The
Ahir is a historical tribe of kshatriyas and Farmers of India.
The word "Ahir" is traced to or
Abhir (from Sanskrit
Abhira अभीर "fearless").
Greek historians' reference of Abisares are thought to be of Abhira Chief.
Recent excavations in Nepal and Deccan has revealed that Gupta suffix was common among Abhira kings, and Historian D. R. Regmi, links Imperial Guptas with Abhira-Guptas of Nepal.
The Indian census of 1931 counted 14 million Ahirs.
In the opinion of Dr. Budh Prakash,the name of the State of Haryana may have been derived from Abhirayana, its ancient inhabitants having been Ahirs.
Ahirs ruled the whole of Haryana under the Mogul rule and later were declared as independent kings. James Tod demonstrated that they were included into the list of 36 royal races of Rajasthan(Tod,1829,Vol1,p69 ii,p358).
Yadu was the eldest son of Yayati (father of Yadavs). It is written in the Vishnu Puran that he did not inherit his father's throne. He, therefore, retired towards Punjab and Iran. He had five sons, of whom except Satjit and Krishna, three remained childless. Satjit had three sons Bibai (Biveya), Hai (
Heya) whose descendants are Jats of '
Heer' gotra and Ahai (Aheya) who founded the Ahir community.
Classification
Ahirs are divided into two divisions called "Khanap":
- Yaduvanshi
- Nandavanshi { Nand Baba foster father of Lord Krishna was Ahir }
Ancient martial race
Earlier Jain literature mentions about Abhira Brahmanas, Abhira Ksatriyas, Abhira Vaisyas, Abhira Carpenters and Abhira Goldsmiths probably due to earliest sanskritization attempt of this
foreign tribe.
Manushmriti (Ch.10, 15) talks about Abhiras as sons of Brahmin & Ambashta. Earliest inscription about them refers to them as Abhira Brahmin.
The Sabha-parva and Bhisma-parva sections of the
Mahabharata mention the province of Abhira, situated near what once was the Sarasvati River in ancient Sind.
Suras and Abhira were together referred to as
Surabhiras in scriptures. Later works did not discriminate between the two. Many scholars have sought a link between the Indian Abhira and Surabhir with the Biblical references to Ophir and Sofir.
Ptolemy wrote there was a country called Abhira at the mouth of the river Indus. Sreemad Bhagwatam gave a similar account and matched the location of Sind. Christian Lassen (1800–1876), author of
Indische Alterthumskunde, vol I, thought “Ophir” was a seaport on the southwest coast of India. Mrs. Manning said it was situated on the western coast of India. Gesenius, Sir Emerson Tennent, and Max Müller appeared to agree with Christian Lassen. Because of this relative consensus, there is general belief that Abhira is the equivalent of Ophir,
mentioned in the Bible. In the Coptic language, Sofir, the name of India, refers to surabhir.
According to the
Markandeya Purana, all the Haiheya aggressors (warrior caste) were killed in a massacre led by Parshuram. In that time, the Ahirs were either a sub-clan of the Hayheya or sided with the Hayheya. Only the Abhiras survived by escaping into the craters between mountains. The sage Markandeya remarked that "all Haiheya have been killed but Abhira have survived; they will surely rule the earth in Kaliyuga." Vātsyāyana also mentions the Abhira kingdoms in the
Kama Sutra.
References to Abhira being residents of the kingdom ruled by Yudhisthira are found in
Bhagwatam.
Shreemad Bhagwatam, which gives a detailed account of dynasties ruling after great war of Mahabharata, describes Abhira rulers in detail:
Krishna with Gopis (Ahirs), ca. 1790-1800
Then will follow seven kings of the Abhira race from the city of Avabhrti, and then ten Gardabhis. After them, sixteen kings of the Kankas will rule and will be known for their excessive greed. Eight Yavanas will then take power, followed by fourteen Turuskas, ten Gurundas and eleven kings of the Maula dynasty. These Abhiras, Gardabhis and Kankas will enjoy the earth for 1,099 years.
The Gupta Dynasty's account corresponds to the Abhira Kings mentioned in the
Bhagwatam. Many scholars believe both Guptas
and Mauryas were Abhir.
The Ahirs were one of the more militant Hindu groups, including in the modern era. For example, in 1930, about 200 Ahirs marched towards the shrine of Trilochan and performed
puja in response to Islamic tanzeem processions.
The original cult of Lord Krishna, especially the aspect dealing with Krishna's boyhood in Vrindavan and his dalliances with the Gopis, has been attributed to the Ahir or Abhir tribe. The merging of this Lord Krishna with the hero of the
Mahabharat did not occur until about 4th century C.E.
Sura and Abhira were mentioned as two kingdoms where the river Saraswati existed only as a dried up river bed during the time of Kurukshetra War. They were sometimes referred to as Surabhira also, combining both Sura and Abhira kingdoms. After the fall of the Dwaraka federation, when Arjuna was taking the Yadav women of Dwaraka to Indraprastha, the Abhira tribes attacked him and took away the women and all the wealth.
