Garhwal garh chiefs

Who he is

Title

Chiefs of the garhs (hill forts); a Panwar line at Chandpur Garhi by the later tradition

Since

not known

Born

not known

Family

The Panwar house traces itself to Kanakpal about 888; the lists of Atkinson and Mola Ram are late. By the tradition the fifty-two garhs were united only in the fourteenth century by Ajaypal.

Confidence

low

Wikipedia Kingdom of Garhwal; no source for 1200.

What it holds

• Chandpur Garhi and the garh forts
• The Alaknanda crossing at Srinagar (a place, not yet a capital)
• Devprayag at the meeting of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi
• The pilgrim stations of the high shrines

How it was acquired

Hereditary.

Allies and rivals

Kumaon's Katyuri branches to the east, the Himachal hill thakurais to the west, Tibet's Guge to the north.

How things stand that morning

A mosaic of forts. The "kingdom of Garhwal" is a later construction.

Wealth

Pilgrim traffic, salt-road tolls, bhotia trade across the passes.

Military

Garh garrisons; no numbers.

Threats

• None named

Places of note

• Chandpur Garhi: garh of the Panwar tradition
• Devprayag: confluence town
• Srinagar (Alaknanda crossing): crossing, not yet capital

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign board entry has Srinagar as "the Alaknanda crossing"; we follow. The capital at Srinagar is later.
• The word "Garhwal" meaning a kingdom is later than 1200; the 52 garhs are the better picture.

Evidence: Late lists only.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: District block over a country of garhs.

Primary sources for Hill rajas

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The River of Kings, with Jonaraja's continuation, Kalhana; continued by Jonaraja (Kalhana 1148 to 1150; Jonaraja about 1459). Kalhana's chronicle stops in 1149, so for 1200 the witness is Jonaraja, writing three centuries later and very briefly. Read online
• The Gopala Raja Chronicle, and the Nepalese colophons, Anonymous (chronicle); various scribes (colophons) (the chronicle about 1389; the colophons are contemporary notes of the 11th to 14th centuries). The Nepal valley in 1200 is known chiefly from dated manuscript colophons and short inscriptions, which name the reigning king with the Nepal era year, and from the Gopalarajavamsavali, a chronicle written about 1389 that lists the kings with regnal years.