The Ancient History of Mohyals/ as taught per our Elders

The Ancient History of Mohyals/ as taught per our Elders

The Ancient History of  Mohyals

The seven Mohyal clans of Saraswat Brahmins, written in languages of Hindi: Punjabi–Gurmukhi and  Urdu are based upon the seven stars of Ursa Major constellation known as Sapt Rishi Mandal representing the seven great Rishis (Bramh Rishis)as mentioned in the ancient Hindu literature, and e...ach clan thus represents one of the seven stars of the Sapt Rishi Mandal

1. 1.     Related to the first star Alkaid (Bhrigu Rishi) of Ursa major Constellation are Chhibber/Chibbers
2. 2.     Related to the second star Mizar(Vashisht Rishi) of Ursa Major constellation are Lau
3. 3.     Related to the third star Alioth (Kashyap Rishi) of Ursa major are Mohan
4. 4.     Related to the fourth star Megrez (Bharadwaja Rishi) of Ursa Major Constellation are Datt/Dutt/Dutta
5. 5.     Related to the fifth star Dubhe (Parashar Rishi) of Ursa major constellation are Bali
6. 6.     Related to the sixth Star Merak ( Kaushal Rishi) of Ursa Major Constellation are  Bhimwal

Related to the seventh Star Phechda (Dhanvantri Rishi) of Ursa Major constellation are Vaid

Mohyal  Clans are the ruler class of Brahmins, descendants of the great Sapt(Seven) Rishis to whom the  Vedas were revealed. Thus our fore fathers were specialized in the Vedic knowlege (the advanced ocullt wisdom), and we all know that knowledge is power, and thus the Mohyal clans wielded temporal powers and became the Ruler Brahmins or Bramh rishis/Raj Rishis in due course of time, due to the evolutionary process. In fact, Parshu Ram, the son of Brighu Rishi clan was the first Brahmin in ancient religious texts to wear arms and to conquer territories.

In ancient historical times, Mohyal Clans were known by their Gotras only defining their Great Rishi heritage, but as the time passed away, they were bestowed hereditary courtesy titles, by the ancient rulers, defining their clannish qualities which were unmatched in all other bramhanic groups. E.g. The Bhardwaj Gotra clan members were called the “Datta’s” meaning the lords who give, The Vashisht Gotra clan got a title called “Lau’s” meaning the Light of the flame, or the light of the Mohyal clans, The Kashyap Gotra clan got their title “Mohan” meaning who has attractive qualities (As the Kashyap Rishi was a preserver by applying the law of attraction [love], and is also the father of Creation through Diti and Aditi), The Dhanvantri gotra clan members due to their superb medical knowledge were given the title “Vaid’s” , The Kaushal Rishi Gotra Clan was  given the Title “Bhimwal” meaning who is full of strength as Bhim of Pandva brothers and was thus perfect (Kaushal –Nipun) in his strength. The Bhrigu Rishi Gotra Clan got their titles as “ Shurver”-meaning full of Courage) Which slanged into Punjabi as Chuber or modern day Chibber, The Parashar Rishi gotra Clan got their titles as” Bali” meaning “full of Strength”[with Bala] of divine knowledge of Stars, for which Parashara Rishi was famous for [Jyotish vidya , the modern day astrology]  

Much later during Mughal and Sikh rule in India as for bravery and loyal service they were again bestowed with new Titles. These titles were used in front of a given name as a prefix in most Mohyal names, and such practice is even continued today though some have preferred to use them in the end of their given name like the old times, and include “ Bakshi” meaning Benevolent, “Bhai” meaning Brother, “Chaudhri’ meaning Head of village or clan, Dewan meaning Landlord or person of authority, “Malik” meaning ruler or the controller of life, “Mehta”, (the word comes from Sanskrit word Mahat meaning Buddhi or Persian word Mehtab meaning Surya the sun) thus Mehta means the preserver or Responsible for finance/property  and “Raizada” meaning Of noble lineage, and are often indicative of the history of specific families

