Kullu District History | Brief explanation
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| Kullu District History |
(A)Paal Dynasty
The source of the princely state of Kullu –
‘Kullut Desh’ is described in the mythological texts of Kullu. The description of ‘Kullut’ is found in Ramayana, Vishnu Purana, Kadambari, Mahabharata, Markadanya Purana, Vrehatasamhita, and the Rajatarangini of Kalhan. In the Vedic literature, the country of Kullut has been called the land of Gandharva. Kullu Valley has also been called Kulantpeeth, as it was considered the end of the habitable world. The lineage of the princely state of Kullu A.P.F. Harcourt’s book is given in ‘Kullu and Lahaul – Spiti.’
Description of Hieun Tsang –
Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang has visited the princely state of Kullu in 635 AD. He told that the circumference of Kullu Princely state is 800 km, which was located 187km far away from Jalandhar. According to him, about one thousand Buddhist monks used to study Mahayana in the princely state of Kullu. Ashoka built a Buddhist stupa at Kullu in memory of Lord Buddha’s visit to Kullu. The Salari stone article Kullu provides information about the Gupt ruler Chandragupta.
Mahabharata period –
Hidimba, the Kul Devi of the princely state of Kullu, married Bhima. Ghatotkacha was the son of Bhima and Hidimba, who participated in the Mahabharata war. Bhima killed Hidimb (Tandi), which was the brother of Hidimba demon Devi.
Seven Wazirs of Kullu State:
1. Parol Waziri (Kullu City).
2. Waziri Rupi (between Parvat and Sainj Khad) (Kanwar region).
3. Waziri Lag Maharaj (from Sarvari and Sultanpur to Bajaura).
4. Waziri Bhangal (Chhota Bangahal region).
5. Waziri Lahaul
6. Waziri Lag Sarai (between Fozal and Sarwari Khad).
7. Waziri Siraj (divides Siraj into Jalori Pass in two parts).
Establishment of Kullu princely state –
Vihangmanipal established Kullu princely state after coming from Haridwar (Mayapuri). The ancestors of Vihangmanipal settled in Allahabad (Payara) to Almora and then to Haridwar. Vihangmanipal, after defeating the local jagirdars, initially started living in the house of Jagatsukh’s Chapiram. With the blessings of Bhagwati Hidimba Devi, Vihangmanipal established Jagatsukh (Nasta), the first capital of the princely state. Vihangmanipal, son Pachapal, defeated the king of ‘Gazan’ and ‘Bewala.’ It is the second oldest princely state after Trigarta.
Vishudpal –
After defeating Samant Karamchand of Naggar in battle, Vishudpal (son of Rajendra pal) shifted the capital of Jagatsukh to Naggar.
Rudrapal –
During Rudrapal, King Rajendra Sen of Spiti attacked Kullu and forced him to pay tax. Chamba also snatched the Lahaul region from Kullu.
Prashidh Pal –
Rudra pal’s grandson Prashidh Pal defeated King Chetmen of Spiti. He also got Lahaul liberated from the princely state of Chamba.
Datteshwar Pal –
During Datteshwar Pal, King Meruvarman of Chamba (660-700 AD) attacked Kullu and defeated Datteshwar Pal. He was killed in this war. Datteshwar Pal was the 31st king of the Pala dynasty.
Jareshwar Pal (780-800 AD) –
Jareshwar Pal liberated Kullu from Chamba with the help of the princely state of Bushehr. The king of Chamba was Lakshmi Varman at the time of Jareshwar Pal.
Naradapala –
He was a contemporary of King Sahil Varman of Chamba.
Bhuppal –
Bhuppal, the 43rd king of Kullu, was a contemporary of Veerasen, the founder of Suket State. Veerasen defeated Bhuppal in Siraj and held him captive.
Invasion of the Pal dynasty of neighboring states –
Bushahr, during Hastpal-2, Bangahal during Narinder Pal, Kangra during Nandpal, Suket during Keral Pal attacked and captured Kullu and forced them to pay attention.
