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Agrasen, most commonly known as Maharaja (literally, ''great king'') Agrasen, was a legendary Indian king of Agroha, a city of traders in the district of
Hisar Hissar () means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar). Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to: Places Asia (South and Central) India *Hisar (city), a city in Haryana **Hisar Airport in Hi ...
,
Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
. He is a descendant of the
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
deity, Shri Ramchandra's elder son,
Kush KUSH 1600 AM is a radio station licensed to Cushing, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts a Full service format, consisting of local and national talk, sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, tha ...
. He is credited with the establishment of a kingdom of traders in Northern India named Agroha, and is known for his compassion in refusing sacrificial slaughter of animals in ''
yajna In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedas, Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature ...
s.'' Goddess
Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
bestowed prosperity for him and his descendants. The Agrawals, a community of traditional traders from northern India, regard Maharaja Agrasen as their forefather and a historical figure who established the foundations of their community in the Kingdom of Agroha. In fact, the term
Agrawal Agrawal (Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal'', ''Agarawala'', or Aggrawal) is a Bania caste. The Banias of northern India are a cluster of several communities, of which the Agrawal Banias, Maheshwari Banias, Osw ...
means "descendants of Agrasen" or "people of Agroha". The occasion of his birth anniversary called Agrasen Jayanti is celebrated in the Indian states of
Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
,
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
,
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
, and
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
where it is recognized as a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
or a gazetted holiday. The
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
in 1976 commemorated the 5100th
birth anniversary Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...
of Maharaja Agrasen by issuing a
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
depicting him, and so did
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
in 2016 as a tribute to the contributions of the
Agrawal Agrawal (Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal'', ''Agarawala'', or Aggrawal) is a Bania caste. The Banias of northern India are a cluster of several communities, of which the Agrawal Banias, Maheshwari Banias, Osw ...
community, a prominent business group in India, in the growing trade relationship between the Maldives and India. The eastern wing of the modern day
Agroha Dham Agroha is a Hindu temple complex in Agroha (town), Agroha of Hisar District, Haryana, India. Construction started in 1976 and was completed in 1984. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Mahalakshmi. History and development Agroha is t ...
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
is dedicated to Maharaja Agrasen, serving as a significant cultural and heritage center for the Agrawal community.


History

Bharatendu Harishchandra Bharatendu Harishchandra (9 September 18506 January 1885) was an Indian poet, writer, and playwright. He authored several dramas, biographical sketches, and travel accounts with the goal of influencing public opinion. Bharatendu Harishchandra i ...
(1850-1885), a renowned
Agrawal Agrawal (Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal'', ''Agarawala'', or Aggrawal) is a Bania caste. The Banias of northern India are a cluster of several communities, of which the Agrawal Banias, Maheshwari Banias, Osw ...
author and poet, compiled the legend of Maharaja Agrasen in his 1871 essay ''Agarwalon ki Utpatti'' ("Origins of Agrawals and Agrahari"). Bhartendu is not clear about his sources, stating that he compiled the legend from "tradition" and "ancient writings", naming one of these texts as ''Sri Mahalakshmi Vrat Ki Katha'' ("The Story of the Fast for Goddess Mahalakshmi"). He claimed to have found this text in a "later" part of the ''
Bhavishya Purana The 'Bhavishya Purana' (') is one of the eighteen major works in the Purana genre of Hinduism, written in Sanskrit. The title ''Bhavishya'' means "future" and implies it is a work that contains prophecies regarding the future. The ''Bhavishya ...
'', which exists in several recensions. However, subsequent researchers were unsuccessful in tracing this text in any published version of the ''"Bhavishya Purana''. In 1976, the Agrawal historian Satyaketu Vidyalankar published a copy of the ''Mahalakshmi Vrat Ki Katha'' in his ''Agrwal Jati Ka Prachin Itihas'' ("Ancient History of the Agrawal caste"). He states that he had found this copy in the personal library of Bharatendu Harishchandra; some academics note that this copy does not contain any clue about its origin.


