Delhi – A Tapestry of Time : From Myth to Metropolis.
Pehowa, or Pitrudhak Teerth, as it was known earlier, is situated in the Kurukshetra district in current Haryana.
During the rule of king Mahendrapal (885 – 910 CE) of the Pratihara dynasty, non – dated inscriptions were located in Pehowa. It stated that Jaula, belonging to the Tomar family, served an unmentioned king and had earned colossal prosperity by serving him. Later, his descendants named Gogga, Vajrata, and Jajjuka settled around Karnal. Gogga, who was a liegeman of king Mahendrapal, and his two stepbrothers, Purna Raja and Dev Raja, built three Vishnu temples on the banks of the Saraswati river. However, the German Indologist Lorenzo Franz Kielhorn, who worked extensively on the Rigveda while he was appointed as a Professor of Sanskrit at Deccan College in Pune, suggested that the Tomars were settled in the area that is current Delhi and, while on pilgrimage, had constructed the temples there.
As the Pratihara dominion declined, the Tomars established supremacy around Delhi.
Tomar Rajput king Anangpal I established his reign in present-day Haryana and Delhi. The region was known as Hariyanka (abode of God), and included the territories of Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and some parts of Rajasthan.
The capital city of the Tomars changed several times. During their 457 years of rule, the initial capital of the Tomars was Anangpur and Kanauj, but later it was changed to Dhillikapuri (Delhi).
In 1052 CE, the city of Dhillika was established as the capital city of the Tomar dynasty.
देशोस्ती हरियांनाख्यो पृथिव्या स्वर्गसन्निभ :
दिल्लीकाख्या पुरी तत्र तोमरेरस्ती निर्मिता
(In a country called Haryana, which is equivalent to heaven on earth, the Tomars built a city called Dhillika.)
Chandragupta II was the son of Samudragupta and was also known as ‘Vikramaditya’. He was one of the greatest emperors of the Gupta dynasty, and his era (375 CE to 415 CE) has been marked as Bharat’s golden age.
Under the reign of Chandragupta II, the Gupta Empire reached its zenith, controlling a mammoth territory stretching from the Oxus river in Central Asia (flowing through Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan in the West) to Bengal in the East, and from the Himalayan foothills in the North to the Narmada river in the South.
He continued his father’s expansionist policies through military quests and marital alliances. Chandra or Devraja, as he was known, achieved notable victories over the Sassanids (Iranian) empire and the Western Kshatrapas, and subjugated the Huns.
Chandragupta II very effectively enforced his rule through marriage alliances. He indirectly extended his influence over Kuntala in the Karnataka region through marital alliances with the Kadambas. Later, his daughter Prabhavathi Gupta was married into the Vakataka dynasty in the Deccan region to King Rudrasena. Rudrasena’s reign was extremely short-lived; he died within five years, leaving behind three minor heirs. Prabhavati Gupta took the reins as regent and ruled over the Vakataka kingdom for twenty years. During this era, Gupta influence over the Vakataka kingdom was at its peak. Prabhavati had assumed the Gotra of the Gupta dynasty instead of that of the Vakataka dynasty.
Hence, during the twenty years of her governance, the Vakataka realm was practically a part of the Gupta Empire.
Chandragupta II was a dedicated Vaishnav but was not intolerant towards other faiths. Trade, art, and culture grew by leaps and bounds during his era.
As per the Chinese traveler Faxian’s view, Chandragupta II’s period was an era of prosperity.
Mathura, near Delhi, and the Udaygiri caves, near Vidisha in current Madhya Pradesh, were major centers of Vaishnavism with innumerable temples.
Udaygiri, or Vishnupadgiri, was situated at 23° 31′ latitude, which was almost on the Tropic of Cancer. Thus, it was considered an important center for astronomical observation and Sun worship.
Every great king had the urge to set up some lasting memorial of his power that would speak of his significant deeds thousands of years later.
Art historian Meera Das has noted that pada (foot) worshipping was an ancient practice around the Udaygiri region. She also cited the generation of an inscribed Vishnupada at the foot of the Udaygiri hills, the reverence of the footprint of Jain Tirthankar Sheetalnath in a cave at Udaygiri, and the discovery of a Kushan period brick with an unfinished marking of a foot. Further, she pointed out the tradition of iron-making in the Udaygiri – Vidisha – Besnagar – Sanchi belt.
Professor R. Subramanian, who prepared a complete layout of Udaygiri, noted that the hill was shaped like a foot.
As during the summer solstice, the early morning shadow of the iron pillar would fall on the Anantsayan Vishnu panel.
The iron pillar was 23 feet and 8 inches in height and 16 inches in diameter. 7000 kg of iron was utilized for manufacturing it. About 200 furnaces operated simultaneously to produce the necessary quantum of iron.
The oldest inscription on the pillar is that of a king named Chandra. It portrays Sanskrit verses.