Urdan Pal- (1418-1428 AD) –
The 72nd King Urdanapala of the Pal dynasty built the temple of Sandhya Devi at Jagatsukh.
The last ruler of the Pala dynasty – Kailash Pal (1428-1450 AD) –
Kailash Pal was the last king of Kullu with whom the title ‘Pal’ was used. Probably he was the last king of the Pala Dynasty.
(B) Singh Badani Dynasty –
Kullu remained under Suket princely state for most of the 50 years after Kailash Pal. The year 1500 AD, Siddha Singh established the Singh Badani dynasty. He made Jagatsukh his capital.
Bahadur Singh (1532 AD) –
After Siddha Singh, his son Bahadur Singh ascended the throne. He was a contemporary of King Arjun Sen of Suket. He conquered the Waziri Rupi and the Ranas and Thakurs of Siraj (in the 16th century) and annexed them into his kingdom. Bahadur Singh built a palace for himself in Makarsa. Makarsa was founded by Makas, son of Vidura of Mahabharata. Makas was married to the daughter of the ‘Tandi’ demon. The sage Vyasa raised Makas. The capital of the state was Naggar at that time. Bahadur Singh got his son Pratap Singh married to the daughter of King Ganesh Varman of Chamba. Bahadur Singh was followed by Pratap Singh (1559-1575), Partab Singh (1575–1608), Prithvi Singh (1608–1635), and Kalyan Singh (1635–1637) ruled Kullu under the Mughals.
Jagat Singh (1637-72 AD) –
Jagat Singh was the most powerful king of the princely state of Kullu. Jagat Singh captured Lag Waziri and the outer Siraj. He defeated Jogchand of Duggilag and Sultanchand of Sultanpur (the founder of Sultanpur) between 1650-55 and captured ‘Lag’ Waziri. Aurangzeb called him the ‘King of Kullu.’. Raja Jagat Singh of Kullu in 1640 AD Revolted against Dara Shikoh, and in 1657 AD refused to obey his decree. Raja Jagat Singh handed over the royalty to Raghunath Ji to be free from the guilt of suicide of a Brahmin of ‘Tipari.’. Raja Jagat Singh, in 1653 AD, installed the statue of Raghunath, bring by Damodar Das (Brahmin) from Ayodhya, and handed the royalty to the king. Dussehra of Kullu is celebrated on the Dhalpur plain of Kullu since the time of Raja Jagat Singh. In 1660 AD by Raja Jagat Singh, the capital shifted from Naggar to Sultanpur. In 1660 AD by Jagat Singh Raghunathji’s temple and the palace was built. Vaishnavism was preached in Kullu during Jagat Singh.
Vidhi Singh (1672-88) –
Raja Vidhi Singh assisted the Mughal army in the fight against Tibet, instead of which he got the part of Upper Lahaul. He also withdrew the portion between Chandrabhaga to Tandi from Chamba.
Mansingh (1688-1719) –
King Mansingh of Kullu attacked Mandi in 1700 AD and Captured the Gumma-Drang salt mines. He assisted his queen after the assassination of King Prithvipal of Bangahal by King Siddha Sen of Mandi and defeated the army of Mandi by seizing the part of Bid. He subdued Lahaul-Spiti and set the boundary of Tibet with the Lingti River. He merged Shangri with Kullu and taxed the kings of Kotgarh, Kumharsen, Balsan. He won the ‘fifteen-twenty’ part of the outer court from Bushehr and built three forts fifteen-twenty, davko-pochka, and tangusta were made there. The area of the princely state of Kullu became 10 thousand square miles during his reign. In the year 1719, the king of Kamharsen, along with the princely state of Bushehr, betrayed Mansingh in Srikot.
