Ancient History of Haryana: General Knowledge of Haryana is essential for the competitive examinations of the State. For the same purpose this book (Know Your State Haryana) is designed to serve as a reference book for the students who appear in Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) and other state level competitive examinations. You can also check Haryana General Knowledge Question Bank for HPSC and other exams.
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The history of Haryana can be traced from various sources like mythological sources, archaeological sources, monetary sources etc. The state has many sites belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation which flourished well in the state e.g. Banawali, Daulatpur, Bhagwanpur, etc. It also remained a place of many dynasties.
Haryana came into existence as a separate state on 1st November, 1966 but its history is very old. According to Manusmriti, the state got its origin by many deities, thus, it was earlier known as Brahmavrat. Haryana is also known as Brahmrishi Pradesh and Uttarvedi of Brahma.
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Ancient History of Haryana
The history of Haryana can be traced from various sources like mythological sources, archaeological sources, monetary sources etc. The state has many sites belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation which flourished well in the state e.g. Banawali, Daulatpur, Bhagwanpur, etc. It also remained a place of many dynasties.
- Haryana came into existence as a separate state on 1st November, 1966 but its history is very old.
- According to Manusmriti, the state got its origin by many deities, thus, it was earlier known as Brahmavrat.
- Haryana is also known as Brahmrishi Pradesh and Uttarvedi of Brahma.
Historical Sources of Haryana
Historical sources of Haryana can be divided into three parts such as literary sources, archaeological sources and modern sources.
Literary Sources: These sources include Vedic literature, Buddhist and Jain literary sources, Mahabharata and later Sanskrit literature and foreign accounts.
Vedic Literature: Important literatures like Vedas, Brahmins, Upanishads, and Aranyakas were composed in Haryana. Major ancient rivers of Haryana like Saraswati, Drishadvati, etc. and other geographical facts are mentioned in Vedic literature.
Saraswati and Drishadvati have been described as holy rivers in Vedic literatures. In the Shatapatha Brahmana and Aranyakas, the language of the ancient citizens of Haryana has been described as supreme and the conduct of the people has been described as exemplary and courteous.
The ancient general life of Haryana has been described in Jemini Brahamana and the socio-economic life has been described in Chandogya Upanishad.
Buddhist Literary Sources: According to Buddhist text Papanchasudani, Mahatma Buddha visited many places in Haryana. Information about the ancient political life of Haryana is obtained from the Buddhist Literature Majjhima Nikaya. The Buddhist text Divyavdan provides information about the propagation of Buddhism in Haryana.
Jain Literary Sources: The major Jain texts like Parishishtaparvan, Bhadrabahu Charitra, Kathakosh, etc. provide information about the social, religious and cultural life of Haryana from the first century to the third century. According to Jaina Literature, Agroha was a major centre of Jainism, where the great Jain Scholar Lohacharya lived in the first century. Maharaja Agrasen belonged to the city of Agroha. Jain poet Pushpadanta mentioned the state of Haryana in Mahapurana and Sridhar in Pasnahachariu. Rohtak is mentioned frequently in Jain texts.
Mahabharata and Later Sanskrit Literature: Many important sites of Haryana have been mentioned in the Aranyaka Parva of Mahabharata. Nakula Digvijayam of Mahabharata provides information about the ancient, political, economic, geographical conditions of Haryana. Rohtak has been mentioned in its title. Puranas give information about the ancient history of Haryana in which Vamana Purana is prominent. The Vamana Purana mentions seven major forests of Haryana which are Kamyaka forests, Aditi forests, Vyasa forests, Falaki forests, Surya forests, Madhu forests and Cold forests.
Information about Haryana is also found from the literary texts like Ashtadhyayi of Panini, Mahabhashya of Patanjali, Harshacharita composed by the court poet, Banabhatta of Harsha king and Rajatarangini of poet Kalhana of Kashmir.
Foreign Accounts: Travelogues of foreign travellers provide detailed account about Haryana. The prominent among them are Greek traveller Arian and Chinese travellers Fa-hien and Hiuen-Tsang.
History of Ancient Haryana
The state of Haryana existed in ancient times and was also home to humans. Guy Ellcock pilgrim found a skull from Pinjore which proved that about 15 million years ago, there were primitive human’s beings in Haryana. The ancient history of Haryana has been divided into pre-historic period, proto-historic period and historical period.
Pre-Historic Period: The period which has no written evidences is known as ‘pre-historic period’. The relics of the pre-historic period give information about Haryana state. This period is divided into three different periods i.e. Palaeolithic Age, Mesolithic Age and Neolithic Age.
Proto-historic Period: It was the age before the historical period, when the script and letters were known to the people but they could not read it. It includes Siswal Culture, Hakra Culture and Indus Valley Civilisation.
Important Places related to Siswal Culture
Hisar: Siswal, Salimgarh, Shahpur, Patan, Satrod Khurd, Alipur, Kharar, Sisai, Data, Pali, Rakhigarhi, Sendhwa
Sirsa/Fatehabad: Bani, Talwada, Rat Tibba, Chimu, Rania Bhiwani Dadri, Manhedu, Chang, Tigdana
Rewari: Badli, Lohar, Badsha
Gurugram: Alduka, Sultanpur, Mukkola, Gokalpur, Mundehra, Papra, Mamlika
Kaithal: Moh, Cheha, Ritauli, Kalayat, Jatheri, Pundri
Jind: Narwana, Barsana, Khokhri
Karnal: Kunjpura, Nisang, Dhachar, Bahola
Important Sites of Indus Valley Civilisation in Haryana
Districts Tehsil Sites
Kurukshetra Thanesar Chimarhedi, Fort of Ring Karna, Bakana, Malari, Boli, Devidaspur, Gadi Rodan, Garhi Sardaran, Gulabgarh, Kalwa, Kanauli, Pipli, Thanesar, Palwal
Ambala Ambala Ratankhedi, Mohanpur, Mulana, Samalkhedi, Bodha
Ambala Narayangarh Badoli, Tandwal, Andheri
Yamunanagar Jagadhari Koharkhana, Santh, Bhadehari, Chaubala
Fatehabad Fatehabad Banawali, Burj
Fatehabad Tohana Ghaswa
Hisar Hisar Sindhuwa, Talu, Alipur, Kharar, Chunar
Hisar Hansi Rakhi Shahpur
Jind Narwana Kalayat
Jind Jind Khokhdi, Jiwan Kheda, Malar Kheda, Beri Kheda
Karnal Karnal Nisang, Maudi, Sambhi, Bahol, Pujam
Panipat Panipat Udhlana Kalan
Sonipat Gohana Chhapra, Garhwal, Madina Nuravkheda, Rithala
Bhiwani Bhiwani Gagrina, Kachhwa, Nidana, Shamgarh, Jhanjhari Ramba, Kheri Mansingh, Tigdana, Mitathal, Chang
Charkhi-Dadri Dadri Mishri, Jhijhad
Rohtak Rohtak Mana, Silana, Sisana, Kansala, Kasraunti
Gurugram Gurugram Kherki Majra
Gurugram FerozpurJhirka Basai Kheda, Papad, Bhadas, Kheda Mundeta
Kaithal Guhla Chika, Kasor, Ratakheda, Budanpur, Khambaheda, Rakhi, Malikpur, Banehad
Kaithal Kaithal Barsana, Kheri Raiwali, Rithauli, Aarot, Mund, Miyoli, Jatheri, Pundri, Uplana, Sawatkheri, Jogani Kheda, Dudha Kheda, Dhurala, Daulatpur
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