Kaswan
Encyclopedia
Kaswan or Kuswan or Kasuan is a gotra
of jats
in Rajasthan
and Haryana
in India
. The word Kaswan is 'XWN' of Tocharian language meaning 'King'.
writes that Kushans were the people from Krishnavanshi who moved with Pandava
s in the great migration after Mahabharata
. There is no doubt that Kushan word is derived from Sanskrit word karshneya and karshnik. The word is not 'Kushan' but Kaswan clan found in Jats.
The Taxila
Ladle Copper inscription bears this as 'Kaswin' word. In Mahabharata there is a word Khawakasha which becomes 'Kashwa' when 'Kh' is changed to 'x' and tellies with the word 'kasuwa' of "Panchtar inscription". The word 'Kaswan' is in fact 'XWN' word of Tokharian language which means 'King'. In Mahabharata
also there is mention of a country named 'Kuswan' which was situated in the north of Mansarovar lake.
James Legge
has mentioned in the book : A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, chapter XII about the rule of Kanishka
in footnote 4 that "Kanishka appeared and began to reign early in our first century, about A.D. 10. He was the last of three brothers, whose original seat was in Yueh-she
, immediately mentioned, or Tukhara."
He further mentions in footnote 6 that "This king was perhaps Kanishka
himself, Fa-hien
mixing up, in an inartistic way, different legends about him. Eitel suggests that a relic of the old name of the country may still exist in that of the Jats or Juts of the present day. A more common name for it is Tukhara, and he observes that the people were the Indo-Scythians
of the Greeks
, and the Tatars of Chinese
writers, who, driven on by the Huns
(180 BC), conquered Transoxiana
, destroyed the Bactria
n kingdom (126 BC), and finally conquered the Punjab
, Cashmere, and great part of India, their greatest king being Kanishka
(E. H., p. 152)."
An article about Raja Kharavela
in Orissa
mentions about the rule of Kaswan in 2nd century of Vikram samvat
. It has been mentioned in 'Hathi Gumpha
and three other inscriptions' (page 24) in Sanskrit
as under:
. After the Kaswan rulers lost their kingdom they came from north-west India to Jangladesh
. Around 4th century, they inhabited Jangladesh
. Jangladesh coincided with the princely state of Bikaner in Rajasthan. Rathores under the leadership of Bika, were spreading their rule in Jangladesh
. Bika founded Bikaner as their capital in 1488. At that time, Kaswan Jats were ruling in about 400 villages in Jangladesh
. Kanwarpal was their king, and their capital was at Sidhmukh
town. The people of this clan were known as warriors who used to fight with patience. They had 2000 camels and 500 riders always ready for defence. They were good cultivators as well as superb soldiers. Kaswan Jats had war with Rathores, but the Godara
Jats had aligned with Rathores due to which Kaswan Jats faced a defeat. Rathores annexed their kingdom in 17th century. They used to elect their king with a democratic process. Chahar
Jats were their neighbourhood rulers.
, and Ratangarh
areas, as well as some other areas.
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
of jats
Jat people
The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...
in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The word Kaswan is 'XWN' of Tocharian language meaning 'King'.
Origin of Kaswan
Jat historian Thakur DeshrajThakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj was a social worker, journalist, nationalist, freedom fighter and author of many books. He was from Rajasthan state in India. He was revenue minister in the princely state of Bharatpur....
writes that Kushans were the people from Krishnavanshi who moved with Pandava
Pandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
s in the great migration after Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. There is no doubt that Kushan word is derived from Sanskrit word karshneya and karshnik. The word is not 'Kushan' but Kaswan clan found in Jats.
The Taxila
Taxila
Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
Ladle Copper inscription bears this as 'Kaswin' word. In Mahabharata there is a word Khawakasha which becomes 'Kashwa' when 'Kh' is changed to 'x' and tellies with the word 'kasuwa' of "Panchtar inscription". The word 'Kaswan' is in fact 'XWN' word of Tokharian language which means 'King'. In Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
also there is mention of a country named 'Kuswan' which was situated in the north of Mansarovar lake.
James Legge
James Legge
James Legge was a noted Scottish sinologist, a Scottish Congregationalist, representative of the London Missionary Society in Malacca and Hong Kong , and first professor of Chinese at Oxford University...
has mentioned in the book : A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, chapter XII about the rule of Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
in footnote 4 that "Kanishka appeared and began to reign early in our first century, about A.D. 10. He was the last of three brothers, whose original seat was in Yueh-she
Yuchi
For the Chinese surname 尉迟, see Yuchi.The Yuchi, also spelled Euchee and Uchee, are a Native American Indian tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16th century. During the 17th century, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina...
, immediately mentioned, or Tukhara."
