The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations/An Historico-Somatometrical study bearing on the origin of the Jats
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Manthan Publications, Rohtak. ISBN 81-85235-22-8Chapter VII:An Historico-Somatometrical study bearing on the origin of the Jats
- 1 The distinguishing features of different races
- 2 Blood groups
- 3 The anthropological investigations regarding the Jats
- 4 The racial analysis of the Jats
- 5 Origin of Jats, Ahirs, Gujars and Rajputs
- 6 Jats and Rajputs
- 7 Jats and Yaudheyas
- 8 Ethnological description of Jats in Harshacharita
- 9 The dynasty of Harshavardhana: Virakas
- 10 The Imperial Guptas
- 11 The Mauryas
- 12 Porus
- 13 Conclusion of anthropological analysis
- 14 Varahamihira's five divisions of human types
- 15 Ayudhajivi Samghas
- 16 The republican tribes
- 17 The ethnic stock of Rigvedic republican tribes
- 18 Remarkable similarity of Jat tribes with Rigvedic tribes
- 19 Etymology of term Jat
- 20 Western Anavas
- 21 The racial affinity of the Harappans
- 22 Migration of Jats from Sapta Sindhu
- 23 Notes And References
The distinguishing features of different races
The Census Reports of India from 1870 to 1931 (infra, Ch. XI) have treated the Jats, irrespective of their religious, linguistic and regional differences, as a separate racial unit in the Indian subcontinental population. The sub-continent is considered as "the best paradise for the anthropologists". The Jats, in this "paradise", are regarded as Aryans, as Scythians as well as Dravidians. To which stock they belong can be best decided by their anthropometrical study. The widely accepted chief distinguishing features of different races are:
- the nature of the hair on the head,
- the nature and development of the facial hair (beard and moustache) and body hair,
- the colour of the hair,
- skin and iris of the eyes,
- the shape of the eyelids;
- the shape of the head, face and chin; and
- the length of the body or the height of an individual,
- his torso, the girth of the chest and waist;
- the shape of the hips, pelvis and legs;
- dentition and the blood group.
For the identification of the Jats with a particular race, it is essential for us to have a bird's eye view of these distinguishing features and their details. We begin with a general statement about the colour of different races. Skin, eye and hair colour is one of the more obvious human polymorphisms. Differences in the colour have been known for a long time, but technically it is difficult to specify them. The genetic bases for skin, eye and hair colour are extremely complex and do not a low for simple analysis. Notwithstanding the difficulties and complexities experienced by anthropologist in the scientific study of biochemistry of the colour as one of the physical tests of races, by and large, they as well as the laymen use it as one of the most important distinguishing characteristics, and they talk of the White race, Yellow nee and the Black race, as also of how the skin colour is inherited and acquired in the lifetime of the individual. The Nordics are white, the Mongoloids are yellow, the Negroes and the Dravidians are black. So far as the skin colour is concerned, our ancient Sanskrit texts mention some more colours, viz. Red (Kshatriyas)1, wheatish, pink and golden
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(Sakas)2, sun or moon colour (Vanaras)3, golden, lotus or lily complexion and rubiscent like lustrous sun (Nordic women)4, bluish Siva Skin colour is, more or less, correlated with solar radiation, temperature and humidity.
The genetics of hair colour, too, like that of skin, is not simple. However, the anthropologists postulate that the colour of the hair of the Negroes, Dravidians and Mongoloids is black and that of white (Nordic and Indo-Nordic) is black, dark brown, medium, light brown and blond. In addition to these, there are intense and light red to golden-blond colours as well.
For the colour of the eyes, it may be said that Black races have dark brown or black eyes, the Mongoloids or yellow races have medium to dark brown eyes and the White races have eyes of all lighter shades, blue, gray, pale mixed, dark brown, yellowish brown, medium brown and light blue. In a minority of cases the colour may be gray blue, mixed and blackish as well. It is extremely interesting to note that modern anthropologists employ the eye-colour as one of the physical tests to differentiate the human taxonomy whereas the anthropological detail ; in the ancient Sanskrit literature show that the colour as well as the shape of the eyes, compared with those of the animals, birds etc., were used for classification. The Skanda Purana5 and the Garuda Purana 6, which give the best anthropometrical data, mention bulging, round sheep like, buffalo-like and squint eyes. Varahamihira 7, (really a keen and profound scholar of anthropology) who systematically treated anthropometrical details for Homo-Sapiens and who gives five classifications of human beings (infra) and descriptions of damsels, mention; eyes resembling those of cat, deer, elephant, peacock, mongoose, fish and swan; blue eyes are considered as a distinct class. Elliptical eyes in cases of women are thought beautiful. Protruding eyes, that are large and curved like the moon and depressed in the middle eye-brows are also highlighted by him.
Ironically we also speak of eyes like those of parrot, crow and bull. "Poets and novelists rhapsodize about the colour and expression of eyes, the arch of the eyebrows and the length of the eyelashes but the form of the eye opening and the variations of the soft parts are left to the anthropologists for accurate description. They, perhaps, know only two sharply contrasted variations of eyes in modem man - the
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Mongoloid and the non-Mongoloid eyes. The former fill the orbit or socket, have less developed brow-ridges and scanty eyebrows, with extremely fatty and very thick eyelids, whose external corners are elevated, have the small vertical opening that gives it a slit-like appearance. The principal mark of the Mongoloid eyes is their inner or internal, epicanthic folds. The eyes of the Nordics are just the opposite, the hall mark of which is their external epicanthic folds. The obvious characteristics of the Mongoloid eye are of great utility in racial classification" (Hooton, Up from Ape, Rev. ed., Delhi).
Nose: "An inquisitive and curious person is called 'nosey', but intellectual Curiosity to a great extent accounts for man's material and mental progress. Anatomically, the more highly evolved man is, the nosier he looks" (Ibid.). However, the anatomy of the human nose and the ear also contribute to a large extent in identifying various races. The anthropologists have given us three categories of nose on the basis of nasal index. "If it falls under 47, the nose is said to be leptorrhine or narrow; if between 47 and 51, mesorhine or medium; if over 51 platyrrhine or broad". The nasal index has long been considered a significant measure of racial differences. The Negroid, but not all Dravidians, are notoriously broad and shortnosed and the Whites of Europe, Asia and North Africa are long-narrow-pointed nosed groups. The nose may be aquiline, concave and straight in the White groups The Skanda Purana and the Garuda Purana acquaint us With all the three forms of noses, but Varahamihira 8 is more elaborate in his description of long, small, big and flat forms of the nose. "A nose curved atthe end is called agrawaka (अग्रवक) and the one straight with small holes as rizvi-alparandhra (रिज्वी-अल्परंध्र ) as well as Sukanasa (सुकनास ) as an insignia of attractive looks. He praises the nose resembling the parrot-beak, a typical Aryan feature so eloquently and commendably referred to in the entire classical Sankrit literature. Nonetheless, we also come across expressions like anas (अनस) and Krisnatvach (कृष्णत्वच),translated respectively as 'noseless' and 'black skinned', and frequently applied to flat-nosed and dark-complexioned Dravidians and predominant in Proto-Australoid stock".
Ears: "Ears, more or less, escape notice unless they are outstanding and obtrusive" or unless they are acupunctured by a physician to relieve some ear-ache or to cure hernia and anaemia or pierced by a gold-smith for some decorative ear ornament or unless they are caught by the
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parents and teachers for some didactic purpose or studied in their minute details for classification by a criminologist or unless they are red in anger. Every person uses his ears for catching sound waves, but the deaf may lament for them; the educated may use them as a rest for spectacle bows, pens and pencils; the lover may use their upper sockets for keeping scented pads and the spies may use them for whispering secrets, but the anthropologists use these organs to determine racial variations. The Negroes have short, wide cars; the Whites have longer and narrower ears whereas the Mongoloids possess the longest and relatively the narrowest ones. Free lobe and unrolled helix are common in the Whites and Mongoloids but rolled helix and the attached or sholdered ear lobe are the peculiarities of the Negroids. Varahamihira 9 prescribes the dimensions of the crescent like ears of the Aryans and Kaviraja Svamiabhudeva praises the beauty of Kannauji ear.
Heads: "Any man or woman, who has ever tried a stiff straw or Sola hat, fowler, a silk or wool or fur topper, knows that heads differ in shape and size and do not fit all hats. Skulls or heads when looked at from above show much variety in their contours" (Hooton, Ibid.). The anthropologists have employed the head form as one of the most significant criteria in distinguishing various races, and have laid down certain formulae popularly known as cranial or cephalic indices. "When thle maximum breadth of a skull is less than 75 percent of its greatest length, the skull is said to be long-headed or dolichocephalic. When breadth is 80 percent or more of the length, the skull is called round or medium-headed or mesocephalic" (Hooton, ibid.), Recently the Russian 10 craniologists have referred to unique type of skulls, deformed and elongated vertically, which they donot consider as an ethnic characteristic and attribute them to the Kushan rulers, However, the Indo-Nordics (Aryans) and Indo-Dravidians are dolichocephalic,the Mediterranean, the Kelts, and the Nordics are mesocephalic;the Alpine, the Armenoid, the Dinaric, the Mongoloid and the Scythtans (Sakas) are brachycephalic. "In fact, Scythian was no race. It is merely a geographical term. The Scythians, with all of their branches, were Nordics, rather, their progenitors"11. The Negroid and the Veddoid are dolichocephalic. These head-forms were not unknown to our ancient literature. The Puranas know all the three types and Varahamihira 12 describes as many as six types of heads noticeable in his time.
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Lips: Lips are used not merely for singing or kissing, for correct pronunciation and speech, for mimicry and making faces, for covering and protecting the gums, teeth and tongue, but also for showing racial distinctions. Lips are sometimes said to possess little value for the anthropologist, but even then, it may be remarked that the Negroes and to some extent the Dravidians, have thick, puffy and everted lips, the Whites generally possess thin lips and the Mongoloids are in an intermediate position. Besides the mention of thin and thick lips, the red lips resembling the ripe Bimba 13 (Momordica Monadelpha) fruit and the coral lips are very much appreciated in ancient Indian literature.
Faces: "We recognise Our acquaintances by looking at their faces rather than at the shape of their heads. individual variations express themselves here more plainly than in any other part of the body. Racial differences, too, are much more marked in the countenance elsewhere" (Hooton, Ibid.). The face is an index not only of the mind and mood but of the race also. Some times we come across vulgar terms like hatchet-faced, 'norse-faced', 'moon-faced', 'pie-faced' and 'lantern-faced', which, though impolite, yet are very significant. Faces may be long-narrow, short-broad and medium. Because of the protrusion of the jaw the Negroes, Some of the Dravidians and Australoids are prognathous, the Whites are orthognathous and the Mongoloids are in between the two. "In the facial index, the length is expressed as a percentage of the breadth. If this percentage or index is less than 84, the person is called euryprosopic or broad-faced. If the index is between 85 and 88, it is called mesoprosopic or medium-faced; if 88 or above, leptoprosopic or narrow-faced. On dry skulls, the mesoprosopic range is from 85 to 89.9". Facial proportions are probably related to types of body build as well as to racial inheritance. The ancient Indian literature14 describes various forms of the fore-head. It may be semicircular, under pressed and three 'angulas' broad, according to Varahamihira forehead may be large and bulging, depressed, uneven, half-moon shaped, small and round. The shape of the chin correlates with that of the face.
A bald-head is baneful and a butt of ridicule which nobody relishes. Head-hair are an ornament in themselves which are used not only by poets and novelists in the description of the beauty of their real and often imaginary characters. but they also "afford the most-used
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basis to anthropologists for a classification of present day human groups". The Mongoloids have very straight and coarse hair of dark colour, the Negroid (and some Dravidians) the markedly curved, spiraled, woolly and frizzly; and the Whites boast of their fine, smooth, straight, curly hair with low and deep waves in different shades of colour. In the vulgar parlance the moustache, beard and body hair are an insignia of masculinity in men, and a hairless face and body are considered to be effiminate. The Whites have thick growth of hair, the Negroes and Dravidian medium and Mongoloids the least developed hair of all the races.
Hips or buttocks are usually prominent in Nordics, medium in Negroes and slanting in the Mongoloids. The pelvis is broad in both sexes in the Nordics and narrow in others. The thighs, legs and calfs are well developed in the Nordics and the Mongoloids, and poorly developed in the Negroids who have projecting heel and low foot arch. The torso is relatively longer in the Negroids and the Dravidians where as the portion of the body below the hip is comparatively longer in the Nordics, which is considered clumsy by the Dravidians, [Chokalingam, 1935: Vol. I). Body build, as a rule, is slender with longer extremities in Nordics; usually slender and linear in Dravids and quite variable in Mongols. Our ancient Sanskrit texts15 describe the chest forms as even, flat, small, deep, broad; shoulders as bony, broad, large; small and continuous; waist like that of a lion (slim, sturdy and extremely strong), a horse, a camel, a donkey, a dog and a jackal; teeth resembling the seeds of pomegranate or white pearls in Aryans, shovel incisorous in Mongols and Negroes. A long neck like that of a peacock is appreciated.
Those, who are tall, feel superior and 'look down upon' the shorter ones, who in turn, "look up to them" as the 'tall fools'. Whatever taunt and humour may be ascribed to the height of individuals, all in all, stature is one of the most conspicuous criteria taken as the measure of the races. "Males under 150 cms. (59 inches) and females under 140 cms (55 inches) are very small. Males between 150 cms. and 160 ems. (59 to 63 inches) are undersized. For males, 160 to 170 cms. (63 to 67 inches) and for the 'fair sex', 150 to 159 (59 to 62.6 inches) is medium stature. Males with statures above 170 cms. and females more than 159 cms may be accounted tall. Males who attain a height of 180 cms. (70.9
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inches) and females 168 cms. (66.1 inches) and more in height are tall. The normal range of human stature for males is about 130 cm inches) to 200 ems. (78.7 inches). below and above these limit, encounter the dwarfs and the giants" (Hoot on, Ibid.) Just compare Varahamihira16 has said in this respect: in one's own angulas, the height is 108 angulas or 63 inches in mates or Indo-Aryans and Indo-Negroids. The stature of Indians, nay, of man m general). dwindled due to prolonged famines, poor nourishment, unhygienic conditions, the role of genes and consumption of the best male for in wars. The standard height of man at the time of Kautalya was angulas 6 (feet), probably of the recruits for army and police17.
Blood max sometimes be thicker than water. We swear by a boast of nobility of the ancestral Blood in our veins. Blood may put on the forehead of heroes to enthuse them before going to battle fields. It is transfused to the needy. Medico-legal authorities use to decide the parentage of the disputed issues. But the anthropologists make its use in racial studies. A serological taxonomy makes at least much sense and, in fact, more than a classification based on hair form and skin colour in differentiating races of mankind. To enable a reader to understand the part played by blood in the formation of various races, it may be suggested, Without going into the complexity of its taxonomy, that the A.B.O. Blood systems, taken alone, would exhibit a separate or common origin for them.
The distribution of this system is roughly given below:-90% Amerindians have group O. In Europe it is 35% to 40% and in India 30%, blood group A is rare in Amerindians and Blood group B is completely absent in most of them. It is less common than A in Europe, B-group is an Asiatic and African (Aryan, Mongoloid and Negro) blood type much more than it is in European. B is highest in India and decreases in all directions18. India must have a a great significance in the dispersion of B group in Central and Middle Asia, Europe and the Eastern Asiatic countries. North and north Western India and Pakistan where B is highest are believed to be predominantly inhabited by Aryan speaking races or branches of the White race. B is thought to be in India for millennia by the anthropologists. While describing the Jats of north western India Mr. M.G. Srinath19 believes them, on the bases of their morphological characters, to be of the,
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Caucasian stock (White or Nordic) and confirms that higher incidence of B than A among the Indians (37.2 in Jats App. no.2) is attributed to the natural selection acting over 4000 years. 'A' 'B' came first and 'O' arose later by mutation-(?)
B is believed to have reached Africa through Western India; and eastward to the Malay Archipelago and farther east20. B spread from Central Asia and India through Indonesia to Philippines along with Hindu influence as late as the first millennium A.D. and filtrated into Europe, and still later with oriental trade"21. B being highest (42.7) in Bengal, 37.2 in the Hindu and Sikh Jats in north-West India21a dwindles very low in South West Arabia and Africa, and is lowest in European Whites except in the Gypsies22 (38.96) who are emigrants from north west India since the time of Alexander's invasion of India and even earlier. The now of B in all directions from India indicates migrations from the subcontinent in ancient times without any shadow of doubt. Its dispersion might have taken place about 25,000 years ago23.--
The introduction of B to eastern and central Europe is attributed 24 to the repeated historical invasions of the Huns, from Central Asia. But what about Western Europe? It is also suggested25 that B is not necessarily associated with the Mongoloids and may be inherited quite independently of them. The suggestion is quite plausible in the sense that it is indicative of the fact that B existed in the European Whites before the Hun invasions. Since Europe is not the cradle of B, where had it come from and who were its carriers? The answer is not too far to seek. It flowed from the East26. The donors of B were the Getae, Thysagetae, and Massagetae (Goths, Visigoths and Ostrogoths)27 who were the primitive precursors of the Huns in Europe, where they, being segregated from the main stream, became isolates and developed in course of time higher frequencies of O and A due to mutation, inbreeding, etc. They were, in fact, the progenitors of the Nordic or the White race28. Haldane29 also firmly asserts that 10 to 15 percent of B in the European population could not have been acquired in the last 20,000 years through mutation alone and there is good evidence that the European B is due to infiltration from the east and may well have increased in repeated mutation in different areas.
