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Steeped in history

Ancient coins of the Indo-Greek era and broken pieces of earthenware belonging to the Maurya empire have been found in Naurangabad, near Bhiwani, in Haryana, writes Dev Brat Vashisth

According to historians and archaeologists, in ancient India the hamlet of Naurangabad was a prosperous and flourishing place with a mint of world-class standard, where coins were moulded. Naurangabad was also the capital of the Yodheyas empire. It is strange that neither the Archaeological Department of the Central Government nor of the state government took interest in carrying out a survey and excavating land in the area to know more about the ancient history of Indian culture and social life. Besides Naurangabad, many other hamlets are scattered here and there in the state of Haryana. Naurangabad is situated at a distance of 9 km from Bhiwani on the Rohtak road.

According to some historians and as mentioned in Sanskrit manuscripts, the old name of Naurangabad was Prakatanak. In the past, remains of the Sandheva culture and coins of the Indo- Greek era and broken pieces of earthenware have been found here. Remains of the Sandheva culture and coins of the Maurya empire have also been found in this area. Casting moulds of coins have been found here in the past, too. Names like Kauishka, Huvak and Vasudeva were found inscribed on these coins. Some of these had the word Yodheyanamjaimantri engraved. Nandi (conveyance of Lord Shiva) can also be seen on the coins.

In the past a large number of small and big earthen toys, stone statues, pots and other domestic items were found. On one earthen toy a soldier riding a lion is shown, which symbolises bravery. On some other coins bulls are shown differently. This proves their belief in religion. Engravings of Lord Shiva and goddess of wealth Luxmi are also shown, besides forms of Kamla and Gaja Luxmi. God of fortune and wealth Kubera holding a pot of honey in one hand and a bag of money in the other is shown engraved on another household utensil.

Earthen pots and toys found indicate that there was no impression of Buddhism or Vashnava religion or culture in this part of the country during that period. The earthenware found includes dinner pots, small plates, drinking water wares, vegetable pots, flour farinaceous pans and food-preserving big-size pots.

Many different types of ancient articles like coins, pots, earthenware items and toys found were taken away by villagers. These were later destroyed or thrown away since they didn’t know their value. Bricks found were bigger in size as compared to the present normal size bricks. Such bricks are currently being used for domestic purposes. During the sixties a temple known as Jai Baba Khere Wale Ki was constructed in front of an accident zone, where many fatal accidents took place. This temple is popular among truck and bus drivers. They stop their vehicles at this point to offer prayers at the temple.

People have now started constructing unauthorised structures in this place. Digging of earth has become a routine. It appears that during the Vedic period, in the Ganga-Yamuna belt, there existed prosperous kabilas by the names of Soveer, Shivi, Kath, Yodheya, Agreya, Kaninda, Shudrak, Kalakh and others. The kabilas are also mentioned in the Mahabharata. During that period, these kabilas were governed by the panchayati system in place of the strict Brahmin caste system. Due to this the Brahmins described the inhabitants as degraded. The inhabitants of this region gave priority to Lord Shiva and performed puja of the Linga. The worship of Luxmi, the goddess of wealth, and Yakshpati Kubera was also in practice.

After the great war of Mahabharata was over, the Arya empire became weak and these kabilas became more powerful. According to certain intellectuals, after the fall of the Maurya empire, these kabilas governed the rich belt of Haryana.

Yodheyas Gana was a unique republic in which priority was given to higher castes. Members of reputed families only were elected to parliament. Leaders were elected on the basis of bravery and caste. Prakatanak (at present Naurangabad) was their capital. There were two more administrative units. One was at Rohtak and the other at Sirsa. The armed forces and the judicial system were governed by able leaders. People were prosperous.

Beside coins, many seals of Yodheyas have also been found in Haryana from time to time. In 1936, historian Birbal Sahni discovered a large number of Yodheyas coins moulded in the mint at Khokrakot in Rohtak.

To know about the social background, economy and culture of this region, coins are an authentic source of knowledge. India’s old coins are known as Aahat coins, which were found at Khokrakot, Agroha, Thehpolar, Naurangabad, Sudh, Chaneti, Hansi and Hisar.

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