Abhira tribe

The Abhira tribe (Ahirs) were a people mentioned in ancient Indian epics and scriptures as early as the Vedas.[1] A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.

Etymology

Etymologically, he who can cast terror on all sides is called an Abhira.[2] In Sanskrit, A is a prefix to imply opposite of any word and bhīru(भीरु) means afraid.

History

Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya says that the Abhiras are mentioned in the first-century work of classical antiquity, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. He considers them to be a race rather than a tribe.[3] Scholars such as Ramaprasad Chanda believe that they were Indo-Aryan peoples.[4] but others, such as Romila Thapar, believe them to have been indigenous.[5] The Puranic Abhiras occupied the territories of Herat; they are invariably juxtaposed with the Kalatoyakas and Haritas, the peoples of Afghanistan.[6]

According to Jayant Gadkari tribes such as Vrusni, Andhaka, Satvatas and Abhiras after a period of long conflicts came to be known as Yadavas.[7]

In the Padma-puranas and certain literary works, the Abhiras are referred to as belonging to the race of Krishna.[8]

There is no certainty regarding the occupational status of the Abhiras, with ancient texts sometimes referring to them as warriors, pastoral and cowherders but at other times as plundering tribes.[9]

Along with the Vrishnis, the Satvatas and the Yadavas, the Abhiras were followers of the Vedas, who worshipped Krishna, the head and preceptor of these tribes.[10][11]

In archaeological inscriptions Abhiras are mentioned as belonging to the race of Lord Krishna.[12][13] According to K. P. Jayaswal the abhiras of Gujarat are the same race as Rastrikas of Emperor Asoka and Yadavas of the Mahabharatha.[14][15]

Connection to Ahir

According to Ganga Ram Garg, the modern-day Ahir caste are descendants of Abhira people and the term Ahir is the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit term Abhira.[11] Bhattacharya says that the terms Ahir, Ahar and Gaoli are current forms of the word Abhira.[3] This view gets support in many writings. However, it is also said that the Ahirs do not appear to be fully representative of the ancient Abhiras.

M. S. A. Rao and historians such as P. M. Chandorkar and T. Padmaja have explained that epigraphical and historical evidence exists for equating the Ahirs with the ancient Abhiras and Yadava tribe.[16][17][18]

Rule of the Konkan

From 203 to 270 the Abhiras ruled over the whole of the Deccan Plateau as a paramount power. The Abhiras were the immediate successors of the Satavahanas.[19]

Abhiras of Gupta empire

During the reign of Samudragupta (c. 350), the Abhiras lived in Rajputana and Malava on the western frontier of the Gupta empire. Historian Dineshchandra Sircar thinks of their original abode was the area of Abhiravan, between Herat and Kandahar, although this is disputed.[20] Their occupation of Rajasthan also at later date is evident from the Jodhpur inscription of Samvat 918 that the Abhira people of the area were a terror to their neighbours, because of their violent demeanour.[20] Abhiras of Rajputana were sturdy and regarded as Mlecchas, and carried on anti-Brahmanical activities. As a result, life and property became unsafe. Pargiter points to the Pauranic tradition that the Vrishnis and Andhakas, while retreating northwards after the Kurukshetra War from their western home in Dwarka and Gujarat, were attacked and broken up by the rude Abhiras of Rajasthan.[21] They were the supporters of the Duryodhana[22][23] and Kauravas, and in the Mahabharata,[24] Abhir, Gopa, Gopal[25] and Yadavas are all synonyms.[26][27][28] They defeated the hero of Mahabharatha war, and did spare him when he disclosed the identity of the members of the family of Sri Krishna.[29] The Gopas, whom Krishna had offered to Duryodhana to fight in his support when he himself joined Arjuna's side, were no other than the Yadavas themselves, who were also the Abhiras.[30][31][32] The Abhiras also have been described as Vrata Kshatriyas.

