Sources of History of Himachal Pradesh
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The ancient history of Himachal Pradesh, like many other regions of India is lost in obscurity because of the lack of accurate source material. History of Himachal has remained unexposed and unearthed.
The main cause of this phenomenon is that, for most of the time, Himachal as a state, what we see today was non existent. It was a territory under the control of local rulers: Rajas, Ranas, Thakurs and frequently devastated by natural calamities and foreign aggression. Local rulers were also not in good terms. This resulted into frequent battles and destruction of invaluable records of the time.
Whatever source material pertaining to Himachal Pradesh is available with us can be divided into the category i.e. Archaeological and literary. The former sources could further be categorised as stone tools, coins, monuments, inscriptions and sculptures etc. Of the literary Side we have Sanskrit words, Greek and Chinese travellers accounts of Vamsavalis people, their culture, life etc.
Different sources of history are:
Archaeological Sources
The archaeological sources found in different parts of the Himachal Pradesh shows the culture and religion of the people of ancient Himachal. These sources were found in Guler, Dhaliara, Dehra, Masrur, Jawalamukhi, Dehra-Gopipur and Nurpur , these sites give indication of the stone age. Some other sites are Balh valley, Sarkaghat, Nawahi, Manglor, Nirath, Dattanagar, Sholi, Sarahan, Nirmand, Hatkoti, Kamru, Sungra, Kothi, Chitkul, Kullu , Mandi, Naggar, Bajaura and Khokan. There are a good number of monuments in Himachal Pradesh like Forts and Temples which throws light on history of Himachal Pradesh.
1. Coins
Untill 1973-74 hardly any attention was paid to the numismatics- the study of coins. Till this time the only museum was The Bhuri Singh Museum at Chamba, but that too remained indifferent towards numismatics. With the advent of Independence and the formation of the State of Himachal Pradesh some conciousness towards the collection of coins awakened. Dr. V.C. Ohri the curator of the Himachal State Museum in 1973 paid attention to the coins. Now this museum and The Bhuri Singh Museum both began acquiring coins from the region. Both these museum contian the large collection of coins pertaining to the ancient tribal kingdoms of Trigarta, Adumbara, Kulutas and Kunindas extending from the second century B.C. to the seocnd century A.D.
2. Inscriptions
Large number of copper plates and othe relevant material is preserved in the Bhuri Singh Museum Chamba. The earliest inscriptions have been found in "Pathyar" and "Kanijara" in district Kangara, Soopur from hillok cave inscription of Hatkoti in district Shimla and Salanu near Manglor in Mandi district. The Nirmand copper plate of 7th century AD issued by Mahasamanta Maharaja Samudrasena.
3. Stone Inscription
The four types of stone inscriptions found in Himachal Pradesh are Rock inscription, fountain inscription, slab inscription and sati stone inscription. These inscription plays a major role in reconstitution of history of Himachal Pradesh. These inscriptions have been written in various scripts such as Sharda, Kharoshti, Brahmi, Tankri, Kutila, Nagari, Sankha, Bhotia or Tibetan and Sidhamatrika. The highest number of inscriptions numbering 36 have been found in Chamba. These are mostly written in Sharda and Tankari scripts.
Literary Source
1. Persian Source
Many persian sources shows Turkish penetration into the Shivalik hills such as some famous persian books - "Tarikh-i-Yamini" or "Kitabul-Yamini". The two contemporary chronicles namely the "Tabaqat-i-Nasiri" and "Tarikh-i-Feruz Shahi" often mention about the rebels finding shelter in the lower parts of Himachal Pradesh. The autobiography of Mongol invader Amir Timur (1369-1414 AD), the "Tezuk-i-Timuri" refers to Raja Ratan Sen of Shivalik Hills. Other books such as "Akbar Nama" and "Ain-i-Akbari" are the important source of informations related to the Muslim period of Indian history.
2. Sanskrit Litrature
Various tribes of Himalayan foothills about 1800 B.C. are mentions in Rig Veda. Besides this Puranas, Brahminas, Aranyankas, Ramayana and Mahabharata also have references about the Himalayan region. The sanskrit literature such as Panini's "Ashtadhyayi", the "Raghuvansham" of Kalidasa, Vishakhadutta's "Devichandra Guptam", "Mudrarakshasha", Kalhan's "Rajtarangini" also throws light on the life of the people of this region.
3. Khalsa Litrature
The major part of the modern Himachal Pradesh is comprising of the erstwhile Punjab hill states. That is why a fair amount of information is present in the Sikh historical and religious literature. The 'Guru Granth Sahib' (The Adi Granth)-the holy scripture of the sikhs, the 'Bachitra Natak' of Guru Govind Singh, the Janam Sakhis' (biographies) of Sikh Gurus and other writers, the 'Gur Sobha' of Sena Pat, the 'Gur Bilas' of Bhai Sukha Singh and Mohsin Fani's 'Dabistan-i-Mazahib' give detailed history of the penetration of Sikh religion in the Himalayan foothills.
4. Travelogues
Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India in 630 AD and remained here till 648 AD, left the reliable historical references about the Himalyan state. He mentioned about The Kuluta, Jalandhara and Shrughna state. Other travellers include European travellers - William Finch and Thomas Coryat, who visited during the time of Aurangezeb. Foster visited in 1783, J.B. Fraser in 1815, Alexander Gerard in 1817-18, W. Moorcraft in 1820-22, Captain Monday in 1829, Major Archer in 1829 and Baron Charles Hugel visited in 1835-39.
5. Vamhsavalis
The genelogical rolls include the names of the ruleres with tenure and various activities performed during that period. These rolls were prepared by the Rajgurus or Kulpurohits.
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