Mohan (Mohyal)
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- For other uses of the word "Mohan", see Mohan
Mohan is a famous Brahmin clan from the Punjab. They are one of the seven clans of the Mohyals who are Saraswat Brahmins of the Punjab. The six other clans are Bali, Bhimwal, Chhibber, Datt, Lau, and Vaid. Punjabi Brahmins other than Mohyals include Barahis(Twelvers), Bawanjais(Fifty-twoers) and Athwans(Eighters).
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[edit] Gotra
Mohans are the descendants of Rishi Kashyapa, one among the seven Saptarishis from whom they get their Kashyap gotra. He was the fabled founder of the Kashmir region. A long line of his descendants was devoted to the worship of snakes and enjoyed supremacy in Kashmir.
[edit] Origins
After the conclusion of the Kurukshetra War, Ashwathama went into exile and one of his associates was named Mohan. Some Mohyal historians consider him to be the initiator of the Mohan sect.
Kashmir was the homeland of the Mohans, so it could be possible that its original rulers were the ancestors of these people. The Mohans ruled Kashmir for two hundred and fifty three years, from 602 to 855.
[edit] Durlabh Drohin
Durlabh Drohin was a stable keeper in the court of Baladitya, the king of Kashmir. The king married him to his only daughter and made him the heir to the throne, as he had no son. When Baladitya died in 602 AD, Durlab Drohin succeeded him. Shortly after his coronation he celebrated his second marriage, this time with the daughter of Raja Chach, the Chhibber ruler of Sindh. From this marriage he had a son, Virambhak, whom he proclaimed as heir.
[edit] Lalitaditya
Virambhak’s third son, Lalitaditya ascended to the throne in 699 AD and ruled for thirty-six eventful years. He extended his dominion up to Konkan in the South after conquering Kanauj, Malwa and Gujarat. He was an ambitious man and he founded a new city called Lalitpur, where he built a majestic sun temple.
After the death of Lalita Aditya, there was chaos and half a dozen rulers changed hands in a period of ten years, till a great monarch named Jeaped rose on the scene. He ruled with great distinction for forty-three years from 746 to 789. He brought fame and glory to his reign and was credited with extensive conquests of new territories including Nepal.
With the demise of king Jeaped, the glory and grandeur of the Mohans' dynastic rule in Kashmir waned and whittled down. His son and half a dozen incumbents who followed him squandered away their of the family kingdom and led to its disintegration. The rule of the Mohans was finally wrapped up in 855 AD.
[edit] Pothi Rai Seegadh and Jangnama Mohan
The early history of the Mohan clan was documented in the form of a book called Pothi Rai Seegadh. A later version appeared at the turn of the century under the title of Jangnama Mohan.
[edit] The Mohans migrate to Mathura
Russel Stracey’s history of the Mohans starts from the time of their migration to the holy city of Mathura. Curiously, Mathura at different times became the camping ground of almost castes of Mohyals. Being the divine fortress of peace, it offered ready shelter to those who were driven to its portals in distress or struck by calamity, as was often the case with the Mohyals. They became luckless fugitives, time and again, due to political turmoil or following attacks. Morover as militant Brahmins, they were called upon to defend the holy city against barbarians and iconoclasts.
[edit] In Delhi
In the fourteenth century, Bhagwan Das made Mathura his home. He had three sons named Gokul, Mathura Das and Hari Kishan. Hari Kishan later on shifted to Varanasi. His son, Abinashi Ram went on a pilgrimage of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers and reached as far as Delhi. At Delhi, he won the favour of Timur, who appointed him as his Dewan. The two sons of another Mohan dignitary, Maya Das were made commanders of the royal army.
[edit] Dhankot
When Timur departed from Delhi after defeating Mahmud Tughlaq and ravaging Delhi, he appointed Sultan Mohammed Khan as the surrogate ruler. It was during his reign that Dewan Hira Nand and Dewan Rai Mohan rebuilt the town of Dhankot on the banks of the river Indus.
Dhankot on the Indus was the ancient home of the Mohans. It was during the raid of Mahmud of Ghazni on India that Raja Sukhpal Mohan of Peshawar converted to Islam. Mahmud’s son, Sultan Masood ousted the Mohans after capturing Dhankot. They lived in the hills in unsettled conditions under the protection of the Gakhars and later shifted to the plains.
[edit] Mamdot
Rai Thakur was a famous Mohan during the period of Alauddin Khilji. His son, Jaswant Rao adopted the Muslim faith in 1306 and became a favourite of the ruler. He was able to arrange the grant of a big jagir in Mamdot for the five sons of his deceased brother. Mamdot became a prestigious Dheri of the Mohans and a nostalgic symbol of the entire clan.
Babar, the first Mughal emperor, appointed an eminent Mohan, Harjas Rai as his Dewan. This was a period of glory for the Mohans as several members of clan shot into the limelight and were conferred with titles and jagirs. Mamdot in district Ferozepur remained their bastion of power.
In a short time Mamdot became such a stronghold of the Mohans that Humayun sent a large force to curb them. The Mohans fought bravely but were outnumbered. In the savage war, they were totally wiped out. The only ones to survive were an aged family patriarch, Baba Sahib and his son, Sobha Ram Thakur.
[edit] Sobha Ram
Sobha Ram was taken prisoner and deported to Delhi where he was posted as manager to the royal household. He distinguished himself in his job and was promoted to a higher rank in the imperial court. At this time, the Datts living in Veeram (in Amritsar district) were in great trouble as they were being persecuted by the Jats who had confiscated their lands. The aggrieved Datts approached Baba Sahib for help. He urged his son, Sobha Ram to take necessary action. Sobha Ram headed a big force and recovered all the captured land of the Datts. At this turn of events, out of gratitude a leading Datt offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. Sobha Ram accepted but with the condition that the marriage would be celebrated at their ancestral town of Mamdot. Eventually he arranged the marriage of that girl with Baba Sahib, as he was anxious to save his clan from extinction. Two sons begotten from this marriage are regarded by some as the forerunners of the subsequent generations of Mohans. Baba Sahib bequeathed to his descendants to make a suitable donation on the occasion of marriage or other celebration, to perpetuate the memory of his son. His wishes are carried out to this day and Mohan families offer a lota (vessel) and some eatables on all festive occasions.
The Mohans of Pind Dadan Khan are regarded as the direct descendants of Baba Sahib while those of other places as having descended from the relatives of those who survived the mayhem at Mamdot. The Mohans were decimated to such an extent in the holocast at Mamdot that they have still not recovered their old strength and constitute only 5% of the total population of the community.
[edit] In modern times
In modern times, Mehta Balmukund Mohan (1871-1969) was a scion of the historical Mohan family of Mamdot.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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The seven Mohyal clans |
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| Bali | Bhimwal | Chhibber | Datt | Lau | Mohan | Vaid |
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