He further mentions in footnote 6 that "This king was perhaps Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
himself, Fa-hien
Faxian
Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to India, Sri Lanka and Kapilavastu in today's Nepal between 399 and 412 to acquire Buddhist scriptures...
mixing up, in an inartistic way, different legends about him. Eitel suggests that a relic of the old name of the country may still exist in that of the Jats or Juts of the present day. A more common name for it is Tukhara, and he observes that the people were the Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
of the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, and the Tatars of Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
writers, who, driven on by the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
(180 BC), conquered Transoxiana
Transoxiana
Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
, destroyed the Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
n kingdom (126 BC), and finally conquered the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, Cashmere, and great part of India, their greatest king being Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
(E. H., p. 152)."
An article about Raja Kharavela
Kharavela
Khārabēḷa was the third and greatest emperor of the Mahāmēghabāhana Dynasty of Kaḷinga . The main source of information about Khārabeḷa is his famous seventeen line rock-cut Hātigumphā inscription in a cave in the Udayagiri hills near Bhubaneswar, Orissa.During the reign of Khārabēḷa, the Chedi...
in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
mentions about the rule of Kaswan in 2nd century of Vikram samvat
Samvat
Samvat is any of the various Hindu calendars. In India, there are several calendars in use:* Vikrama Samvat: lunar months, solar sidereal years* Shaka Samvat : lunar months, solar sidereal years* Shaka Samvat : solar tropical...
. It has been mentioned in 'Hathi Gumpha
Hathigumpha inscription
The Hathigumpha inscription , from Udayagiri, near Bhubaneshwar in Orissa, was written by Kharavela, the king of Kalinga in India, during the 2nd century BCE...
and three other inscriptions' (page 24) in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
as under:
- SanskritSanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
- कुसवानाम् क्षत्रियानां च सहाय्यतावतां प्राप्त मसिक नगरम्
- IASTIASTThe International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...
- "".
- This translates that the city of 'Masik' was obtained with the help of 'Kuswa' KshatriyaKshatriya*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s
Kaswan people in Jangladesh
Kaswan people were rulers in SindhSindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. After the Kaswan rulers lost their kingdom they came from north-west India to Jangladesh
Jangladesh
Jangladesh also known as Jangal Pradesh was a historical region in north, north-western and north-eastern Rajasthan state in northern India. It included the present-day districts of Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, and Hanumangarh....
. Around 4th century, they inhabited Jangladesh
Jangladesh
Jangladesh also known as Jangal Pradesh was a historical region in north, north-western and north-eastern Rajasthan state in northern India. It included the present-day districts of Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, and Hanumangarh....
. Jangladesh coincided with the princely state of Bikaner in Rajasthan. Rathores under the leadership of Bika, were spreading their rule in Jangladesh
Jangladesh
Jangladesh also known as Jangal Pradesh was a historical region in north, north-western and north-eastern Rajasthan state in northern India. It included the present-day districts of Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, and Hanumangarh....
. Bika founded Bikaner as their capital in 1488. At that time, Kaswan Jats were ruling in about 400 villages in Jangladesh
Jangladesh
Jangladesh also known as Jangal Pradesh was a historical region in north, north-western and north-eastern Rajasthan state in northern India. It included the present-day districts of Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, and Hanumangarh....
. Kanwarpal was their king, and their capital was at Sidhmukh
Sidhmukh
Sidhmukh is a town of historical importance located in Churu district of Rajasthan, India. It was the capital of Kaswan Jat rulers of Jangladesh....
town. The people of this clan were known as warriors who used to fight with patience. They had 2000 camels and 500 riders always ready for defence. They were good cultivators as well as superb soldiers. Kaswan Jats had war with Rathores, but the Godara
Godara
Godara may refer to:*Godara , a gotra or surname found in Jat community in India.*"Godara",a place in Afghanistan...
Jats had aligned with Rathores due to which Kaswan Jats faced a defeat. Rathores annexed their kingdom in 17th century. They used to elect their king with a democratic process. Chahar
Chahar (clan)
Chahar also known by variations like Chahad, Char and Chaharag, is a gotra or clan of Jats in India. People belonging to this clan are found in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh...
Jats were their neighbourhood rulers.
Kaswan people at present
Presently, Kaswan clan people are Jats, who live in about 300 villages of the Bikaner, ChuruChuru
Churu is a town in the desert region of Rajasthan state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Churu District. It lies in the Thar Desert on the National Highway-65 connecting Pali to Ambala and is a junction station on the railway line to Bikaner...
, and Ratangarh
Ratangarh
Ratangarh is a town in the Churu district in Rajasthan, India. Ratangarh was previously called Kolasar. It is famous for grand havelis with frescoes, which is an architectural speciality of the Shekhawati region...
areas, as well as some other areas.