Abhira

The Abhira were a legendary Kshatriyas people mentioned in ancient Indian epics and scriptures as early as the Vedas.[1][2][3][4][5][6] the Bhāgavata religion was considered primarily as the religion of the Abhiras (Ahirs) and Krishna himself came to be known as an Abhira (Ahir). In the mediaeval literature, Krishna is called an Abhira (Ahir).[7] The Abhira (Ahir) Kshatriyas were named Gope when they protected the cows, and Gopal when they tended and grazed the cows. 23 In the period (from 500 B.C. to 1 B.C.) when the Pali language was prevalent in India, the word 'Gopal was modified to 'Goal' and by further modification it took the form of Gwal. This has been aptly described by an unknown poet 24 in a verse that" due to rearing cattle, the Yadav are called ' Gope', and after being called' Gopal', they are called' Gwal.[8]

Etymology

Etymologically, he who can cast fear on all sides, is called Abhira. According to many historians Abhira means fearless.[9][10] Anthropologists came up with the view that Haryana was known by this name because in the post- Mahabharata period here lived the Abhiras, who developed special skills in the art of Agriculture. According to Pran Nath Chopra Haryana got it's name from Abhirayana=Ahirayana=Hirayana=Haryana.[11][12][13]

Origin and History

the origin of Abhiras is shrouded in mystery. According to Manu, Abhiras (Ahirs) are sprung from a Brahman and an Ambashtha woman; according to the Brahma-Purána, from a Kshatriya father and a Vaishya mother.

followers of the Vedas. The Vrsnis, the Satvatas, the Abhiras and the Yadavas worshipped Krsna who was the temporal head and spiritual preceptor of these tribes.[14]

Commenting on this Bhandarkar says, Krishna is the Hinduised form of Jesus Christ, whose teachings Abhira have brought from outside, at the beginning of Christian Era, because Krishna is called Christo near Weastern Coast, and Dalliance element in Krishna's life is inspired from traditions of Abhira tribe.

Ghurye, contradicts this by saying Abhira as a tribe is mentioned in the works of Patanjali, dated 150 BC, by most conservative sources, so they definitely haven't entered at the beginning of the Christian era and possibly their presence goes very far into antiquity. Also, proofs of Extra Marital relationships exists within genealogy of Yadus so it is wrong to say Abhira are the source of Dlliance element, and he fails to see the difference between Abhira and the tribe of Krishna.

However, Smith has raised two questions on this synthesis by above scholars. First, If Abhira are Yadavs then why Mahabharata mentions them having abducted wives and children of Krishna and second, why Abhira kings names are after Shiva and not Vishnu till as late as 800AD, who is a rival god.

Dr. J.N. Singh Yadav and MSA Rao has contradicted Smith by saying, Those Abhira who abducted Krishna's Wives and Children might be Yadavs who were supporters of Duryodhna, and they also shows there is no rivalry between Shiva and Krishna.Mahabharta says that those Abhiras who looted Arjuna were the supporters of the Kauravas.

Legendary Characters in Hinduism

Goddess Gayatri
Gayatri's Illustration by Raja Ravi Verma. In illustrations, the goddess often sits on a lotus flower and appears with five heads and five pairs of hands.

Gayatri is the personified form of popular Gayatri Mantra, a hymn from Vedic texts.[15] She is also known as Savitri and Vedamata (mother of vedas).[16][17]

According to Padma Purana, lord Indra brought Gayatri, an Abhira girl, to help Brahma in a Yajna in Pushkar. She was married to Brahma during Yajna.[18][19][20]

Brahma's first wife is Savitri and Gayatri is the second. The story says that Savitri became angry knowing the wedding of Gayatri with Brahma and cursed all the gods and goddesses engaged in the event.[21][22]

However, in Padma Purana, after Savitri was appeased by Brahma, Vishnu and Lakshmi, she accepts Gayatri Abhira as her sister happily.[23][24]

In some puranas, Gayatri is said to be the other names of Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma.[25] According to Matsya Purana, Brahma's left half emerged as a female, who is celebrated under the names of Sarasvati, Savitri and Gayatri.[26] In Kurma Purana, Gautama rishi was blessed by Goddess Gayatri and able to eliminate the obstacles he faced in his life. Skanda Purana tells that Gayatri is the wife of Brahma making her a form of Saraswati.[27]

Gayatri further developed into a fierce goddess who could even slay a demon. According to Varaha Purana and Mahabharata, Goddess Gayatri slayed the demon Vetrasura, the son of Vritra and river Vetravati, on a Navami day.[28][29]