Map of
"Bharatvarsha" (Kingdom of India) during the time of
Mahabharata and Ramayana. (Title and location names are in English.)
The Lord Krishna belonged to Ahir caste-:
Punjabi:
ਰਾਮ ਜਾਤ ਕਾ ਰੰਗੜਾ, ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ ਜਾਤ ਅਹੀਰ
ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਜਾਤ ਘੁਮਾਰ ਹੈ, ਸ਼ਿਵ ਕੀ ਜਾਤ ਫ਼ਕੀਰ
Hindi
राम जाति का रंगड़ा, कृश्न जाति अहीर
ब्रम्हा जाति किम्हार है, शिव जाति फ़कीर
Translation:
Rama is a Rajput, Krishna is Ahir
Brahma is a Kumhar by caste and Shiva is faqir
Nakula's military campaigning to the west
Nakula, lead his campaign from Indraprastha to the western regions, to collect tribute for Yudhisthira's Rajasuya sacrifice.
Nakula, the Pandava general, brought under subjection the mighty Gramaniya that dwelt on the shore of the sea, and the Suras and the
Abhiras that dwelt on the banks of the Saraswati, and all those tribes that lived upon fisheries, and those also that dwelt on the mountains, and the whole of the country called after the five rivers, and the mountains called Amara, and the country called Uttarayotisha and the city of Divyakutta and the tribe called Dwarapala.
Markandeya's prediction of powerful tribes in the future
Sage Markandeya explains to Yudhisthira about the rise of western tribes, and their influence on Bharata Varsha or Ancient India
The Andhhas, the Sakas, the Pulindas, the Yavanas, the Kamvojas, the Valhikas and the
Abhiras, then become (in
Kali Yuga, which is future for Yudhisthira), possessed of bravery and the sovereignty of the earth.
Abhiras in the List of Kingdoms of Bharata Varsha
In
Bhishama Parava, while narrating to Dhritarashtra the names of the Mountains, Rivers, Provinces etc of Bharata Varsha, Sanjaya includes the Abhiras in the list of its provinces and seems to locate them somewhere between the Mallas, Valhikas and the Aprantas (6,9).
i.e.
....the Valhikas , the Vatadhanas, the Abhiras, the Kalajoshakas; the Aparantas, the Parantas, the Pahnabhas, the Charmamandalas; the Atavisikharas, the Mahabhutas.....
In the same Parava, there is also reference to the
Sura-Abhiras who are listed among the tribes of north such as the Yavanas, the Chinas, the Kambojas, the Darunas, and many Mleccha tribes, the Sukritvahas, the Kulatthas (Kulutas), the Hunas, and the Parasikas, the Ramanas, and the Dasamalikas, the Daradas, the Kasmiras, the Khasiras, the Bharadvajas, and the diverse tribes of Kiratas, the Tomaras, the Hansamargas, and the Karamanjakas etc (6.9).
Participation in the Kurukshetra War
Bhutasarman, and Kshemasarman, and the valiant Karakaksha, and the Kalingas, the Singhalas, the Easterners, the Suras, the
Abhiras, the Daserakas, the Sakas, the Yavanas, the Kambojas, the Hangsapadas, the Surasenas, the Daradas, the Madras, and the Kalikeyas, with hundreds and thousands of elephants, steeds, cars, and foot-soldiers were stationed at its neck of the military formation formed by the Kaurava general Drona in Kurukshetra War.
Impact of Bhargava Rama on Abhira tribe
Dravidas and
Abhiras and Pundras, together with the Savaras, became fallen to low status, though those men who had Kshatriya duties assigned to them in consequence of their birth, falling away from those duties due to fear of Bhargava Rama.
Balarama's pilgrimage along Saraswati River
Then Balarama proceeded to Vinasana where the Sarasvati River hath become invisible in consequence of her contempt for the Suras, the
Abhiras. And since the Sarasvati, in consequence of such contempt, is lost at that spot, the Rishis, for that reason, always name the place as Vinasana. Having bathed in that tirtha of the Sarasvati, the mighty Bala Rama then proceeded to Subhumika, situated on the excellent bank of the same river
Tarikh-i-Sorath
Tarikh-i-Sorath
Mandalika the Abhira Ruler of Somnath, was also among the confederate princes who pursued Mahmud's army. Tarikh i sorath states Mahmud could not stand his onslaught and rather fled to save his life.
[40][41]
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- "Shah Mahmud took to his heels in dismay and saved his life, but many of his followers of both sexes were captured.... Turk, Afghan and Mughal female prisoners, if they happened to be virgins, were accepted as wives by the Indian soldiers.... The bowels of the others, however, were cleansed by means of emetics and purgatives, and thereafter the captives were married to men of similar rank.Low females were joined to low men. Respectable men were compelled to shave off their beards, and were enrolled among the Shekhawat and the Wadhel tribes of Rajputs; whilst the lower kinds were allotted to the castes of Kolis, Khantas, Babrias and Mers.