Legend

Agrasen was a
Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
king of the Sūryavaṃśi dynasty who adopted the
Vanika Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Vedic Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of Varna hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking ...
dharma for the benefit of his people. He was the ruler of ''Khandavprasth'', ''Ballabhgarh'', and ''Agr
Janapada The Janapadas () () (c. 1100–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (sāmarājya) of the Vedic period in the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to ...
'' (present-day
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
,
Ballabhgarh Ballabgarh, officially Balramgarh, is a large town, nearby Faridabad, Faridabad city and a tehsil (subdistrict) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region (India), Delhi National Capital Region As was Gu ...
, and
Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
). According to Bharatendu Harishchandra's account, Maharaja Agrasen was born on 15th September 3082 BC, or in 4250 BC on the first day of
Ashvin Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; ; Malay/ Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar Tamil calendar, where it is known as Aippasi, and the solar Indian nation ...
Shukla Paksha Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the '' purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, ...
, in the last stages of
Dvapara Yuga ''Dvapara Yuga'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Dvāpara-yuga'') (Devanagari: द्वापर युग), in Hinduism, is the third and third-best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded b ...
, or the beginning of
Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'' (Devanagari: कलियुग), in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest, and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. I ...
. He was the eldest son of Sūryavaṃśi Maharaja Vallabhsen and Queen Bhagwati Devi of Pratapnagar (in present-day
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
) and the elder brother of Shursen. Maharaja Agrasen was claimed to be a 34th-generation descendant of the lineage of Lord Rama's elder son,
Kush KUSH 1600 AM is a radio station licensed to Cushing, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts a Full service format, consisting of local and national talk, sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, tha ...
. At the age of 15, Agrasen fought in the
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
war alongside the
Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...
.
Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...
proclaimed that Agrasen would be a ''yug purush,'' or "man of the age," and an
avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
in the
Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'' (Devanagari: कलियुग), in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest, and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. I ...
.


Marriage to Madhavi

He was married to Madhavi, the daughter of the serpent king
Nagaraja A Nagaraja ( ', ) is a king of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld ( Patala), and can occasionally take human form. Rituals devoted to these supernatural being ...
Kumud, with whom
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
was also smitten. When she chose Agrasen as her husband,
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
, the lord of thunderstorms and rain could not bear her loss and created a drought in Pratapnagar. The famine in Agrasen's kingdom forced him to go to war against Indra, but sage
Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...
brokered peace.


Agrasen's Austerities

Maharaja Agrasen went to the city of Kāshi and performed intense ''tapasya'' (austerity) for the welfare of his subjects. Pleased with his devotion,
Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...
advised him to perform ''tapasya'' for
Goddess Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
. Goddess Lakshmi, pleased with his selfless austerities, granted him a boon: “Establish a new kingdom and, while following the principles of
Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
, nurture and protect your kingdom and subjects! Your kingdom will always be filled with wealth and abundance.”
Goddess Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
is the
kuldevi A ''kuladevata'' (), also known as a ''kuladaivaṃ'' (), is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism. Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion (''bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, ...
of (many) Agrawals.


Agrawal gotras

Per Bharatendu Harishchandra, the Agarwals are organized into seventeen and a half
gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...
s (
exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of mating or marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which tw ...
clans), which came into being from seventeen and a half sacrifices performed by Agrasen. The last sacrifice is considered "half" because it was abandoned after Agrasen expressed remorse for the violent animal sacrifices. Bharatendu also mentions that Agrasen had 17 queens and a junior queen, but does not mention any connection between these queens and the formation of the gotras. Neither does he explain how sacrifices led to the formation of the gotras. Historically, due to regional differences there has been no single unanimous list of these seventeen and a half gotras. In 1983, The Akhil Bhartiya Aggarwal Sammelan, a major organization of Agrawals (also Baranwals), ratified a list of Agarwal gotras. To avoid classification of any particular gotra as "half", the Sammelan provides a list of following 18 gotras: The list does not include several existing clans such as Kotrivala, Pasari, Mudgal, Tibreval, and Singhla.


See also

* Agrasen Jayanti * Agrasen ki Baoli * Maharaja Agrasen International Airport, Hisar


References


Bibliography

{{ref end


External links


Maharaja Agrasen
at agrasen.com Legendary Indian people People from Hisar district