 Ther Mound | |
  Agroha Mound Agroha Mound (India) Show map of India | |
| Alternative name | Excavated Site at Haryana State |
|---|---|
| Location | Agroha,Haryana,India |
| Coordinates | 29°19′54″N75°37′10″E / 29.33167°N 75.61944°E /29.33167; 75.61944 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | 3rd to 4th century BC |
| Abandoned | 13th to 14th century AD |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1888–1889, 1978–1979 |
| Archaeologists | C. J. Rogers, J. S. Khatri, Acharya |
Agroha, locally known asTher, is anarchaeological site located onNH-9 inAgroha city in theHisar district ofHaryana state ofIndia. Agroha Dham, contiguous toAgroha Dham, is located east ofMaharaja Agrasen Medical College.
According to the official website ofHisar, the excavations at Agroha belong to the period from the 3rd-4th century B.C. to the 13th-14th century A.D. A wall for defense, shrine cells and residential houses can be observed in the mound.[1] TheAgrawal community believes that the archaeological findings are related to their legendary founder—Maharaja Agrasena, whose capital is said to have been at Agroha. Agrawal organizations such as Akhil Bharatiya Agrawal Sammelan and Agroha Vikas Trust have supported archaeological research at the site.[2]
Agroha, associated with legendary king Maharaja Agrasen andAgreya republic mentioned inMahabharata, also byPanini in theAshtadhyayi,Ptolemy who called itAgara, located on the ancientTaxila-Mathura trade route, was an important centre of commerce and political activities till the period ofFiroz Shah Tughlaq in the 14th century.Bharatendu Harishchandra writes that Maharaja Agrasen, contemporaneous to LordKrishna, was aSuryavanshiKshatriya king born in the lateDwapar Yuga during Mahabharata era. Agroha mound was proscribed as the protected site of national importance in 1926, and excavation has proven the continuous habitation and fortified township from 4th century BCE to the 14th century CE.[3]
In 1194,Muhammad of Ghor destroyed Agroha and inhabitants relocated to other places.[4]
Ziauddin Barani (1285–1357) writer ofDelhi Sultanate andShams-i Siraj 'Afif (court historian ofFiruz Shah Tughlaq, r. 1351–1388 CE) describe this as prominent city till the time ofMuhammad bin Tughluq (r. 1325-1351 CE) whenfamine struck and the remaining inhabitants of the town left for elsewhere (the town had already been reduced in size by Ghori in 1194). Subsequently, Feroz Shah Tughluq used the material from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples of Agroha Mound to build theFiroz Shah palace complex (1354-1357 CE). TravellerIbn Battuta (travelled to India from 1333 to 1345 CE), found Agroha deserted.[5]
In 1907,sadhuBrahmananda Brahmachari visited Agroha and in 1908 organised theAgrawal Darbar group under which aShiva temple,Sati shrines and agaushala were constructed.[4]
In 1976, theAll India Aggarwal Convention (AIAC) formed theAgroha Vikas Trust (EnglishAgroha Development Trust) under the AIAC President Rameshwar Das Gupta (not to be confused withRameshwar Das Birla ofBirla family) andKrishan Kumar Modi ofModi Enterprises to whichLaxmi Narayan Gupta donated 5 acre land on which Arogha Dham temple complex was constructed under the supervision of Subhash Goel (not to be confused withSubhash Chandra ofZee andEssel Group).[4] Subhash Chandra of Zee and Essel Group, a former Member of Parliament, is a patron of the Agroha Development Trust.[6]
In 2023, the comprehensiveAgroha development plan was announced.[3]
In 1888–89, the brief 15 day first excavation byArchaeological Survey of India (ASI) was undertaken under C.J. Rogers.[7][3][5]
In 1938-39, archaeologist HL Srivastava's carried out more excavations to the depth of 12 ft.[3]
From 1978–79 to 1980-81, the Archaeological Department of Haryana and ASI under the supervision of J.S. Khatri and Acharya conducted excavation till the depth of approximately 3.65 metres.[8] for 3 consecutive years.[3]
In 2024 March, aGround Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey was conducted byIIT Kanpur.[3]
In 2025, from 12 March to 31 May, ASI conducted excavation in 8 square trenches of 10 sq ft revealing artifacts belonging toGurjar-Pratihar period from 8th century CE to 11th century CE.[3] 11:32 am IST
The 125 acre mound is 1.5 km east centre ofAgroha town, 20 km fromHisar city and 190 km fromNew Delhi inHisar district of Haryana.[9] It lies onNational Highway 9 (old NH-10).
