Ambota

Shiv temple at Ambota

 
The Chaudhuries of Ambota, a proud Varya Rajput clan, were closely related to the Raja Kangra State Ghammand Chand's family who ruled from 1751-1774. This area is well irrigated and was an occasional stop of the mule caravans, which travelled on the adjacent trade route. The next-door Swaan River provided enough humidity to the soil to produce a good crop year after year.
Ambota is mostly flat land with shallow gradient hills, close to the town of Gagret. The district is Una, Himachal Pradesh. 
Ambota.- Fair in Baisakh, in a large grove called Shiban-ki-bari, attended by about 1,000 people . No particular offerings.  
Varya are a Rajput tribe who’s ancestor Raja Banni Pal also spelt as Veni Pal/Beni Pal who was a Varya Rajput is said to have founded Bhatinda after conquering Bhatner (Hanumangarh)  and marrying the daughter of the Raja (Rose,H.A.,1911).Vena Pal was the Raja of Bhatinda at the time of Shihab al-Din Muhammad Ghauri's invasion (Hanif, N. (2000). The Fort of Bathinda according to local traditions was built by Raja Dab, who was an ancestor of the celebrated king Vena pal/Bineypal, during the early centuries of the Christian era.(Karamvir and Ruby, 1991). Raja Banni Pal who would be same as Bineypal /Vena pal established Bhatinda as documented in census report of Punjab 1883. Bhatinda has a long and chequred history. It is  said that the town takes its name jointly from the names of a Rajput ruler Binai pal and his wazir Thanda Ram. (Punjab dist. Census 1961)(Anand, 1967)



The Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis mentions Raja Vena Pal when describing the sufi Rattan," The earlier muslim version represents him as the minister of Vena Pal ,” the Hindu Raja of Bhatinda”, at the time of Shihab al Din Muhammad Ghauri's invasion. 



The period of Raja Venu Pal/ Beni Pal is 1189AD. H.B.W. Garrick has written in his report of his tour of Punjab & Rajputana (1883-84) about the fort of Bhatinda. He writes that Haji Rattan who was the the son of Kanwar Pal converted his faith to become a muslim. Haji Rattan later connived with Shahab-ud-din Ghori to allow him to enter the fort of Bhatinda to which he had laid a siege in 1189 AD. He further writes that the royal family was put to sword.(Garrick, 1887).

The history of Tiwana Rajput who are descendants of the famous Raja Jagdev Parmar have recorded the help Raja VinayPal extended to Jag Dev Parmar as he reached Bhatner. “He was very much concerned with the presence of Ghazanavads in Punjab and adjoining Malwa between Delhi and Lahore. He had already established good relations with Jai Singh Pingal, enthroned his nephew Yasovarman (1134 -1142 A.D.) at Dhara with his own will, sought and got the help of the Parmaras of Achalgarh (Abu Parmaras) and sent them towards Sind to help his sons. He himself reached Bhatner and got the help of Vinayapal and from many other clans (Gandhus, Jhaj's, Aujhlas, Jhalli's, Pandher's and Dhaliwals). “



The records further show that the Sidhs taught a lesson to Haji Rattan of Bhatinda. This is most likely for conniving with Ghori which led to the death of Raja VeniPal of Bhatinda. The records state “The people of Tihara and Jarg villages still remember the visit of Gopi Chand and Bhartharinath*. First of all his force of Sidhs taught a lession to Rattan Hazi of Bhatinda who had embraced Islam. He was made to leave Islam and ultimately became a Hindu Sadhu (saint), left his earlier abode and established his new Dera : resting place) at about 35 kilometers away in a Jhiri (grove of trees and wild grass) in between the Dhaab (a water body) of Nathana and the village periphery of Mehlan. Now that place is called Rattan Sar”.



Thereafter Raja Jagdev Parmar founded two villages of Hodla and Kasba and established new settlements of Variahan, Badbar and Dhaddrian for the progeny of Vinaya Pal.



Bhatner fort (Hanumangarh) near Ajmer was under the rule of Rai Dal Chand. In 1398 A.D. Timur won over the fort.Timur, with a band of 10,000 picked cavalry, plundered it and wrested it from Dul ‘Chand whose display of uncommon valour could not save his city and fort from the rapacity and the cruelty of the great marauder. All the adult non-muslims were put to sword and the children and women were enslaved and distributed among the soldiers of Timur. The fort of Bhatner enjoyed a great reputation, for its strength and was considered one of the strongest (forts) in Hind. It was surrounded by a desert expanse of 50 Kos (200 miles or 160 km.) in which no water was available. The citadel itself was supplied with water throughout the year by a reservoir which was replenished during the rainy season. “The Raja of the fort”, writes the author of MaIfuzat-i-Timuri” “is an important person, famous throughout the whole country” (Sehgal, 1960).



The Khyats of Jaisalmer also include Vitheda or Bhatinda under their possession.(Bhati, Narayan Singh.1981). Vitheda was an important forest post until the Varhas made it a strong political center.The Lakhi jungle where Vitheda was situated in the local terms was also known as Beeth (or Bihad ), a place where grazing facilities in abundance are available. The fort of Vitheda or now called Bhatinda was under the possession of Varhas (Derva, 1999).

