Ajay Kumar at 03:21, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T03:21:07Z

New page

{{Short description|Historical people mentioned in the Mahabharata}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{about|the ancient Abhira tribe|for other uses|Abhira (disambiguation)}}
{{for|the dynasty|Abhira dynasty}}
The '''Abhira people''' is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]''. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath of the invasion of [[Alexander the Great]]. Their main base was in the [[Indus River|Indus]] delta (modern [[Sindh]] and [[Kathiawar]]), where their country is mentioned as "Abiria" and "Aberia" in classical sources. There were also other communities of Abhiras in modern [[Haryana]].<ref>{{citation |last=Chattopadhyaya |first=Sudhakar |title=Some Early Dynasties of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78I5lDHU2jQC&pg=PA127 |year=1974 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-2941-1 |pages=127–128}}</ref>

==Etymology==
Etymologically, he who can cast terror on all sides is called an Abhira.,<ref>{{cite book|title= The Cattle and Stick |first= Lok Nath |last=Soni |publisher= Anthropological Survey of India |year=2000 |page=14 |isbn= 9788185579573 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wT-BAAAAMAAJ&q=abhira}}</ref>{{clarify|date=September 2022}}

==History==
Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya says that the Abhiras are mentioned in the first-century work of [[classical antiquity]], the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. He considers them to be a race rather than a tribe.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126">{{cite book |title=Krishna — Cult in Indian Art |first=Sunil Kumar |last=Bhattacharya |publisher=M.D. Publications |year=1996 |isbn=9788175330016 |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyyNIL7Ug2kC}}</ref> Scholars such as [[Ramaprasad Chanda]] believe that they were [[Indo-Aryan peoples]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Ramaprasad |last=Chanda |author-link=Ramaprasad Chanda |title=The Indo-Aryan races: a study of the origin of Indo-Aryan people and institutions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-bkVF3kXGQC|year=1969 |publisher=Indian Studies: Past & Present|page=55}}</ref> but others, such as [[Romila Thapar]], believe them to have been indigenous.<ref>{{cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|author-link=Romila Thapar|title=Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fK3VTUrWsD0C|year=1978|page=149|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-0808-8}}</ref> The [[Puranas|Puranic]] Abhiras occupied the territories of [[Herat]]; they are invariably juxtaposed with the Kalatoyakas and Haritas, the peoples of Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sudāmā |last=Miśra |title=Janapada state in ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dua1AAAAIAAJ |year=1973 |publisher=Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana}}</ref>

According to Jayant Gadkari tribes such as Vrusni, Andhaka, Satvatas and Abhiras after a period of long conflicts came to be known as Yadavas.<ref name="Society and Religion">{{cite book|author= Jayant GadKari |title=Society and Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zst_7qaatp8C&q=Yadavas|volume=53|year=1991|publisher=Gopson Papers|page=184|isbn=9788171547432}}</ref>

In the Padma-puranas and certain literary works, the Abhiras are referred to as belonging to the race of Krishna.<ref name="garg"/>

There is no certainty regarding the occupational status of the Abhiras, with ancient texts sometimes referring to them as warriors, pastoral and cowherders but at other times as plundering tribes.<ref>{{cite book |first=Aditya |last=Malik |chapter=The Puskara Mahatmya: A Short Report |page=200 |title=The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature |editor-first=Hans |editor-last=Bakker |location=Leiden |year=1990 |isbn=9789004093188 |publisher=BRILL and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPgBdyxD5MkC&pg=PA200}}</ref>

Along with the [[Vrishni]]s, the [[Yadava#The Satvatas|Satvatas]] and the [[Yadava]]s, the Abhiras were followers of the Vedas, who worshipped [[Krishna]], the head and preceptor of these tribes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Radhakrishnan|first=S.|title=Identity And Ethos|date=2007|publisher=Orient Paperbacks|isbn=978-8-12220-455-1|pages=31–32|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJTDELuvZKsC&pg=PA31}}</ref><ref name="garg">{{cite book |first= Dr Ganga Ram |last= Garg | page = 113 |title= Encyclopaedia of Hindu world |year= 1992 |publisher= Concept Publishing|isbn= 9788170223740 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA113}}</ref>

