Abhira people
The Abhiras were a legendary people mentioned in ancient Indian epics and scriptures as early as the Vedas. they were a warlike tribe is admitted by all. Probably they were a nomadic people as they are associated with various peoples and provinces.[1] A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The Mahabharata describes them as living near the seashore and on the bank of the Sarasvati River, near Somnath in Gujarat.[2]
Etymology
Etymologically, he who can cast terror on all sides is called an Abhira.[3][clarification needed]
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.[4] Scholars such as Ramaprasad Chanda believe that they were Indo-Aryan peoples.[5] But others, such as Romila Thapar, believe them to have been indigenous.[6] The Puranic Abhiras occupied the territories of Herat; they are invariably juxtaposed with the Kalatoyakas and Haritas, the peoples of Afghanistan.[7]
In the Padma-puranas and certain literary works, the Abhiras are referred to as belonging to the race of Krishna.[8]
There is no certainty regarding the occupational status of the Abhiras, with ancient texts sometimes referring to them as warriors, as pastoral cowherders, but at other times as plundering tribes.[9]
Along with the Vrishnis, the Satvatas, and the Yadavas, the Abhiras were followers of the Vedas, and worshipped Krishna, the head and preceptor of these tribes.[10][8]
In archaeological inscriptions, Abhiras are mentioned as belonging to the race of Krishna.[11][8]
Rule of the Konkan
From 203 to 270 the Abhiras ruled over the whole of the Deccan Plateau as a paramount power. The Abhiras were the probably successors of the Satvahanas.[12]
Nepali branch
Before the 12th century, an Ahir dynasty ruled some areas in what is now Nepal.[13]
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.[8] Bhattacharya says that the terms Ahir, Ahar and Gaoli are current forms of the word Abhira.[4] 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.[14][15][16]
Abhiras Under Gupta Empire
During the reign of
The Abhiras did not stop in Rajasthan; some of their clans moved south and west reaching
Abhiras as Yadavas
The Mahabharata and other authoritative works use the three terms-Abhira, Yadava and Gopa synonymously.[22][23]
In the Mahabharata it is mentioned that when the Yadavas (though belonging to the Abhira group) abandoned Dvaraka and Gujarat after the death of Krishna and retreated northwards under Arjuna's leadership, they were attacked and broken up by the rude Abhiras of Rajputana. They were also mentioned as warriors in support of Duryodhana[24] and Kauravas and in the Mahabharata, Abhira, Gopa, Gopal and Yadavas are all synonyms.[25] They defeated the hero of the Kurukshetra War (Arjuna), and spared him when he disclosed the identity of the members of the family of Krishna.[26]
The Yadavas, mentioned in the Mahabharata, were pastoral Kshatriyas among whom Krishna was brought up. The Gopas, whom Krishna had offered to Duryodhana to fight in his support when he himself joined Arjuna's side, were no other than the Yadavas themselves, who were also the Abhiras.[27]
The Yadavas of the Mahabharata period were known to be the followers of Vaisnavism, of which Krishna was the leader. They were the Gopas (cowherd) by profession, but at the same time they held the status of the Kshatriyas, by participating in the battle of Kurukshetra. The present Ahirs are also followers of Vaishnavism. In the epics and the Puranas the association of the Yadavas with the Abhiras was attested by the evidence that the Yadava kingdom was mostly inhabited by the Abhiras.[28]
According to famous historian K. P. Jayaswal, the Abhiras of Gujarat are the same race as Rastrikas of Emperor Ashoka and Yadavas of the Mahabharata.[29][30][31]
According to Jayant Gadkari tribes such as Abhiras, Vrishnis, Andhakas and Satvatas after a period of long conflicts came to be known as Yadavas.[32]
In the period between the third and tenth centuries the history of the Abhiras becomes extremely confused, both in
According to historian G. H. Ojha, the assimilation of the Abhiras with the Yadavas was an accomblished fact by the 12th century.[34]
Legendary figures in Hinduism
As a goddess,
Historian Ramaprasad Chanda argued in 1916 that the goddess
The Padma Purana features Vishnu stating that, "I shall be born amongst you, O Ābhīras, at Mathura in my eighth birth".[40]
Varna Status
The Abhiras were stratified into the four Varna categories of Abhira-Brahmins, Abhira-Kshatriyas, Abhira-Vaisyas and Abhira-Sudras.[41]
References
- ^ Institute, Bhandarkar Oriental Research (1917). Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona. The Institute. p. 564.
