Burdak (Hindi: बुरडक) is a surname found in the countries of Eurasia, Australia and United States. In India, Burdak is a clan of the Jat people and Bishnois.
Burdak is a surname of the Jat community in India, found primarily in northwest Rajasthan, which indicates membership in the Burdak Gotra. The origin of Burdak surname seems to be of Iranian. Burdak Jats are considered to be the descendants of Maharaja Bahuka (बाहुक)[1], who was a Suryavanshi King, son of Vrika. Bahuka had been 33 generations earlier than Rama of Ramayana in the ancestry of Suryavansha.[2] Burdak is an Agni kula ("Fire Born") lineage Jat clan included in Chauhans.[3] They write Burdok in the north-east region of India.
As per records of the Bards the Jat Gotra Burdak started after Rao Burdakdeo of Dadrewa. Rao Burdak Dev went to Lahore to help Raja Jai Pal of Hindu Shahi dynasty to fight against Mahmud of Ghazni . He died in war in V.S. 1057 (1000 AD) and his wife Tejal of gotra Shekwal became sati in Dadrewa . Her chhatri was built on the site of Dadrewa pond in samvat 1058 (1001 AD). Rao Burdakdeo’s elder son Samudra Pal went to Vaihind near Peshawar in Pakistan to help Raja Anand Pal and was killed there in war. Samudra Pal’s wife Punyani became sati in samvat 1067 (1010 AD) at Sambhar. [4]
Burdak branch of Chauhans moved from Sambhar to Ajmer to Dadrewa and finally to Sarnau. They built a fort there and settled at Sarnau located near Harsh and Jeenmata and ruled from 975 AD - 1258 AD. Sarnau was made Jagirdari of Burdaks under Raja Mahi Pal of Delhi in samvat 1032 (975 AD). Burdaks survived at Sarnau till 1258 AD when they were exterminated by Dhakas under the rule of Delhi Badashah Nasir-ud-din Mahmud (1246–1266). They grew from sole survivor Nanak Burdak (1259-1319) and spread to other parts of Rajasthan.
According to Dr Mahendra Singh Arya and others [5], they are considered to be the descendants of Maharaja Wardak (वरडक). The records of Kushan ruler Huvishka (140-183 CE) have been unearthed at Wardak, to the west of Kabul.[6] The existence of Wardak province and Chaki Wardak District in Afghanistan, probably, indicates their migration from Afghanistan to India.
Hathigumpha inscription is about king Kharavela at Bhubaneswar. At the same place there is one minor inscription in "Manchapuri cave inscription 'B' (Lower storey)" . This inscription has been engraved on the right wall of Veranda, to the :right of the entrance to the right-hand side chamber of the main wing, consisting of one line. This inscription is probably about a Burdak prince. The text is presented below in Devanagari script:
कुमारो वडुखस लेणं. Translation - [This is] the cave of Prince Vaḍukha.
The Burdak gotra of Jats are probably related with Virudhaka. Virudhaka (विरूढक) (IAST: Virūḍhaka, Pali: Viḍūḍabha) was son of Raja Prasenjit and king of Kashi. Soon after usurping the prosperous kingdom built up by his father Bimbisara, the parricide Ajatashatru went to war with his aged uncle Prasenjit, and gained complete control of Kashi. Just after this Prasenjit, like Bimbisara, was deposed by his son Virudhaka, and died. The new king, Virūḍhaka (in Pali Viḍūḍabha), then attacked and virtually annihilated the little autonomous tribe of Shakyas, in Himalyan foothills, and we hear no more of the people which produced the greatest of Indians, the Buddha. [7] Probably Virudhaka, like Ajatashatru of Magadha, had ambitions of empire, and wished to embark on a career of conquest after bringing the outlying peoples, who had paid loose homage to his father, more directly under the control of the centre; but his intentions were unfulfilled, for we hear no more of him except an unreliable legend that he was destroyed by a miracle soon after his massacre of Shakyas. A little later his kingdom was incorporated in Magadha. [7]
Alexander Cunningham found a sculpture of Virudhaka at Bharhut stupa in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh. [8] There is an inscription in a scene at Bharhut which reads as under:
The name "Burdak" derives from a legend of Parashurama. Upon this deity's apparent destruction of the entire Kshatriya varna, a single boy-child survived as a result of a Jat woman's hiding the boy by burying him, covering him in sand. The boy's name in Hindi, "Burdak", derives from a combination of the words "Bura" and "Dhaka", meaning "buried" and "covered", respectively. All Burdaks are said to descend from this single male.
