Haryana: A Haven Of Heritage

Haryana: A Haven Of Heritage

Dr. S.S. Rana


The idea of Haryana being a region representing a certain culture and way of life had continued to linger in the minds of its inhabitants since at least a millennium before the formation of a state of the Indian Republic as a residual consequence of the creation (or truncating?) of the bigger state of Punjab. But let it be made clear that it was not a mere
corollary of what happened to Punjab. The people of the state, had all along the years after independence, especially with the onset of the assertion of regional or linguistic identities, put forward their demand for the creation of a state which already existed on an informal plane carrying all the traits fully justifying the creation of a separate state. The state did come into existence in 1966, but alas! in a much smaller form than the one that was appropriate. Vested political interests and the paradoxes of administrative jurisdiction came in the way of doing what was obvious. So the culturally, linguistically and ethnically homogeneous region, already known as Haryana Desh (state) was kept administratively fragmented. With Delhi/ Indraprastha as the hub and its administrative seat traditional Haryana has been witness to and a victim of many wars and military incursions inflicted upon it by aliens and not so friendly compatriots like the Marathas. The mother of all wars, the legendary BhartaWar had its arena in the Kurukshetra area. Close to it Panipat was pounded by no less than three battles. Earlier to it Tarain saw the fall of Prithviraj Chauhan in the second onslaught of Muhammad Ghori in 1192/93 after his heartening victory over the latter in the first battle here two years earlier.
Situate as a bowl in the middle of the Indo-Gangetic plain and combined with Punjab literally serving as the grain bowl for the country Haryana has been a cradle of most ancient civilization and a rich ground for the growth and development (and decay too!) of diverse religious traditions. Post Independence era saw an upsurge of archaeological and historical research in different regions of our country. But Haryana had to wait till its formal creation and a government of its own to engage the attention of the scholarly world to seriously undertake research and explore the rich heritage it had carried over several millenniums without serious notice. Today on the basis of archaeological discoveries we are in a position to say that Haryana was a center of cultural and political activity from very ancient times. It offers answers to several fundamental questions of our country’s early history and archaeology. The latest find of a Harrappan site at Gohana near Rohtak, which itself has yielded coins of the Yaudheyas, takes the chain further adding to sites like Banwali in Hissar and Mithathal in Bhiwani district to establish the hoary antiquity of the region as an inhabited area. Rakhigarhi (near Hansi ) has yielded several Harrappan seals bearing characters of the Indus script. Painted Grey Ware has been discovered from a large number of sites in Haryana pointing to the Vedic connection of the region. Researches carried out by scholars like Professors Suraj Bhan, U.V. Singh, Silak Ram and many others have brought to light the rich material lying buried for millenniums. A lot more awaits the spade of the scholarly world.
It was on the banks of the legendary rivers Saraswati (now extinct) and the Yamuna that the saints sang the vedic hymns and performed sacrifices. It was around the precincts of the Yamuna that the tradition of Lord Krishna’s association developed. It was at Kurukshetra that the immortal song of life and philosophy poured forth from the tongue of none other than the Lord himself. The most powerful of the times of the Rigveda the tribe of the Bharatas were settled in the region between the Saraswati and theYamuna. Our country is named after the name of this ancient tribe. In the Shrimadbhagawadgita Arjuna is addressed by Shri Krishna most frequently as Bharata (one belonging to the tribe of the Bharatas).