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We may Sum up: "The norm of Indian aesthetics of physical beauty and perfection requires conch-like neck, shoulders like those of a bull, broad fleshy chest, concealed collar bone, broad forehead, arms extending up to thighs, teeth resembling the seeds of pomegranate or white pearls, nose like parrot-beak, eyes like lotus or fish, rosy cheeks, waist like that of a lion, round cylindrical straight legs, small feet and above all slender robust athletic physique in males; White lily Complexion, slim body and waist, spherical breast, fawn eyes, red lips or coral lips, rosy cheeks, thighs like the trunk of a plantain tree, round fleshy hips, long eye corners, tender and fleshy built in females. Symmetry of limbs was the first criterion of beauty in both sexes30. These norms are now evidently noticeable in the Jats, Gujars. Khatris and Rajputs.
The anthropological investigations regarding the Jats
Now from the general to particular:- that is, anthropological investigations regarding the Jats. Stray efforts were made by anthropologists to identity the Jats with the Aryans. They were declared to be the descendents of the Caucasoid as if the latter were a separate race distinct from the Aryans. The theory of the Scythic origin of the Jats stood discarded under the misconception that the Jats, being dolicnocephalic, cannot be the progeny of the broad headed Scythians, who were also considered different from the Aryans. They were also connected With the Yueh-Chih, Kushanas and the Huns as if all the three, too, were separate stocks. The Jats and Meds of Sivistan and of the Kacchi plains were identified with the Dravidians by certain Arab historians, and We have yet to hear of their Mongoloid origin. "Much ingenuity has gone into guessing the origin of Jats. The historical data is scanty, the theories multiple. Some claim foreign descent, others divine, when legend ends, mythology takes over," (K. Natwar Singh, Surajmal). The historical publication are consequently replete with conflicting surmises regarding their ethnic origin.
Before attempting a comparative study of the anthropometrical data of the different races, with which the Jats may possibly be identified, the problem cal1s for the removal of some misunderstandings that have crept in literature as a result of different nomenclatures of various racial groups irrespective of the fact that they belong to one and the same primary race. Scholars make no bones about the Dravidian:; and the Mongols. Surpnsmgiy enough, some scholars of the
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Dravidians are also as Aryans: Aurovindo Ashrama, Pondichery, consider the Dravidians also as Aryans whose complexion & certain morphological features underwent changes due to living for a long time in hot and humid climate of south India. (Sethna, 1930; The Problem of Aryan Origin). The term Aryan is the real bone of contention. Aryan was, nevertheless, ab initio, a cultural term connoting civilized or noble, but ultimately it was used in the ethnic sense. Much to the chagrin of the Hindu orthodox mind, it may be remarked that there was no Aryan race. The race was "White". Even our ancient Sanskrit books distinguish the races on the bases of colour as white, red, yellow and black, and not on the basis of their cultural level. Max Muller31 in 1888 repented his occasional misuse of the words Aryan and Semitic in speaking of Aryan or Semitic races in place of Aryan and Semitic languages. "To me", he wrote, "an ethnologist who speaks of an Aryan race, Aryan blood, speaks of a dolichocephalic dictionary or a brachycephalic grammar. There ought to be no compromise between ethnological and phonological sciences."
One branch of the White Indo-European people was called Nordic by Risley in 189932. "Fascist Germany declare the North European race, the Aryan race (Nordic) in the terminology of the Nazi ideologists, to be the higher race, which to scholars, has no foundations in genuine science and is of a politically extreme reactionary character. Under the banner of pseudo-scientific racism, the Nazis preached their ultra-imperialist plans for the subjugation of mankind and fostered dreams of conquering the whole world. Racism was the screen, with which they covered their imperialist policy and it served as the ideological basis for their programme of exploitation and annihilation of non-German peoples"33. The result was that the terms Nordic and Aryan lost their charm after their misuse by the Nazi Chauvinistic pseudo-scientists in Europe. The terms now possess notorious overtones, though they are legitimate and respectable designations of an Indo-European sub-race of the Whites that most anthropologats agree to accept. It was perhaps J.F. Blumenbackof Gottingen who designated the White race by the name of Caucasoid34. But now, consequent upon the latest researches, the ethnologists generally assert and agree that the Scythians, the Caucasoids, the Kushanas, the Huns or the Ephthalites and the Yavanas were not separate races but in reality belonged to the White race. Scythian, Caucasoid and Kushana give the geographical sense rather than racial. The Huns or Ephthalites, barring
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What then is a race?:
A pertinent question naturally arises; what then is a race? 'A race in man, in any living form, is a population, a population of men, women, Children of fathers, mothers and grand parents. Members of such a breeding population share a common locale. They have been exposed to common dangers and they are the product of common environment. For these reasons and especially with advancing time, members of a race have a common genetic heritage"35. Again, "a race of mankind is a biological group of people analogous but not homologous to a subspecies group in zoological classification. Each of the races has a common origin and merged on a definite territory, its original habitat. Each race is characterized by a certain set of peculiarities, mostly the outward appearance, morphology and anatomy of its members"36.
Before we proceed further, a snag may be mentioned. In spite of the comparative exactness of anthropometric investigations, the task of bridging the gap between the study of living persons and the dry bones of their probable ancestors is a very precarious task fraught with difficulties. The problem is well stated by Hooton: "The first difficulty encountered in the attempt to record the ancient histories and modern distribution of human races is the devising of a valid scheme of human group classification, racial, sub-racial and finer, and a technique of dividing up populations in accordance which such a scheme and of assigning individuals to their proper class. If this difficulty is surmounted to the approximate satisfaction of the (racial) analyst; he immediately runs upon another snag i.e. lack of data and inadequacy of existing data. There are still many peoples of the world who have not been measured and observed by any physical anthropologist; there are more of whom only tiny and inadequate samples have been studied. Much of the information that has been collected is not only incomplete but unreliable because of rudimentary and obsolete techniques that have been employed in gathering it." All this is tough enough but this is, by no means, the end of the matter. A (more) puzzling and often insoluble problem confronts the racial historian when he tries to trace the antecedents of living types of man. In the classification of the latter, primary emphasis is place upon the conformation of the soft parts of the body, pigmentation, hair form, etc. The anthropologist nearly
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always has to depend upon skulls and skeletal material in his reconstruction of racial history, Reliable accounts of hair cololr, skin colour, eye colour and the rest of the variations used for racial criteria are usually missing in pre-anthropological historical record: 37.
The racial analysis of the Jats
In addition to the above general difficulties, the racial historian, encounters some peculiar obstacles when he has to deal with the racial analysis of the Jats. His anxiety may increase when he finds that the anthropornetrical data of the Ahirs, Jats, Gujars, Rajputs, Khatris, Sikh and Muslim Jats and Chamars are nearly similar. Another insurmountable hurdle is the lack of the remains of their skulls and skeletons because, with the exceptions of the Jat Sadhus, and Muslim Jats, who bury their dead, all others have been traditionally practising cremation since time immemorial, with the result that their physical antecedents are not left behind to reconstruct their racial history. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that up to now no skeletal remains of palaeolithic man, and indeed, no skulls that can be safely attributed to the Neolithic period, have been found38 in the Jat dominated region. No doubt, the north western Indian subcontinental archaeology indicates that the Bronze-Age Harappans practised inhumation or Jar Burial. The craniological study of their skeletal remains shows that majority of them were Aryans. But in spite of the fact that the word Gut (Jut) has been displayed on the seals excavated at Mohanjodaro and Harappa, it is any body's guess whether they were Jats.
However, in relation to difficulties regarding classification of ancient human races, their sub and composite races; their distribution in the world and assigning the present population groups to various primary, sub or composite races, it may be pointed out that Hooton, upon whom we have profitably drawn for preparing a chart as well as for writing this chapter, has contributed to a very appreciable extent in solving these difficulties by the application of the latest tools and techniques essential for a physical anthropologist and a serologist. Now the science of anthropology is so much advanced that age, sex, stature, muscular development, shape of the head, face, projection of jaws, general proportions of nose and some other physical features, the detailed and accurate deductions of which were considered so far impossible, can be convincingly reconstructed from the human skeletons. For safely ascertaining the soft parts of body, pigmentation, hair
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form, etc., which are usually missing in the skeletal remains "all that one can do is to make inferences concerning the correlation of soft parts of skeletal material by observations on living persons with respect to the relation of th cir superficial anatomy to underlying skeletal structure and by studies of the skeletons of cadavers previously observed and measured"39 Racial features and affinity can be safely disclosed by the cranial and skeletal finds, and their approximate antiquity can be determined by C-14 technique. In short, it may be said that a trained craniologist can, with a fair degree of certainty, distinguish between Negroids, Mangoloids and Whites by carefully examining the main dependable relationships of a racial nature between skulls and skeletons with the more or less constant association in the living people. The work done in this regard by Kepart, Hooton, Guha, P.C Datta, Mitra and others may, however, stand in good stead, (App. No. 3).
So far as the specific difficulties concerning the study of the present anthropological data of the Jats vis-a-vis other Indian groups go, Risley, who measured most scientifically 82 population groups of Bengal, the United Provinces (Uttar Pradesh) and Punjab, and whose measurements were approved by Flower, Beddoe, Haddon, Topinard, Schmidt, Kcthmann and other famous European anthropologists, comes to our aid. Similar researches carried out by C.H. Charles40 in the Punjab, by Samanta and Gupta in Biluchistan and Rajasthan41 by Ujfalvy and Stein in N.W. India42, by Mitra on the Ahirs and Jats43 and by Mukerji exclusively on Jats44 have gone a long way in solving the difficulties. Moreover, the similarity of the anthropometrical data of the Jats with those of other castes need not make the racial historian of the Jats uneasy because the Hindu and Sikh Jats are distinguished from others by their traditional customs of widow marriage and 'Kareva' as laid down in Rig Veda as well as for the more faithful observance of caste endogamy and gotra exogamy as laid down by Manu. The Jats of Pakistan, having embraced Islam, do not, however, follow such rules.
Another question is, how to distinguish the Jats from other communities who also follow this custom or these very marriage rules? In this connection, it may be observed that the Jats have, by virtue of their more honourable antiquity, their predominance as the landed proprietary class in N.W. Indian sub-continent, their Jajmani (Yajyamaani) system (almost finished now) been playing the key role-model
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in the social milieu of the region for others to follow except the Yadavas who are as old as the Jats and enjoy the same position as the latter do. The absence of the physical antecedents of the Jats, save those of the Muslim Jats, which are of very recent time, poses a real problem in the reconstruction of their racial history.
Virtually, their adherence to the old custom of cremation has practically left no remains of their skulls and skeletons to depend upon. But, it may be suggested that the paucity of the required physical evidence can be, for all practical purposes, made good by literary evidence coming down to us from the ancient and medieval Indian works which furnish us with very elaborate anthropological information about the Indian tribes as well as peoples of other neighbouring countries. We can have recourse to them for fulfilling our aim. Yet again, it is complained that the authors did not mention the name Jats for the tribes whose data they have streamlined from time to time. This may be true, but alternatives are available. The descendents of so many of those tribes and peoples whose taxonomy is described by our ancient scholars, are still extant among the present-day Jats with almost the same tribal names and physical characteristics. Their ancestors have bequeathed to them not only their thoughts and sentiments but their physical features also.
We can now proceed to begin our specific quest. The available details for comparative study of the anthropometrical and serological data of the primary race, the sub-races and the composite races of the Whites as well as those of the Jats are given in a chart (App. 3). This study is of great value in determining the racial affinity of the Jats. In the chart, details of the Negroid and Mongoloid sub and composite races are not given because, by and Large, the Jats are not connected with these. However, the data of the Primary Negroid and Mongoloid races have already been given to clearly distinguish them fr om the White race from which the Jats are believed to have descended.
Origin of Jats, Ahirs, Gujars and Rajputs
The anthropometrical data of the Jats, Ahirs, Gujars, Rajputs Khatris, Chamars are more or less the same. Hence the sorting criteria of the last five are intentionally avoided to eliminate the tedium of repetition. However, their racial affinity, en passant, is thus stated.
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The Ahirs are the descendents of the Abhirs45. The Yadus (Yadavas); including the Turvasus, are the Alpines and Mediterraneans46. The Pathans are the Semite Druhyus47, the so called Aryans (Nordics) including the Ikshvakus and the Anglo-Saxons are the Anavas and Purus48. The Khatris appear to be Armenoid, the Jats (Hindu, Muslim and Sikh), Gujars and Rajputs are the Nordics, properly speaking Indo-Nordics49. The distinction between the Jat and Rajput is sensu stricto social and not racial50. For all this, the Jat is in blood neither more nor less than a Rajput or Vice versa53. It is interesting to note that the latest somatometric52 and serological53 studies also show maximum closeness between toe Jats, Gujars and Rajputs on the one hand, and minimum between Jats and Ahirs on the other.
Recently, some anthropologists54 conducted researches on the dermatoglyphic features of the Jats, Ahirs, Gujars and Rajputs with the intention of tracing the latter's origin. "The results presented from the analysis of the finger and palm prints indicate that the Rajputs do not differ much from the Ahirs, the Gujars and the Jats; the resemblance (of the Rajputs) is greater with the Ahirs than with the Jats and the Gujars". "Studies on morphological characteristics done by Mitra55, and also by Mitra and Ghosh56, too, indicate the same trend. However, serological data available on the Jats and on colour blindness, P.T.C. taste sensitivity, and other physical characters show a greater similarities among these populations57".
Jats and Rajputs
A Rajput may be a Jat of the ancient orthodox faith58. The term , Rajput is an occupational rather than an ethnological expression59. This fact has undoubtedly been confirmed by the researches of Chattopapadhyay and Kushwaha60. They say, "all these populations have a common origin, i.e., they are the fragments of the same population, settled in their settlements and occupational patterns, have come to be known differently in the courses of time". They further suggest that "the closeness of the Rajputs with the Jats lends weight to the view that the Jats were originally Rajputs fallen in social status due to their adoption of widow remarriage, and these populations partly branched off a common ancestral population in a none too distant past". However, we do not agree with them regarding the first part of their suggestion. We, rather, feel that the Rajputs are the Jats who discarded the old custom of widow remarriage under Brahmanical influence.
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In fact, the Rajputs are those Jats and Ahirs (Abhirs) who rose to political eminence through the blessing of the priests at Mount Abu60a. The term Rajput came into use in the 16th century61 ,the Maratha in the 17th, the Sikh in the l5th62, the Gujar in the 9th63 whereas the term Jat is the oldest64 of all. "The Jats have always played a major role in the ethnic nucleus of people now called the Panjabis. The role of the Jats has not, however, been confined to this. In different periods and conditions they made up an essential ethnic component of the Sindhis, Rajsthanis and other peoples of the Republics of India and Pakistan65". Gujars and Rajputs, as their gotras testify, may also be from Jats.
In order to determine the racial affinity of the Jats as many as thirty-two sorting criteria, used by anthropologists in the classification of mankind in different Primary, White sub-primary and White Composite races as well as those used for the Jats are comparatively examined in a chart, (App. No. 3). It is extremely interesting to note that a close scrutiny of the data reveals that the Jats are, more than others, strikingly similar in thirty one sorting criteria with the Indo-Nordics or Aryans and some-what dissimilar only in one i.e. the blood group. However, once in a while, it may be said that "appearances are proverbially deceptive and the stereotypes upon which people are accustomed to base their judgments of others, are often misleading". On the whole, I may say that the scientific application of the tools and techniques by the physical anthropologists in the study of the human taxonomy of different races and their general agreement on the results thereof should be sufficient to remove such apprehensions. No doubt, the difference-in the blood groups of the Jats and the Nordics of Europe is an important problem, which calls for further explanation. It has not to be lightly dismissed, particularly when "in most, if not all human races, the gene frequencies seem to remain more or less constant from generation to generation66, and also where "B groups, which are simply inherited, qualify as ideal traits for use in racial comparisons67.
The descendents of the Nordics, as shown in the chart, are confined not only to the North west India and Pakistan, but are also found in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands and the Great Britain. The eastern Nordics i.e. the Jats are much higher in B than in A whereas the West-European Nordics arc much higher in
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A than B68. The serological difference may lead us to conjecture that the two are altogether separate races, but to think like that would be the greatest historical error. However, a plausible explanation of this difference has already been attempted in the foregoing pages. All in all, now it would suffice to say, in the language of E. Sunderland, that "populations derived from a single parent group and existing in reproductive distinctiveness, as a result of mutation, genetic drift and natural selection, (differ from the parent group) the latter probably exerts the greatest influence in establishing their distinctiveness69. While discussing the affinity of genes and historical inter-relationships of populations, he further lays down that "groups which have a common ancestry, but which are separated, may retain their similarity for a time70 but in the long run they are bound to differ from their original parental stock for the reasons evidently mentioned above. As we have already pointed out, the most convincing illustration of such, a separation of certain groups from the common 'ancestral stock is that of the ancient Anglo-Saxons, Teutonic Goths, Jutes, Danes, Vilkas (Virkas) etc. in very remote prehistoric times71. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that, on account of resemblance of facial features, to a European the Jats look European and unmistakably Vice versa.
