Get Complete Information on the History of Haryana

The Region that gave Birth to History:

“There is a region called Haryana which is like a heaven on earth”- Quoted from the inscription found in Sarwan district near Delhi in Vikrami Samwat 1385.

Haryana was formed as a new State of India on Tuesday, 1 November 1966. Replete with myths, legends and Vedic references, Haryana’s 5,000-year old history is steeped in glory. It was here, 3,000 long years ago, that Lord Krishna had preached Bhagwad Gita to Arjuna at the set of the great battle of Mahabharata. He had stated, “your right is to do your duty and not to bother about the fruits (outcomes) thereof.

Since then, this profound philosophy of the supremacy of duty has become the foundation of Indian culture and thought. It was on this soil that saint Veda Vyasa had written Mahabharata. Before the Mahabharata war, a battle of ten kings took place in the Kurukshetra region in the Saraswati valley. But it was the Mahabharata War fought approximately in 900 BC, which gave worldwide fame to the region.

The Mahabharata names Haryana as Bahudhanyaka-the land of plentiful grains and Bahudhana-the land of immense riches. The word Haryana occurs in the Sanskrit inscription dated 1328 AD, which is kept in Delhi Museum. This inscription refers to this region as “the very heaven on earth”. It was here that the Aryans had kindled their first sacrificial fires. Their culture took birth, bloomed and matured in this very region.

Excavations of archaeological sites at many places in Haryana, such as Naurangabad, Mittathal and Tigrana in Bhiwani, Kunal in Fatehabad, Agroha and Siswal near Hissar, Rakhi Garhi and Balu in Jind, Rukhi near Rohtak and Banawali and Bari near Sirsa have unearthed evidences of pre-Harappan and Harappan culture in India. Sizeable findings of pottery, sculpture and jewellery at sites located in Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Tilpat, Panipat, Sonepat, etc. have established the credibility of the Mahabharata war. These are the places, which have been mentioned in the Mahabharata as Prithudaka (Pehowa), Tilprastha (Tilput) Panprastha (Panipat) and Sonprastha (Sonepat).

The legendary tales state that Manu had deemed this area the creation of gods (devatas). Hence it was also called Brahmavrata. The excavations at various sites of the State have revealed that the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Mohenjodaro culture had flourished here.

Ancient Scriptures also call Brahmavrata as Brahmarishi Pradesha or the “Uttarvedi of Brahma”. This State is also believed to be the place of creation of the universe. It is also believed that Manu was the entrant of this region.

Artefacts obtained from Harappan, Pre-Harappan, Post- Harappan sites confirm the existence of many cultures in this region during the pre-historic eras. Such Artefacts have been collected at Banawali, Seeswal, Karnal, Mirzapur, Daulatpur and Bhagwanpura.

The ancient king, Surdasa, who was from the Bharata clan, started his victory campaign from this region. He organised the Aryan forces, which expanded their areas of influence to Far East and south in due course of time. The name of India was christened Bharata because of the sagas of victory and valour of these Aryan ancestors of the yore.

Pre-Mahabharata Times:

Much before the war of Mahabharata, the Kurus (of Aryan descent) had started the era of agriculture in this region. According to the Puranas, the 48 kosas of the land of mother Adiroopa were made cultivable by the Kurus. The region came to be known as Kurukshetra, because it was owned by these Kuru rulers. Later, a great part of the land between, the Ganges and the Saraswati came to be known as Kuru Pradesha (Kuru Land)

The Mahabharata Era :

As would be explained in this book at a later stage, the war of Mahabharata was fought in 900 B.C. At that time, the Aryan civilisation was at its peak. Lord Krishna gave the legendary sermon to Arjuna at jyotisar (near Kurukshetra). His sermons are better known as The Bhagwad Gita.

The Post-Mahabharata Era:

The Aryakulas of the region fought many wars against the invaders. This era proved to be a dark chapter in the history of India. The area was divided into Janapadas; a cluster of villages was deemed a Janapada. The combination of some Janapada was called Gana. The Gana was a political unit and the Ganasabha was arranged/organised by the representatives of Janapadas.

Several Ganas used to make a Sangha; it was also called Gana Sangha. One Gana Sangha ruled the land starting from Shatadru (Sutlej) up to Ganga (the Ganges). The Gana system was respected even by the erstwhile monarchs and emperors. This system had become deeply embedded in the social system of the populace. The Supreme panchayat of Haryana region was respected by Harshavardhana. It continued to reign supreme till the end of the Mughal Empire.

The region has been theatre of many a war because of its status of “the gateway of north India”. As years rolled by, successive streams of Huns, Turks and Afghans invaded India and decisive battles were fought on this land. After the downfall of Gupta Empire during the middle of sixth century AD, north India was again split into several independent kingdoms. The Huns established their supremacy over the Punjab.

It was this period that one of the greatest King of ancient India, Harshavardhana had initiated his rule. He became the king of Thanesar (Kurukshetra) in 606 AD and later, became the ruler of most of northern India.

At the end of the fourteenth century, Tomars led an army through this area to Delhi. Later, the Mughals under Babar defeated the Lodhis in the First Battle of Panipat in the year 1526. Another decisive battle was fought in Panipat in 1556, establishing the reign of the Mughals for centuries to come.

Taking advantage of Humayun’s death, Hemu has marched to Agra and Delhi and occupied it without difficulty. In response, Bairam Khan (Akbar’s guardian) marched towards Delhi. Both the armies clashed in the Second Battle of Panipat. Hemu was in a winning position when a stray arrow struck him in the eye.

He fell unconscious, causing panic among his troops. The tide of the battle turned and the Mughals won the battle. Towards the middle of the eighteenth century, the Marathas had established their supremacy over Haryana. The entry of Ahmed Shah Abdali into India culminated in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. Marathas’ defeat in this battle marked the end of their ascendancy and the decline of the Mughal Empire, leading to the advent of the British rule.

In 1857, the people of Haryana joined the Indian leaders in the revolt against the British government. By the end of June, 1857, most of the present Haryana region was liberated from the British. But the British managed to put down the rebellion in November, 1857 by bringing in additional forces from outside this area.

The history of India is replete with tales of heroism of the highest order and in this context, the historic significance of the battles of Panipat and Kurukshetra in Haryana cannot be ignored by any means. The new State, which emerged as a separate political entity of the Indian union on November, 1966, is considered to be the cradle of rich Indian cultural heritage. In terms of development, Haryana, indeed, has come a long way during past years.