Ancient
History
BACKGROUND
: Bundelkhand region is located between 23°20' and 26°20' N latitude and 78°20'
and 81°40'E longitude. Administratively the region comprises of thirteen
districts - seven districts of Uttar Pradesh viz., Jhansi, Jalaun, Lalitpur,
Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakut and six districts of Madhya Pradesh viz.,
Datia, Tikamgarh, Chattarpur, Damoh, Sagar and Panna. The
Bundelkhand region is complex, diverse, rainfed, risky, under-invested,
vulnerable, socio-economically heterogeneous, ethnically unique, agrarian and
backward relative to other regions. Its history with important landmark can be
summarized in following order.
Rock
Paintings :
Evidence of the early man living in Bundelkhand is found in the form of rock
paintings at many places in the Patha region of Chitrakoot district, and in
Sagar, Chhatarpur, Panna and Datia districts. We do not exactly know when the
people who created rock paintings came in contact with mainstream Hindu
culture.
Epic
Period :
The story of sage Agastya crossing the Vindhyan hill range can be read as an
account of migration of Hindu religious priestly figures into jungle areas of
central India
inhabited by tribal populations. In the Ramayan , many descriptions of
the jungles of Chitrakoot, where Ram, Lakshman and Sita are believed to have
spent twelve years of their exile. Valmiki is believed to have had an ashram in
Chitrakoot district and Vyas is believed to have composed the Mahabhart in Kalpi, in the Jalaun district.
Janpada : We get the first reference to Bundelkhand as a
distinctive political entity. The Chedi kingdom or Janpada is mentioned as one
of the great janpadas of the time. In
the ancient Sanskrit literature, the chedi kingdom is described as lying south of the
Yamuna and between the Chambal and Ken - an area that corresponds partly to
current understanding of the boundaries of Bundelkhand. Sishupal was king of Chedi in Mahabharta Period who was killed by Krishna
Mauryas
& Subsequent References : The era of the Mauryas , in the centuries before the
birth of Christ, provides hard evidence regarding kings and their policies. A
rock edict of Ashoka is located in a
village called Gujarra, 15 km from Datia. Urban settlements with a strong money
economy emerged between the 3rd century BC and 3rd century AD, as evinced from
a large number of coins from this period, unearthed at Eran, around 60 km
north-west of Sagar town.
Guptas : Eran, which is
referred to as Erikana in coins of this period, appears to have been a major
settlement for many centuries, up to the period of the imperial Guptas , who
ruled from 4th century AD onwards. What is called classical Hinduism or Brahmanism,
flourished in the time of the Guptas. Temples
with curvilinear shikaras and profuse sculpture based on stories and characters
from the epics and the Puranas were built on a large scale in this period. One
of the most well known and most representative temples of Gupta temples is
found in Depgarj , around 30 km from Lalitpur, close to the banks of the Betwa.
The Gupta empire started to disintegrate around the end of the 5th century AD,
when they were challenged by Hunas from north-west India, who over-ran a great part of
western India,
up to Eran.
Pre
Chandela :
Subsequently, for around 200 years, the Bundelkhand region appears to have been
ruled by local kings who were only nominally vassals of the later Guptas. Parts
of Jhansi and
Lalitpur district appear to have come under the rule of Gond tribals, who had
by then developed the concept of kingship and ruling clans. Another set of
rulers who were also probably of tribal origin, the Gaharwars , built a number
of tanks in Hamirpur district. Around 9th century AD,
Jainism appears to have become a popular religion among the
mercantile classes. There are around 30 Jain temples of varying sizes and
shapes near fort at Deogarh.
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