The Abhiras did not stop in Rajasthan; some of their clans moved south and west reaching Saurashtra and Maharashtra and taking service under the Satavahana dynasty and the Western Satraps.[33] Also founded a kingdom in the northern part of the Maratha country, and an inscription of the ninth year of the Abhira king Ishwarsena.[34][35]

References

1. Dhume, Anant Ramkrishna Sinai (1986). The Cultural History of Goa from 10000 B.C.-1352 A.D. Ramesh Anant S. Dhume. p. 158.
2. Soni, Lok Nath (2000). The Cattle and Stick. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 14.
3. Bhattacharya, Sunil Kumar (1996). Krishna — Cult in Indian Art. M.D. Publications. p. 126. ISBN 9788175330016.
4. Chanda, Ramaprasad (1969). The Indo-Aryan races: a study of the origin of Indo-Aryan people and institutions. Indian Studies: Past & Present. p. 55.
5. Thapar, Romila (1978). Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations. Orient Blackswan. p. 149. ISBN 978-81-250-0808-8.
6. Miśra, Sudāmā (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana.
7. Jayant GadKari (1991). Society and Religion. 53. Gopson Papers. p. 184.
8. Garg, Dr Ganga Ram. Encyclopaedia of Hindu world. Concept Publishing. p. 113.
9. Malik, Aditya (1990). "The Puskara Mahatmya: A Short Report". In Bakker, Hans (ed.). The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature. Leiden: BRILL and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies. p. 200. ISBN 9789004093188.
10. Radhakrishnan, S. (2007). Identity And Ethos. Orient Paperbacks. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-8-12220-455-1.
11. Garg, Dr Ganga Ram. Encyclopaedia of Hindu world. Concept Publishing. p. 113.
12. T, Padmaja. Ay velirs and Krsna. University of Mysore. p. 34.
13. Garg, Dr Ganga Ram. Enyclopedia of Hindu world. Concept Publishing. p. 113.
14. Mularaja solanki. "The Glory that was Gūrjaradeśa, Volume 1". History. Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 30.
15. K P Jayaswal. "Hindu Polity". History. Bangalore Print. p. 141.
16. Guha, Sumit (2006). Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991. University of Cambridge. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-521-02870-7.
17. Rao, M. S. A. (1978). Social Movements in India. 1. Manohar. pp. 124, 197, 210.
18. T., Padmaja (2001). Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu. Archaeology Dept., University of Mysore. pp. 25, 34. ISBN 978-8-170-17398-4.
19. Numismatic Society of India (1991). The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India. 53. the University of Michigan. pp. 91–95.
20. Sharma, Tej Ram (1989). A political history of the imperial Guptas: from Gupta to Skandagupta. Concept Publishing Company. p. 87. ISBN 978-81-7022-251-4.
21. Jain, Kailash Chand (1972). Ancient cities and towns of Rajasthan: a study of culture and civilization. Motilal Banarsidass.
22. Man in India – Google Books. 17 July 2007.
23. Man in India, Volume 54-page-39
24. Ancient Nepal
25. Regmi, D. R. (1 December 1973). Ancient Nepal – D. R. Regmi, Nepal Institute of Asian Studies – Google Books.
26. Kapoor, Subodh (2002). Encyclopaedia of ancient Indian ... – Subodh Kapoor – Google Books. ISBN 9788177552980.
27. Rao, M. S. A. (14 December 2006). Social movements and social ... – M. S. A. Rao – Google Books.
28. Rao, M. S. A. (14 December 2006). Social movements and social ... – M. S. A. Rao – Google Books.
29. Singh Yadav, J. N. (28 August 2007). Yadavas through the ages, from ... – J. N. Singh Yadav – Google Books. ISBN 9788185616032.
30. Man in India – Google Books. 1974.
31. Shah, Popatlal Govindlal (13 February 2009). Ethnic history of Gujarat – Popatlal Govindlal Shah – Google Books.
32. Ethnic history of Gujarat
33. Haryana: studies in history and culture. Kurukshetra University. 1968. p. 44.
34. Bhattacharya, Sunil Kumar (1996). Krishna-cult in Indian art. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 10. ISBN 978-81-7533-001-6.
35. Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra; Altekar, Anant Sadashiv (1967). Vakataka – Gupta Age Circa 200–550 AD. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 143. ISBN 978-81-208-0026-7.