Rule of the Junagadh
Uparkot fort rediscovered by Chudasama ruler Graharipu

The Chudasama dynasty, originally of Abhira clan from Sind wielded great influence around Junagadh from the 875 A.D. onwards when they consolidated themselves at Vanthali (ancient Vamanasthali) close to Girnar under their - King Ra Chuda.[30][31]

A Chudasama prince styled Graharipu and ruling at Vanthali near Junagadh is described in the Dyashraya-Kavya of Hemachandra as an Abhira and a Yadava.[32]

Rule of the Nepal

An Ahir dynasty ruled pre-12th century areas in present-day Nepal.[33] According to Gopalarājvamshāvali, the genealogy of ancient Gopala dynasty compiled circa 1380s, Nepal is named after Nepa the cowherd, the founder of the Nepali scion of the Abhiras. In it's account, the cow that issued milk to the spot, at which Nepa discovered the Jyotirlinga of Pashupatināth upon investigation, was also named Ne.[34]

See also

References
  1. Bhattacharya, Sunil Kumar (1996). Krishna-cult in Indian Art. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-7533-001-6. The Padma Purāṇa relates that Vishnu informed the Abhiras: "I shall be born amongst you, O Abhiras, at Mathura in my eighth birth", which makes it evident that the Ābhīras were the same as the Gopas or Ballavas of Mathura. The same Purāṇa mentions that the Abhiras were also the great philosophers.
  2. Rao, M. S. A. (1987). Social movements and social transformation : a study of two backward classes movements in India. Internet Archive. New Delhi : Manohar. Besides this mythical origin of the Yadavas, semi-historical and historical evidence exists* for equating the Ahirs with the Yadavas. It is argued that the term Ahir comes from Abhira (Bhandarkar, 1911:16), who were once found in different parts of India, and who in several places wielded political power. The Abhiras are equated with Ahirs, Gopas and Gollas, and all of them are considered Yadavas. The Allahabad Iron Pillar inscription of Samudragupta (fourth century a.d.) mentions the Abhiras as one of the tribal states of west and south west India, who paid homage to the emperor (Churn, 1943:81). A fourth century (a.d.) inscription found in Nasik speaks of an Abhira king, and there is proof that in the middle of the fourth century the Abhiras were settled in eastern Rajputana and Malwa. Similarly, when the Kathis arrived in Gujarat in the eighth century, they found the greater part of the country in the possession of the Ahirs. The Mirzapur District of the United Provinces has a tract known as Ahraura, named after the Ahir, and near Jhansi, another piece of country was called Ahirwar. The Ahirs were also kings of Nepal at the beginning of the Christian era. Khandesh and the Tapti valley were'other regions where they were kings. Parmanand (1959), Rajbali Pandeya (1968) and K. C. Yadav (1967) examining the historical evidence, also place the earliest settlement of the Abhiras in the Punjab, and their empire in western India. They also note that the Abhiras held political power in Saurashtra from ninth to fifteenth centuries a.d., in central India, Ahirwara, Khandesh (Yadava dynasty of Devagiri), Nagpur and Wardha, Gwalior. Saugar, Chattisgarh, Naugawan, Rewari, Rajasthan and Bundelkhand. In northern India, the Abhiras had kingdoms in Simhapur (Punjab) and west Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Orissa (as Varmans), Haryana, and Nepal.
  3. Kumar, Ravinder (1984). Philosophical Theory and Social Reality. Allied. ISBN 978-0-8364-1171-3. Literally 'Yadavas' means descendants of the Yadu dynasty, a famous Kshatriya dynasty, to which God Krishna belonged. There are three related arguments for this claim. First, Krishna was a Yadava as he belonged to the Yadu dynasty, and he was raised as a cowherd having associa¬ tions with cows, cowherds, and milk-maids. Ahirs, Gopas, Gollas, and other cognate castes were and are cowherds. Hence all these castes are Yadavas. Further, in Mahabharata all these castes are used as synonyms of Yadavas. Secondly, there is historic evidence to show that the Abhiras, who were Kshatriyas, had established powerful kingdoms in different parts of India. The Ahirs and the Gopas are synonyms of the Abhiras. Thirdly, the present Yadavas, as Kshatriyas, are entitled to wear the sacred thread which is symbolic of twice-born status. The Yadava mythology is the main source of reasoning, and the other two are supportive.
  4. Bahadur), Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai (1974). Man in India. A.K. Bose. The Yādavas, mentioned in the Mahabharata, were pastoral kshatriyas among whom Krishna was brought up. The Gopas, whom Krishna had offered to Duryodhana to fight in his support when he himself joined Arjuna's side, were no other than the Yadavas themselves, who were also the Abhiras. In the Epics and the Puranas the association of the Yādavas with the Abhiras was attested by the evidence that the Yådava kingdom was" mostly inhabited by the Abhiras. In the Mahabharata it is mentioned that when the Yadavas (though belonging to the Abhira group) abandoned Dwaraka and Gujarat after the death of Krishna and retreated northwards under Arjuna's leadership, they were attacked and broken up.
