Nurpur kingdom in the Himalayan foothills of India was founded in 1064 A.D at north-eastern

Bari Doab ''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...

between the

Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (rapper) (born 1993), a Sou ...

and the Beas rivers at the fusion of Kangra, Duggar,

Majha Majha ( ''Mājhā''; ; from "mañjhlā" )Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ , is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region, presently split between the republics of Pakistan and India. It extends north from the ...

, Dharab and Chamba areas which ended in 1815. The remnants of Nurpur kingdom exist as ruined forts, restored temples, water bodies, and canals in Nurpur

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

, Fatehpur tehsil,

Pathankot Pathankot () is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the sixth most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal ...

tehsil, Dhar Kalan tehsil, Jawali tehsil, Indora tehsil, Bhattiyat tehsil, and Sihunta tehsil.Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 19, p. 232.
/ref> Godinscription

History

The Nurpur kingdom, originally known as Dhameri (धमेरी/دھمیری/ਧਮੇਰੀ), was founded towards the middle of the 11th century by

Tomaras of Delhi The Tomaras of Delhi (also called Tomar dynasty in modern vernaculars due to schwa deletion) ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana in India during 8th–12th century. Their rule over this region is attested to by multiple inscriptions ...

. Jhetpal the founder of Nurpur Kingdom in 1064 A.D was the younger brother of Anangpal II of

Tomara dynasty The Tomaras of Delhi (also called Tomar dynasty in modern vernaculars due to schwa deletion) ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana in India during 8th–12th century. Their rule over this region is attested to by multiple inscriptions ...

from the family of King

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

of Mahabharata fame, 2250 years before him. King

Vikramaditya Vikramaditya (Sanskrit: विक्रमादित्य IAST: ') was a legendary king as mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi, Vetala Panchavimshati'' and ''Singhasan ...

who began the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas belonged to the same lineage. The principal era to which the luni-solar system is exclusively adapted is that of Vikramaditya, called Samvat. The prince for whom it was named was of the Tuár dynasty and is supposed to have reigned at Ujjain (Ujjáyini). Tomar Raja Mahipal a k.a Kunwar Pāla (1021-1051) of Delhi in 1043 defeated

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

's grandson Mawdud of Ghazni and liberated the Nagarkot fort.

's fifth son Abd al-Rashid (1049-1052) appointed Hastagin Hajib as the governor of Punjab and recaptured liberated Nagarkot fort in 1052 after the death of Raja Mahipal. Late Raja Mahipal's brother Jhetpal Tomar led an expeditionary force to protect Trigarta king Jagdish Chand of

Katoch Katoch is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan. Their areas of residence are mainly in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, and the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Traditionally resided in Kangra Fort, Trigarta King ...

dynasty and successfully recaptured the Kangra fort in 1060 AD. In retaliation,

Ibrahim of Ghazna Ibrahim of Ghazna (b. 1033 – d. 1099) was sultan of the Ghaznavid empire from April 1059 until his death in 1099. Having been imprisoned at the fortress of Barghund, he was one of the Ghaznavid princes that escaped the usurper Toghrul's massac ...

(1059-1099) sent his son, Mahmud, with an army of ''ghazis'' consisting of 40,000 cavalry to raid

Doab ''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...

Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, between 1063 and 1070. Due to these constant attacks

Trigarta Kingdom Trigarta (also known as Kangra and Jalandhara) was an ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom based in the region of modern day Punjab. The focal point of its administration was situated in Jalandhar. However at its zenith it encompassed the hill terri ...

shifted its capital from

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

to Kangra Fort in 1070 A.D. and to double secure Kangra Fort Jhetpal Tomar overpowered the garrison of

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...

Kiladar Kuzbak Khan stationed at Paithan Fort,

which was the gateway to

Kangra Valley Kangra Valley is a river valley situated in the Western Himalayas.River Ravi and River Beas from the plains of Badi doab. Raja Jhetpal, after the death of

in 1099 permanently stationed his garrison at Pathankot and the territorial surname Pathania became surname of clan. Nurpur reached its peak between 1580 and 1613 during the reign of Raja Basu Dev who built an impressive fort that can still be seen today but his son

Suraj Mal of Nurpur Suraj Mal (r. 1613–1618) was a Rajput ruler of Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country ...

was driven away by Mughals in 1618. In 1620 the change of name from Dhameri to Nurpur was done by Raja Jagat Singh to honour Mughal emperor and empress as 'Nur' was a common prefix to their names Nur-ud-din Muhammad

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

and

Nur Jahan Nur Jahan (; 31 May 1577 – 18 December 1645), born Mehr-un-Nissa was the twentieth wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. More decisive and proactive than her husband, Nur Jahan is considered by certain historians to have be ...