Consequently, the serological differences notwithstanding, anthropologists agree that, as their metric or morphological features warrant, the Jats of the Indian Sub-continent represent, without any shadow of doubt, the Nordics whom Risley called Indo-Aryans. He72 firmly holds that "there exists in the Panjab and Rajputana at the present day, a definite physical type, represented by Jats and Rajputs, which is marked by a relatively long (dolichocephalic) head; a straight finely cut (leptorrhine) nose; a long symmetrically narrow face; a well developed fore-head, regular features, and a high facial angle. The stature is high and proportioned, being relatively massive in the Jats and relatively slender in the Rajputs. Throughout the group, the predominant colour of the skin is a very light transparent brown, with a tendency towards darker shades in the lower social strata."
"Col. Tod73 suggested that "the Jats of India, the Goths of the Roman empire and the Juts of Jutland are kith and kin". "If appearance goes for any thing the Jats could not but be Caucasoid74 (Nordics or Aryans). The Aryan pedigree of the Jats receives unstinted support
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from Havel175 who asserts that "ethnographic investigations show that the Indo-Aryan type, described in the Hindu Epics, a tall, fair-complexioned, long headed with narrow prominent nose, broad shoulders, long arms, thin waist like a lion, thin legs like a deer, is now, as it was in the earliest times; mostly confined to Kashmir, Panjab and Rajasthan, and represented by the Jats, Rajputs and Khatris". It is extremely interesting to note how faithfully the anthropological depiction of the Jats by Risley and Havell compares with the norms of aesthetics of physical beauty and perfection streamlined in our ancient texts alluded to above, Considering the Jats as the purest Aryans in India, C.V. Vaidya 76 restores to them their pristine Aryan prestigious antiquity & pedigree when he declares them "to have descended from the first race of Aryans, the Solar race, who originally invaded and settled in the Panjab".
Risley77, however, further holds that the Indo-Aryan type, the characteristic members of which are the Jats, Rajputs and Khatris, appears most closely to that ascribed to the traditional Aryan colonists of India. The suggestion is quite plausible as well as suggestive and induces us to explore the racial history of the Jats on the basis of historical-cum-anthropological information.
The European anthropologists prize the scattered taxonomic descriptions and references as valuable in reconstructing the racial history of their people. They utilize, to the fullest possible extent, a few tantalizing phrases from Homer and other ancient Greek authors about blue eyes and fair or golden hair in pre-classical and classical Greeks. They also make use of references from Tacitus to the physical appearance, complexion, hair and eye colour of the Germans, and scraps of information from Caesar about the ancient inhabitants of Britain. Why, then, can we not make a similar use of even much more informative and accurate data from Vrahamihira, the Puranas, the classical accounts given by the historians of Alexander and our Epics etc. to guide us in writing the racial history of the tribes whose descendents are identified now with the Jats?
We must, however, steer clear of the possible pitfalls of such an approach, which are so vividly illustrated by the German anthropologists who, with the help of the manipulation of some data, revealed the totally misleading conclusion that Germans are the pure descendents
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of the Nordics. We shall have to be very careful while collecting and sorting out the taxonomic data of various tribes and peoples from the ancient Indian texts and correlate the same With those of the Jats to determine the descent of the latter.
Jats and Yaudheyas
We begin with the famous Yaudheyas of the Aryakhand of the Jambudvipa. Their eyes, breasts, arms, lips, etc. are described as enviable in the Yasasatilkchampu of tenth century AD.78. They were, as the name suggests strong and sturdy, healthy and handsome, energetic and sportive. They were extremely brave people of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan (Bharatpur, Bayana) with their capital at Rohtak. They must have been a tribe from the Kshitnyas of the Puranas. Actually they were the descendents of Nrga, brother of Sivi Ausinara 79. Their descendents survive in the present population of the above states and stilol contribute to the Jat and Rajput regiments of the modern Indian Army80. The Jats who opposed the army of Mahmood Gazanavi, on his return from Somnath, near Multan, where from the invader had to escape incognito, were actually these Yaudheyas only, whose accounts go as far back as the Mahabharata and even to earlier times.
Historians generally consider the Yaudheyas as only one tribe but to us they appear to be a confederacy comprising probably the Arjunayanas, the Mallavas, the Uddheyas or Uddhehikas (cf. A Cunningham, 1971:281) whose modern representatives may be the Hoodas (Uddhey) and Dahiyas (Y + uddhe + Dahiya = Yaudheyas) etc. However, our interest here is not to trace their history but only to establish the racial relationship of the Jats with them. The similarity of their physical features is not the only common feature between Jats of today and the Yaudheyas of yore. In addition, they share an unflinching faith in republicanism, national spirit, craving for freedom, insatiable craze for milk and ghee, curd and butter, the profound reverence for the peacock, the Vahan of Kartikeya, the tutelary deity of the Yaudheyas. These striking features common to the Jats of today and the Yaudheyas of so many centuries82 ago would seem to be sensational, but are they not cold facts?
Ethnological description of Jats in Harshacharita
Some interesting ethnological description of the personages of a few Jat tribes of the seventh century A.D. are available to us from literature relating to Harshavardhana and his times. Bana informs us that "the attendants surrounding Harsha were study, robust-armed, of
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fair complexion, of dignified mien and of hereditary assignment". All the attendants of Harsha were six feet in height, fair as Kamikera flowers", armed and of old families, "like so many golden pillars" 83. Prabhakar Vardhana was ranked as Hamsa among men84. Bhandi, Rajya and Harsha are said to grow up into youth. Their various limbs appeared in relief so as to look like the various architectural parts in the building of it great city. For example, Bana describes their thighs as pillars, the wrists as porch, long arms as bolts, wide chest as big door and tall stature as the high city wa1l85. Bana's pen-picture of Senapati, Sinhanada, friend of Prabhakarvardhana, is similar: "He was tall 1ike the stem of a stately saal tree, his form resplendent like a mass of yellow orpiment advanced in years, but old age had not affected him much. His hair was all white and stiff, his eyes were veiled by brows whose wrinkled skin hung loose. His terrible visage was brightened by the white moustache hiding his cheeks. His white long beard looked like a hanging fly-whisk. On his broad chest were marks of wounds looking as if lines of prominent letters had been engraved on a slab with a pointed chisel"86.
While appreciating Prabhakarvardhana's beauty, Bana says to the former's son, Harsha, "Think you, Harsha that any man ever did or will possess such a stable and stately frame-tall as a golden palm, Such a great lotus of a face with its upturned looks abloom all day the overlooking sun's rays, such stave like arms bright as diamond pillars, such smiles meeting the grace of the lazy sot Haladhara"87. Bana also gives the details of Skandagupta, the Commander of the elephantry. "His face bespoke of high authority, his gait dignified, his arms up to knees, long arms dangling in front and on his back like two rows of stone pillars for the fastening of elephants, the bridge of nose long, his long hair had natural curl and locks were frizzled like the tender filament of creepers, on the hind part of the neck there were long locks known as barbarak, his lower lip rising a little was hanging low"88: a pair of long eyes, exceedingly soft, sweet, white and large, fore-head full and wide"89. (The dangling of lower lip was considered to be mark of beauty in that period).
The students of Bana's village, Prithikuta, on the Sone river, are mentioned with "their long tawny braids of hair and white fore-head, running about like many fires"90. The description of two Malwa princes,
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Kumaragupta and Madhavagupta, companions of Harsha, is given thus; Kumargupta was slender as if turned on a lathe. Madhavagupta, who was made Viceroy of Magadha by Harsha, was taller and fairer than his eighteen years old elder brother Kumargupta"91. However, Cowell is more exquisite in the description of the two princes. "Kumargupta, the elder prince from Malwa was a young man neither very tall, nor very short, in age about 18 years". "A pair of rather slim shanks, issuing from not over-prominent knee joints, sallied, as it were, from thighs showing thick hard flesh of compact growth due to incessant practice in leaping (athlete). His hollow sides tapered at the waist, as if his middle, like that of Mandara, has been rubbed down by the serpent Vasuki when whirled about in the fury of gods and Asuras. A chest of vast breadth offered room for unbounded feelings of respect for his master, arms were pendulous, stout forearms, valorious wrist, huge shoulders, shining cheeks, face suggested a moon with Rohini set in its heart, frame quite hard".
Madhavagupta, the younger prince in height and dignity resembled a realgar (of red colour) mountain. His breast was like a broad slab of moon-stone; he had the eyes of a gazelle, the nose of a bear, the broad shoulders of a buffalo, the forehead of a tiger, the prowess of lion, the gait of an elephant92. Harsha informs us that his brother, Rajyavardhana, had a hard knit frame like a broad mass of rock, but, like the iron-stone from the hills, his brother was harder still"93. •
The Harshacarita of Bana furnishes us with extremely interesting anthropological details of Harsha and the women of Sthanisvara (Thaneshwar). "Harsha is depicted as having red pink feet, soft skin, thigh like ruby pillars, slow graceful gait, his forearm hard as the thunderbolt, a bull's neck, the bright round red lips as if they were the Kautubha gems, flashly gleaming teeth, moon face,broad forehead, milky white eyes, creeper like eyebrows, beautiful black hair locks, broad chest like Kailash, arms like bolts to blockade the path, breasts like special gift of all the prosperity, thin waist and tall stature"94.
The pen-picture of the women of Sthaniswara is enviable to modern women. "They possessed elephantine graceful gait, noble-minded, virgins, dark in case of out-castes, faces brilliant with white small teeth, bodies like crystals, limbs soft like acacia flowers, robed in
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bodices, wide beautiful hips, thin waists, lovely, honeyed in speech, bright and captivating beauty, without curiosity, yet wedded. Their eyes, a natural mandamata wreath, the images of their curls in the convex of their cheeks are ear pendents, their cheeks give a perpetual sunshine, and lamps by night; their voices are their sweet flutes; their laughs, the fragrant perfumes; the gleam of their hips a more brilliant cosmetics; their arms, the softest of play fully smiting wands; the drops of sweat of youthful warmth, their artful bosom ornaments; their laps broad squares of crystal slabs for their lovers"95.
We also know from Harsacharita that Bana has mentioned Vamatreya (the three classes) i.e. the red, white, and black. As their anthropological details show, the students in the village of Bana were blonde, the attendants of Harsha white, the members of Harsha's family and their companions pink and red with tall stature, the women of Malwa and Sthanisvara rosy white with prominent hips, their thin waist and moon faces "whereas the people of the South, viz. Bhairavacharya, his disciples, the Sabara youth, Niraghata, the sister's son Bukamoa, the Sabara Senapati and ruler of the Sabaras of the Vindhyas, were all, in fact, as informed by Bana, black with Negroid features beyond doubt"96. Since the latter are outside our purview, their anthropological details, as given by Bana, are not reproduced here.
Bana, the Poet-Laureate of Harsha, cannot naturally be expected to avoid exaggeration in highlighting the anthropological details of his Emperor, his relatives and friends, his officers end attendants in the metaphorical language replete with encomiums and hyperboles that he has used. He might have, by all means, to please his masters, made mountains of mole-hills. Be that as it may, we should not be unfair to him. Shorn of the metaphors and similia in which he clothed and embroidered their anthropological data, we can, without much difficulty, grasp the real import of these details.
The dynasty of Harshavardhana: Virakas
As a matter of fact, the most pertinent question relevant to the subject of our inquiry is-who were the "Vardhanas" of the Sthanisvara House? Bana makes them belong to the Pushpabhutis and to Cunningham they appear to have descended from tha Bains, But, in view the latest researches which go contrary to their views. we are loth to agree with their findings. It has now, without any shadow of doubt, been proved that the so called Pushpabhutis, the Vardhanas of Sthanisvara,
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were, in reality, the ancient Vrkas or Virakas97. In addition to the inscriptional evidence, utilized by scholars to support their claim, the literary evidence available in the Harshacharita; (which, incidentally, seems to have escaped their attention) indisputably strengthens their assertion.
We, for sure, know from the Harshacharita that "after Rajyavardhana's speech, Harsha takes courage and recollects his ancestors by saying, "have Virkodara and others been forgotten ? - claiming a birth from a heroic line" and after Kuntala chief officer of cavalry and a great noble high in Rajyavardhana's favour, broke the news of the treacherous murder of the latter, to his brother; Harsha; Harsha takes a vow, like Virkodara, athirst for his enemy's blood; to avenge the death of his brother"98. Experience tells us that such recollections and vows at the critical junctures, mentioned above, are not ordinarily made and taken for anybody but especially in the name of one's forefathers or ancestors whose blood runs in one's veins and whose pride and fame, the perfume of whose heroic deeds, sustain one. Consequently, we can, by all means, conclude that the two pieces of internal evidence from the Harshacharita, un-noted by the erstwhile scholars, convincing1y connect the dynasty of Harshavardhana with the lineage of Panini's Ayuddhajivi Virkas, who were spread over Haryana, Panjab, Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh. En passant, it may also be observed here that Bhim, one of the five brave Pandava brothers was also called Virkodar. He vowed to kill Keechak. Buddha Prakash (1964:100-03) is inclined to attribute this name of Bhim to the supposed wolf ancestry of the Vrika (wolf in Sanskrit) tribe. This is merely a travesty of truth. Bhim is designated as Virkodar simply because of his wolf-like ferocious nature.
The Virkas are mentioned in the Puranas and the Vaijayanti of Yadavapraka"99. In the Ashytadhyayi of Panini, they are said to be an Ayudhajivi Sangh100. They are said to have a country of their name in the Madhya-desa101. They observed the practice of arms or military art.- In the Bijaya Stone Pillar Inscription of Vishnuvardhana (year 428 = 372 A.D .), five generations before Harshavardhana, a tribe of the name of Virk, to which king Visnuvardhana belonged, is mentioned102. This indicates that the Virkas were settled in the Bharatpur state. They are, at present, found among the Hindu, Sikh and Muslim103 Jats of
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North Western India and Pakistan, and can be identified with he ancient Vrkas without any hesitation because their anthropological details are, by and large, the same. The commander of Harsha's cavalry was a Kuntal chief. The companion princes, Kumaragupta III and Madhavagupta belonged to the [Mallava]] tribe (Malloi) and Bhandi was a Poni 104. Mahasenagupta, the mother of Prabhakarvardhana, the grand-mother of Harsha, was a princess of the Gupta (Dharana) lineage105 . King Grahavarman, husband of Rajyashri was a Maukhari 106. The Jats have among them the Kuntals, Mall or Malli; Poni or Punia or Paunyas, Dharanas as well asMukharis or Mokharias. This does not seem to be a mere coincidence.
Proceeding in the retrospective order, we may note that the Hunas, who subjected the whole land from Central Asia to Central India, are placed by Brihatsamhita in the Uttrapatha, apparently some where about the Western Panjab, Kashmir and Gandhara107. The Hunas who came to India were the Ephthalites or the White Huns and not the Hiung-nus who were more Mongoloid108. Ethnologically, the White Hunas were known as Ephthalites after their King Ephthalia 109, (epthalia or Saptalia from Sapta Sindhu: S = H), were the kith and kin of Massagetae110 who are identified with the Jats111. The Chinese chronicles inform us that the proprietary dynasty of Yatha112, (Jeth, Jat) Ephthalites, being of the same descent, were a branch of the Great Yuchh-Chih , the Jats113 Aiyangar even suggests that the Uttrakurus might belong to the Huns114. Linguistically the White Huns were supposed to be of east Iranian origin. Whosoever they may be, it has now been undoubtedly established that ethanically as wall as anthropologically, (as the craniological material testify), the Massagetae, the Yueh-Chih, the Kushans and the Ephthalites were closely related and were dominantly Europoid (White)115.
The Ephthalites, who came to India, comprised the Xun,(Jun) Hala, Halan, Jouan/Jouen, Jaria and Jauval or Johl tribes of Scythic origin. 116 one. Strenuous efforts were made by Virkas, Aulikaras and Dharanas (Jat tribes) to turn out and exterminatet the Huns from India, and yet some of the Huna tribes seem have been absorbed in the Jats. The existence of Joon, Hala, Hoon, Halani, Juria, Johl and Johi among the Jats leads us to surmise that the above mentioned Ephthalmite
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tribes, who must have managed to stay in North-Western India merged with the Jats and retained their ethnonyms.
The Europoids in Jats:
Similarly, a number of the Saka, Kushan, Yueh-Chih, Parthian, Asika, Rsika, Tusar tribes, who were anthropologically declared Europoid 117, nay, even the progenitors of the Nordics 118, are found among the Jats of the Indian Sub Continent and Pakistan today. They will, however, be dealt with in detail when we separately discuss the Scythic origin of the Jats. The tendency to associate the names of the central Asiatic regions with the Jats as descendents of the above mentioned Saka tribes might have persisted since early medieval period, but the assimilation of these foreign tribes never hurl their amour propre because all these tribes originally belonged to Sapta Sindhu where from the were compelled to migrate to Central Asia in the remote past (infra). They were known collectively as Sakas and each tribe acquired or was given altogether a new alleged name by the foreigners in their new home and we became familiar with them as such only when they returned to India as invaders slightly before the Christian Era.
