Great Mohyal Kings

A new generation of 'Vaid 'rulers also arose in the ninth century.

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Bachanpal

The foremost in the line was Raja Bachanpal who ruled for fifty years. His empire touched Afghanistan.

Jaipal

Raja Jaipal who ruled from 951 to 1002 AD was a distinguished king. His capital was at Ohind and his writ ran all over Northern India, fromKashmir to Multan. Sebük Tigin the slave king of Ghazni stormed into India and after conquering Sindh and ransacking Multan, advanced toLahore. In AD 977, Jaipal attacked to the kingdom of Sebük Tigin. To avenge his defeat Subkutgin mounted a second attack on Jaipal. Jaipal suffered an ignominious defeat in spite of the reinforcements provided by the friendly rulers of Kannauj, Kalinjar and Ajmer. After the death of Sebük Tigin in 997, his son Mahmud of Ghazni made his first independent assault on Jaipal in AD 1001. A pitched battle took place in Peshawar in which nearly fifteen thousand soldiers of Jaipal were killed and he along with fifteen other members of the Royal family. They were chained and taken to the Baghdad slave markets to be paraded and sold off to Arab merchants, while the royal women were kept in harems.

Anandpal

The new Vaid king, Raja Anandpal, inherited the throne as well as the war of retribution with Mahmud in 1002. He called a convention of the Hindu rulers of Kannauj, Kalinjar, Gwalior, Ujjain and Ajmer and urged them to forge an alliance against the common foe. His campaign roused so much patriotic fervor amongst the people against the enemy that men volunteered for recruitment in the army while women donated their ornaments to help the cause.

With a powerful army at his command, a spirited Anandpal attacked Mahmud at Ohind in 1009. He pushed him beyond the Indus and recovered all the territory that his father had lost. However, at that crucial moment, the elephant of Anandpal, having been severely wounded on his trunk by a poisonous arrow, became delirious and ran away from the battle arena. His soldiers thought that the king was retreating so they threw down their weapons. After losing the war, Anandpal escaped to Jammu. Mahmud came in pursuit and plundered many towns on the way. The monumental temple at Nagarkot was reduced to shambles and the wealth of the adjoining Bhim fort was looted. Anandpal shifted his capital to "Nandana at Balnath 'but did not live to see its glory and was succeeded by his son Tirlochanpal.

Trilochanpal

The next great Mohyal king was Tirlochanpal Vaid who fought three wars against Mahmud in 1013, 1014 and 1019 AD. Alberuni, the Arab scholar who accompanied Mahmud to India, paid glowing tributes to his valour and sagacity. Around this time Tirlochanpal had a tiff with Raja Chandrarai of the Sharwa Kingdom, to whose daughter his son Bhimpal was engaged. When the wedding party reached the host town in 1018, they were treacherously made prisoners by Chandrarai. Tirlochanpal himself escaped as he had stayed behind in Lahore to guard his capital from Mahmud. Instead of invading Lahore, Mahmud directed his fury on Chandrarai, devastated his state and made him flee to the jungles. In the ensuing confusion Bhimpal was set free.

In 1019, Tirlochanpal declared war on Mahmud on the mountainous terrain of Poonch and this time, he had the backing of the Mohyal ruler of Kashmir. He and his men were besieged for nearly a month in the fort of Loharkot. They made repeated strikes on Mahmud's garrison posted outside the fort, decimating it every time, till Mahmud and his men were compelled to quit and run to Ghazni. In their dash, they lost their way in the jungle and were overtaken by a severe snowstorm, which further crippled them.

In retaliation, Mahmud attacked Balnath and its fort, Nandana where the small force of Tirlochanpal was no match to his huge numbers. Disaster was inevitable. Countless men were massacred while women in their hundreds committed Jauhar. This episode is known as theCarnage of Pir Tapak.

Bhimpal

Bhim Pal was crowned as the next ruler in 1021 in the fort of Loharkot. The fort was still under continuous attacks from Mahmud. Bhimpal was victorious initially, but ultimately his resistance crumbled. He lost Lahore as well as the Punjab, a territory that his forefathers had held for thirteen generations. Overwhelmed with grief on the turn of fate, he died prematurely in 1026. This marked the end of the ruling Brahmin dynasty of the Shahis.

Rudrapal and Dwarpal

After the passing away of Bhimpal his wife and two sons, Rudrapal and Dwarpal, sought asylum in Kashmir. The king, Anantdev Rudrapal the general of his army. Both Rudrapal and Dwarpal died at an early age. Anantdev also died in AD 1063.

Jyesthpal

This created a power vacuum leading to anarchy and ultimately liquidation of the empire. Asumati, wife of Rudrapal, along with her infant son, Jyeshtpal, migrated to her parental home in Jalandhar. Here too she had no relief as her father was killed soon after in a coup, When Basaldev, the ruler of Ajmer, came to know the fate of the exiled prince and his mother, he offered them refuge in his state. He also bestowed on them the jagir of Bhatner.

Anangpal

When Anangpal, son of Jyesht Pal, grew of age he consolidated his power in Bhatner. He was the fifteenth ruler in the line of succession. He was a great exponent of Ayurveda and he once cured Prithviraj Chauhan, who was suffering from a deadly ailment. As a reward, Prithviraj gifted him yet more land in Bhatner. This fuelled in Anangpal the urge to take up arms in order to recover his ancestral kingdom. He mobilised a large force and attacked Lahore in 1179. He laid siege to the fort and from its precincts carried on a fierce war for six months until he captured the city.