It is written in the eastern variety of the Gupta script and closely resembles the letters on the Prayagraj Pillar inscribed by Samudragupta. Additionally, it contains a royal seal of Chandragupta’s wife, Dhruvadevi.
The area of Mehrauli is known as the first city of Delhi.
Currently, what is addressed as the Qutub Minar complex, in the region of Mehrauli, an iron pillar has been installed. One short inscription on the pillar is associated with the Tomar king Anangpal. Although it is difficult to decode, Sir Alexander Cunningham, a British Engineer with the Bengal Sapper who had developed a keen interest in Bharat’s History and Archeology, deciphered the inscription as follows:
“संवत दिहाली ११०९ अंग पाल बही”
It denotes as below:
In Samvat 1109 (1052 CE), Ang (Anangpur) Pal peopled Dilli.
Probably, it is the same iron pillar that, during the 4th century CE, was installed in the Udaygiri caves by Chandragupta.
The Lal Kot, or the Qilla Rai Pithora, as it was originally known, is believed to have been constructed under the reign of the Tomars. With its two miles of circumference and sixty feet long and thirty feet thick walls, it was Delhi’s original Red Fort.
And after that, coins in the name of “Shree Killi Dev Pal” were minted by Anangpal II.
Around 135 kilometers away from current Delhi and twenty kilometers far from Burhanpur, a majestic fort situated between the Tapi and Narmada rivers, in the former Central province and present state of Madhya Pradesh, one of the ancient forts known as Asirgarh, stands tall.
Asirgarh, or Hansi, was believed to have been founded by Anangpal and his guru “Hansakar”. Later, Drupad, son of Anangpal, established a sword manufacturing factory in this fort; hence, the fort was famously known as Asirgarh. The manufactured swords were exported as far as Arab nations.
The fort is divided into three parts, and each part has its specific identity. The first part is known as Asirgarh, the second one is called Kamragarh, and the third part is addressed as Malaygarh. Inside the grand fort, a Gurudwara, a temple, and a mosque have been built.
As folklore narrates, Ashwathama, the Guru Putra of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, assassinated the five sons of the Pandavas and their mama (uncle) Dhrishtradhrumna and Shikhandi and even attempted to murder Parikshit, the unborn son of Abhimanyu still in his mother’s womb, to avenge his father Guru Dronacharya’s death. As a result, Shri Krishna cursed him to remain immortal and bear the load of people’s misdeeds upon his shoulder, wandering around in a lonely and isolated state without any sympathy. He also plucked away the blessed gem from his forehead.
The Baolis of Mehrauli – Anangtal Baoli, Gandhak ki Baoli, and Rajon ki Baoli – are the three water bodies or step wells. They are situated in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Anangtal Baoli, a silent witness to bygone eras, nestled in the heart of Mehrauli.
Anangtal Baoli is an undisputed patriarch of step-wells in Delhi, dating back to the 10th century CE, during the reign of Anangpal II. It was once a focal point of regal gatherings, where queens orchestrated annual almsgiving events, adding a touch of royal grace to the architectural marvel.
The Yogmaya temple, also called the Jogmaya Mandir, is situated in the Qutub complex in Mehrauli.
Yogmaya is a divine power of the Lord in the form of Shakti, born as the daughter of Nand and Yashoda on the same day as Krishna and was considered a sister of Shri Krishna to protect him from the tyrannic Kansa, who was warned that the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva would kill him and end his oppressive rule.
Following divine instruction, Vasudev swapped the newborn babies and placed Krishna with Nand and Yashoda.
Kansa, believing the child to be the eighth child of Vasudev, attempted to kill her, but Yogmaya escaped his grasp and transformed into Goddess Yogmaya.
It is believed that after escaping, she has been living here.
It is also believed that she took rebirth as Subhadra, Shrikrishna’s younger sister.
Yogmaya is considered a protector and the power of illusion (Maya).
The temple is said to have been constructed by the Pandavas after the Mahabharata battle.
The temple is situated 260 yards away from the iron pillar in the Qutub Minar, within the Lal Kot walls.
In 731 CE, the Tomar king Anangpal I rebuilt the ancient temple in ruins. Later, Anangpal II expanded it.
Later, Samrat Vikramaditya Hemu reconstructed it.
It is the only surviving temple of the pre-Sultanate period. Out of the twenty-seven temples that were demolished by the Mamluk dynasty, the Yogmaya temple is the only one that has survived.
Prithviraj Chauhan, the great Rajput king who ruled over the territory of Sapaldaksh (the region around Ajmer to Haryana), was born in Gujarat to king Someshwar of the Chauhan (Chahaman dynasty) and Karpuradevi of Chedi. He inherited the kingdom of Sapaldaksh from his father and Delhi from his maternal grandfather, Anangpal II, in 1177 CE.
Sources for Information:
History of Mediaeval Hindu India
By C V Vaidya
प्राचीन भारत का इतिहास
वो डी महाजन कृत
