The Pundir (also spelled Pandeer, Pandir, Pundhir, Pundeer or Poondir) is a
Suryavanshi clan of
Rajput
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 ...
s based in Uttarakhand and Western Uttar Pradesh, one of the thirty six royal Rajput clans. The word itself is derived from the Sanskrit word "Purandara" (पुरन्दर) literally meaning "the destroyer of enemy" or "the destroyer of cities". The Pundir Rajputs hold riyasat in Nahan, Garhwal, Nagaur and Saharanpur where their Kuldevis are situated. Their
shakha is Koolwal and their Kuldevis are
Shakumbhri Devi Saharanpur and
Dhadimati Mata in Saharanpur and Rajasthan along with Punyakshini Devi in Garhwal. They belong to
Pulastya gotra. Most of the Pundirs are today based mainly around the North Indian states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand.
Origin
The Pundir clan has its origins from Raja Pundarik, the fourth king in line after
Kusha. Pundarik is revered as a Rishi and his temple is situated in Katheugi village of the Kullu district in the state of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
. The Rishi is depicted as a white Nāga, and in the Puranic lore ''Pundarik'' is the name of a White Naga. Kusha, the first born of Sita and Ram, is said to have been the progenitor of the Pundirs.
Martial history
Pundirs were the most powerful military vassals of the
Prithviraj Chauhan
Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present- ...
Empire of Delhi after the 10th century. Chandra Pundir, the ruler of
Haridwar
Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district.
The city is situated on the righ ...
, was a great feudatory of Emperor Prithviraj Chauhan. Chandra Pundir, his son, Dhir Singh Pundir, and grandson, Pavas Pundir sacrificed in the struggle with the Turks. After the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain in AD 1192, the rule of the Turks was established in the country. Even so, the Pundir state remained in Haridwar for two centuries.
Eric Stokes noted that
Distribution
The author Vidya Prakash Tyagi writes, according to information he attributes to another writer, Elliot
References
Further reading
*
Dadhimati Mata Temple
*Evatt, John T. ''Historical Record of the Royal Garhwal Rifles'' (p. 78; p. 103)
*Roy, K. ''The Construction of Regiments in the Indian Army: 1859-1913. War in History, 1 April 2001, vol. 8, no. 2'' (pp. 127–148)
*Bajpai, Shiv Chandra. ''The Northern Frontier of India: Central and Western Sector'' (p. 23)
*Siddiqi, Jamal Muhammad. ''A Historical Survey: Ancient Times to 1803 AD'' (p. 124; p. 180)
{{Rajput Groups of India
Rajput clans
Rajput clans of Uttar Pradesh
Rajput clans of Uttarakhand