In archaeological inscriptions Abhiras are mentioned as belonging to the race of Krishna.<ref>{{cite book |first= Padmaja |last= T | page = 34 |title= Ay velirs and Krsna|year= 2002 |publisher= University of Mysore|isbn= 9788170173984 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgaS1wRnl8C&q=abhiras&pg=RA1-PA34}}</ref><ref name="garg"/>

=== Rule of the Konkan ===
From 203 to 270 the [[Abhira dynasty|Abhiras]] ruled over the whole of the Deccan Plateau as a paramount power. The Abhiras were the immediate successors of the Satavahanas.<ref name="India1991">{{cite book |author=Numismatic Society of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sk1mAAAAMAAJ |title=The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India |publisher=the University of Michigan |year=1991 |volume=53 |pages=91–95}}</ref>

=== Nepali branch ===
Before the 12th century, an Ahir dynasty ruled some areas in what is now [[Nepal]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Yadav |first=Punam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QQRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT57 |title=Social Transformation in Post-conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-317-35389-8 |page=57}}</ref>

===Connection to modern Ahirs===
According to Ganga Ram Garg, the modern-day [[Ahir]] caste are descendants of Abhira people and the term ''Ahir'' is the [[Prakrit]] form of the [[Sanskrit]] term ''Abhira''.<ref name="garg"/> Bhattacharya says that the terms ''Ahir'', ''Ahar'' and ''Gaoli'' are current forms of the word ''Abhira''.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126"/> This view gets support in many writings.

[[M. S. A. Rao]] and historians such as P. M. Chandorkar and T. Padmaja have explained that epigraphical and historical evidence exists for equating the Ahirs with the ancient Abhiras and [[Yadava]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite book|first = Sumit | last = Guha |title=Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GSa5blriOYcC&pg=PA47|year = 2006| publisher = University of Cambridge|page=47|isbn=978-0-521-02870-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| first = M. S. A. | last=Rao |title=Social Movements in India|volume=1| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=SODZAAAAMAAJ|year=1978 | publisher =Manohar|pages=124, 197, 210}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = Padmaja|last= T. |title=Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgaS1wRnl8C&pg=RA1-PA35|year = 2001 | publisher = Archaeology Dept., University of Mysore|pages=25, 34|isbn=978-8-170-17398-4}}</ref>

==Legendary figures in Hinduism==
[[File:Gayatri1.jpg|309x309px|thumb|Gayatri as illustrated by [[Raja Ravi Verma]]. She is often depicted with appears with five heads and five pairs of hands, sitting on a [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotus]] flower.]]

Two major Hindu goddess are said to be associated with the Abhira tribe.

As a goddess, [[Gayatri]] is the personified form of popular [[Vedic]] hymn, [[Gayatri Mantra]].<ref name="brad">{{cite book|last1=Bradley|first1=R. Hertel|last2=Cynthia|first2=Ann Humes|title=Living Banaras: Hindu Religion in Cultural Context|date=1993|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791413319|page=286|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-OYL6Khg0UC|access-date=2019-08-20|archive-date=2020-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012022316/https://books.google.com/books?id=r-OYL6Khg0UC|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the medieval Sanskrit text [[Padma Purana]], the storm god [[Indra]] brought Gayatri, an Abhira girl, to [[Pushkar]] to help Brahma in a [[yajna]], a ritual sacrifice. During the ceremony she became Brahma's second wife.<ref>{{cite book|first=K. Damodaran |last=Nambiar |title=Nārada Purāṇa, a Critical Study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADIqAAAAYAAJ |year=1979 |publisher=All-India Kashiraj Trust, 1979 |page=145}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wadia|first=Sophia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SMLAQAAMAAJ&q=gayatri+abhira|title=The Aryan Path|date=1969|publisher=Theosophy Company (India), Limited|language=en}}</ref><ref name="arya rel">{{Cite book|last=Arya|first=Sharda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KDQqAAAAYAAJ&q=abhira|title=Religion and Philosophy of the Padma-purāṇa|date=1988|publisher=Nag Publishers|isbn=978-81-7081-190-9|language=en}}</ref>

