Dasharatha Sharma (1903–1976) was an

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is o ...

with particular interest in the history of the

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 ...

region of India. Born in the Rajasthani city of Churu, he studied in the city of

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of ...

and at the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

. He had degrees of Master of Arts (M.A.) in History and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and received a Doctor of Literature (D. Litt.) for his thesis, ''Early Chauhan Dynasties''.

Academic appointments

Sharma was the head of the Department of History at

Hindu College, University of Delhi Hindu College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi in New Delhi, India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in sciences, humanities, social sciences and commerce. In 2022, it is ranked 2nd nationally by Nationa ...

, and later was appointed Reader (equivalent of Associate Professor) in Ancient History at the

. In 1966, he was appointed as Professor and Head, Department of History at the University of Jodhpur (now renamed

Jai Narain Vyas University Jai Narain Vyas University (JNVU, formerly known as University of Jodhpur) is an educational institution in Jodhpur city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Established in 1962, the university took over the four colleges of Jodhpur run by the sta ...

) and later became Dean, Faculty of Arts at the same institution. After retirement from the University of Jodhpur, Prof. Sharma served as Director of the Rajasthan Puratattva Mandir near the

Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute is an organisation established by Government of Rajasthan to promote Rajasthani culture and heritage and to accumulate and maintain the old Rajansthani folk art work and folk literature. It was established in ...

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

. He also presided over the Ancient History section of the

Indian History Congress Indian History Congress is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 35,000 members. It was established in 1935. The name of any new applicant for membership needs to be proposed and seconded by existing Ordinary or L ...

in 1967 and the General History section of the Rajasthan History Congress in 1969.

Authorship

Sharma published over 400 research papers and notes on a wide range of subjects. His ''Early Chauhan Dynasties'' was first published in 1959, a revised edition was published in 1975 and reprinted in 2002. The manuscript argues that the

Agnikula In Indian culture, the Agnivanshi are people who claim descent from Agni, the Vedic god of fire. The Agnivanshi lineage (Agnivansha or Agnikula) is one of the three lineages into which the Rajput clans, the others being the Suryavanshi (descended ...

myth of the origin of

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 ...

was adapted from

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...

and calculates the year of birth for Prithiviraj III using planetary positions described in the ''Prithvirajavijaya''. It also attributes the success of

Muhammad Ghori Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...

to the rivalry between the

Chauhans Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

of Shakhambari and the

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

s (Solanki) of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. Amongst other subjects, ''Lectures on Rajput history and culture'' elaborates on the origin of the Rajputs, brings attention to the celebration in

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

after Prithviraj III was defeated at the

Second Battle of Tarain The Second Battle of Tarain was fought in 1192 between the Ghurid forces of Muhammad Ghuri and the Rajput Confederacy of Prithviraj Chauhan. It took place near Tarain (modern Taraori), which is , north of Delhi. The battle ended in a decisi ...

, follows the 13th-century Rajput struggle for survival, and discusses the Rajput resurgence represented by

Maharana Kumbha Kumbhakarna Singh (r. 1433–1468 CE), popularly known as Maharana Kumbha, was the Maharana of Mewar kingdom in India. He belonged to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs. Rana Kumbha is known for his illustrious military career against various sultan ...

and

Rao Jodha Rao Jodha Rathore(28 March 1416 – 6 April 1489) was a ruler of Mandore in the present-day state of Rajasthan. He was the son of Rao Ranmal (Rao Ridmal) of the Rathore clan. He is known for his illustrious military career and for founding the ...

. In 1960, Sharma was appointed by the Rajasthan State Archives as General Editor of a comprehensive history of Rajasthan to be published by the

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Rajasthan, a judiciary and a legislative. Jaipur is the capital of Raja ...

. This became the definitive work on the history of Rajasthan. Titled ''Rajasthan through the Ages'' this work was largely written by Sharma and was published in 1966. ''Samrat Prithiviraj Chauhan tritiya aur unka yug'' (in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

) is an updated text on Prithviraja III.

Monographs

*''Early Chauhan Dynasties:'' a study of Chauhan political history, Chauhan political institutions, and life in the Chauhan dominions, from 800 to 1316 A D :Dasharatha Sharma; with a foreword by

K.M. Panikkar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar (3 June 1895 – 10 December 1963), popularly known as Sardar K. M. Panikkar, was an Indian statesman and diplomat. He was also a professor, newspaper editor, historian and novelist. He was born in Travancore, then a ...

. *''Rajasthan through the ages'': a comprehensive and authentic history of Rajasthan, prepared under the orders of the Government of Rajasthan (Volume I) General Editor: Dasharatha Sharma. Publisher:

Rajasthan State Archives Rajasthan State Archives is an archive located in Bikaner city of Rajasthan state in India. It has a rich collection of administrative record of the Mughal period like Persian Farmans, Nishans, Manshurs, Akbarat, Vakil Report, Arzdasht, Khatoot a ...

, Bikaner, 1966. *''Lectures on Rajput history and culture'' (Raghunath Prosad Nopany Lectures 1966), Motilal Banarsidass, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi, 1970. .

Academic appointments

Authorship

Monographs

References

Further reading