Raj Singh (1719-31) –
At the time of Raja Raj Singh, Guru Govind Singh Ji traveled to Kullu and asked for help against the Mughals, which the king rejected.
Jai Singh (1731-1742) –
During the time of Jai Singh, Raja Shamsher Sen of Mandi invaded Kullu and occupied the Chahaur area. Jai Singh resided in the Raghunath Temple in Ayodhya (fearing the Mughal Subedar of Lahore) and handed over the kingdom to his cousin, Tedhii Singh.
Tedhisingh (1742-67) –
Tedhi Singh, along with Vairagis, killed his opponents. During his reign, the people revolted by coming to the talk of dancer and sannyasin (Jai Singh’s sister-in-law). During the tenure of Tedhi Singh, the Ghamand Chand attacked Kullu. At the same time, Muslim fundamentalists broke the idols of the Bajaura temple. Raja Tedhi Singh did not have a legitimate child. Maid son (eldest of illegitimate children) Pritam Singh 1767 AD sat on the throne.
Pritam Singh (1767–1806) –
Pritam Singh was a contemporary king of Sansar Chand of Kangra, Raja Shamsher Sen of Mandi, and Raja Raj of Chamba. During his reign, Raj Singh of Chamba captured Bid Bangahal and imprisoned Wazir Bhagchand of Kullu, whom Raja Pritam Singh rescued by paying Rs 15,000.
Vikram Singh (1806-1816) –
After the death of Pritam Singh in 1806, Vikram Singh ascended the throne. In his reign, in 1810 AD, The first Sikh invasion of Kullu took place in which Sikh Diwan Mohkam Chand was leading. Vikram Singh gave tax to the Gorkhas for the Sagri region. Sansar Chand also collected tax from Kullu state.
Ajit Singh (1816-41) –
Vikram Singh’s married queen Rani had no children. Hence, after his death (in 1816 AD), Ajit Singh, son of Vikram Singh’s concubine, was put on the throne. At the time of Raja Ajit Singh, in 1820, A.D. William Moorecraft traveled to Kullu. He was the first European traveler to visit Kullu. Kishan Singh, the uncle of Raja Ajit Singh, attacked Kullu with the help of Kangra. Raja Ajit Singh defeated Kishan Singh with the help of Mandi and took him captive. Emir Shahshuja of Kabul took refuge in Kullu, which angered Ranjit Singh and demanded 80 thousand rupees as punishment. The Kullu army invaded Spiti in 1818 under the leadership of Wazir Shobha Ram’s brother. The Kullu army attacked Jaskar in 1818–19, with the help of the Lahaul army. General Ventura, with Mandi in 1840 AD, invaded Kullu and drove King Ajit Singh from the princely state of Kullu. At that time, Raja Ajit Singh was the Sikh Emperor. Raja Ajit Singh took refuge in the princely state of Sangri (under British protection), where he died in 1841 AD. Kullu State till 1840 to 1846 AD remained under the Sikhs.
British power and district formation –
March 9, 1846 AD after the First Sikh War. The princely state of Kullu came under the British. The British provided Baziri form to the rulers of Kullu independently to rule. Lahaul – Spiti on March 9, 1846 AD Was merged with Kullu. Spiti was combined with Ladakh to Kullu. In 1846 AD to Kullu, the congregation, the congregation was made by making a dal. The first assistant commissioner of the Kullu subdivision was Captain Hay. The headquarters of Siraj tehsil was the Banjar at that time. In 1862, Spiti was removed from Siraj and made Tehsil of Kullu. The year 1863 AD Viceroy Lord Elgin was the first Viceroy to come to Kullu. Lahaul-Spiti district was separated from the Kullu sub-division on June 30, 1960. Kullu subdivision was commissioned in 1963 AD In Punjab, the district of Punjab was separated from Kangra. Gurcharan Singh was the first Deputy Commissioner of the Kullu District. On November 1, 1966, AD Kullu district was merged with Punjab from Himachal Pradesh.