- ISBN 978-81-7022-374-0.
- ISBN 9788185579573.
- ^ ISBN 9788175330016.
- ^ Chanda, Ramaprasad (1969). The Indo-Aryan races: a study of the origin of Indo-Aryan people and institutions. Indian Studies: Past & Present. p. 55.
- ISBN 978-81-250-0808-8.
- ^ Miśra, Sudāmā (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana.
- ^ ISBN 9788170223740.
- ISBN 9789004093188.
- ISBN 978-8-12220-455-1.
- ISBN 9788170173984.
- ^ Numismatic Society of India (1991). The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India. Vol. 53. the University of Michigan. pp. 91–95.
- ISBN 978-1-317-35389-8.
- ISBN 978-0-521-02870-7.
- ^ Rao, M. S. A. (1978). Social Movements in India. Vol. 1. Manohar. pp. 124, 197, 210.
- ISBN 978-8-170-17398-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-7022-251-4.
- ISBN 9788120806696.
- ^ Haryana: studies in history and culture. Kurukshetra University. 1968. p. 44.
- ISBN 978-81-7533-001-6.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0026-7.
- ISBN 978-0-391-02748-0.
- ISBN 978-0-8364-2133-0.
- ^ Bahadur), Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai (1974). Man in India. A.K. Bose. p. 38.
- ISBN 978-0-8364-2133-0., Abhir, Gopa, Gopal and Yadavas are all synonyms.
In the Mahabharata
- ISBN 978-81-85616-03-2.
- ^ Bahadur), Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai (1974). Man in India. A. K. Bose. p. 40.
- ^ Bahadur), Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai (1974). Man in India. A. K. Bose. p. 41.
- ^ Mularaja solanki (1943). "The Glory that was Gūrjaradeśa, Volume 1". History. Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 30.
- ^ K P Jayaswal (1943). "Hindu Polity". History. Bangalore Print. p. 141.
- ISBN 978-81-85616-03-2.
- ISBN 9788171547432.
- ^ Benjamin Walker. Hindu World Vol. 1 An Encyclopedic Survey Of Wisdom Benjamin Walker.
- ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1974. p. 29.
- ISBN 9780791413319. Archivedfrom the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ Nambiar, K. Damodaran (1979). Nārada Purāṇa, a Critical Study. All-India Kashiraj Trust, 1979. p. 145.
- ^ Wadia, Sophia (1969). The Aryan Path. Theosophy Company (India), Limited.
- ISBN 978-81-7081-190-9.
- ISBN 9788121205108.
- ISBN 978-81-7533-001-6.
- ISBN 978-81-7305-274-3.
Sources
- "Durga - Hindu mythology". Encyclopedia Britannica. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- Laura Amazzone (2011). Patricia Monaghan (ed.). Goddesses in World Culture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-35465-6.
- Wendy Doniger (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
- David R Kinsley (1989). The Goddesses' Mirror: Visions of the Divine from East and West. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-835-5.
- Donald J LaRocca (1996). The Gods of War: Sacred Imagery and the Decoration of Arms and Armor. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-87099-779-2.
- June McDaniel (2004). Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534713-5.
- Charles Phillips; Michael Kerrigan; David Gould (2011). Ancient India's Myths and Beliefs. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4488-5990-0.
- Paul Reid-Bowen (2012). Denise Cush; Catherine Robinson; Michael York (eds.). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-18979-2.