Trigarta was an ancientIndo-Aryan kingdom based in the region ofJalandhar andKangra. According to the ancient Indian epicMahabharata, its kingSusarman, who ruled the kingdom fromPrasthala, participated in theKurukshetra War.[1]
Prior to theMuslim period in the Indian subcontinent, Trigarta encompassed the territory situated between theSutlej andRavi rivers in the outer hills, extending to theJalandhar Doab in the south, as outlined byJ. Ph. Vogel. Their territory held two principal capitals,Kangra andJalandhar.[2]
The etymology of Trigarta has been understood to mean 'The Land of the Three Rivers', referring to the Sutlej, Ravi andBeas in modern-dayPunjab. However, it has also been thought to represent the three tributaries of the Beas in theKangra district.[3]
The earliest documented reference to Trigarta is found in the works ofPāṇini, in which he characterizes it as a martial republic consisting of a confederation of six states. As per theMahabharata, Trigarta encompassed seven states, indicating the possibility that one state had either seceded from the union or amalgamated with another state.[4]
TheAudumbaras, a neighbouring tribal group, are mentioned in theVishnu Purana as being linked with the Trigarta.[5]J. Ph. Vogel notes that during the Early Ghaznavid period, remnants of theAudumbaras persisted, referred to in its corrupt form byAl-Biruni as "Dahamala", suggesting a fusion of the Audumbaras with the Trigarta.[6]
Trigarta is mentioned in the epicMahabharata. It mentions two different Trigarta kingdoms: one in the west, close to theSivi kingdom, and the other north of theKuru kingdom. ModernKangra is one of the ancient towns in North Trigarta, extending westward to thePunjab area.Multan was the capital of Trigarta, with its original name being Mulasthan.[7] The territory of Trigarta kingdom is around the three rivers of Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi. Trigarta kings were allies ofDuryodhana and enemies of thePandavas andViratas. Their capital was namedPrasthala. They attacked the Virata kingdom aided by the Kurus to steal cattle from there. The Pandavas living there in anonymity helped the Viratas to resist the combined forces of Trigartas and Kurus. Trigarta kings fought theKurukshetra War and were killed byArjuna, after a ruthless and bloody conflict. Arjuna also annihilated anakshauhini (a large military unit) of Trigarta warriors called theSamsaptakas. These warriors had vowed to either die or kill Arjuna as part of a larger plan by Duryodhana to captureYudhishthira alive.[8]
Trigarta next finds mention in theMahabharata'sSabha Parva,[9] where it is included along with a number of other states of the time. According to the historical consensus, the Mahabharata was first penned down around the 4th century B.C. and continued to be written until the 4th century A.D. having existed in oral form prior to this.[10][11] The founder of Trigarta is mentioned as Susarma/Susharman in the Mahabharata.[12] He is credited with building theKangra Fort (Nagarkot) and Kangra was originally called Susarmapura by a variety of Sanskrit, Buddhist, Jain sources prior to the Muslim period.[13][14]
Along with the Greeks, the following groups were described as Vratya-Kshatriyas orMlechhas:Dravida,Abhira, Sabara,Kirata,Malava,Sibi,Trigarta, andYaudheya. Historians note several references to Trigarta in the period between its mention by Pāṇini in the 5th century B.C. and the 5th century A.D., whenSamudragupta invaded Trigarta along with various other kingdoms.[15]
After Samudragupta, the next reference to Trigarta comes from Xuanzang, who records that Jalandhar was ruled by Udito. Xuanzang visited Jalandhara in 635 A.D. and noted that the country measured about 1,000li (approximately 267 km) from north to south.[16]
In the 8th century A.D., the Trigarta rulers acknowledged the supremacy of theKarkota dynasty ofKashmir, a fact also recorded in theRajatarangini. From the 9th to the 11th century, several references to Trigarta appear, one of the most important being a 10th-century Chamba inscription that records the Trigarta raja being subdued by Sahilavarman and subsequently becoming his ally. During this period, in 1009 A.D.,Mahmud of Ghazni entered the Kangra fort while the Kangra forces were away at war. The ruler at the time was Jagdish Chandra.[17]
The Trigarta capital was moved from Jalandhara toNagarkot (Kangra) in 1070 A.D., largely because Jalandhar was in frequent contact with various ambitious invading forces passing through the region on their way to central India.[18]
Moreover,Firishta recounts that in the 1st century A.D., Raja Ram Deo ofKanauj overran the hill regions but spared both theKumaon and Nagarkot rajas after each offered their daughters in marriage.[19]
TheKatoch dynasty ofKangra State claimed to be an offshoot of the Trigartas.
The first name which may be regarded as possibly historical is that of Susarma-Chandra, the 284th from the founder, called Susarman in the Mahabharata, who is believed to have reigned at the time of the Great War and figures as an ally of the Kauravas.
The kingdom of Jalandhara or Trigarta, at the time of its greatest expansion, previous to the Muhammadan invasions in the beginning of the eleventh century, probably comprised almost all the country between the Satluj and the Ravi in the outer hills, except Kulu, and also the Jalandhar Doab on the plains. At that early period the State seems to have included two great provinces, under the above names, of which the capital was at Jalandhara, with a subordinate capital at Nagarkot or Kangra.
The alternative name for the kingdom of Jalandhara in the ancient documents is Trigarta, meaning the land of the three rivers, but the common interpretation of the name, as referring to the Bavi, Bias and Sutlej, is open to question. In those documents the name Trigarta is always applied to the Lower Bias Valley that is, Kangra Proper and on the whole it seems much more probable that the reference is to the three main tributaries of the Bias, which water the Kangra District. These are, the Banganga, Kurali and Nayagul, which unite at Haripur, under the name of Trigadh, wnicn is the same as Trigar, and fall into the Bias opposite Siba Fort.
In his book Ashtadhyayi, generally dated to the 5th century B.C. Panini has described Trigarta as a martial republic and a confederation of six states...Again in the Mahabarata there is a reference to the seven ganas of Trigarta which may mean that at the time of the epic there were seven constituent units of Trigarta and by the time of Panini one of these units must have either gained freedom or merged with another unit.
According to Panini, any country in which the Udumbara flourishes may be called Audumbara. This is true of the Nurpur district in which the glomerous fig tree is common... in the Vishnu Purana they are coupled with the Trigartas and Kulindas
Its next mention is by Abu Rihan who calls it ' Dahamala the capital of Jalandhara,' from which I conclude that the district had been annexed by its more powerful neighbour of Trigarta or Kangra.
The original seat of the family is said to be Multan... After the great war they lost their lands in Multan