The Buddhist canonical literature refers to the Kurus or the Kururashtra as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of the sixth century B.C with Indrpraastha as its capital. Buddha visited several places in Haryana and received alms. Agroha became a stronghold of Buddhism. The Chinese pilgrim Yuwan- Chang, who visited India during Harsha’s reign in the seventh century A.D., giving an account of Shrughna (Sugh) in Ambala district mentions an Ahokan Stupa to the west of the river Yamuna, containing the holy relics of Buddha. Incidentally a pillar containing the seven edicts of Ashoka now standing on the top of the royal palace at Kotla Ferozshah in Delhi also originally stood at village Topra to the west of Yanuna a couple of kilo Meters away from Ambala. Buddhist Stupas have also been discovered at Kurukshetra and Chhaneti a place close by. The same were referred to by Yuwan-Chang , who has also reffered to Gohana as a place of Buddhist pilgrimage. A Buddhist text Ratthapalasutta (Rahtrapalasutra) talks of a king Kauravya who lived in the famous city of Thullakothila identified with Dhankota in Gurgaon district.The place may be so called as it had abundant grain. It may be mentioned here that the Mahabharata also speaks of the people of Rohtak region as Bahudhanyakas ( possessing abundant grain). The discovery of Ashokan pillar edicts at Topra, (Fatehabad (near Hissar) and at Merath (now stands in front of Hindurao Hospital,Delhi) and of a Rock Edict at New Delhi( Srinivaspuri near Lajpatnagar) is significant in as much as it places the place on Ashokan map. We learn a good deal about the administrative system of ashoka from these edicts. It is pity that Firoz Shah chose to get his own genealogy inscribed on the pillar after erasing the Ashokan edict. However, it is no surprise knowing well the common human urge to scratch inscribe mundane messages even on tender trunks of exotic trees in protected places.
The celebrated Sanskrit grammarian Panini of the fifth or sixth century B.C. mentions several towns of Haryana viz. Kapishthala (Kaithal), Sonaprashtha (Sonepat), Rono (Rori)) and Taushayana ( Tohana) in Hissar district,Sairishaka (Sirsa), Yugandhara (Jagadhari), Shrughna (Sugh), Kalakuta (Kalka), which goes to prove their antiquity. Sugh became an important center of terracotta art during the Sunga period as is borne out by the discovery of a large number of figurines and moulded plaques one of them depicting a child learning alphabet. Something interesting in the context of the general perception of Haryana in the world of learning till half a century back. Several Yaksha and Yakshi images of the Sunga period (first/second century B.C.) have been discovered from places like Palwal, Mehrauli, Bhadas and Hathin. Apart from Khokrakot in Rohtak coins of ther Yaudheyas, a republican tribe have been discovered from Naurangabad, Hansi, Hissar, Behat and Bayana (near Bharatpur) etc. indicating the extent of their territory. The Girnar Rock Inscription of the Kshatrapa ruler Rudradaman(second century A.D.) and the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Smudragupta (fourth century A.D.) of the Gupta dynasty testify to the valorous character of the Yaudheyas. As republicans they issued coins not in the name of the ruling head but in the name of their tutelary deity Swami Mahasena, the mythical generalissimo of the gods. Kushana coins, coin moulds, stone sculptures have been found from several places all over Haryana testifying the fact that this region formed part of the Kushana empire.
We also have a number of inscriptions which throw ample light on the social, political and economic conditions of the Haryana region in the ancient and medieval period. The inscription in the Garibnath temple tells us about the holding of horse fairs for which the traders had evolved certain norms raising resources for maintenance of local temples. Italso speaks of the cultural and political importance of Pehwa under the rule of king Bhoj. Another inscription from the same tells us the genealogy of the Tomara lings of the Thanesar region. The Palam Baoli inscription of 1280 A.D. mentions that the country Hariyanaka was first enjoyed by the Tomaras and later by the Chahamanas. Another inscription (1328 A.D.), now in Delhi Museum speaks of a country named Hariyana with Dhillika as its city built by the Tomaras. The Delhi inscription contained on the Ashokan Pillar at Kotala gives us valuable information about the weakening of the north under Muslim incursions and also of the resolve of Vigraharaja Visaldev to clear the intrusions. Al-Beruni, who had accompanied (forcibly?) Mahamud Ghaznavi during the latter’s campaigns in India refers to a man size bronze statue of Chakraswami i.e. Vishnu.
Haryana along wi5th other regions of the north suffered immensely under the Muslim occupation of the Delhi throne. Huge amount of material lies scattered all over the region to be explored and researched upon to get a more lear picture of its history. Indeed Haryana is a haven of heritage.




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