Aphariya (Abhirya) also spelt as Affariya, Afariya or Phariya) is a subclan of
Yaduvanshi Ahirs
Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...
. Aphariyas ruled the
Ahirwal state of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
.
[Ahīravāla kā itihāsa, madhyayuga se 1947 ī. taka By Kripal Chandra Yadav · (1967)]
History
Aphariyas belonged to
Yaduvanshi
Yadu () is the founder of the Yadu dynasty in Hinduism. He is described to be the eldest son of King Yayati, and his queen, Devayani.
Legend
According to a narrative found in the Mahabharata, and the Vishnu Purana, Yadu refused to exchange h ...
clan of
Ahirs
Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...
who on the basis of their military power and cultivable land holdings proved to be dominant.
In early 8th century Charu Rao had established a local feudal state in
Tijara
Tijara is a city and a municipality in Alwar district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Tijara comes under the NCR area and is situated 48 km to the northeast of Alwar. The nearest railway station to Tijara is Khairthal. Bhiwadi is a census ...
with
Tijara
Tijara is a city and a municipality in Alwar district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Tijara comes under the NCR area and is situated 48 km to the northeast of Alwar. The nearest railway station to Tijara is Khairthal. Bhiwadi is a census ...
as its capital, many Yaduvanshi Ahirs founded jagirs in its vicinity, and
Rewari
Rewari is a city and a Municipal Council in Rewari district in the Indian state of Haryana. King of Rewari is Rao Onkar Singh.It is located in south-west Haryana around 82 km from Delhi was one of them. All the
jagirdar were under the dominant leader Charu Rao and 18 generations of Aphariya ruled the
Ahirwal region of present-day southern
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
and North-Eastern
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
.
Rao Nand Ram from the Aphariya clan was the governor of
Rewari
Rewari is a city and a Municipal Council in Rewari district in the Indian state of Haryana. King of Rewari is Rao Onkar Singh.It is located in south-west Haryana around 82 km from Delhi during the reign of
Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
emperor
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
. His eldest son Rao Bal Kishan who got killed at
Karnal in 1739, fought for Mughals against
Nadir Shah
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...
. In recognition of his services, his brother Rao Gujar Mal was made Governor of
Hissar along with
Rewari
Rewari is a city and a Municipal Council in Rewari district in the Indian state of Haryana. King of Rewari is Rao Onkar Singh.It is located in south-west Haryana around 82 km from Delhi and given the
mansabdar
The Mansabdar was a military unit within the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar. The word ''mansab'' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system determined the rank and status of a government official an ...
i of 5000 zat and shortly afterward set up a semi-independent principality at
Gokalgarh by building forts and issuing his own coin. His descendants fought against
Jats
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...
,
Marathas,
Afghans
Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...
and
Rajputs
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
alternatively, and their political history was practically identical to that of the former leaders of the clan.
Rao Tula Ram was the famous last noble from the clan and was one of the leaders of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Haryana. After the rebellions were crushed by Britisher, he left India and went to Iran and Afghanistan to raise the army but at age of 38 died due to dysentry.
At their zenith the Rewari kingdom consisted of 360 villages, but the British reduced them to 45, and these, too, were taken away during the reign of Tula Ram due to his conduct during mutinies of 1857.
In the
Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
period, the Aphariya, the Kausaliya and the Khola were the major Ahir aristocratic clans in undivided
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
now
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
who had direct contact with the Mughal state. They were conceived as
Chandravanshi
The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities (''Som ...
-
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
in the region. The term Yaduvanshi derives from
Yadu
This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions.
From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern p ...
, one of the ancestors of god Krishna. The royal clans represented the Rewari kingdom as part of the mythical ‘Yadava Hindu State’ and they portrayed themselves as descendants of Krishna. They claimed to originate from Mathura town: Krishna’s birthplace so they named Rewari’s fort Gokalgarh and their coins Gokul Sikka, in honor of the village of Gokul where Krishna spent part of his childhood, ‘they took the name of Krishna in marching against their enemies.
Legacy in Ahirwal Region
Coinage
![Gokul Sikka 2 - Rewari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Gokul_Sikka_2_-_Rewari.jpg)
Royals of Rewari minted coins, known as Gokal Sicca (rupees), which were in circulation at
Farrukhnagar at the time of the first Independence Movement of 1857.
Details about the coin:
Yaduvanshi Aheer, Rajas of Rewari
Mint - Gokalgarh
Denomination - Rupee
Weight - 10.8 gram
In the name of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II
Issue date - AH 1212, AD 1797,
Obv - Julus Maimanat Manus Jarb Gokalgarh, RY 41
Rev - Muhammad Shah Alam Ilah Hami e din haft Kishwar date AH 1212
Condition - fine
Rarity - Scarce
Bada Talab
Bada Talab was built by Rao Tej Singh during the year 1810-1815, so it is also known as Rao Tej Singh Talab. The pond is situated near the old Town Hall of Rewari. It is filled with rainwater or canal through underground inlets. There is a separate bathing provision for females and males in the pond. A temple of Lord Hanuman is situated on the bank of Bada Talab. A large number of people visit this famous temple for prayer.
Baag Wala Talab
![Baag wala Talab - Rewari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Baag_wala_Talab_-_Rewari.jpg)
Baag Wala Talab is situated near the old Tehsil office
Rewari
Rewari is a city and a Municipal Council in Rewari district in the Indian state of Haryana. King of Rewari is Rao Onkar Singh.It is located in south-west Haryana around 82 km from Delhi . It was built by Rao Gujjarmal, presently it's maintained by ASI and in very neglected conditions.
[{{Cite web, url=https://haryanatourism.gov.in/Destination/baag-wala-talab, title=Baag Wala Talab | Places of Interest | Rewari | Destinations | Haryana Tourism Corporation Limited]
References
Ahir