The Imperial Guptas
What about the Imperial Guptas? Were they Jats? Gupta, as the last name of the homonymous dynasty, has been quite controversial among historians. Latest researches have, however, shown that the last name, used by the members of that dynasty, was Gopata, "meaning thereby defender of the life, prestige; property and faith119 and was obviously adopted by them as their title120. It was certainly not Gupta as we generally find in history. Their ethnonym was either Karaskarl21 or as Prabhavati, princess of Chandragupta Vikrmaditya-II, informs us was Dharana122. Evidence from other sources corroborates the assertion of the princess.K.P. Jayaswal, on the authority of the Aryamanjusri-Mulakalpa, a history of India in Sanskrit and Tibetan, Written before 8th century A.D., firmly holds that the so-called Guptas were Jats123. Unfortunately, we do not have any anthropological data of the Guptas to guide us to determine their racial affinity as we did in case of men belonging to and associated with Harshavardhana's dynasty and others of Sthanishvara.
However, the features of the figures of Samudragupta and Chandragupta-II (Vikrmaditya) on their coins, if they are any indications, unmistakably betray their Aryan (Nordic) taxonomy124. Notwithstanding this dubious affinity, the ethnonym i.e. Dharan (gotra), the
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evidence of the Manjusri-Mulakalpa and the observance of the practice of widow marriage, (a salient characteristic Custom of the Jats since long), by one of the Gupta emperors, go a long way in proving that they were Jats. The Survival the Dharan gotra among the Jats of Rajasthan and their proud assertion that the rule of their ancestors was the "Golden Age of Indian history" points to their descent from that dynasty125.
We do not possess any sorting criteria of the Mauryas either and are, thus consequently handicapped in determining their race. It is surprising that even Chanakya, the Justus Judex of Chandra Gupta, did not throw any light on this aspect of the Mauryas except calling Chandragupta Vrishala, (bull among kings or bull among men) at times out of affection126". Scholars, by and large, hold that Vrihala denotes "a low man or a Sudra", Although Lexicographers have given this meaning in the native lexicons, yet it has not been me, with in any published text127. The Mura anecdotes with which the Mauryas are connected by vested interests seem to be invented in 18th century, A.D. after Dhundi Raja stated that Mura was the daughter of a Sudra128. Monier-Williams129, informs that it was also the name of Chandragupta (Maurya). In the Mudrakshasa Vrishala was used in the sense of bull or ox or horse among kings, the best of kings or men13O. Without being led astray by the poetic imagination of the dramatist, we can safely conclude that Chandragupta Maurya, as his epithet indicates, must be a tall hefty and healthy man, strong as an ox or a horse.
Certain phrases pertaining to Chandragupta Maurya in the said Drama, tempt us to form some idea of the physique and form of the Maurya Emperor. He is described as Moon-like Maurya, "Moon faced Maurya131 "with limbs tenaciously resilient132, "strong shoulders to bear the Yoke"133 (of royalty, "borne by his elders)"134 "mettle-some like a young bull" 135 "with lotus like feet, (rendered pink by the radiant rubies in the diadems of rulers, tremulously bending in obeisance136 "(to Vrishala, Chandragupta Maurya). All these references to the personality of the Maurya king that he was undoubtedly a handsome Kshatriya of fair complexion and not a Shudra as described by the interested element. Moreover, to all intents and purposes it sounds quite inconceivable that Chanakya might have ever thought of replacing a Shudra by another Shudra as the empire builder137. All this leads us
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to the surmise that Chandragupta was, in reality, a high class Kshatriyas of the Morya clan of Pippalivana i.e. of More town in the Patna district of Bihar138. In the eyes of the Brahmans the Mauryas were Vrisala, (i.e. heretics) which in the Course of time changed its significance to Shudra139.
Recently, new light has been thrown on the origin of Chandragupta Maurya. Dr. H.R. Gupta informs that Chandragupta Maurya originally belonged to Koh-e-Mor, 250 km. north of Peshawar commanding the Swat valley beyond the Malkand pass, wherefrom after freeing Panjab from the Greeks, he shifted his parents to Panjab hills, designated his father Sarmor i.e. head of the More tribe and the hill state was later on known as Sarmour after this designation140. Buddhist literature tells us that, after the demise of Lord Buddha, Virudhaka, the king of Kosala, attacked the Buddhists and massacred them, and that many of them fled to the north-western hills to escape his wrath141. However, there is every, possibility that the Mauryas, as they were connected with the Sakyas of Kapilvastu142, who were from Solar race of Aryans143, had followed them to the west144. It is significant that we find Moryas in Bihar and Mores in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan even today. Grammatically Moriya/Maurya can be easily derived from Mor/More but never from Mura.
Since Chandragupta (More) became famous as the founder Emperor of Maurya/Moriya dynasty at Patliputra, their descendents were called Moriya in Bihar etc., whereas they retained the original gotra as More in the west. Bappa Rawal, the traditional founder of Rajput clans, displaced the Mauryas in Rajasthan to set up his own rule. Petty Mauryan chiefs were known as far south as Goa down to 10th century A.D. and they survived in Mores in Marathas down to 17th century, (Chadrarav More) and Kiran More now confirm it145.
It is extremely interesting to note that Mores are also found in the Jats and like the Dharan Jats they also traditionally assert with an air of pride that their forefathers had been the first emperors of India in the historical past.
Prior to the Mauryas, we come across a prince of the Pauravas, popularly known as Porus, "a man of gigantic powerful build, "ambitious to carve out for himself a great kingdom in North-west India146. The name of Poros or Porus, which is formed from Paura or Paurava, with
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the Greek suffIx 'os' or 'us'147, shows that he was a descendent of the Vedic Paurava family of the Lunar race148. Eleven kings of the Paurva dynasty are said to have ruled over India after eleven kings Manu preceeded by thirteen rulers of the Munda clan149. The variant of Paurava in the Teugu language is Purusa which is evidently the basis of Greek form Poros or Porus150 . Persian tradition, enshrined in the Shahnama of Firdausi, informs us that the Persian version of Poros is Fur151. Later records, however, furnish us with some other variants of Fur as Phur or Phaur or or Por152 Por or Paur was anglicised as Pawr (Pawria or Pauria. Late Pawar was nasalised as Panwar and still later it was sanskritised, rather,arbitrarily into Parmar to represent the latter as a separate group, designated as Rajputs, in the later Medieval period.
The historians of Alexander gave some interesting taxonomic details of the aboriginal tribes, including the Pauras, of Sindh and Panjab. Many Indian tribes (Danae, Pauravas, Sophites, Mallavas, Sivis, Madras, Oxydrakae, Kathoi, Yautiyas (Yaudheyas), Xanthi, etc.) visited by Alexander with his army on this side of the Indus, who were not were declared by the Greeks amongst the tallest men in Asia, being about five cubit in height153. However, "they were blacker than any other nation of Asia"154. The statement of Arrian about the complexion of the Indians cannot be taken literally true because we know from Julius Solinus that "those Indians living near the river Indus in the region that "turn southward are scorched more than others by the heat and at last complexion of the people is visibly affected by the great power of the sun" 155. "They were not snub-nosed, nor were their hair curly, while the Indians living in the north were in person like the Egyptians156. "The Indians were generally slender and tall of unusual height and bulk of body, but of much lighter weight than others, better fitted to produce bigger men" 157.
Some of the Indians are their elephants with as much ease as they mount their horses158. Their women and children, bathing and swimming in the irrigation channels for fields and gardens, are described as models of beauty159. The Indian tribes, the Ashtakenoi and the Assakenoi inhabiting regions beyond the Indus on the west were not of great stature (usually four cubits) and not so swarthy whereas the men on the eastern side of the
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Indus reached five cubits160 i.e. (7'-6" to 9'-2")161. In the Ganges valley Indians of 10 cubits in stature and the most comely of men are also alluded to in the "Indian Travels of Apolonius", but to us it seems incredible and exaggerated. If it is correct, they must be the people who were known as Danava or Dana in history.
Conclusion of anthropological analysis
The above anthropological analysis, among other things, leads us to make a surmise, and not an idle surmise, that the Indian tribes, whose features are described, have left their descendents among the Jats as Dahiyas (Dahae) , Pauras or Paurias or Phors, Saubhutas or Saubhtis or Sobhtis, Mall or Mallis, Sivis or Shivi-(ranas) or Sheorans or Shivrans or Sibis or Sibias, Shudra or Surdrak, Yaudheyas or Jautiyas or Jatiyas, Khattis or Khatris. The ethnonyms of these Jat tribes and those of the ones mentiotioned by Alexander's chroniclers strongly suggest affinity between them. Moreover, the spontaneous observation of McCrindle, who was familiar with the Jats, Rajputs and Afghans on the one hand and the above-mentioned ancient tribes of Sindh and Panjab on the other, observes that "the Afghans and Rajputs (Jats) are still noted for their great stature162, is not without reason and should be sufficient to demonstrate their ethnic relationship and continuous stability in northwestern India, the ancestral home of the Jats since time memorial.
Among the Jats, incidentally, the Kathis or Kaths or Kats,the Sobhtis and Pauras or Pors or Phors are considered as the most beautiful tribes. The Sopheites or Sobhtis also called Saubhas, are said to be connected with the Salvas and the Madras who were also famous or their legendary physical beauty. Their ladies were longed for by suitors from easterly quarters of India164. The common adage goes that "beauty, love, wealth and wisdom are not anybody's birth-right and monopoly". But in the case of the above tribes, it may be remarked that they were beautiful not by chance or due to some magic or because of the Goddess of Beauty showered her blessings on them, but because of the inheritance of the handsomeness of their form and figure from their eponymous ancestors who, as the classical historians inform us, followed certain Spartan practices to improve their races and credited beauty of their members more than anything else among them. They promoted a beauty culture by a public acclaim of those who possessed it and by weeding out those who did not.
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The Cathae (Kathis) and Sopphytes or Sophytes or Sophites on Sopithes or Sopeithes (Saubhuti or Sobhti Sikh Jats) are said to "excel in wisdom and live under good laws and customs. They do not acknowledge and rear children according to the will of the parents, but as the officers remarked anything deformed or defective in the limbs of a child, they order it to be killed. In contracting marriages they do not seek an alliance with high birth, but make their choice by the looks, or beauty in the children is a quality highly appreciated. Only those children that are perfect in limbs and features and have constitutions which promise a combination of strength and beauty, are allowed to be reared. They make their marriages also in accordance with this principle, for in selecting a bride they care nothing whether she has a dowry and handsome fortune besides, but look only to her beauty and other advantages of the outward person. The inhabitants of their cities are generally held in higher estimation than the rest of their countrymen. Their king, Sophites (Saubharata, King of Saubhtis?) was admired by all for his beauty and stature, which exceeded four cubits165". These customs and practices of the Khattis and Sophites, as they were appreciated, must have been followed by other tribes, if not openly, at least sub rosa. However, similar practices, if not exactly the same, are still observed by the Jats166. Actually such practices and customs die, hard and pass on from generation to generation, for, more than any thing else, our dead ancestors govern the invisible domain of our brain.
Much more important is the fact that the chroniclers of Alexander, notwithstanding his bloody war against the Paurvas (Poros) the possible fore-fathers of Paura or Pauria or Por or Phor or Paurwal or Purewal and Puri tribe of the present Jats, were rrresistibly enamoured of the Pleasing combination of qualities of bead and physique in the Pauravas, especially in the person of their king Poros, and left dependable accounts their of. They inform us of what we have already mentioned earlier, namely, that generally the height of the Indians on this side of the Indus, reached five cubits and that, some of them were " so tall that they could mount elephants with as much ease as they mounted horses167.
These chroniclers have paid very rich tributes to the magnificent personality of Poros. Accordingly to Julius Valorious, he was a man of astonishing stature, quite transcending that of other men, while in
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mental capacity he did not fall below the level of endowments of his outward person168. Justinus found in the person of Porus a man remarkable, alike for his personal strength and noble courage169. Plutarch the biographer of Alexander, says that more historians are agreed that Poros stood four cubits and a span high, and that his gigantic form was Well-proportioned to the elephant which carried him170. Plutarch seem to err regarding the height of Poros, for according to Curtius Rufus, Poros not only surpassed the standard of height to which we conceive the human figure to be limited ... but stood taller than other men171 on this side of the Indus (whom the Greeks found reaching five cubits in height and mounting the elephants as easily as they could their horses).
In this array of testimonies, Arrian's is extremely interesting and reliable. When Poros was conducted by his Indian friend, Meros (Moriya?) to Alexander, Arrian avers that Alexander with his companions saw with wonder and admiration the handsome person and majestic staure of Poros which some what exceeded five cubits172. Tradition, handed down to posterity and preserved like a fossil yet to be utilized, it commands a value in history, also attests that Poros was nine feet in stature. (A cubit equals 22 inches, and five cubits, therefore, will equal 110 inches i.e. 9 feet and 2 inches). If this scale of measurement is accepted, the height of Poros, given by Arrian, is in perfect agreement with that passed on to us by tradition. Diodoros Siculus also confirms that Poros far surpassed in bodily strength any soldier of his army, in stature he measured five cubits, while his girth was such that his breastplate was twice the size for a man of ordinary bulk173. He further writes that Alexander ordered quarters to be constructed near the Hypanis. (Hyphasis, Beas) for foot soldiers, each containing two beds, either of five cubits in length174.
Alexander's object seems to have been to give the impression, in India, that the invaders too, possessed enormous bodily strength and stature, matching that of the Indians. Relying on Arrian, the judicious historian, as he calls him, Vincent Smith175 says that Arrian recorded. only the memorial Altars and opines that the story of the construction of the quarters, each with two beds of five cubits each, is the creation of Diodorus Siculus and Curtius Rufus imagination fired by traveller's tales and legend-mongers, for it is incredible that Alexander could have
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been guilty of such senseless folly. Be that as it may, there are nine historians from first century B.C. to fourth century A.D. to attest the astonishing stature and handsome person of the Indians. Hence, to us the assertion of Vincent Smith carries no conviction.
Author explanation of this phenomenon is possible. It is quite reasonable to think that the Altars, residences, stables and stalls at the camping site encircled by an impassable deep moat and a high wall around it, could not have been built overnight. The whole business must have taken months together. Alexander's army had Indian soldiers also, especially Dahae, who were 'the tallest in Asia' and hence beds of five cubits each were required for them, if not for the invaders.
It may further be noted en passant that the place where Alexander is said to have erected his memorial Altars is associated with two Danavas, Bahi and Hika. (Danvas or Danas were persons taller and heftier than normal men). These two are described176 in the Mahabharata as the. "fanciful" progenitors of the Bahikas or Vahikas (Bahi or Vahi Jats today) and probably those of the Jartas or Jartrikas, a sub-section of the Madras or Bhadras of Sakala, who are identified with ancient Jats by scholars177.
All this leads us to surmise that the Jats on the Vipasa (Beas or Hyphasis) being the descendents of the alleged Danava -like ancestors, must have inherited their size and stature which might have required Alexander to order construction of five cubit beds as token If the mighty men he had to deal with on the Hyphasis (Beas), for we have already shown that the ancestors of the Jats (Hindu, Sikh and Muslim) who are identified178 with Jatii or Iatii or Getae of central Asia and with-the Republican tribes or the Ayuddhajivi samghas and ganas on this side of the Indus179 were often seven feet in height180. The facts click together, however, fantastic this may appear to men of today who are of much lower statures.
Varahamihira's five divisions of human types
Varahamihira divides human beings (Indians) into five standardised types to guide sculptors and gives details of their physical features for the benefit of those practising the art of sculpture in fine arts181. The names of the five men chosen by Varahamihira point to their respective
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homonymous tribes, which are described by the classical writers and the Epics. The physionomical details of the five great men are given below.
Malavya, 182 "The height, the distance (span) from the tip of the index finger of the right hand, across the chest, to that of the left hand when his arms are expanded horizontally and the girth are all equal, i.e. 108 angulas or 81 inches; elephantine (long) nose, hands touching the knees, limbs and joints full and fleshy, even and handsome body, slender waist, face 13 angulas in height, ear lobe 10 angulas apart from the chin, shining eyes, beautiful cheeks, equal and white teeth, and lower lip not too fleshy, Visnudhammotama183 gives the height as 104 angulas and the complexion of Malavya as dark like mudga (mung] pulse (kidney bean) with very beautiful body. Thickness of their lips and colour of their skin have lead an ethnologist, Dr. K.K. Das Gupta184, to conclude that "the Mallavas may not be pure Nordic, nor pure Australoid, as the Malviyas are, according to him, fair and handsome people". As the name indicates, Varahamihira185 describes him as the prospective ruler of the Mallavas, Bharukachha, Lata, Sindhu and the Paryatra mountain and his age is fixed at 70 years.
Bhadra186 or (Madra) 187 :- "His height, the span and the girth is l05 allgulas or 78.3 inches. Arms fleshy, even and long; cheeks covered with soft, short and dense hair; fine skin, strong semen, broad fleshy breast, excessive courage, elephantine gait, beautiful temples and forehead; well-proportioned belly, feet and hands with the luster of the interior of a lotus: beautiful nose, equal and well-knit brows, smell like that of the earth sprinkled with first rain, acacia (GK. akakia) leaf, saffron, ichor of an elephant or aloe; dark and curly hair springing one from each pore, the genital organ hidden like that of horse or an elephant, tiger-like face, and marks of a plough, musala (pestle) mace, swrord, conch-shell, wheel, elephant, crocodile, lotus and chariot. (These marks probably represent the tattoos on various parts of their bodies, which they were very fond of beautifying themselves with). Weight is one bhara and span of life 80 years, if 84 angulas tall and weighs one bhara 2000 palas or (320 lbs.), he becomes ruler of Madhyadesa, and if 105 angulas, the lord of the entire earth".