In the records of the Bhatis the Varhas are also addressed as Makwanas or Jhalas. And this is repeated page after page.(Bhati, Narayan Singh.,1981;Mehta, Diwan.,1948.) In some cases Makwanas are listed as a major branch of this group. The Jhalas of Jhalawar state of Rajasthan trace their origin from the Makwanas of Nagar Parkar. In Nainsi ri Khyat also Jhalas and Makwanas of Saurashtra are clubbed together. These people in large number had inhabited the Saurshtra and Gujarat regions. The region of Gujarat where Jhalas are settled was known as Jhalawar till the coming of the British rule in India.



Although the Makwanas claim their origin from the Solar race and their progenitor was Rishi (sage) Mąrkendya but in the other sources they are adored as Chandravanshis , i.e., belonging to the family claiming origin from the Moon God.



Neither of them are figured in the list of the races of Agni kula of Mt. Abu. In the words of James Tod, "Jhala or Makwana  is styled Rajput, though neither classed with the Solar, Lunar, nor Agnļkula races; but though we cannot directly prove it, we have every right to assign to it a northern origin.” Tod feels that Jhalas in Gujarat or even in Rajasthan have come from some parts of northern (northwest) India.



The Baloch were originally the Rajput Balaecha, and occupied the Kharan country adjoining their fellow tribesmen the Rajput Bharaechi. Formerly they must have been a powerful tribe, and have given their name as the national designation to a heterogeneous mixture of tribes and races which are now incorporated as clans of the Baloch. 



Henry Bellow an Indian born British medical officer who had worked in Afghanistan has written about the tribe.The BAHRECHI, or BARAECHI, comprise the sections Abu, Ali, Bado, Bahadur, Mandu, Shero, etc. Their country is a poor plain of hard clay, traversed by the Lora river, and surrounded by wastes of sand. The Barechi live in huts of wicker and matting, called Kadal (Persian kada= “house "), and rear large numbers of camels. Abh may represent the ancient Abi, a Scythian tribe mentioned by HOMER, I believe, or else the district in Rajwitra (Mount Abu), whence they originally came.The Baloch are not now, however, the dominant tribe in the country which bears their name. That position is occupied by the Brahwi (Bellew, 1891).



Jalwani stands for Jhala, Makwahana (plur. Jhklawan). They are seemingly the people after whom the Jhalawan province of Kalat Balochistan is named. (Bellew, 1891)



After the decline of the Hindu Shahi dynasty, the princes scattered in Kashmir, Punjab and Varanasi. The Varaha’s inhabited mostly in Patiala and Nabha districts of Punjab in India. 





The Man’s and Gill’s of Punjab have a Rajput lineage too. Man also claim descent from a Punwar Rajput of Garh Gajni who settled in Patiala in the time of the famous Bani Pal of Bhatinda, and yet a third tradition makes them descendants of Bani Pal himself. Raja Binepal, as they call him, was the last ruler of Ghazni and he led an expedition into India, founded Bhatinda, driving out the Bhattis, and became the progenitor of the Man and other tribes. This would give the Man the same Rajput ancestry as the Varya. Bani PaI had 4 sons, Parga, Sandar, Khala and Maur of whom the first settled in Nabha (Ibbeston, D., 1883). BS Nijjar in Origin and history of Jats and other allied nomadic tribes mentions another name that of “Mansa” along with the above mentioned names (Nijjar, 2008). Mansa formed the village Mauran, Sundar formed Bhadel and Parga formed Agwar.





The chaudhari’s of Ambota in Una district of Himachal Pradesh are Varya Rajputs as documented in their Vanshavali. The vanshavali further details a few important notes on the extent of kingdom of Raja Anadpal. That his capital was in Bhatinda and ruled over the hills of Shimla (Shamla), Dehradun and BadriNarain Teerath. This gives the same lineage to the Varyas of Ambota to that of the Hindu Shahi’s.



Some of the Raja’s mentioned in the vanshavali are Raja Mansa and Raja Mohar. Thereafter the title changed to Rai, Rana and Chaudhari. Chaudhari Jahjar came from Arniala and settled in Ambota.



Ibbitson mentions the following “Sandal's ancestor Jadhbir abandoning Chhalkakra took refuge from Muhammadan oppression with his mother's father in Arniala-Shahpur in tahsil Hoshiarpur and was given 5 villages for maintenance, including Arniala-Shahpur, which the tribe still holds.”p286



The book “Sud Dulhan: Tale of Robbery, Murder and Self-Sacrifice by a Young Bride-Legent of Jatheri at Gagret By Hari K. Sud is about the Sud relocation from Sirhind in Punjab due to the atrocities of Ahmad Shah Abdali in the mid 18th Century. The book mentions that the Chaudhari’s of Ambota belonged to a proud rajput clan. The Sud’s were relocated to Ambota and the Chaudharies were closely related to the king of Jaswan, Raja Abhiraj Singh who was a cousin of the king of Kangra.(Sud, 2012).