Fortified township, residential and community houses of baked and unbaked bricks, Buddhist stupa and a Hindu temple were found in the excavation.[3] Excavations prior to 2024, yielded over seven thousand artefacts.
1888-89 excavation found solid brick structures, paved paths, ashes, coins, beads, terracotta, and sculpture fragments, establishing Agroha as an ancient fortified city with its own coinage (Agrodaka) and connecting it to the Agrawal community.[5]
1938-39 excavations by HL Srivastava's revealed more about its long history from 4th Century BCE to 14th Century CE,[5] when he found a hoard of silver coins, including fourIndo-Greek, one punch-marked, and another 51 coins stamped asAgrodaka (name of Agroha).[3]
1978-79 to 1980-81 excavation produced the evidence of aBuddhiststupa and a Hindu temple.[3]
2025 excavations revealed artifacts belonging toGurjar-Pratihar period from 8th century CE to 11th century CE.[3]
Silver and bronze coins belonging to different periods have been found at the site. The coins hoard includes four Indo-Greek coins, one punch-marked coin, and fifty-one coins of Agrodaka.[7] They belong toRoman,Kushana,Yaudheya andGupta Empire. Language used isPrakrit.[7]
Many seals have also been found. They are inscribed with words likePitradutt, " Sadhu Vridhasya", "Shamkar Malasya", "Madrsya", etc.[7]
Besides the numerous stone sculptures, iron and copper implements and beads of semi-precious stones have also been found.[1]
Copper finds from 1938 to 1939 include a sword, spoon, chain, bangle, ear ornament, a disc, etc. Same excavation also found stone sculptures showing signs of being burnt proving plunder andsevere destruction by Muslims.[5]
Thedevelopment plan for Agroha envisages constructing a site museum with a planetarium, tourist centre, and a knowledge park to educate visitors about its historical significance. In 2023,Government of Haryana allotted land for a site museum adjacent to the mound and in 2024, Haryana government and ASI signed a memorandum of understanding to develop Agroha as a prominent heritage site along the lines ofRakhigarhi as part of the wider tourism circuit in Hisar district.[3] In August 2025, during the review meeting on the progress of Agroha Development Plan, theChief Minister of Haryana,Nayab Singh Saini, instructedHisar-Agroha Metropolitan Development Authority (HAMDA) to prepare a comprehensive master plan for Agroha as a global city within a 25 km radius, and tourist circuit development strategy.[10][11]
Agroha Global City: In 2023, a plan submitted by theAgarwal community to theChief Minister of Haryana for the development of "Agroha Global City" in the 25 km radius by establishing 18 residential sectors named after 18gotras of Agarwal community, etc. The development will be done by the agrawal community and the role of government will be limited to providing the legal approvals and helping the land acquisition.[12]
Modern infrastructure: Proposals for a NationalAyush Medical Centre, a university,ashrams,dharamshalas (rest houses), a modern bus port, and a state-of-the-artAgroha railway station.[12]
Agroha Mound Archaeological Park andIndus Saraswati civilisation tourism circuit: Agroha, along with Rakhigarhi,Banawali,Bhirdana,Kunal, Hisar, andother Indus Saraswati civilisation sites will be developed as an integrated global tourism circuit.[11]
Agroha Dham Religious and Cultural Complex: Ongoing expansion including new 100 crore 108 ft tallAdya Mahalaxmi temple.[13]
Maharaja Agrasen statue: world's largest statue of Maharaja Agrasen will be constructed.[12]
Agrasen Mahalaxmi temples and sanatan cultural centres across the world: series of large temples across each district of India and all countries of the world under Agroha Trust along the line ofTirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
Babb, Lawrence A (2004).Alchemies of Violence: Myths of Identity and the Life of Trade in Western India. Sage.ISBN 978-0-7619-3223-9.
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