha, Mahishasuramardhini, Navadurga and Nataraja temples at Jageshwar were constructed by Katyuri Kings.[9] Bhuv Dev (955-970) was follower of Brahminical practices and built several temples at Baijnath and Bageshwar, but the structures are lost and tradition continues.[9] A relatively rare Surya temple, is located at Katarmal, now a remote village near Kosi, which was built by Katarmalla, a lesser known Katyuri ruler and the temple has 44 carved temples around the main temple, but is in a state of neglect after the theft of an important idol.[26] The Katyuri Kings also build a temple known as Manila Devi near Sainamanur.

 
Sun Temple at Katarmal
 
Jageshwar Temples Complex
 
Baijnath Temple Complex
Several temples in Uttarakhand are attributed to the Katyuri Kings.

See also

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References

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Notes

  1. ^ Most of the scholars agreed upon the suryavanshi origin of Katyuris.[4] However, Historians Badri Datt Pandey and Price Powell respectively proposed descent from Shalivahana ruling house of Ayodhya and Kuninda both of which are seriously doubtful over various internal evidences that shows the Katyuris were Khasa that entirely dominated the inner Himalayan belt upto Nepal.[5]
  2. ^ Pandey states the Khasas to be the original inhabitants of these Himalayan areas, who settled here before the composition of the Vedas, and the Katyuris may have conquered them, and established their Kingdom.[14]

Citations

  1. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 37, 147. ISBN 0226742210.
  2. ^ a b c Handa 2002, p. 24
  3. ^ a b c d Handa 2002, p. 25
  4. ^ a b c d e f Handa 2002, p. 22.
  5. ^ a b Handa 2002, p. 24-25.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Handa 2002, p. 26
  7. ^ Handa 2002, p. 29-31.
  8. ^ Handa 2002, p. 31.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Handa 2002, pp. 34–45
  10. ^ Handa 2002, p. 38-44.
  11. ^ Royle, John Forbes (1839). Illustrations of the Botany and Other Branches of the Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains (etc.). Allen.
  12. ^ Alter, Andrew (2014), "Echoes of Colonialism: Bagpipes in the Himalayas", Mountainous Sound Spaces, Delhi: Foundation Books, pp. 1–16, doi:10.1017/9789384463069.003, ISBN 978-93-84463-06-9, retrieved 10 November 2020
  13. ^ a b c Pande 1993, p. 154
  14. ^ Pande 1993, p. 152
  15. ^ Handa 2002, p. 25.
  16. ^ Handa 2002, pp. 22–26
  17. ^ Handa 2002, p. 24.
  18. ^ Handa 2002, pp. 26–28.
  19. ^ Nachiket Chanchani 2013, pp. 139–141.
  20. ^ "9th-11th century". Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  21. ^ Hāṇḍā, Omacanda (2008). Panorama of Himalayan architecture. Indus. ISBN 978-81-7387-212-9.
  22. ^ Srinivas, Vijay. Jewel of the sacred Himalayas. OCLC 1010658966.
  23. ^ Atkinson, Edwin T. (Edwin Thomas) (1990). Himalayan Gazetteer. Cosmo. OCLC 183008777.
  24. ^ Handa 2002, p. 28 to 32.
  25. ^ "Historical Background". Uttarakhand Open University. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  26. ^ Sajwan, Venita (17 August 2002). "A lesser-known sun temple at Katarmal". The Tribune. Retrieved 8 July 2013.

Bibliography

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