When Anangpal died in 1180, Muslims recaptured Lahore. The relatives of Anangpal took his young son, Gorakhrai to their ancestral state of Bhatner. He was crowned in 1181. He became a leading light in the court of Prithviraj Chauhan, the king of Delhi and Ajmer.Raja Jaichand of Kannauj convened his famous Rajsuya Yagna at Kannauj in 1191 with the object of expelling Muslims from India. Prithviraj was a special invitee to this function, which was attended by many ruling chiefs of the period.Seven eminent men, one from each clan represented the Mohyal community at the Yajna. They were Gorakhrai Vaid, Tirloknath Bali, Midderdev Datt, Narsingdev Chhibber, Takhandev Mohan, Indersain Lau and Kailashdev Bhimwal.

However, the ill fated convention failed to achieve its goal due to the clash of Prithviraj and Jaichand whose old rivalries came to the surface over - riding national interests. Prthviraj had abducted Samyukta, Jaichand's daughter, from a crowded Swayamvara. When he ascended to the throne of Delhi, Jaichand refused torecognise him as a sovereign and made a rival claim. This breach occurred at a crucial time when a series of invasions of Muhammad Ghori were looming on the horizon. Ghori had captured the empire of Mahmud after his death and was now poised to conquer India.

Ghori made his first strike at Sirhind in 1191 where Prithviraj inflicted a crushing defeat and pushed him back by 40 miles (65 km) in a severely wounded condition. After this victory Prithviraj started leading a luxurious life and lost his grip on the administration of the state. Ghori made his second assault in 1192 with a cavalry of 120,000 men. Prithviraj was defeated and Ghori occupied Delhi as well as Kannauj,Benares,

Gwalior and Ajmer. This marked the commencement of Muslim rule in India. In the war with Ghori, Gorakhrai was also killed.

Ganeshdev and Brahmdev

After the death of Gorakhrai, his two minor sons Ganeshdev and Brahmdev fled to safer places. Ganeshdev went to the east and his descendants established the state of Bettiah in Bihar and founded the dynasty known as Jaitheriyas, a subcaste of the Bhumihar Brahmins. Brahmdev along with his mother and other relatives moved to the north and settled in the hilly tract of Shimla. One of his heirs named Shiv Datt, who lived in Jammu, later resurrected the lost glory of the Vaid clan.

Ganeshdev and Brahmdev

After the death of Gorakhrai, his two minor sons Ganeshdev and Brahmdev fled to safer places. Ganeshdev went to the east and his descendants established the state of Bettiah in Bihar and founded the dynasty known as Jaitheriyas, a subcaste of the Bhumihar Brahmins. Brahmdev along with his mother and other relatives moved to the north and settled in the hilly tract of Shimla. One of his heirs named Shiv Datt, who lived in Jammu, later resurrected the lost glory of the Vaid clan.

Shiv Datt

In 1398, Timur after plundering Delhi and carrying cartloads of booty and hundreds of prisoners marched past Jammu on his way toSamarkand. He was intercepted by Raja Maldev of Jammu and forced to set free all the prisoners in his custody. In his fight with Timur, Shiv Datt displayed unusual gallantry and a pleased Maldev made him the governor of Samba. Eventually, Samba became the imperial capital of the Vaids like Bhera and Karyala of the Chhibbers and Khadi of the Balis. This is the same place "Samba".

Later rulers

His son Ganpati Vaid succeeded Shiv Datt Vaid. A long line of successors who were all mediocre men and made no mark in their times followed him. Then came an illustrious man Raja Auodev who earned a lot of fame and laurels. He was an outstanding exponent of Ayurveda in the tradition of the founder of his pedigree, the legendary Dhanvantri.He was appointed as Raj Vaidya(Court physician) in the court of the Maharaja of Jammu.Auo Dev shifted to Jammu while his son Morardas looked after the state of Samba. Some offsprings of Auodev left Jammu and moved to Mirpur and Lakha Singh Vaid led the exodus. His progeny, Jawala Singh Vaid was known for having killed a notorious dacoit of Gujranwala. He also saved the life of Maharaja Gulab Singh when Sultan Khan of Rajour iattacked him. Harichand Vaid, the noted author of Gulshan-e-Mohyali ( published in 1923 ) was a scion of the same family.

Rajouri in the state of Jammu, was a citadel of the Vaids in the past. A king named Prithvipal built many forts, the most famous being on the hilltop of Preet Pal whose ruins are still visible. His son, Madanpal conquered the outlying areas of the Punjab. Sher Afghan murdered the last king named Aunapal in his sleep. Many Vaids were massacred in the battle. After this episode, the sun set on this bastion of power of the Vaids. Many Muslims living in this region and known as Jaraj were originally Vaids.

Moolraj Vaid was the commanding officer of the Maharaja of Jammu. He was equally well known for his proficiency as a physician. He cured the wife of the Gakhar chief, Sultan Lashkari Khan at Takht Pari. He requisitioned the services of Moolraj from the Maharaja and offered him a jagir of twenty-five villages as a reward for having treated his wife. After the death of Moolraj, his grandson Maniram became the owner of his jagir.

Translation by Indica written by Al Beruni