  5. Prabhupāda, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (1987). Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: With the Original Sanskrit Text, Its Roman Transliteration, Synonyms, Translation and Elaborate Purports. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. ISBN 978-0-89213-251-5. The kṣatriyas who were afraid of Parasurama and had hidden themselves in the Caucasian hilly regions later on became known as the Abhiras, and the place they inhabited was known as Abhiradeśa.
  6. The Indian Historical Quarterly. Calcutta Oriental Press. 1956. In the land near about Mathurā there was the Śūrasena janapada of the Yādavas (Abhiras).
  7. Dange, Sindhu S. (1984). The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Mytho-social Study. Ajanta Publications. ISBN 978-0-8364-1132-4.
  8. Soni, Lok Nath (2000). The Cattle and the Stick: An Ethnographic Profile of the Raut of Chhattisgarh. Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture. ISBN 978-81-85579-57-3.
  9. Tyagi, Vidya Prakash (2009). Martial races of undivided India. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7835-775-1. The name 'Abhira' may havebeen derived from a-bhira standing for fearless.
  10. Soni, Lok Nath (2000). The Cattle and the Stick: An Ethnographic Profile of the Raut of Chhattisgarh. Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture. ISBN 978-81-85579-57-3.
  11. Chopra, Pran Nath (1982). Religions and Communities of India. Vision Books. ISBN 978-0-391-02748-0.
  12. Lal, Muni (1974). Haryana: On High Road to Prosperity. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-7069-0290-7.
  13. Punia, Bijender K. (1994). Tourism Management: Problems and Prospects. APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7024-643-5.
  14. Radhakrishnan; S, Dr (2007). Identity And Ethos. Orient Paperbacks. ISBN 978-81-222-0455-1. followers of the Vedas. The Vrsnis, the Satvatas, the Abhiras and the Yadavas worshipped Krsna who was the temporal head and spiritual preceptor of these tribes.
  15. Bradley, R. Hertel; Cynthia, Ann Humes (1993). Living Banaras: Hindu Religion in Cultural Context. SUNY Press. p. 286. ISBN 9780791413319. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  16. Constance Jones, James D. Ryan (2005), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase Publishing, p.167, entry "Gayatri Mantra"
  17. Roshen Dalal (2010), The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths, Penguin Books India, p.328, entry "Savitr, god"
  18. Nambiar, K. Damodaran (1979). Nārada Purāṇa, a Critical Study. All-India Kashiraj Trust, 1979. p. 145.
  19. Wadia, Sophia (1969). The Aryan Path. Theosophy Company (India), Limited.
  20. Arya, Sharda (1988). Religion and Philosophy of the Padma-purāṇa. Nag Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7081-190-9.
  21. Sharma, Bulbul (2010). The book of Devi. Penguin Books India. pp. 72–75. ISBN 9780143067665. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  22. Bansal, Sunita Pant (2005). Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Smriti Books. p. 23. ISBN 9788187967729. Archived from the original on 2016-05-14. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  23. Holdrege, Barbara A. (2012). Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic. SUNY Press. ISBN 9781438406954. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  24. Arya, Sharda (1988). Religion and Philosophy of the Padma-purāṇa. Nag Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7081-190-9.
  25. Guru Granth Sahib an Advance Study. Hemkunt Press. 2002. p. 294. ISBN 9788170103219. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
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  27. Kennedy, Vans (1831). Researches Into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient and Hindu Mythology by Vans Kennedy. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green. pp. 317–324.
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  29. Bibek, Debroy (2002). The holy Puranas Volume 2 of The Holy Puranas: Markandeya, Agni, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Linga, Varaha. B.R. Pub. Corp. p. 519. ISBN 9788176462969. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  30. Rajan, K. V. Soundara (1985). Junagadh. Archaeological Survey of India, 1985. p. 10.
  31. Sailendra Nath Sen (1 January 1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 344. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  32. Reginald Edward Enthoven (1990). The Tribes and Castes of Bombay, Volume 1. Asian Educational Services. p. 25. ISBN 9788120606302.
  33. Yadav, Punam (2016). Social Transformation in Post-conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective. Taylor & Francis. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-317-35389-8.
  34. Malla, Kamal P. (1983). "Nepāla: Archaeology of the Word" (PDF). The Nepal Heritage Society Souvenir for PATA Conference. Kathmandu. pp. 33–39. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |conference= ignored (help)
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