. Nurpur kingdom paid taxes after it came under Mughals. It rebelled when taxes were raised to 66% and the settlement took place after the War of Taragarh 1640–1642. Till 1739 kingdom remained a feudatory state of

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

and became independent during

Campaigns of Nader Shah The campaigns of Nader Shah (), or the Naderian Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought in the early to mid-eighteenth century throughout Central Eurasia primarily by the Iranian conqueror Nader Shah. His campaigns originated from the overth ...

. During Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani from (1747-1767) Raja Fateh Singh survived the invader but Raja Prithvi Singh (1770-1805) expelled Muslim branch of Pathania (1650-1781) based at Shahpurkandi Fort near Shahpurkandi dam project colony, they migrated to Pakistan in 1947. Also, Prithvi Singh forced his brother Inder Singh ( Rey branch) whom he considered as claimant of Nurpur kingdom to take exile in 1779 at Mahal Moriyan Fort

Kangra State Kangra-Lambagraon was a historical state and later princely estate (''jagir'') of British India located in the present-day state of Himachal Pradesh. The rulers of the estate belonged to the ancient Katoch dynasty which had ruled the former ...

(presently at Mehal Khas, Bhoranj, Hamirpur), they later migrated to Rey in 1823 after the death of

Sansar Chand Sansar Chand (c. 1765 – 1824) was a Punjabi Rajput ruler of the erstwhile Kangra State in what is now the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Early life Sansar Chand was a scion of the Katoch dynasty, which ruled Kangra for centuries until t ...

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

appointed Inder Singh's son Ishri Singh as courtier in the Lahore durbar and awarded Rey jagir. Ishri Singh was also brother-in-law of

Dhian Singh Raja Dhian Singh (22 August 1796 – 15 September 1843) was the longest serving wazir of the Sikh Empire, during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and the brief rule of four of his successors over four years. He held the office for twenty fiv ...

, the longest reigning prime minister of

from 1818-1843. Raja Bhir Singh had to face threats from all sides bordering

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

, Gorkhas,

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. Ultimately after just 10 years of his reign

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

the final winner of the contest annexed Nurpur kingdom in 1815. Raja Bhir Singh retook the Nurpur in 1846 but died fighting at the gates of Nurpur Fort. His struggle was continued by his son Raja Jaswant Singh Pathania and his uncle's son 'Bansein Wazira' :hi:राम सिंह पठानिया, who resorted to

guerilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

warfare but was captured by deceit from

Lakhanpur, Jammu Lakhanpur is a town and a notified area committee in Kathua district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Lakhanpur is the entrance to Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab and rest of India. It is a sparsely populated area about from ...

Fort by

Jammu and Kashmir (princely state) Jammu and Kashmir, also known as Kashmir and Jammu, was a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with the Company rule in India, British East India Company from 1846 to 1858 and under the ''Suzerainty#British_paramountcy, paramountcy'' (or t ...

which was under British control. The state was annexed by the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in 1849 and the last ruling monarch of Nurpur, was given Rs 5000/- financially compensated by the British for the loss of his state.

Kings

The rulers of Nurpur bore the title '

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

* Raja Jhet Pal * 12th century – 1313 Uncertain number of successors * 1313 – 1353 Raja Jas Pal * 1353 – 1397 Raja Kailas Pal * 1397 – 1438 Raja Nag Pal * 1438 – 1473 Raja Prithi Pal * 1473 – 1513 Raja Bhil Pal * 1513 – 1558 Raja Bakht Mal * 1558 – 1580 Raja Pahari Mal * 1580 – 1613 Raja Basu Dev * 1613 – 1618 Raja

Suraj Mal Maharaja Suraj Mal (13 February 1707 – 25 December 1763), simply known as Suraj Mal, was a ruler of Bharatpur State in the present-day state of Rajasthan. Under him, Bharatpur State, a tributary of the House of Scindia, covered the present ...

* 1618 – 1646 Raja Jagat Singh * 1646 – 1661 Raja Rajrup Singh * 1661 – 1700 Raja Mandhata Singh * 1700 – 1735 Raja Dayadatha * 1735 – 1770 Raja Fateh Singh * 1770 – 1805 Raja Prithvi Singh * 1805 – 1815 Raja Bhir Singh * 1846 – 1849 Raja Jaswant Singh (state annexed by the British) (d. 1898) * 1898 – 1952 Raja Gagan Singh * 1952 – 1960 (titular) Raja Devendra Singh

Forts

Nurpur (Dhameri) Fort

Fortified by Raja Vasudev after Pathankot was overtaken by Akbar in the 16th century. It was sacked in 1618 and 1640 by Mughals and remained the main seat of the royal family till 1849.