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Rucaka188 :- "Height, span and girth 102 angulas or 75.6 inches each; reddish dark complexion, beautiful brows and hair, conch like neck, oblong face, rich blood and flesh, lean knees and shanks, weight 1000 palas (or 160 lbs.), Lord of the Vindhyas, Sahyagiri and Ujjayini, 70 years age".
Sasa 189, (Sese, Sse, Saso, Sasaka, Sakas), slightly projecting and thin teeth, thin nails, large eyeballs, fleshy cheek, too much narrow and slender waist, not very stout, age 70 years and is said to be a border-chief (Pratyantika) or vassal (Mandalika) with height, span and girth of 99 angulas or 72.9 inches each.
During first century A.D., Aspavarman, son of Vijayamitra and grandson of Indravardhan is said to have been the Viceroy of Azes II in a district of north-western India but later served under Gondopharnes, followed by his nephew Sasa, who later served Pacores successor of Gandopharnes190. Most probably the Sasa family Was from Indo-Parthian who were undoubtedly a section of the Scythians, who were also known as Sasa, Sese, Sse, Sasak or Sakas in history. Even row the Jats call the north-western frontier people as Sasse and Khakkhai (Afghans and Pathans). Prof. E.J. Rapson191 refers to a number of Sasa Strategoi (senapatis), the suffixes like 'Varman' and 'Daua 'in whose names show that they were Hinduised Saka chiefs under the Parthian rulers of N.W. India. Interestingly, there are Shak, Sakwan, Saklan, Sheshwan, Madra-Maderna, Mall, Malli and Hans gotras (tribes) in the Jats as well as Ros or Rosai (Rucak) in them. The Sasas may be later Sasodias.
Hamsa192 (Hansamarga or Hans). Height span and girth 96 angulas or 72 inches each, red face shining like gold, plum cheeks, raised nose, round head, eyes like honey, red nails, weight 1600 palas, aged 90 years and rules over Khasas, Surasenas, Gandhara and Antarvedi. Hamsa or Hansa is also an important tribe among the Jats.
The above analysis, among other things, reveals that Varahamihira discusses five species of superior classes of human beings (Indians) under five Denominations, i.e. Hans, Sasa, Rucaka, Bhadra and Malviya. Notwithstanding the generic semblance and significance of these names, some historians think that these names as used by Varahamihira, do not represent any tribe, but ethnologists disagree with them. They argue that one naturally needs standard models of human
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beings for an anthropological classification and so Varahamihira must have picked up the required models from the tribes that satisfied his requirements. This is confirmed by the fact that he does not arbitrarily choose fictitious names or personal names unconnected with their tribal designations but chooses names of historical personages with ethnic identity. The inherent evidence from Brhatsamhita strengthens our contention. The location of the geographical regions that Varahamihira mentions as their respective domains is the actual home of his respective ethnonymous tribes.
Ayudhajivi Samghas: In addition to the above tribes the classical historians of Alexander have described numerous other republican tribes of the Panjab and Sindh with some of their anthropological details. These republican tribes are dealt with at length by Panini but, unfortunately, he remains silent regarding their anthropological picture and ethnological affiliations. However, the recent researches show that the republican tribes Ayudhajivi Samghas were unquestionably the forefathers of the Jats of the Panjab and Sindh. "The evidence of anthropometry and of physical similarity between the modern Jats and the republican tribes of the ancient Panjab, of a close survey of linguistics, customs, usages, institutions and habits of the present day Jats and those of the Warrior tribes of ancient Panjab, reveals a remarkable similarity between the two people. Very significantly the present day Jat fraternity displays almost the same preference for equality, kinship and democratic ways, the adeptness in war and agriculture, and the same repugnance to the rigidity of caste, creed and ritual, wh1chwere so characteristic of the republicans of the Panjab and Sindh. These similarities are so crucial that we cannot brush them aside lightly without seriously undermining the proof of customs, usages and institutions in ethnic studies. A small amount of positive evidence is more valuable than a great deal of doubtful conjecture"193.
For about a millennium (from the 4th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D.) the republican tribes had to wage a tough struggle for survival and to maintain themselves and their way of life. Sandwiched as they were between the successive foreign invasions from the west after 4th century B.C. and the imperialistic onslaughts from Magadha
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Their migrations are confirmed by numismatic records. They are mentioned in the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudra Gupta, _ "the Nepoleon of India". They are said to have Played a Significant role in the elections of Harshavardhana (A.D. 606) and Gopala (A.D. 750). Godaras later reserved the right consecrating the so-called Rajput rulers of the Bikaner native State. Soma Dev Suri gives a graphic description of the Yaudheyas in "Yasastilakchampu", a work of 11th century. They are described at length by Varahamihira in his "Brihatsamhita". Al Biruni makes a special mention of Sibis (Sivis or Sivas), of Jattaur (present Chitor). Later on they were called Sivarav or Seorana of Dadri and Loharu areas. Some important works,like Sarswatikan-thabharana of Raja Bhoja, Vijayanibhumikhanda and Ganaratanama-hodadhi (all of 12th century give a laudatory account of certain republic tribes like Yaudheyas, Arjunayanas and Uddhehikas. In addition to these medieval sources, modern historians and ethnographers, e.g., KK Dasgupta, Bela Lahiri, Sudhakar Chattopadhayay, Debi Prasad Chattopadhayaya, Shastri Yogananda, J.P: Sharma, S.B. Chaudhuri, M.K Sharan, M.R. Singh etc. have thrown a flood of light on the republican tribes of north-western India. But it is mainly M.K Sharan and late G.C. Dwivedi who amply testify to the fact that these tribes, despite the trials and tribulations expenenced by them in the course of their migrations, did not discard their republican character, the salient feature of their political life, and trace their descendents in the Jats and Rajputs of to-day, but mostly among Jats195a. They, however, remained unvanquished and without diminishing their undaunted spirit of martial emprise, which was, as inherited from their ancestors, assiduously kept intact by their descendents, the Jats196 . A number of the gotras of the present-day Jats are reminiscent of the Ayudhajivi republican ganas and samghas which flourished at the time of Panini 197 (Supra).
The republican tribes
The republican tribes, however, did not appear on the historical canvas of the Panjab and Sindh all of a sudden as mysteriously as milk in coconut. The ancient tribal republics of Panjab and Sindh (Sapta Sindhu), according to Dr. J.P. Sharma a whose treatment of the
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subject is, in our view, the most authoritative), "are the off-shoots of" what he calls "the early Vedic aristocracies and oligarchies which existed side by side with the Brahmanic monarchies" (the Bharatas). He also avers that "the Vedic republics had a clan origin and clan loyalty" and the "Brahmanic writers had been unanimously ill-disposed towards them". As a matter of fact, the republican tradition, with interruptions here and there, may be traced back to the age of the Aitreya Brahmana198, which Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji reckons not later than 2000 B.C.199 whereas Dr. P.V. Kane200, a prominent Indologist, dates the age of the Brahmanas between 3000 B.C. and 2000 B.C. Again, in the post-Vedic period, their is, interestingly an important passage in the Mahabharata201 on the course of the conduct of the ganas- a discourse between Yudhishthira and Bhishma. This passage may-be looked upon without any shadow of doubt as furnishing evidence of the existence of the non-monarchical republican "ganas and samghas" in 3102 B.C., the date of the Mahabharata War, which is thought to be "a war between the slave-owning monarchies and the republican "ganasamghas"202. However. if we accent 16th October 5561 B.C. as a date, scientifically worked out by Dr. P.V. Vartak203 and confirmed by computer, for the Mahabharata War, then the antiquity of the Brahmanas and the republican tribes will have to be pushed back by about 2500 yeas.
It is generally believed that the republics in India are post - Vedic institutions. The early Vedas know only monarchy. As Megasthenes204 records, the tradition of Kingship was dissolved and democratic governments were set up in various places in post-Vedic times. The Mahabharata also supports this view. The republican form of government is said205 to appear in the later Vedic literature, i.e. as seen above, in the Rigvedic Brahmana, the Aitreya; and in the Yajur-Veda and its Brahmana, the Taittireya. Be that as it may, the available evidence confirms, the antiquity of the republics to he as honorable as that of the Rigveda, the earliest known literary work of the world. The adversaries of the Bharatas i.e. the Yadus, Turvasus, Druhyus, Anus and Purus, the so-called Panchajna or Panchajatah, are said206 to be the republican tribes who confederated with other five207 republican tribes of the Ahi sub-race in the Dasarajna war on the banks of the Parushni river. Even Janak of Videh is said208to be shaking off the old republican system for the sake of establishing monarchy.
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Moreover, it is not for nothing that the nature, characteristics and functions of gana (republic), samgha (federation or confederation) and Vrata, with similar connotations, are described in the Rigveda209. If these technical terms with their above mentioned connotation and significance, as described in the Rigveda, are taken cognizance of at their face value, we can safely conclude without any demur that there existed the republican tribes which confederated in emergency at that period of time also. However, it is a different matter whether those tribes were Aryan or non-Aryan or both. The Ajas Sigrus, Yaksas/Yaksus under the leadership of a Dasa Raja named, Bheda, fought the last Battle of Dasarajna War on the banks of Yamuna210. The Other tribes who opposed the Bharatas in the said war were the Alinas, Pakthas, Bhalana, Sivas and Visanin. 211
The ethnic stock of Rigvedic republican tribes
What is the ethnic stock of these Rigvedic republican tribes? Is there any ethnic affinity between the Paninian and the Rigvedic republican tribes? Answers to these questions will go a long way in determining the ethnological connexions and antiquity of the forefathers of the Jats, who are already identified as the descendents of the republican tribes described by Panini. There are conflicting views regarding the ethnic affinity of some tribes who fought against the Bharatas in the Dasarajna war. Mr. Ram Chandra Jain holds that they were pre-Aryan non-Aryan Bharatiya jana or people organised as republics during the troublous times of national peril212. But in view of the overwhelming evidence, Jain's assertion is unacceptable,
The Yadus, Turbasus, Druhyus, Anus and Purus were positively Aryans of the Lunar stock213. The Ajas, Sigrus, and Yakshus, the eastern tribes, are generally regarded as non-Aryan, though there is no definite information on this point214. Giving them the benefit of doubt, they too, might be regarded as some Aryan tribes, for we come across Aja and Ajas as an Aryan king and people in Ayodhya and Aja-Midha as a king and family in the Pururav stock215. It is very interesting to note that there are Aja, Ajarya, Ajurya, Aja-Midha and Midha or Mirdha sanskritised as Gurjar) tribes among the Jats. Similarly, we find or Sigru or Sigroha and Jakhar among them. The last tribe, (viz. the Jakhar) claim Jakha or Jakhu (Yaksha or Yakshu) to be their most ancient eponymous progenitor216. After their defeat on the Yamuna
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The aboriginal tribes, who fought against the Bharatas on Prusni river, were, as we have already noted, the Pakhtas, Bhalana, Visanins, Alinas, Sivas and Vrichivants of Harappa, the Haryupiy the Rigveda218. Scholars agree that these tribes hail from the western frontier of India, i.e. Afghanistan. The Pakthas are identical with Pakhtoons or Pakhtuns219. Bhalanas with some people bearing name akin to that of the Bolan pass in Kabulistan220. Visanins in their horn-shaped helmets, with the Sringala of the Hanvamsapura (Vishnuparvana, 65, 15-20) as well as with Sringins of the Mahabharata (11,47,26)221, Alinas, with Alains or Sarmatians (Sakas), located in north-east of Kafiristan222: Sivas with Sivis or Sibis or Siboi (of greek writers), who are connected with Usinara and the Vrichivants with Turvasus223. The last identification appears to be doubtful for Vrichivants belonged to the Pururavas.
Since these tribes are designated as aboriginal, it is natural these writers, who believe the Aryans to be foreign immigrants to India regard them as pre-Aryan non-Aryan. In view of the evidence available to us now from the literary and archaeological sources, however, they have proved to be aboriginal Aryans and not Proto-Australoids.Their habitat proves all of them to have been Aryans of the Darda stock224 , which, to Guha, is proto-Nordic or Nordic225 . The Alinas identified with the Alains or Sarmatae, the Visanins with their horn shaped helmets (Tigrakhauda) must have been the Scythians, who are not a misnomer now as the progenitors of the Nordics226 S. Chatttopadhyay227 asserts that all these tribes have been wrongly regarded to be non-Aryan.
If the Jat tribes228 Ajaa, Ajria, Ajamidha, Sigroa or Sigroha and Jakhar bear unmistakable identity With the so-called Rigvedic non-Aryan people named Aja, Sigru and Yakshu of the east, other Jat tribes229 closely resemble several other Rigedic Aryan tribes. Among such Jat tribes are Bhallar, Bhalera, Balani,Balan and Balana; Visati, Visatai, Visla; and Singala or Singla or Singar or Sangar; Aulan and Sarmatai; Sibi, Sibia, Sibal or Sibar (Chibar) and Sivirana or Sivran or Sheoran; Brishbhan or Brikhbhan. Resembling them are the -
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Remarkable similarity of Jat tribes with Rigvedic tribes
The remarkable similarity of these Jat tribes with Rigvedic tribes in spite of the long gap of time, indicates the strong probability that the former are the descendents of the latter. This seeming digression was necessary to link the Jat tribes of today with their remote ancestors of the hoary past. Another necessary step in our argument is to show the ethnic link between the Rigvedic tribes and the republican tribes mentioned by Panini. For this, the genealogy of the Lunar Aryans provides a firm link, and hence this genealogy needs to be thoroughly examined.
In the Lunar genealogy, we have, Nahusa in the fifth and Yayati in the 6th generation following Manu and Ila. In the 7th we find, Yayati's five supposed sons: Yadu, Turvasu,Druhyu, Anu and Puru230. In the line of Anu, there is Usinara in the 25th generation after which the successive generations are shown in the following genealogical table:
* Another important republican tribe, the Malavas, were a branch of the Madras or Bhadras231 who were also connected with the Salavas whose king Satyavan was married to Savitri, daughter of Asvapati, the Adhipati of the Madras232
Usinara and his descendents occupied the Panjab233 and among them were the Ayuddhajivi republican tribes of Panini - the Yaudheyas, Ambasthas, Sauviras, Madras and Sivis, with the help of this genealogical data we are in a position to conclude safely that these tribes (with whom we have already identified the Jats) are the direct descendents of Anu, one of the five Aryan tribes who fought against Sudas, the Bharata king in the Dasarajna war on the Parusni (Ravi) in the Rigvedic period. In other words, It may be stated that the Jats and their Aryan ancestry are as old as the Rigveda.
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Etymology of term Jat
We have mentioned somewhere else in the book that the word Jat is derived by scholars from Jata, which means "union, binding together, federation or Confederation", in the Dhatupaath of the Ashtadhyayi of Panini. This meaning is confirmed by the Siddhanta Kaumudi in its Phrase "Jata Jhata sanghate" (जट झट संघाते). G.C. Dwivedi opines that when the existence and independence of the republican tribes of the Panjab and Sindh were threatened after 4th century B.C. by invaders from the West and the imperialistic onslaughts emanating from the east, these tribes, in order to protect their life, property and prestige, formed a Union or federation and gave it an appropriate name i.e. Jata, acceptable to all the federating units234 instead of adopting for the union the name of a particular tribe, howsoever Powerful it was, for the sake of avoiding the possibility of arousing jealously or rivalry among them. Panini, no doubt, compiled his grammar in the post-Vedic period when Sanskrit had ceased to be the language of the masses but Panini did retain Words already in use and traced their etymology. This means that Jat, as a Word ,must have existed prior to Panini.
Further, nearly a couple of centuries before Panini, Yaska mentions the phrase "Jatya Atnaro" in his Nirukta, a comprehensive treatise on the 'Selence of Etymology'. Some writers complain that this phrase is ambiguous We believe that it Connotes "nomad, with matted hair" and also "in or like the Jat(s)" (Supra). This leads to the inference that during Yaska's time some Jat tribes were nomadic while Others must have settled down. Yaska quotes a still earlier authority, Sakatayana (Shabdanu-Shasana?) to support the view that all nouns are derived from verbs. Consequently it stands to reason that Jata, a root as given by Panini, must have existed at the time of Yaksa and Sakatyana, and probably even earlier. This new seeming "digression" is meant to remove all doubts about the Antiquity of the Jats and to establish their Aryan: identity during the Rigvedic age.
The Word Jat, used by Yaska in his phrase Jatya Atnaro has so far been considered unintelligible. Lists of such rare and obscure Words were prepared and commented on by the fore-runners of Yaska when the dire necessity to unerstand the texts of the Vedic Samhitas came to felt, for they had become difficult to understand with the lapse of centuries. Their works Unfortunately are lost to posterity 236. The only commentary on such words available to us to-day are Yaska's treatise
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and the "Nighantus" prepared by his precursors. He was the earliest authority to classify the Rigvedic hymns systematically in his Nirukta (VII. 1-2)237.
