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Kangre Da Tilla - Memories of a Now Forgotten Invasion

कांगड़े दा टीला ओ माता, गर्वे सिंघे घेरिया। अकबर कांगड़े चढ़ आया ओ मेरी माँ। सुत्ती ऐ की जाग दी तू, जाग अम्बे रानिये। गर्वे ने पाई लिया घेरा ओ मेरी माँ। A very famous bhajan from Kangra of Mata Bajreshwari Devi, remembered often across north-west India today, talks of the Kangre da Tilla or the Mound of Kangra, referring to the place where Bajreswari Devi is present. She is popularly also know as Kangra Mata, and the legend is that the place was set up by burying the kaan or ear of an asura who was killed by the Pandavas on the orders of the Devi. There are such bhajans for other major temples in the region as well, but as a history enthusiast, this one often draws my attention.  The story of Kangra is as much the story of the civilizational wounds that the plains experienced; or perhaps it was worse, given how many times temple desecrations were made a conscious strategy. This song, at some level, seems to pass on the memory of one such gory experience that was witnessed by the peopl...
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The Bengali Ancestry of Suket and Mandi's Sen rulers

Raja Shamsher Sen of Mandi and Raja Ranjit Sen of Suket


Suket and Mandi were two states that were relatively recent in their formation like Kullu. Interestingly, the Sen rulers of Suket and subsequently Mandi is traced back to a Chandrabansi lineage, linking them to the Pandava clans that ruled around Indraprastha.

While it may be difficult to postulate accurately that bit of ancestry, it is interesting to note how the ancestry moves subsequently into Bengal. It is here that our attention is drawn, captured in the history of the region and the connections with Bengal.

Khemraj, who was the last ruler of Delhi, had been replaced by his Wazir. He retires towards Vanga desha, or present day Bengal and set up the Gaudiya Sena dynasty of eastern Bengal. The capital of these Sena rulers was in Lakshmanpuri, along the river Ganga. An important ruler was the last one, Lakshman Sena, which was brought to an end by the invading Muhammad Khilji in 1206 AD, despite having expanded it into present day Assam and Odisha. What happens next, as per the bansaabali is quite a read.

Lakshman Sena's son, Rup Sena, moves towards Northwest India. He settled in Rupar near Ambala (present day Ropar), but got attacked by the Khiljis again. In the process, three sons to Rup Sena - Bir Sen, Giri Sen and Hamir Sen - escape into the hills.

Bir Sen later brought the feuding Ranas and Thakurs of Suket under his rule to create the Sen dynasty of Suket. Giri Sen did the same in Keonthal in Shimla district of today to set up the Keonthal Sen dynasty. Hamir Sen entered Kishtwar in the Chenab valley, and set up the Kishtwar Sen dynasty near Jammu.

While this legend, as B R Beotra in his 'Gazetteer of the Suket State' may have felt exaggerated to an extent, it certainly is in the realm of possibility. Alexander Cunningham ascribed an earlier date of the 8th century AD. His assessment, with which Beotra too agreed to an extent, noted the entry of a cadet of the Sena dynasty of Bengal named Vir Sen, which he believed happened earlier. However it is interesting that the link exists, and may be possible because there is evidence to suggest the same with other dynasties too. A Kannauj offshoot of The Palas of Bengal has been linked with the establishment of the rolling dynasty of Kullu. What it certainly demonstrates is that the route and the certainly known by that time, and they too were contemporaries of the Sena dynasty. Therefore, the claim is certainly meritorious to an extent. Of course, it requires greater postulation on part of historians.

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Kangre Da Tilla - Memories of a Now Forgotten Invasion

कांगड़े दा टीला ओ माता, गर्वे सिंघे घेरिया। अकबर कांगड़े चढ़ आया ओ मेरी माँ। सुत्ती ऐ की जाग दी तू, जाग अम्बे रानिये। गर्वे ने पाई लिया घेरा ओ मेरी माँ। A very famous bhajan from Kangra of Mata Bajreshwari Devi, remembered often across north-west India today, talks of the Kangre da Tilla or the Mound of Kangra, referring to the place where Bajreswari Devi is present. She is popularly also know as Kangra Mata, and the legend is that the place was set up by burying the kaan or ear of an asura who was killed by the Pandavas on the orders of the Devi. There are such bhajans for other major temples in the region as well, but as a history enthusiast, this one often draws my attention.  The story of Kangra is as much the story of the civilizational wounds that the plains experienced; or perhaps it was worse, given how many times temple desecrations were made a conscious strategy. This song, at some level, seems to pass on the memory of one such gory experience that was witnessed by the peopl...
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