The name of Ghazni itself reminds us of a bloody history of the invasions on the Hindushahi of the present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as the Somnath Temple being attacked and looted by Mahmud Ghazni or Ghaznavi (971-1030 AD), the Sultan of Ghazni. Though a son of a Hindu or Buddhist slave convert father, Sabuktigin or Shakt Singh, according to a celebrated historian Shanbhuprasad Harprasad Deshai, Mahmud is remembered as a hero of Islam by some, as a defiler of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist shrines by others. It is a well-known fact that till 14th century Kabul had Hindu rulers. (Read ‘Lohana Kings of Kashmir and Kabul’ by this author in ‘Asian Voice’ http://www.asian-voice.com/Opinion/Columnists/Lohana-Kings-of-Kashmir-and-Kabul). One should not be surprised to know that the Ghazni of Sultan Mahmud was established and even ruled by the descendents of Lord Krishna unlike the Lohana rulers who are considered the descendents of Lord Rama!
This is not just a mythology but according to “Shri Yaduvanshprakash ane Jamnagarno Itihas” (Shri Yaduvanshprakash and History of Jamnagar) written by Mavdanji Ratnu under the instruction of the Jamsaheb Ranjitsinh of Nawanagar published in 1940, Egypt (Shonitpur-Babylon) was ruled by 57 Rajas including Vajranabh, the great grandson of Lord Krishna for 3,200 years. Vajranabh was the grandson of Pradyumn, son of Krishna by his Chief Queen Rukmini. Even Deshai, IAS (Retd.) confirms this history in his book “Prabhas ane Somnath” published by Shree Somnath Trust in 1965 with the preface by Balwantrai Mehta, the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Since Pradyumn had married Usha or Okha, the Princess of Banasur of Babylon who had no male descendent, Vajranabh became the ruler of Babylon. After King Devendra, who was 82nd descendent of Lord Krishna, died and Shonitpur was attacked by the Muslims, Devendra’s four sons, Aspat, Narpat, Gajpat and Bhupat had to shift towards present-day Afghanistan. Gajpat established Ghazni in 652 AD. Following increasing influence of Islam, the Ghazni Kingdom was handed over to Aspat who married the daughter of Caliph and embraced Islam. Other three brothers migrated to Central Asia and established smaller States like Khurasan around Kabul. Gradually, they came to India and became the ancestors of Bhati, Jadeja and Chudasama Rajputs. Till 955 AD, Ghazni was ruled by a Hindu King Anoop till Alaptgin and Sabuktigin defeated and killed him, according to Deshai.
The descendents of Narpat are called Jadejas. Likewise, the descendents of Gajpat and Bhupat are known as Chudasamas and Bhatis respectively. Kanaksinh Jadeja, a retired additional secretary with the Government of Gujarat and a relative of the former ruler family of Morbi state, used to interact with this writer for hours on the history and roots of Rajputs with Ghazni and other areas which are now part of Islamic world. Unfortunately, he expired recently but till last day of his life he was on WhatsApp discussing various aspects of the proud history of Rajput rulers. “Shri Yaduvanshprakash” states that since Aspat, the eldest of the four sons of King Devendra, had embraced Islam, his descendents are known as Moghuls. Till 1,300 AD, Kabul was ruled by the Hindu Kings but gradually the Muslim rulers took over after Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni defeated Hindu Ruler JayPal who committed suicide later. Even today Hindus and Sikhs reside in Afghanistan but they are at mercy of the Muslim rulers or Talibanis.
Next Column: The Ganesh Festival and Lokmanya Tilak
(The writer is a Socio-political Historian. E-mail: [email protected] )
Photo-line:
Krishna and Rukmini