In the light of the above discussion we can confidently say that the name Jat, as it is used among the so called ambiguous phrase "Jatya Atnaro", was in use in the post- vedic Aryan tribes, mentioned above, who were notorious for their wander-lust. The term Jat, used by Dwivedi and others to mean union or federation of the republican tribes to meet the emergencies arising from foreign invasions from the west and imperialistic forces from the east after 4th century B.C. would obviously apply to the forefathers of the Jats, who as we have shown, were also these very republican tribes. These were the Rigvedic Aryan Panchajna, also known as Panchajatah, and their allies, the contemporaneous aboriginal tribes, who collectively faced these emergencies on the Ravi 238 and the Yamuna during the time of the Rigveda.239
The literary evidence at our disposal on the racial classification of the western Anavas, (Viz. Sivis, Madras, Yaudheyas and their ancestors i.e., Anus, Druhyus and Pauravas, etc.) is extremely confusing and, at times, it may be quite insecure to rely on it. Robert Shaf240 does not insist that the eastern Anavas were Tibeto-Burmans; they may have been Turks, Mongols, or some other people. He further states that the evidence of modern scientists seem to indicate that they were more likely Tibeto-Burmans than Turks or Mongols. More specifically, he241 considers them Iranian-Mediterranean and connects them with Mohanjodaro. S. Chattopadhyaya242 concurs. He243 regards th Ailas as mixed Nordic cum broad-headed and the Anavas with their descendents simply as broad-headed Aryans whose citadel244 was Haryana and Panjab. To Antonio Pagliaro245 they were the Persian-speaking Tajiks.
According to Ram Chandra Jain246 the Panchajna , were racially Panchajatah living on the banks of the Saraswati247 and all of them from Ayu down to Puru belonged to the Ahi race, autochthons of the north-western part of India. Shafer appeaars to be confused in deciding the ethnicity of the Anavas. His Tibeto-Burman claim for them is not supported by others. His assertions are, more or less, based on linguistic evidence which has long been discarded by scientists as a sure test of a race. Chattopadhyaya's contention does not
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Jain's hypothesis demands comment. He follows the Jain tradition, which is not acceptable to us in toto. We must first try to determine whether the Panchajna were Ahis or Aryan. There may have been an Ahi249 race in pre-historic India but it has not so far been scientifically identified. The sobriquet, Ahi, must have been used opprobriously like Mleccha and Rakshasa to denounce the Aryan tribes that did not succumb to orthodox Brahmanism. The Rig Veda and other texts state that Indra destroyed the Purus, the Vrtras and the Dasyus250. The Purus were Mrdhrivachah251 and Vadhrivachah252 as well as a-yajnika253. Puru was an Asura-Raksas254, the Yadus and Turvasus were Dasas255 and Vratyas256. The Anavas were known as Mlecchas257, and likewise the Druhyus were declared Mleclthas258. But surprisingly,the Anavas have nowhere been described as Ahis or as their descendents.
In India, down the ages the status of a people has always been dependent on and determined by their relations with the priestly class. When the Anavas etc. fought against the Bharatas led by their priests Visvamitra and Vashistha what more could they expect from the victors except opprobrious appellations? The Anavas etc. bore, consequently, the burden of their mistakes and Bribus (eastern Panis) reaped the reward of their virtues (i.e. by giving their wealth and kine to the followers of Indra). These denunciatory epithets, however, need not be taken too seriously. Such epithets were freely exchanged by rival tribes - even the Aryans did not escape being tarred likewise.
Sometimes it is alleged that the relationship of the Panchajatah, Viz. Yadu, Turvasu, Anu, Druhyu and Puru with Yayati, Nahusa and Ayu is not mentioned in the Rigveda269. Jain considers their genealogy as a later fabrication in the Puranas to suit the Brahmanic purposes. Since these tribes fought against Sudas, it is but natural that their parentage was also obscured by the mentors of the victorious Aryans. It can be equally true that Jain exploited the situation of the genealogical vacuum of these tribes in the Rigveda and fouund it convenient to connect them with the Ahis, a sub-branch of the Iksvakus, the Proto-Australoids of Jain, to suit the purposes of the lain tradition. Be that
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as it may, the Mahabharata and the Puranas show the five tribes, connected with Yayati etc., as well as the Iksvakus, as Aryans and not as Ahis, if at all, the latter were a separate race. Pargiter, R .P. Chanda, Pusalker, N.K. Dutt. Kosambi and a host of other writers also recognise them as Aryans.
It should now be obvious that the two digressions indulged in by us assist in establishing tribes, described by Panini, with those mentioned in the Rigveda, and their link with the Jats of to day. It now remains to compare the anthropometric details of these tribes of antiquity and of today. A vivid picture of the physical features of the former, as noted above, is handy to us from the classical and later writers but regarding the latter, who were, undoubtedly, Aryans, the picture is till not very clear in so far as their anthropological details are concerned, for there were two racial types among the Aryans from the very beginning - the dolichocephalic and brachycephalic. Finally, let us examine some of the recent theories about the identity of these ancient tribes before we come to grips with anthropometric details connected with them.
The method of anthropometry is thought of little use in Indian prehistoric studies260. This is partially true, for, as compared to Europe very little craniological studies and archaeological excavations have been done in India to guide us in this respect. Skeletal remains from Kalibangan and other excavated sites of north-western India, except Burzahom, Harappa, Mohanjodaro, Ropar and Lothal, lie still packed and unstudied. In such a situation we have to have recourse to the following maxim: "The unknown, however, can often be explained by the known and the local by the distant". Further investigations in psychology, para-psychology and heredity, indicating that "our dead ancestors have from generation to generation bequeathed us not merely their thoughts and traditions but have bequeathed their physical constitution also", can serve as our guide.
- Maa par poot, pitaa par ghoraa;
- bahut nahin, to thoraa thoraa. '
We know that the tallest, dolichocephalic, fair skinned, leptorhine, long-limbed people in north-western India are the Aryan Jats, Gujars, and Rajputs whose traditions, physical constitution and gotras, as already described above, indubitably point to their descent from the warrior republican tribes who were, according to the historians of
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Alexander, five cubits or above in height. We have also seen that the most important of those are lineally connected with Puru, Anu etc. of the Rigveda. However, ultimately, it may be remarked that the Ayuddhajivi Ganas and Samghas of Panini, who fought against the Greek invader, inherited their physical constitution (besides their traditions or republican life, of opposition to orthodox Brahmanism, of the spirit of independence, of liberty and equality as well as the spirit of sacrifice in defence of their way of life and their motherland), from their Rigvedic eponymous tribes and passed on the same to their successive descendents, the Jats.
Interestingly, this is confirmed by Weber. According to him, "the races and tribes found by Alexander on this barrier of the Indus appear to stand etirely on a Vedic, and not on a Brahmanical footing. As a matter of fact this is true ... these people of the Panjab never submitted to the Brahmanical order of the things, but always retained their ancient Vedic standpoint, free and independent, without either priestly domination or system of caste. For this reason, too, they were the objects of a cordial hatred on the part of their kinsmen, who had wandered further on (in the eastern lands), and on this account also Buddhism gained an easy entrance among them". He further avers, "later on, however, when the new Brahmanical organisation was completed in Hindustan, and strong element of bitterness was infused into it, the Brahmans looked Upon their old kinsmen who had remained true to the customs of their forefathers as apostates and unbelievers260a". Romila Thapar also further expresses elaborately quite the similar views (1990; 152-192).
Whatever little but, nonetheless, important evidence is readily available to us from the internal and external sources, may be pressed into service for the anthropometrical study of the Rigvedic tribes under review. Recent investigations based on latest techniques, employed by Dr. Partap C. Datta, in the study of skeletal remains from Harappan (Hariyupia) indicate that the mean estimate of the stature of the Harappa males is 1691-87 mm or about 5 feet 8 inches and the females, 155.59 mm or about 5 ft. 2 inches, moderately dolichocephalic and highly mesorrhine, and in taxonomy they are sexually homogeneous261. It may be observed here that the stature of the Harappans dwindled due, probably, to paucity of nutritious food on account of gradually
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increasing desiccation of the domain of the Harappan culture which resulted in its destruction and also because of their deprivation of the male virile force of their ancestors who were consumed up in the Rigvedic wars.
The racial affinity of the Harappans
Now the essential problem, that remains to be solved pertains to the racial affinity of the Harappans, The learned scholar262, how-ever, withdraws from identifying their racial affinity and merely asserts that by using seven selected Cranio-facial measurements and six large-sized series, "the investigations clearly bring into sharp focus that the Harappans are bioetrically close to those of the Tepe Hissar and Sakkar26 , and the populations of the Indus valley, Iran and Egypt could be, as the results show, fitted into a cluster of a single unit". Be that as it may, I make bold to suggest that the Harappans were either the descendants of the Varasikas (Parasikas) who initially defeated Abhyavartin264 son of Cayaman, and Prastoka, son of Srnjaya: or the Vrcivants (Vrchivants or Vrichivans) the sons of Varasika, their allies, the Turvasus, who were finally routed in the battle of Hariyupiya (Harappa) by Abhyavartin and his ally Parastoka with the help of Bharadvaja and made them flee265 their city as well as their country to the western lands, (which, probably, Dr. Datta has in view). Ali Sami265a informs us that a group of Aryans came to Fars (Iran) from the east via Kirman and Seistan about the middle of the second millennium BC. The probability cannot be ruled out that they were the fugitives and refugees from Hariyupiya (Harappa). B.S. Guha266 also affirms the affinities of the long-headed Harappan with Mediterranean and Caucasic (formerly supposed as Australoid) and broad-headed Harappans with the Amenoid race. Dr. Datta believes that the immediate ancestry of the Harappans, identified with Iksvakus by Jain267, lies with the pre-Harappan communities who inhabited the same region, and the ancient population, he268 further observes,of Harappa has similarities in Cephalic index with the present day long-headed population of Panjab. In other words, we can say that the Parasikas and Vrcivants are Pre-Harappans and they might have, been survived by the Brishbhans, Vrika and Asi or Asika tribes of the Jats who are long-headed people of Punjab. The anthropometric details of the Harappans very faithfully compare with those of the Jats who were dominant race in the region, for as the anthropologists269 assert,
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"we know it for certain, that the population in Saurashtra, Sindh and Panjab have remained more or less stable from Harappan times to the present day". Consequent upon their internecine wars these people were compelled to migrate to as far away as the European countries: in Germany they were considered270 as the magazine of the German race (Nordics).
The evidence from the European sources is no less valuable for our purpose and has a strong hearing on the subject under discussion. Penka271 asserted, rather emphatically, that the German race is the only race, tall, blue eyed, fair-skinned, with abundant beard and dolicocephalic skull, which can claim to be genuine Aryans by blood as well as by language. "Physically the Teutonic race is taller, large-limbed and more powerful than any other. The Swedes; their purest representatives, are the tallest race in Europe, averaging 5 feet and 7.5 inches in height. The Staengenaes man reached 5 feet 10 inches. The Scandanavian skeleton found at Aspatria in Cumberland must have been 7 feet in stature272". It is the result of the Teutonic conquest that the landed gentry of Europe largely descended from this race and they preserve with singular consistency, the physical characteristics and mode of life of their remote ancestors273 from the East274. In their day-to-day administration and judicial procedure the early Germans, according to Tacitus274a, consulted their tribal chiefs on small matters and the community (the whole tribe) on vital issues.
Migration of Jats from Sapta Sindhu
Just see the remarkable parallels between the functioning of the Germans and the Indian Jat tribal "Khaap" and "Sarvakhaap" panchayats. This further reminds us of the Vedic republican communities (the Panchajatah or Panchajna), who are, as we shall have occasion to show in the next chapter, considered by us as the common ancestors of the Indian Jats and the German Goths or Gots.
Before concluding, we may go into the question of identity of the Teutons and the Swedes. The Teutons were Aryans including High and low Germans and Scandanavians, and to be more specific Goths (Gots, Getae, Jats, Juts), Lombards (Lampaka or Lamba), Normans, Franks (Vrkas, Saxons (Sacae Getae) and Angles274b The Suevis (Sivis) including the Vilka (Virkas), the Manns (Mans) the Schillers (Chhilller)275 etc. who, as we shall note (infra), migrated from the Sapta Sindhu to the Scandanavian countries in ancient times, were known as
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Svi Thjoth or Sui or (Suiones) Joth276, (Sivi or Sibi Jat), in archaic Norse, and ultimately as the Swedes. Mr. B.S.Dahiya276a has assiduously pin-pointed nearly 250 European communities whose names are identified by him with the surnames (gotras) of the Indian Jats. The Sivis were probably earlest migrants as leaders of these tribes. It is these tribes whose anthropological details are given above. In the light of the aforesaid evidence we can reasonably assert that the physical characteristics of the Sivisa (Suevis) and their descendents (the victims of Dasarajna wars, who managed, by hook or by crook, to remain in the Harappan region, cannot be different from those of ones who perforce left the country for good or were deported to their new home in the Scandanavian countries277.
In the end, it will not be irrelevant to recall what Qanungo very aptly remarked: "In character the Jat resembles the old Anglo-Saxon and the ancient Roman, and has indeed more of the characteristics of the Teuton than of the Celt in him". In view of our investigations, we may well reverse the statement of Prof. Qanungo that the Teutons and others resemble the Jats - their ancestors - and not the other way round. Truly speaking, as and when in the past an upheaval, whether social, political or religious, took place in Sapta Sindhu , shock waves were sent to Central Asia and Middle East from this epicentre and its ripples were recorded as far away as the Baltic, Scandanavian, Netherlandic and American countries in the past, (infra). This is like Australia and the Americas experiencing similar social tremors from Europe in the recent past, and almost due to same kind of reasons. We have yet to see a Volkerwanderung of the Europeans to the Indian sub-continent in the sense in which the exodus of Indo-Aryans flooded Europe in the past. Our investigations pertaining to the historico-somatometrical details· and serological make-up of the Jats, as available from the present, medieval, classical and ancient Indian and foreign sources, in our view, conclusively establish that the Jats, like the descendents of other races, are the direct descendents of the Rig Vedic Aryan tribes whose officina gentium (cradle) was the Sapta-Saindhava country and whose names, in the course of the criss-cross of their migrations down the ages to various climes and countries, underwent recognizable alterations. They have indeed inherited not only their thoughts and sentiments but markedly their physical features also. We may cap all our observations with the final one: "Allah knows better".
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Notes And References
- 1. Mat. Pur. (113, 114-16), mentions four colours i.e. white, red, yellow and black. cf. also Vajasaney Samhita q. by Maya Prasad Tripathi, Development or the Geographical knowledge in Anc. Ind., Bhartiya Vidya Prakashan, Varanasi, 1969; CH. VIII, pp. 225-40. RV., 1, 100,12; Sayana, 1, 164, i4; and Sam Veda, IX, 13, (gives five classes or races of the earth).
- 2. Ramayana, 1,54, 22.
- 3.Ibid., IV, 39, 13; See also IV, 37, 7; IV, 37, 20 and 24; 1],69, 14.
- 4.Ibid., VII, 46. Mbt. VI, 34·37; VI, 17-18. See also VI, 12, 16.17; VI, 11, 21 and 22.
- 5.Skand Pur., Kashi Khand, Ch. 37.
- 6. Garuda Pur., Chs. 63-65.
- 7. Brhatsamhita, Chs. 67-69.
- 8. Ibid.
- 9. Ibid.
- 10. Ginsberg, V.V.: Anthro. Data on the Ethno. Origin of Cen, Asian Inter fluvial Area Population in Kushan Period - In Dushanbe Conference on Cen. Asia in the Kushan Period, Vol. I, 1974, p. 225; V, Zezenkova, Craniological Material of the Kushan Period in Cen, Asia", in ibid., pp. 234.
- 11. Kephart, Calvin, Races of Mankind, pp. 261-67.
- 12. Tripathi, op. cit., p. 234.
- 13. Varahamihira, op. cit., Tripathi, op. cit., p. 237.
- 14. Tripathi, op. cit., p. 234.
- 15. Ibid., p. 233.
- 16. Ibid., p. 234.
- 17. Shama Sastry, R, Kautalya's Anuasnastra, Mysore, 1929, p. 117.
- 18. Majumdar, D.N., Races and Cultures of Ind., New Delhi, 1961, pp. 98-101.
- 19. Srinath, M.G., "Jats of Caucasian Stock"? in the Hindustan Times, April 6, 1984.
- 20. Ency. America, No. 28, p. 107. about 100,00 Indians (probable of Jat tribe of Mann) migrated to Vietnam in prehistoric times. (within brackets mine)
- 21. Howells, W.W., Mankind So Far, N. York, 1945; p. 98.
- 21a. Majumdar, op. cit., Bhalla, V., "Blood Group Distribution pertaining to ABO, MNSs, and Rh-Hr. Systems in the Ind. Sub-continent (An ethno-Geographical Variations)" in Anthropologie, vol. IV, No. 3, pp. 67-86; 1966. Bhalla, and Bhasin, "A study of Blood Group Antigens in Saliva" in Ind. Jour. Med. Res., 1976, 64: 1245, Shivaraman et. al. Human Heredity. 1974. Vol 21. p. 326. Chattopadhyay, P.K; "A genetic study of the Jats of Delhi and Punjab (Ind.)" -Thesis submitted to Delhi Uni. (Unpublished), Dr. Bhalla was kind enough to supply me the information in writing in Oct. 1989 when I visited him, that
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- the Sikh Jats of Pb. and the Hindu Jats of Delhi and Haryana show a similar distribution of ABO blood groups and ABH secretion. I really owe deep gratitude to him (Dr. V. Bhalla Reader, Deptt. of Anthropology, Pb. Uni., Chandigarh).