Taragarh Fort

This fortress was captured by Raja Jagat Singh Pathania from Chamba state and was secretly fortified by him and his sons in preparation for his infamous rebellion against Mughals(1640–42). This fort was never seized or captured. However, Raja Jagat Singh Pathania was persuaded to stop the war against the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

. Shahjahan knew that Jagat Singh could not be browbeaten and he could use his help in times of war. Therefore, he sent for a compromise on mutually agreed terms. The folklore associated with the siege of the fort goes that the Mughals forces cordoned off the fort for such a long time that they planted mango plants which fruited before the end of the siege (this place near taragarh fort today is called ''Amb ka Bagh'' literally meaning Mango orchard). Yet this long siege could not break the will of Raja jagat Singh and his men whose ration had diminished. According to folklore the men of Raja Jagat Singh one day to fool cordoning forces used the milk of female dog (who had been given litter inside fort but fed in Mughal camp) to prepare a ''kheer'' (milk pudding) and threw it outside the fort. When the cordon commander of Mughal forces saw this he died of shock and the news reached the Mughal emperor who was forced to negotiate with Raja Jagat Singh Pathania.

Pathan Fort

The very first fort after which the Pathania became a surname is now in ruins. Today, Fort Road and Gulmohar Resthouse exists on a top of a small hill at that very location.

Temples

Brijraj Mandir Nurpur Fort

It is the biggest shrine representing the Nurpur kingdom. The temple inside the fort called Brij Raj Swami was built in the 16th century and is known to be one of the only places where both the idols of Lord Krishna and Meera Bai are worshiped.

In Folklore

Legend of Brij Raj temple built in 1613, inside Nurpur Fort is a

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

statue which lied in ruins of Fort

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (; also Chitror or Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It wa ...

during Mughal occupation from (1568-1616). Raja Basu was sent to capture Rana of Mewar ( Udaipur)

Amar Singh I Maharana Amar Singh I, the Maharana (ruler) of Mewar Kingdom (16 March 1559 – 26 January 1620), was the eldest son and successor of Maharana Pratap I. He was the 14th Rana of Mewar, ruling from 19 January 1597 until his death on 26 January ...

where he died at thana Jhalawar in September 1613. His sons, especially Raja

must have accompanied Raja Basu although Raja Jagat Singh is reputed to have halted at Chittorgarh in the night and heard the sound of "ghungroo" and smell of Mollesary and someone reciting bhajan with "tanpura" outside in the ruins of Fort Chittor. When he told this episode to the learned Brahmin, he was advised by him that he had transcended into the twilight of Mira-Krishna and thus as a tribute to his enlightenment should smuggle the same very statue which Mira worshipped to hills where it will be safe from the barbaric hands of Mughals. The erected temple in Nurpur Fort closely resembles that of the Hari dev temple, built by

Raja Bhagwant Das Raja Bhagwant Das ( – 4 December 1589) was the 23rd ruler of Amber. He also served as the Mughal Subahdar of Lahore and the Subahdar of Kabul for a few months in 1586. His step-sister, Mariam-uz-Zamani, was the chief consort of Mughal empero ...

Govardhan Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of an MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of Legislative Assembly) of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Uttar ...

(1557), and of the Govind Dev Ji Temple shrine, erected by Mansingh in Sarii.

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of ...

(1590), as per ASI report, destruction of temple took place in (1618) when

rebelled. The frescoes in Diwan-i-Aam mentions the establishment year as (1610), while the statue was hidden underneath the pond during uncertain times. Thakur dwara was repaired and the statue was recovered in peaceful times by Raja Mandhatta (1661-1700) (grandson of Raja Jagat Singh). In 1886 ASI discovered the ruins of a temple which were excavated in 1904. The shrine was safely buried in the pond in 1618 when the Fort was besieged and there were no chances of survival by Raja

. The shrine came into the dreams of Raja Mandhata (1671-1700) who drained the pond and restored shrine's former glory.

Kali Mata Mandir Nurpur Fort

Patronised by Raja Jagat Singh who practiced his battlefield strategies by playing chauper (chess) with Devi. The temple seems to be rebuilt at the old location.

Raja ka Bagh

On the foots of Fort Mau, established at a 'bauli' (natural spring) to honour a snake born along with Raja Nag Pal in the 14th century. Descendants who believe their lineages from Nurpur kingdom offer the first hairs of their newly born sons.

Ratte Ghar Wali Mata

This temple is visible from some majorly parts of Nurpur, because it is located at high location. It is believed that this temple has the divine power, if someone pray for something then their wish is definitely fulfilled. For visiting this temple one should need go from a village named Baduhi, otherwise a backward road from Jassur town also keep you to this temple.

Gallery

File:Entrance to the Nurpur fort from inner view.jpg, Exit of the Nurpur Fort File:View of Ravi river from Nurpur fort.jpg, West view from Nurpur fort

References

{{coord, 32.3, 75.9, region:IN-HP, display=title History of Himachal Pradesh Nurpur kingdom