Historian Ramaprasad Chanda argued in 1916 that the goddess [[Durga]] evolved from "[[syncretism]] of a mountain-goddess worshiped by the dwellers of the [[Himalaya]] and the [[Vindhya]]s", a deity of the [[Abhiras]] conceptualised as a war-goddess.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aiyar |first=Indira S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4bXAAAAMAAJ&q=parvan+stuti |title=Durga As Mahisasuramardini |publisher=Gyan Publishing House, 1997 |year=1997 |isbn=9788121205108 |page=217}}</ref>

==Abhiras of Gupta empire ==
{{main|Abhira dynasty}}
During the reign of [[Samudragupta]] (c. 350), the Abhiras lived in [[Rajputana]] and [[Malwa|Malava]] on the western frontier of the [[Gupta empire]]. Historian [[Dineshchandra Sircar]] thinks of their original abode was the area of Abhiravan, between [[Herat]] and [[Kandahar]], although this is disputed.<ref name="google10">{{cite book|first=Tej Ram |last=Sharma |title=A political history of the imperial Guptas: from Gupta to Skandagupta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWVZWjNAcAgC&pg=PA87 |year=1989 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7022-251-4 |page=87}}</ref> Their occupation of [[Rajasthan]] also at later date is evident from the [[Jodhpur]] inscription of [[Hindu calendar|Samvat]] 918 that the Abhira people of the area were a terror to their neighbours, because of their violent demeanour.<ref name="google10"/> Abhiras of Rajputana were sturdy and regarded as [[Mleccha]]s, and carried on anti-Brahmanical activities. As a result, life and property became unsafe. Pargiter{{who|date=January 2018}} points to the Pauranic tradition that the Vrishnis and Andhakas, while retreating northwards after the [[Kurukshetra War]] from their western home in Dwarka and Gujarat, were attacked and broken up by the rude Abhiras of Rajasthan.<ref>{{cite book|first=Kailash Chand |last=Jain |title=Ancient cities and towns of Rajasthan: a study of culture and civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQx5a48dzlYC |year=1972 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=9788120806696 }}</ref>

The Abhiras did not stop in Rajasthan; some of their clans moved south and west reaching [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] and [[Maharashtra]] and taking service under the [[Satavahana dynasty]] and the [[Western Satraps]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Haryana: studies in history and culture |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.58846 |year=1968 |publisher=Kurukshetra University|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.58846/page/n68 44]}}</ref> Also founded a kingdom in the northern part of the [[Maratha]] country, and an inscription of the ninth year of the Abhira king [[Ishwarsena]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Sunil Kumar |last=Bhattacharya |title=Krishna-cult in Indian art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyyNIL7Ug2kC&pg=PA10 |year=1996 |publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. |isbn=978-81-7533-001-6 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Ramesh Chandra |last1=Majumdar |first2=Anant Sadashiv |last2=Altekar |title=Vakataka – Gupta Age Circa 200–550 AD |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OswUZtL1_CUC&pg=PA143 |year=1967 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0026-7 |page=143}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite web | title=Durga - Hindu mythology | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=19 February 2015 | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Durga | ref={{sfnref | Encyclopedia Britannica | 2015}} | access-date=15 February 2017}}
* {{cite book |author=Laura Amazzone |editor=Patricia Monaghan |title=Goddesses in World Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qotjet-Hb0MC |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-35465-6}}
* {{cite book |author=Wendy Doniger |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440 |url-access=registration |year=1999 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0}}
* {{cite book |author=David R Kinsley |title=The Goddesses' Mirror: Visions of the Divine from East and West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b0jmXOPBXkwC |year=1989 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-88706-835-5}}
* {{cite book |author=Donald J LaRocca |title=The Gods of War: Sacred Imagery and the Decoration of Arms and Armor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8B5B4B5IcQkC |year=1996 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-0-87099-779-2}}
* {{cite book |author=June McDaniel |title=Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caeJpIj9SdkC |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534713-5}}
* {{cite book |author1=Charles Phillips |author2=Michael Kerrigan |author3=David Gould |title=Ancient India's Myths and Beliefs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3-RkE-Xxa0C |year=2011 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4488-5990-0}}
* {{cite book |author=Paul Reid-Bowen |editor1=Denise Cush |editor2=Catherine Robinson |editor3=Michael York |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzPgCgAAQBAJ |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-18979-2}}
[[Category:History of Haryana]]
[[Category:History of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:History of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of India]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Nepal]]

Abhira people - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 03:21, 30 August 2023