- 22. Rishi, W .R., Roma, Pbi. Uni. Patiala, 1976, pp.113-116, John Buettner-Janusch, Origins of Man, Reprint, New Delhi, 1969, p. 492.
- 23. Modern man reached Australia from Asia about 40.000 Years ago, he reached Americas Via Alaska about 15000 Years ago (FJ. Ebling, Racial Variations in Man, London, 1975, p. 35).
- 24. Candela, P.B., "The Introduction of Blood Group B into Europe", Human Biology, Vol, XIX, 1942, pp. 413-444.
- 25. Ibid.
- 26. Janusch, op. cit., p. 492. Majumdar, D.N., op. cit., pp. 92, 99. Garn, Stanely H.; Human Races, Illinois, U.SA 1969, pp. 40, 41,134.
- 27. The Goths (Jats) penetrated as far as Scandanavia as early as 5000 B.C. Gibbon, Decline of Roman Empire Vol. 111, pp. 20-40. AH. Keane, Man, Past and present, pp. 506-09.
- 28. Kephart, op. cit., p. 229.
- 29. q. by Hooton, op. cit., p. 555.
- 30. Tripathi, op. cit., p. 237.
- 31. White, J.E., Manchip; Anthropology, London, 1960, pp. 76-77.
- 32. Ebling, op. cit., p. 64.
- 33. Nesturkh, M.; The Origin of Man, Moscow, 1967, p. 357.
- 34. Ebling, op. cit., p. 64.
- 35. Garn, op. cit., p. 6.
- 36. Nesturkh, op. cit., p. 343.
- 37. Hooton, op. cit., pp. 572-73.
- 38. Guha, B.S., Racial Affinities of the People of Ind., Simla, 1935, pp. LX-LXXXI; An outline of the Racial Ethnology of lnd., Calcutta, n.d., pp. 125-139; Census of Ind., 1931, Vol. I, Part, Ill, Ethnographical.
- 39. Hooton, op. cit., p. 573.
- 40. Charles, Lt. Col. Havelock; Jour. of Anatomy and Physiology, Vol. XXVII, p. 20; q. by Risley, op. cit., p. 21.
- 41. q. by Risley, op. cit., p. 22.
- 42. Ibid., pp. 36, 58.
- 43. Mitra, A.K., op. cit., pp. 1-2 (with statistical tables).
- 44. Mukerji, A,B., The Deccan Geographer Vol.l,Jan., 1968, No. I, Secundarabad, AP., India, pp. 22-50.
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- 45. Mitra, Dr. A.K.; Presidential Address, Sec. of Anthropology and Archaeology, in Fifty Fourth Ind. Se. Cong., Hyderabad, 1967. He deals with the anthropometrical studies of the Ahirs, Jats, Rajputs, Sakadvipis and Bhuinhars very elaborately.
- 46. Chakcraberty, Chandra; op. cit. p. 1.
- 47. Ibid., p. VIII.
- 48. Ibid., pp. I and VII.
- 49. Cf. (App. 2,3).
- 50. Hutton, J.H.; Caste in Ind., 4th ed., Reprint, 1969, p. 36.
- 51. Letham, R.G.; Ethnology of Ind., Reprint, Delhi, 1985, p. 254.
- 52. Gaur, J.R., "A study of some Anthropometric (Somatometric) Traits Among the Jats, Rajput and Ahirs of Haryana" - an unpublished Thesis for Ph. D. submitted to the Pb. Uni., Chandigarh, 1989; and alsO his personal letter dated March 12, 1990 from Madhuban (Haryana), giving me the desired information I owe a deep sense of gratitude to him.
- 53. Anthropologie, Vol. IV, No. 3, 67-86, 1966.
- 54. Chattopadhyay, Prasanta Kumar and Kushwaha, Krit Pal Singh; A Dermoto glyphic Approach to the Problem of Rajput Origin, Part I & II (within bracket: mine)
- 55. Mitra, op. cit. •
- 56. Mitra, AK. & Ghose, BR; "Rajput Origins and the Tomars of Delhi", Th. Anthropologist, Special Edition, 1968, pp. 181-195.
- 57. Chattopadhyay and Kushwaha, op.cit., Part-I,
- 58. Letham, op. cit., p. 254.
- 59. Sir Denzil Ibbetson, q. by C. V. Vaidya, His. of Med. Hindu Ind., Vol. I, p. 88
- 60. Chattopadhyay & Kushwha, op. cit., Part-II, I am highly grateful to Dr. S. Prakash, Chairman, Deptt. of Anthropology, Punjab University, Chandigarh for information.
- 60a. Banerjee, Anil Chandra: Lectures on Rajput History, 1962, Calcutta, Ch. I.
- 61. Guha,Amalendu; Cen. Asia, Report of Dushanbe Cong. 1968, p. 168. Qanungo Studies in Rajputs His., Delhi, 1960, pp. 96-101.
- 62. Hutton, op. cit., p. 37.
- 63. Puri, B.N.; His. of Gurjar-Pratiharas Ch. 9.
- 64. Cf. Infra Ch. on, Jat and its Variants.
- 65. Kudaryavtsev, Dr. H.K.; Role of the Jats in the Ethnic His. Of N.Ind. Moscow, 1964,p.13. .
- 66. Ebling, op.cit., p. 14.
- 67. Garn op. cit., p. 49.
- 68. Cf. App, No. 3.
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.163
- 69. Ebling. op. cit., p. 49.
- 70. Ibid., p. 15.
- 71. MacNeish, RS., "Early Man in the Andes", Scientific America, 224, 1971, pp. 36-64. According to C-14 test, modern man reached W. Hemisphere 40,000 to 100,000 years ago, in Canada 23,000 to 28,000 B.C.;Garn, op. cit., pp. 128. See also Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Balts and Aryans, Simla, 1968, Ch. XII. Panchanan Mitra, Prehistoric Ind., Delhi, 1979, pp. 49-50, 229.
- 72. Risley, Herbert, H. People of Ind., p. 49.
- 73. Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, p. 85, Vol. 11, pp. 138, 180, 299.
- 74. Nesfield, J., Brief View of the Caste Sys. of N.E. Provinces, A1lahabad, 1931.
- 75. Havell, E.B. His. of Aryan Rule in Ind. (From the Earliest Times to the Death of Akbar); Frederick A. Stokes, New York, 1918, p. 32.
- 76. Vaidya, C.V., op. cit., pp. 87-88.
- 77. Risley, op. cit., pp. 37, 49-50, Havell, op. cit., p. 32.
- 78. Somadeva Suri, Yasastilakachampu, 1.43, 44, 45, M.K Saran, Tribal Coins Delhi, 1972, pp. 75,77, 135, 136, 147. KK Das Gupta; Tribal His. of Anc, Ind., 1974, p. 276. He identifies the Jats with Anc.Yaudheyas and mentions peacock as their totem; cf. also Ency. of Ref. and Ethics, Vol. I,Edinburgh, 1908-26, p. 524, Shastri, Yoganand; Republican Govt. of the Yaudheyas (Paper presented in the International Congress of Orientalists, Paris, July. 16-22, 1973, pp. 46). To him Yaudheyas were Jats.
- 79. Pargiter, AIHT., p. 109.
- 80. Saran, op, cit., p. 77.
- 81. Ibid., p, 75, Letter of Prof. Rabindra Kumar Siddhanta Shastree, MA, PRS . Panchatiratha Saptashastree, Deptt., of Sanskrit. College Street, Calcutta Univ., Calcutta, to the author in reply to certain queries posed the latter. On p. 4 of his letter he informed the author that "Mahmud Gaznavi was compelled by the Jats to flee in disguise".
- 82. Yasastilakachampu., 1.43,44,45, Sharan, op, cit.
- 83. Aggarwal, V.S., Deeds of Harsha, Varanasi, 1969, p. 61, E.B. Cowell and P.W. Thomas, The Harsacarita of Bana, Delhi, 1961, p. 56.
- 84. Ibid., pp. 127.
- 85. Ibid., p. 93.
- 86. Ibid., p. 153.
- 87. Cowell, E.B. and P.W, Thomas; op. cit. p. 163 .
- 88. Aggarwal, op. cit., p. 157.
- 89. Cowell. op, cit., pp. 190-91. Harsacarita, IV, 220.
- 90. Cowell, Ibid., p. 35.
- 91. Aggarwal, op. cit., pp. 93-4.
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.164
- 92. Cowell, op. cit., pp. 120.
- 93. Ibid., p, 189. The soldiers in general and Subedar Neki Ram of Vill. Mandauthi, Distt, Rohtak, in World War I were said to be of such frame. (Information, Capt. Manphool Singh of the said village, who was a verteran soldier in the two World Wars).
- 94. Ibid., pp. 58-61.
- 95. Ibid., pp. 82t.
- 96. Aggarwal, op. cit., pp. 220f.
- 97. Dahiya, B.S., op. cit., pp. 201-12.
- 98. Cowell, op.cit., pp. 172-79.
- 99. Vaijayaitti of Yadava Prakasa, ed. by Gustav Oppert Ph.D., Madras Sansk, and Varna, Text Pub. Society, 1893j V. 38, 40, q. by S.B. Chaudhury. Ethnic Settlements in Anc. Ind, PI. I, General Printers and Publishers Ltd. 119, Dharamtala St. Calcutta, 13, p. 80.
- 100. Ashtadhyayi, V. 3. 115; q. by M.R Singh op. cit., p. 99.
- 101.Chaudhury, S.B., op, cit., p. SO. M.R Singh, op. cit, p. 99.
- 102. Dahiya, op. cit., pp. 201-12, Cor. Ins. Ind, (CII), Vol.III, pp. 23lff, 253.
- 103. Singh, M.R, op.cit., p, 99
- 104. Dahiya, op. cit., p. 209.
- 105 .Ibid., pp. 204-09 .
- 106. Ibid.
- 107. Brhatsamhita, XIV. 27, Harsacarita, V., q. by AM. Shastri, Ind, as Seen in the Brhatsamhita of Varahamihira, Motilal Banaridas, Delhi, 1969; pp. 78f.
- 108. Chattopadhyayya, Sudhakarjj Racial Affinities of Early N. Ind. Tribes, Munshirarn Manoharlal, N. Delhi, 1973, p, 100. W.M. McGovem, Early Empires of C. Asia. Chapel Hill, 1939, p, 473 ff, R Shafer, op. cit., pp. 154ff.
- 109. Gankovsky, Yu. V: op, cit., p. 93, f. n. 219.
- 110. Procopius, His. of Wars. V. IV; VI. 1,4-10; XXVII. 222-27. Gankovsky, op, CiL, p, 80, In, 157. George Rawlinson, His. of Herodotus, Vol. Ill. pp. 185, 209. Buddha Prakash, op. cit., p. 243.
- 111. Toynbee, Arnold, J.; op. cit., pp. 122-3. Map. No. 24, Rawlinson op, cit, Buddha Prakash, op. cit, J.P. Hewitt, op. cit., pp. V. 481-87.
- 112. B.C. Law. op, cit., p. 270 .
- 113. Gankovsky, op. cit., p. 91.
- 114. Ind. Ant., Vol. 48 (1919), pp. 74-5. Karlgren, Bernhard, op. cu., No. 490, 493,
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.165
- 115. Ginsburg, V.V.; op.cit., in the Dushanbe Conference Report. Vol. I, 1968; p. 225, others in the same report V. Zezankova, Craniological Material of the Kushan period, pp. 235-6, O. Obelchenko, Kushan Burial Sites of the Kushan Epoch in the Bukhara Oasis, pp. 208-9", Gankovsky, op. cit., pp. 66-7, 88-9. A. Dehkan, in C. Asia ed. by Amalendu Guha, pp. 113-14. Chattopadhyaya, S.; op. cit., pp. 32, 35-6 cf. Also M.I. Artamonov, "Frozen Tombs of the Scythians" in Scientific American, Vol. 212, No. 5, May, 1965, pp. 100-109. Calvin Kephart, op. cit., p. 261
- 116. Ray, Aitreya; Origin and Ethnology of Huns of India, JIH, Vot. XLIIl, pt. 11" Aug., 1965, pp. 493-512.
- 117. Cf. reference No. 98 Supra.
- 118. Kephart, Calvin, op. cit., pp. 358, 368.
- 119. Monier-Williams, Skt.-Eng. Dic., pp. 358-368.
- 120. Dahiya, op. cit., pp. 176-7.
- 121. Mukerji, RK., Gupta Emp. 1950, p. 14, Jayaswal, JBORS, XIX, 1933, pp. 115f.
- 122. Majumdar, RC. and Altekar, A.S.; Vakataka-Gupta Age-, p. 131, IRO. Vol XI,1935, pp. 326f. EpLInd., Vot. XV, p. 39, Sharma, Dasharatha,JBORS, Vol. XXII, p. 227.
- 123. Imperial His. of Ind., P. 52.
- 124. Compare pictures of Samudragupta on coins Nos 10 and 11 and of Chandragupta II, Vikaramditya on No. 12 given in a plate by V. Smith in his Early His. of Ind. 4th ed. Oxford.
- 125. Author's personal finding from Jats of Dharan gotra living in villages around Sangaria Mandi, Rajasthan.
- 126. Visakha-Datta, Mudra-Rakshasa, New Bk. Coy. 1944, p. XIV (Eng, Trans. by RS. Pandit).
- 127. Mukerji, Radha Kamud; Anc.lnd. Press Pvt. Ltd. Allahabad, 1956, pp. 146-7. Monier-Williams op.cit., Abbreviations, especially abbreviation L.
- 128. Mukerji, op. cit., p. 147.
- 129. Skt. Eng. Dic. p. 1013.
- 130. Cf. Ref. No. 109. above.
- 131. Pandit, RS.; op. cit., pp. 61-2.
- 132. Ibid., p. 65.
- 133. Ibid.
- 134. Ibid.
- 135. Ibid.
- 136. Ibid., p. 64.
- 137. Mukerji, R.K.; op. cit, P: 146.
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.166
- 138. Buddha Prakash, 'Home of the Mauryas' IHO, June, 1955, Vol. XXXI, No. 2 pp. 153-167. Cf, Also J.P. Sharma, Republics in Anc. Ind. (C. 1500 B.c.- 500 B.C.), 1968, EJ. Brill Leiden, pp. 92, 223
- 139. Ibid., Amalananda Ghosh, 'The Caste of Chandragupta Maurya', IHO. June 1930, Vot. VI, No. 2, pp. 271-283.
- 140. Presented his paper 'Maurya Connected with Sirmur' in a Seminar on Regional Historical Writings at Simla on oct, 26, 1986. cf. also Ph. Past & Present, 1983,1 pp. 5-12.
- 141. Law, B.C.; op. cit., pp. 197-99. ~
- 142. Ibid., pp. 9, 200-01, 211.
- 143. Sankrityana, Rahul, His. of Cen. Asia, New Age Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Calcutta,'r 1964, p. 100.
- 144. Malasekera, G.P.; Dic. of Pali proper Names, London, 1937-38, Vol. 11 p. 673; q. by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Lokayat, PPH, 1973, p. 470.
- 145. Kosambi, D.D.; op. cit., p. 187.
- 146. Prakash, Buddha; Glimpses of Anc. Pb., Punjab Bureau, Pbi. Uni, Patiala, 1983, pp. 19ff.
- 147. Ibid., p. 21. McCrindle, Invasion of Ind. by Alexander the Great, p. 402.
- 148. Bevan, E.R; CHI. Vol. I, p. 313, fn. 1.
- 149. Wilson, H.H.; Eng. Trans, of Vishnu Pur. p. 380.
- 150. Buddha Prakash, op, cit., p. 21.
- 151. Ibid., p. 20. His. of Poros, p. 29.
- 152. Dahiya, op. cit., p. 172 ff.
- 153. Arrian, Anabisis, Bk. V. Ch.14, q. McCrindle op. cit., p. 85.
- 154. Ibid.
- 155. Solinus, Gaius Julius, Collectanea Rerume Memorabilium 52, 6-17, q. by RC. Majumdar, Class. Accts. of Ind., Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, Calcutta, 1960, p. 458.
- 157. Ibid., Ch. XVII; Ibid., p. 231.
- 158. Periegetes, Dionysios; Description of the whole world" LI, 1080-1165; q. by Majumdar, RC., op. cit., p. 424.
- 159. Chrysostom, Dion; Oratio, XXXV, 434, q. by Majumdar, R.C; op. cit. p. 432.
- 161. Twentieth Century Chambers Dictionary, 1949, p. 226.
- 162. McCrindle, op. cit., p. 85, fn. 3. Within brackets by me. See also CHI. Vol. I, p. 475.
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.167
- 163. Fufus, Curtius; Bit, VIII, Ch. IX. Bk IX, ch.1; q. by McCrindle, op. cit., pp. 188, 219, Mbt, 44. 17-19. Buddha Prakash, Soc. and Pol. Movements in Anc. Pb., pp. 112f, (women of Kunjah and men of Kamalia in W. Pb, (Paltistan) were famous for their legendary beauty).