With the defeat of Prithiviraj Chauhan in the Second Battle of Tarain (1192) and establishment of Muslim rule in North India in the form of the Delhi Sultanate, Jats moved to the countryside and started tilling the land. As part of this Jat exodus, Burdaks moved out from Delhi with 50 horses and founded the village of Sarnau near Jeenmata in Sikar Rajasthan. All modern-day Burdaks in Rajasthan are descendants of a single child born of a Kharra Gotra woman, the sole survivor of the massacre of Burdaks by members of Dhakas Gotra in Sarnau.
Maharaja Abhay Singh, Ruler of Marwar (Jodhpur) state wanted to fell green Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) trees at village Khejarli to burn lime for the construction of his new palace. Since, there was a lot of greenery in the Bishnoi villages even in the middle of Thar desert, they protested to protect the trees and 363 Bishnois were massacred in the process. Out of these martyrs 3 persons were from Burdak clan. This incidence is considered to be the origin of Chipko movement. It was on Tuesday 10th day of the bright fortnight of the month Bhadrapad (Indian lunar Calendar) in 1730 A.D. The brave Bishnoi lady Amrita Devi played a historical role in this incidence.
Gotra wise number of these martyrs was as under: Achara (1), Badaderi (1), Badiyani (1), Chotiya (1), Degipal (1), Dudan (1), Geela (1), Goyal (1), Janwar (1), Javalia (1), Juriya (1), Kalirani (1), Khavi (1), Khichar (1), Kupasiya (1), Lamba (1), Maal (1), Rinwa (1), Seegar (1) Tadi (1), Vaasu (1), Adeena (2), Bhadiawas (2), Bola (2), Jhangu (2), Manjhu (2), Punia (2), Thalod (2), Bhanwal (3), Burdak (3), Chahar (3), Dhatarwal (3), Potalia (3), Rahad (3), Siyol (3), Badiya (4), Dhayal (4), Isram (4), Karhwasra (4), Bhangarwas (5), Dukia (5), Khava (6), Khileri (6), Lol (6), Nain (6), Sahu (6), Sinwar (6), Dhaka (8), Dara (10), Dudi (10), Kaswan (10), Khod (10), Khokhar (10), Panwar (10), Sihag (13), Not clear (22), Jani (15), Saran (18), Babal (22), Beniwal (25),
Countries where the Burdak surname is found include:
Afghanistan, Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, England, Galicia, Germany, Hungary, India, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Moldavia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Yugoslavia
Palthana, Mandeta and Gothra (Tagalan) villages in Sikar district are the main villages of Burdaks in Rajasthan. Major concentration of Burdak population is in Danta Ramgarh tahsil in Sikar district in Rajasthan. Presently there are about 400 families of Burdaks in village Gothra (Tagalan) of Sikar district which is the epicentre of all Burdaks. Many Burdak families moved from Gothra (Tagalan) village to Mandeta village in Sikar district. There are about 400 families of Burdaks in village Mandeta. Palthana village is inhabited with about 250 Burdak families, 50 families in Ghirania Bara.