Ceramic goblet from Navdatoli,
Ahir as an ethnic category
According to M.S.A. Rao (an eminent sociologist), Yadava is an ethnic category consisting of several allied castes, which together constitute about one-tenth of the total population of India. These castes are found in different parts of India, Burma, Nepal and Sri Lanka and are known as the "Ahir" in the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan; the "Goalas" and "Sadgopa" or Gauda in Bengal and Orissa; Dhangar in Maharashtra; Yadava and Kurubas in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and Idayan and Konar in Tamil Nadu. There are also several sub-regional names such as Thetwar and Rawat in Madhya Pradesh, and Mahakul (Great Family) in Bihar.
M.S.A Rao further states that the Allahabad iron pillar inscription of Samudragupta (fourth century A.D) mentions the Abhiras as one of the tribal states of west and south west India, who paid homage to the emperor (churn, 1943:81). A fourth century (A.D) inscription found in Nashik speaks of an Abhira king, and there is proof that in the middle of the fourth century the Abhiras were settled in eastern Rajputana and Malwa. Similarly, when the Kathis arrived in Gujarat in the eighth century, they found the greater part of the country in the possession of the Ahirs. The Mirzapur district of the United Provinces has a tract known as Ahraura, named after the Ahir, and near Jhansi, another piece of country was called Ahirwar. The Ahirs were also kings of Nepal at the beginning of the Christian era. Khandesh and the Tapti valley were other regions where they were kings.
This indicates that the Abhiras, who rose to political prominence in the second century B.C., had a chequered political career until the fourteenth century A.D when their importance was over-shadowed by the Mughals, but even during the Mughal period the Ahir and Golla rajahs were a power to be reckoned with. The Gawlis rose to political power in Deogarh, on the Chhindwara Plateau in the central provinces. The Saugar traditions trace the Gawli supremacy to a much later date, as the tracts of Etawa and Khurai are held to have been governed by chieftains till the close of the seventeenth century (Russell, 1916:II, 20).
History of Ahir Kingdoms
Temple of Radha and Krishna in Barsana, Mathura. Yadavs/Ahirs go there for blessings.
Ahir kings ruled territory of the present-day India and beyond. At the beginning of the Christian era (CE), the invading Scythians and Kushans forced most of the Ahirs to lower Rajasthan in the Arbuda (Aravali region). In Marubhumi (Marwar), Saurashtra and Maharashtra areas, they served the local rulers and established their own rule. Ahirs laid the foundation of Ahir Batak town, which was called
Ahrora and was located in Central provinces, and Ahirwar in Jhansi district in 108 CE. Rudramurti Ahir became the chief of the army and later on the King. Madhuriputra, Ishwarsen and Shivdutta were well-known kings of this lineage. Ishwarsena, a great Ahir general, became master of Western Deccan in place of the famous Satavahanas. He took the title of Rajan and an era was named after him. His descendants continued to rule for nine generations. This generation of Abhira kings ruled for 167 years till last of them was ousted by their Traikutaka feudatory in AD 415.
It is generally supposed that Traikutika were a different dynasty of Abhira,
and hence are sometimes called Abhira-Traikutika.
Indradutta, Dahrasena & Vyaghrasena were well known kings from this dynasty.
]Traikutikas were known for their Vaishnava faith, who claimed to be Yadav of Haiheya branch
and Dahrasena performed Ashvamedha yajna too
Abhira Era started by Ishwarsena in AD 249, continued with them and was called Abhira-Traikutika era.
This era was later continued by Kalachuri Dynasty, calling it Kalachuri era, and later Kalachuri-Chedi era.
After the rule of five traikuta kings, they retired to central provinces and assumed the name Haiyhaya (Chedi) and Kalachuri.
Historians call this entire era as Abhira-Traikutika-Kalachuri-Chedi era
In a cave inscription at Nashik, references were made to an Ahir prince named Ishwersena, son of Shivdutta. Another inscription, found at Gunda and dated 181 CE, in the reign of the Kshatrapa Rudrasinha, described his general Rudrabhuti, who was called Ahir. When the
kathis arrived in Gujarat, they found the greater part of the country controlled by Ahirs. The old fort Asirgarh(short of Asa Ahir Garh), in Khandesh, retains the name of its founder Asa Ahir. For centuries the Ahirs were eclipsed as a political power in Haryana until the time of the Pratihara dynasty.
Ahirs ruled the whole of Haryana under the Mogul rule and later were declared as independent kings. Vātsyāyana also noted the Abhira kingdoms in the
Kama Sutra.Ahirs also ruled beyond the geographical borders of present-day India, as kings of the hilly terrain of Nepal. Eight kings of the first Ahir dynasty ruled Nepal, the first being Bhuktaman and the last Yaksha Gupta. Owing to pastoral disputes, this dynasty was replaced by another Ahir dynasty. The second Ahir dynasty had a succession of three kings: Badasimha, Jaymati Simha, and Bhuban Simha. Their rule ended when the
Kirati invaders defeated Bhuban Simha.