- 164. Buddha Prakash, op. cit., pp. 112f.
- 165. Siculus, Diodorus; Bibliotheca Histories, Bk. XVII, Ch. XCI, q, by McCrindle. op. cit., pp. 279f.
- 166. The Jats generally prize health and beauty in both sexes. The Bishnoi Jats used to follow an old Scythian practice to Improve their progeny and race.
- 167. Cf. fn. 136. above.
- 168. Valorious, Julius; Itinerarium Alexandri, Sec. VII, III, q. by Majumdar, RC. op. cit., p. 209 .
- 169. Justinus, Historicae Phillippicae, Bk. XII, Ch. VII, q. by McCrindle, op. cit., p. 322.
- 170. Plutarch, life of Alexander, Ch. XIV, q. by McCrindle, op. cit., p. 309.
- 171. Rufus Curtius, Bk. VIII, Ch. XIV, q. by McCrindle, op. cit., p. 209.
- 172. Arrian, Anabasis, 131e. V. en. XIX, q. by McCrindie, op. cit., p. 109.
- 173. Siculus, Diodoros; Bibliotheca Historica, Bk. XVII, Ch. LXXXVIII; q. by McCrindle, op. cit., p. 276.
- 174. Ibid., Bk. XVII, Ch. XIV, q. by Ibid. pp. 283 f.
- 175. Smith, Vincent; Ear. His. of Ind., 4th ed., pp. 80ff.
- 176 . Mbt. VIII, 44,10-11. K.R Qanungo, op. cit., pp. 5-8. C.V. Vaidya, op. cit., Vol. I,p. 87,1974. Thakur Deshraj, op.cit., pp. 57f. B.N. Puri,op. cit.,p. 77. Buddha Prakash, op.cit., p. 243,251, Sir James Campbell and Grierson, q. by Qanungo op. cit., p. 5.
- 177. Cf. Reference No. 152 above.
- 178. Tod, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 85; Vol. II, pp. 138, 180, 299. Balfour, F.; Cyclopaedia of Ind. 1873, Vol. 2. (Jats). Ibbetson, D; Pb. Castes, p. 97.
- 179. Dwivedi, Girish Chandra, Origin of the Jats', JIH, Aug., 1970. Vol XLVIII, S.No. 143, p. 393. According to classical Greek writers, they were the tallest (over five cubits) in Asia.
- 180. Chakraberty, Chandra; op. cit., pp. VII, VIII, 2, 17, 91, 109. He also finds the Jat tribes mentioned in R. V.1.28.4. (Ibid., P. 109). I tried ever over hard but failed to confirm the Rigvedic reference given above. However, the general impression is that the Vedas have been free from interpolations or deletions but the absence of 1.28.4. from the RV. compelled me to agree. with Madhav M. Deshpande and Peter Edwin Hook, who, in their book' Aryan and Non-Aryan in Ind. Delhi, 1979 (Genesis of RV. Retroflexion-A His. and Socio-linguistic Investigation, Madhav M. Deshpande. Uni. of Michigan, 1978) states on p. 235
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.168
- that "the text of RV. is not quite the same as it was originally". (Sec also Sir. R.G. Bhandarkar Collected Works, Vol. 1.p. 398. John Brough in JRAS .. 1947, pp. 85-89. Weber, 1914: too has his own doubts.
- 181. Das Gupta K.K.: A Tribal His. of Anc.Ind., Navabharat Pub. Cal. 1974, p.I38. While discussing the physionomy of Mallavas, Das Gupta agrees with McCrindle (Inva. Of Alexander, p. 85.) that they were among the tallest men in Asia. The Jats of Malva region of Pb, are still the tallest in the state. N.S. Rama Swami (On Foreign Visitors to Pb.) in the Tribune of 15.8.82 informs us on the authority of Henry Edward Fam who visited Pb. in 1888 that Maharaja Karam Singh of Patiala was six feet eight inches.
- 182. Shastri, A.M.; op. cit., p. 365.
- 183. Das Gupta, op. cit., p. 138.
- 184. Ibid. Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Panjab was the son of a Mallava Lady, named Raj Kaur, daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind. In the house of her husband, Sardar Maha Singh, she was known as Mai Malvain, the lady of Maalva (called as such after its occupation by the Mallavas). Maharaja Ranjeet Singh was born in the small fortress town of Badrukhan near Jind, the home town of Raj Kaur's mother, with whom, according to custom, Raj Kaur had to stay for the delivery of her first child (Singh, Khushwant; Ranjit Singh, 1962, London, pp. 21ff).
- 185. Shastri, A.M., op. cit., p. 365.
- 186. Ibid.
- 187. Buddha Prakash, op. cit., p. lllf.
- 188. Shastri, A.M. op. cit., p. 366.
- 189. Ibid., pp. 365f. They are in the Sase or Saso (Sasodia) Rajput also. cf. Pococke, E.; India in Greece, p. 229.
- 190. Mukerji, RK., op. cit., pp. 218.20 .
- 191. CHI, Vol. I, pp. 521·24. Cf. Brown, CJ.; Coins of Ind., Calcutta, 1922, p. 242.
- 192. Shastri, A.M. op. cit., p. 366.
- 193. Dwivedi, Girish Chandra, op, cit., pp. 39Of.
- 194. Majumdar, RC.; Corporate Life in Anc. Ind., Cal., 1978, pp, 105-7, 121.22. Jayaswal, K.P.; Andhkar Yugin Bharat, pp. 3OOf.
- 195. Majumdar, RC.; op. cit., pp. 113·133. See also S.B. Chaudhuri. Ethnic Settlements in Anc.Ind., Vol. 1; M.R. Singh, Geog. Data from the Earliest Purana,; M.K. Saran, Tribal Coins; K.K. Das Gupta. Republican Tribes of Anc. lad.
- 195a. Supra. J.P. Sharma, 1968, p. 25.
- 196. Dwivedi, op. cit., p. 390 ..
- 197. Ibid .. p. 391, fn. 85.
- 197a. Republics in Anc. Ind., 1968. EJ. Brill, Leiden, pp. 237-43. 59-62. (within brackets mine).
- 198. Dwivedi, op. cit .. p. 390 .
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.169
- 199. Kalyanaraman. A.. Aryatarangini, Vol. One, Asia Pubg. House, Bombay, 1969, p 4. fn.
- 200. ibid. p. 7.
- 201. Mbt Santiparva. Ch. 107.6-32.
- 202. Dange,S.A. From Primitive Communism to Slavery, PPH-, Bombay, 1951, pp., 168-82.
- 203. "The Scientific Dating of Mbt. War", Veda Vidhyana Mahdal, Pune- 30,1989.
- 205. Jayaswal K.P. Hindu Polity, P. 21
- 206. Jain, Ram Chandra: The Most Anc. Aryan Society, Institute of Bharatalogical Research. Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan (Ind), 1964, pp. 16-32.
- 207. The other five tribes are Ajas, Sigrus, Yaksus, Vrichivants and Matsyas. It is interesting to note that Ajas, Sigroha, Jakhar, Brishvan or Brisbhan and Machar are the Jat gotras. Albeit, their ancestors are said to belong to the Ahi race, but the descendents among the Jats noted above, betray the Aryan features beyond doubt.
- 208. ibid .. p. 202.
- 209. R.V.3.2.14,6; 5.4.9.II; 10.3.5.12. Wilson H.H; RV.,Vol.III, pp. 21-22.244. RV. Samhita, Vol. 11, pp.287,898.
- 210. R.V., 22.214.171.124-19. Jain; R.C; op. cit., p. 27.
- 211. Prakash, Buddha; op. cit., p.77.
- 212. Jain, RC; op. cit., p. 28.
- 213. The R.V., Brahmanas, Mbt, CV. Vaidya, Pargiter, Pusalker, RK., Mllkerji and a host of native and alien scholars support it.
- 214. Pusalker, A.D.; Aryan Settlements in Ind., in the Vedic Age, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1965, p. 251.
- 215. Pargiter. F.E.; AIHT, Delhi, 1972, pp. 92, 121,126,136,147,132; 99-101, 110-13, 115-17. 122-3.225-27.
- 216. Yoginder Pal Shastri, op.cit., p. 468. Amichandra Sharma,Jat Varna Mimamsa, V.S. 1967. p. 2 . The Jats of Jakhar tribe traditionally remember Jakha or Jakhu as their progenitor.
- 217. Bhargava.M.L.: Geog. of the Rigvedic India, Lucknow, 1964, p.129; The author opines that Budakhsis and their city Badakshan are known after the combined name of Bheda, the leader of the Yaksus and that of the latter, Bheda is also Jat gotra.
- 218. Ray. JBORS. March, 1928, q. by Pusalker, op.cit, p. 247.
- 219. Zimmer. q. by Pusalker. op.cit. p. 251. Buddha Prakash, op.cit., p. 78. R.K. Mukerji, Anc. Ind.p.54
- 220. Pusalker. ibid, Buddha Prakash, ibid
- 221. ibid, Visamins may be TigarKhaudae
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.171
- 222. Budha Prakash, Ibid., p. 78.
- 223. Ibid., Pusalker, op.cit., p. 25f.
- 224. Chatopadhyaya, Sudhakar; Racial Affinities of Early North Ind. Tribes, N. Delhi, 1973, p. 6.
- 225. Guha, B.S.; An Outline of the Racial Ethnology of Ind. p. 127. Majumdar, D.N. Races and Cultures of Ind., Bombay, 1961, p. 461. Chattopadhyaya, S.; op.cit.p.X.
- 226. Kephart, Calvin; op.cit., 228-29.
- 227. Op.cit.,6.
- 228. Shrimadacharya Shrinivasacharya, Jat Itihas, Calcutta, n.d. pp. 9-16. Niranjan Singh Chaudhary, Jat Gotravali, Jat Hitkari Prakashan, Gopinath Bazar,Varindavan, Mathura, n.d. pp. 1-10. Jat Gotras are given in alphabetic order in Hindi in both of the booklets.
- 229. Ibid.
- 230. Pargiter, op.cit., pp. 144f.
- 231. Ray Chaudhuri, H.c.; PHAI, 6th edn., p. 489 fn.
- 232. Singh, M.R; op.cit., p. 74.
- 233. Parjiter, op.cit., p. 109.
- 234. Dwivedi, G.C., op.cit., pp. 382f.
- 235. Jatya means "In or among or like Jat/s, and Atnaro means nomads or wanderers". Atan the last word of the phrase, is very significant. In Haryanvi, also known as Jatu, language which contains so many Sanskrit words, Atan means hardening and coarsening of skin on the joints of toes due to friction caused by tight footwear in course of wandering from place to place.
- 236. Pusalker, op.cit., p. 482.
- 237. Ibid., p. 314.
- 238. D.D. Kosambi, (Cul. and Civil. Of Anc, Ind. p. 82) says that the cause of the Dasarajna battle was that the Ten tribes tried to divert river Prusni, which the Bharatas, led by Sudas did not allow or agree to.
- 239. History definitely repeats itself. How great is the irony of the Aryan fate in the Indian subcontinent? The Rigvedic Aryans from the east fought against their agnates and cognates from the west of the Ravi, Their descendents were dealt with by Samudra Gupta in this very region. And still more recently in 1947, 1962,1965 and 1971 their latest descendents from India and Pakistan fought on this very river. As good luck would have it, victory always licked the feet of the Aryans from the east in those battles.
- 240. Shafer, op.cit., pp. 15-34.
- 241. Ibid.
- 242. Op.cit., p. 67.
- 243. Ibid., pp. 85-90, 95, 104-06.
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.171
- 244. Ibid., p. 108.
- 245. Ency. Italiana, Milan, 1929, see under (Afghanistan). Elphinstone, Mount-Stuart; An Acct. of the Kingdom of Cabul, London, 1975, pp 309 ff.
- 246. Ethnology of Anc. Ind., Varanasi, 1970, p. 70.
- 247. RV., VI. 5.12.12.
- 248. Jain, Ram Chandra; op.cit., pp. 70-79.
- 249. Ahi means "Snake of the sky" (Monier-Williams, Skt. Eng. Dic. p. 125, It is also used for the demon named Vritra). "Ajgar" is a term still current in north- western India. It also means snake, but earthly one.It is said to have been framed with the first letters of the names of the four dominant communities, viz. Ahir, Jat, Gujar and Rajput living in the region. What an invention. The forefathers were stigmatised as Ahi, their descendents, as Ajgar.
- 250. RV., VI. 4.1.14.
- 251. Ibid., VII. 2.1.13; Mardhravac means speaking injuriously or (contumeliously or insultingly (Monier-Williams Skt, Eng. Dic. p. 831). Vadhrivac means speaking unmanly or useless words of idle talking, Ibid., p. 917). He never states that they were Ahis.
- 252. RV., X. 2.7.6.
- 253. Jain, RC.; Origin of the Kuru Tribes, Jain Bharati Research Number, 1963, p. 11.
- 254. Sat. Br., VI. 1.14. RV. VII, 1.8.4.
- 255. RV. X. 5.2.10.
- 256. Raychowdhari, His. Of Anc. Ind., 1950, p. 142.
- 257. Mbt. (Cr. ED). 1.80.26.
- 258. Law, B.C; op.cit., p. 262. Mlechha means to speak indistinctly (like a foreigner or barbarian who does not speak Sanskrit), non-Aryan, man or an out-caste race who does not speak Sanskrit and does not conform to the usual Hindu institutions, a person who lives by agriculture or by making weapons, a wicked or bad man, sinner, ignorant, Ibid., p. 837). Non-Skt, speaking agriculturist Indians were not necessarily foreigners and culturally they might be rustic and unsophisticated, but they are not stated as Ahi. Mlechha may have been people of Meluha (lower Indus Valley).
- 259. K.edar. T J., Vedasthan, (or the Anc. Home of the Indo-Aryans), Subodh Sindhu Press. Civil Lines, Nagpur (M.P.) n.d., pp. 1-2. According to him the author of the Mbt. seems responsible for connecting Yadu etc. with Yayati who lived in 3102 B.C., Jain. op.cit .. p. 74.
- 260. Kosambi, op.cit, p.40
- 260a. Weber. Albrcrhi His. Of Ind. Lit. Eng. Tr. by John Mann & Theodor Zachariac. 1914, London. pp 4.39.
The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations: End of p.172
- 261. Datta, Pratap, C; The Bronze Age Harappans, Calcutta, 1983, pp. 98-100. Other sources bearing on the subject are mentioned some where else in the text. The mean height does suggest the existence of tall as well as short-statu red Haraprans.
- 262. Ibid., p 130.
- 263. Sakkar or Sakhar is on the right bank of the Indus. Sakkar barrage is famous in Sindh, Pakistan. Dutta (Ibid. p. 1(8) mentions Cemetery of Sakkara in lower-Egypt on the authority of H. Effendi who locates it 32 kms. south of the well-known Gizeh Pyramid. The Sakkara skeletons belong to the First Dynasty of Egyptian Rulers and the population of northern Egypt is supposed to date 3000 BC . We have already pointed out migrations from the Indus Valley in the same Period. In all probability, the Indians have given the name Sakkara to their newly acquired Settlement in lower Egypt as they also did Kashi there.
- 264. Pradhan, S.N. Chrono. Of Anc. Ind., Delhi, 1979, pp. 9f.
- 265. Supra, Jain, op.cit., p. 100.
- 265a. Sami,Ai, Shiraz, 1958, Shiraz, Iran. p. 3.
- 266. Quote by Datta, op.cit., p. 14.
- 267. Jain.op.cit., p. 99. Purus also remained in the Harappan region after the baitte (Kosambi, op.cit., p. 82), and the Yadus, Turvasus. Druhyus and Anus were forced to migrate to south and west (M.L. Bhargava, Geog. of Rigvcdic Ind p.93).
- 268. Datta. op.cit. p. 134.
- 269. Wheelar, Mortimer, op.cit.
- 270. Heere loc. cit.
- 271. Origines Ariacae, 1883, pp. 6ff. Taylor, op.cit. p. 25.
- 272. Taylor op.cit., p. 141. Facts about Norway, 15th ed., 1975-6 Chr. Schibsteds Forlag Oslo, p. 8; q. by Jindal, op.cit. p. 90.
- 273. ibid., p. 142. Within brackets mine, Lindonschmit (Handbuch der deutschen Altert iumskunde, 1880, p. 5) discards the Aryan migration to Europe from the east a. an old delusion derived from historical tradition in favour of their German home. But such claim of the German Scholars has now been repudiated in toto, Ripley. op.cit., Chps. VI, IX, XII.
- 274. Heeren. A.H.L.; Anc. His. Of W. Asia and Ind. Vel. II, Rep. Delhi, 1988, pp. 4,6. Keane, A.H.; op.cit.; Chockalingam Pillai, op.cit.
- 274a. Germania, ed. T.E. Page et al., Loeb/Class. Lib., 1932, London, Ch. 11, p. 279.
- 274b. Ripley op.cit., p. 106.
- 275. Within brackets I gave the Indian names of the tribes.
- 276. Cr. Ch no. IX in the book.
- 277. Qanungo, His. Of Jats, Vol. I, p. 2.
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