Imliwala Phatak, Indira Nagar, Jhotwara, Kailaspuri, Mokhampura, Murlipura Scheme, Narayan Nagar, Purani Basti, Shanti Nagar, Tejaji ki Bagichi,
Biharipura Sawli (6), Datuli (12), Dhamana (4), Gopalpura Mandawri (1), Jekampura, Jhag (50), Junsiya, Keria Khurd (1), Rampura, Sakhoon, Surmalikpur, Turkyawas,
Burdak inhabited Villages in Jhunjhunu district are:
Badet, Bai Jhunjhunu (2) Bhadunda Khurd, Birol (40), Burdak Ki Dhani (Patoda Tain), Chetpura, Dhani Burdakan Kaliyasar, Dhani Burdakan Badet, Kaliyasar, Patusar, Pipal Ka Bas (Bajisar), Rayla Jhunjhunu,
Aranya Jhadli (2), Bagdi (2), Jhadli (2), Kurad (5),
Villages with number of families in Churu district are: Balrasar, Sulkhania (20), Ratangarh (15), Thathawata (15). Khari Khudi, Loonas,
Akhaipura (अखैपुरा), Arjunpura, Badagaon (30), Banuda (11), Bhagatpura, Bandha Ki Dhani (Jeenwas) (22), Bara Gaon, Bar Ka Charanwas, Bhakharo Ki Dhani, Bharija, Bhauji ki Dhani (1), Bijarnia Ki Dhani (Khud), Birol, Bhuma Chhota, Burdakon Ki Dhani (80)(Bheema), Chachiwad Bara, Chainpura, Chandeli Ka Bas, Chandeli Ki Dhani, Chelasi, Chandpura (100), Chokha Ka Bas (Losal), Danta, Dheejpura (100), Dhod, Dukia, Ghirania Bara, Ghirnia Chhota, Gothra (Tagalan) (400), Govati, Gumanpura Ramgarh, Gungara, Jajod (Srimadhopur), Jeenwas, Jewli, Jhajhar Sikar (5), Kalyanpura Shekhisar, Karanga Bara, Khachariawas, Khatushyamji, Kheri Jajod, Khud, Kochhor, Khoor, Laxmi Pura, Mailasi (200), Mandeta, (400) Mohanpura, Nani, Nashanwa, Nathdwara, Palas, Palthana, Piprali, Raghunathpura Sikar, Rajpura Sikar, Rampura Dhayalan, Ranoli, Rasidpura, Roopgarh, Rulyana Patti, Sankhu, Sanwali, Sangalia, Sarnau, Sawai Laxmanpura, Sihot Chhoti, Sihot Bari, Sikar, Sulyawas, Sutot, Teja ki Dhani, Thethalia, Tulsirampura, Udaipura (50), Umara, Vijaipura,
Akoda, Asha Ki Dhani (Peepakuri), Baldoo (4), Bhakaron ki Dhani, Bharnava, Bhincharon Ka Bas (Nalot), Bodala Bera, Buldakon Ki Dhani (Jhareli), Charanawas, Dabra (Jhareli), Daudsar, Der Ki Dhani (Jusari), Dugoli, Ghatwa Nawa, Girdharipura, Jusari, Kacholia, Kalwa, Karwan Ki Dhani (Daudsar), Khojas, Kuriyon Ki Dhani (Borawar), Lalashri (5), Loonoda, Naurangpura (200), Rampura, Rasal, Ratia Ka Bas (Suratpura Nawa), Saniya, Sardarpura Khurd, Sheshma Ka Bas, Tiloti,
Bhairu Chhani (Bhadra), Kurda Chhani (Bhadra), Dabli Kalan, Sikrodi,
Bhootya Khurd (45 f),
Variants of the Burdak surname include:
Buldak, Burdach, Burdács, Burdak, Burdák, Burdakas, Burdakevich, Burdakin, Burdakoff, Burdakov, Burdakova, Burdán, Burdáts, Burdavkiné, Burdick, Burdik, Burdock, Burjak, Burrak, Burraq, Buryat, Spin Buldak, Buldick, Buldock, Buldok, Bardak, Vardak, Wardak