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 9^th 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.