Garhwal
The literal meaning of Garhwal is ‘country of forts’ or ‘country of gadh’ (glen). The Kingdom consists of many steep mountain ridges which divide each other by deep glen. This state was ruled by three dynasties, Katyuri dynasty (8th – 11th century), Chand dynasty (14th –15th century) and Shah Dynasty (1815 – 1949 AD). During British Raj, it came under the authority of ‘Punjab Hill States Agency’. Garhwal is situated currenctly in the Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi district. It was merged with the Union of India in August 1949.
Garhwal area was ruled by various kingdoms from
ancient period to independence. It was also mentioned
in Hindu texts, one of which says that Kedarnath
area was home to aboriginal Hindu people. This
region was under Kuninda Kingdom from 2nd BCE to
3rd AD. Later, from 6th AD to 11th AD, it came under
the Katyuri Kings or Kumaon. Thereafter, Kumaon
was replaced by Chand Kings who ruled over the fragmented principalities of Garhwal. Huen Tsang
mention in his travelogue about this region and
named it as Brahmapura in 629 AD. The earliest
known dynasty which ruled this region was Katyuris.
The origin of Garhwal kingdom can be traced from
ancient Panwar clan of Agnivansha Rajputs. They
arrived from Gujarat in 688 AD. Kanak Pal from
Gujarat got married to the daughter of Kedarnath’s
King. He fell in love with the beauty of the hills and
decided to retire in this region. This led to the
gradual process of shifting petty nobles and other
members of the state to this region. Raja Som Pal,
twenty third successor of Kanak Pal succeeded in
establishing hegemony over the Garhwal territory.