Mohyals  are known as Saraswat Brahmins, due to the fact their ethnic clans lived on the banks of Saraswati river, as most of these Rishis had their ashrams on the banks of mighty Saraswati river, the mighty river which started from Shivalik hills in the Himalayas, passed through Kurukshetra region, and then passing through Rajasthan and Sindh province emptied out in Arabian sea, the Rann of Kutch being its delta. The Famous Sagar Tirtha mentioned in the Tirtha-yatra Parva of the great epic Mahabhartha existed where the mighty Saraswati joined the Arabian Sea This Mighty river later on disappeared due to movement of  earth's tectonic plates, which made some its tributaries like the mighty rivers Satadru (Modern day Sutlej River), Vitasta (Modern day Jhelum River), Chandra Bhaga (Modern day Chenab River) to join the great Indus (Sindhu river). thus bringing a new area of five rivers in manifestation. After the demise of Saraswati river they settled in the area of these five rivers (Panch Aab - or modern day Punjab) and Sindh area on the banks of Indus river, and the Mohyal clans then reestablished themselves in this new area of Five rivers (Panch - Five,  aab - Water or river). In these new areas they became wealthy due to their advanced vedic knowledge, which they used in farming their new lands, and by passing of time established their small clan kingdoms and continued to grow in name and fame due to their fearlessness in any situation, which they faced due to adverse conditions in the new areas of their domain. They continued to keep their clan relationships, by intermarrying in their seven clans only, retaining their vedic knowledge and became powerful rulers. In these clans were born the great Mohyal kings like Porus(Puru) Vaid, who had an historical fight with Alexander the great, who later on honored Porus for his bravery. After Alexander’s death, his great General Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty, and his descendents made Bactria as their capital in the Gandhara region. The territory of Bactria, which had Bactra as its capital, originally consisted of the plain between the Hindu Kush and the Āmū Daryā with its string of agricultural oases dependent on water taken from the rivers of Balḵ (Bactra), Tashkurgan, Kondūz, Sar-e Pol, and Šīrīn Tagāōone. After the peace agreement between Porus (Raja Puru) and Alexander, Mohyals were looked upon with honor for their bravery, by the Greeks, and many Mohyals joined the Greeks in officer ranks, to help them in their gained Teritorial establishments in the North west frontier area of modern day Pakistan, and thus some moved away from Indus River valley with their families to the Gandhara region. It was the same reason of bravery, that later on Mohyals were much valued by the Britishers who employed Mohyal clans as soldiers, police man and in other government services, during British Raj in India.

 After the demise of Saraswati river, and then much later after defeat of their king Porus in the battle with Alexander, Many Mohyals looked to the Ganges valley basin, now under the rule of  a new king named Chandragupta Maurya, whose Brahmin  Kulguru was also a great warrior  Brahmin named Chanakaya of Chibber Mohyal clan, also known as Kautilya , the writer of Artha shastra, who originally was a student and later on a teacher at the Ancient World famous Taxila university of Punjab, and thus Ganga basin also became a chosen destination by some Mohyal Clans, and they migrated to modern day U.P and Bihar[Vihara] (which was known as Magdha in ancient times),  along the banks of Ganga river, and after settling there, due to great distance between them and their other parent clans, their descendants  adopted the local famous Titles of the area, which were more popular in the area of their settlements, in those days.  In modern day Uttar Pardesh,  the Datta families settled down in the Ganges plains, mostly around the Rishi  Bharadwaja Ashram area in Paryagraj Tirtha (Bharadwaja Ashram is few miles away from Trivani sangam in Modern Day Allahabad) from whom, originally their lineage descended , and later on their descendents were known as Tyagi Brahmins due to their charitable nature (Famous Mohyal poetry of yester lore explains---“ Dutt – Daate, Chibber - Churiya Maar, Vaid’an Hath Katariyiyan Turde Pabba Bhaar”  and  they also settled in Bihar area around the old Mauryan capital of Rajgriha and Later on in emperor in Ashoka’s time near the new capital of Patliputra (Modern day Patna of Bihar) some of the Mohyal clans settled first serving in the Mauryan armies and in other government positions and later when the area became more peaceful during Emperor Ashoka times, they became an agriculture Land lord clan, and their descendants were called Bhumi- har (meaning the Land owners or Landlords) Brahmins. The Bhumihars also claim their descent from Parshu Ram, the son of Jamadagni  Rishi, whose forefathers were the Bhrigus, and Richika, and from whom the Chibbers also claim their descent. So Bhumihars are really the Mohyal clan of Chibbers who settled in Bihar area since ancient Mauryan times. Many Vaid families from Bihar, also write their names as Sinha, a much respected title in Bihar , as the people of Bihar in old days had no understanding of Mohyal Titles, which were used in Punjab area, so the Vaid  clans settled in Bihar adopted the Title Sinha which was equal in respect to their usual Mohyal titles of Punjab.

Mohyal’s are Saraswat or Tri-karmi Brahmins, since ancient times, due to the fact, that during Saraswati river civilization great Rishis like Parshu Ram son of Jamadagni were born in their clans, who took over the role of a Khshtriya Brahmin, due to the very fact ,that the vedic religion known as Sanatan dharma started by Sanatan Kumara, one of the four kumaras, which was later on classified as Hindu dharma during the Indus valley era, was getting spoiled in those days due to the Asuric vrittis (unacceptable or bad habits) of various members of four varnas (Brahmin, kshtriya, Vaishya and Shudras) as well as from the members of other races termed Yavnas, who invaded from faraway lands,  and leaders were required out of the Brahmin race to safeguard their superior way of life, which was threatened by these invaders (The name Hindu was given by the Persians who used to Pronounce the letter“S” as “H”,  to the Sindu river valley inhabitants who were originally called as the Sindus, who lived along the shores of Indus river [Sindu -Indus river], and thus Sindus were called Hindus , and their 7 day lunar week, called “Saptah”  which was used in their Lunar Callander upon which all important religious Parvas [festivals] were based,  was called “Haptah’ by them.

• Since the coming of  many great leaders like Parsu Ram, who were born in the Mohyal clans, they adopted the life of a Tri-karmi Brahmin, thus allowing them more time and means to get involved in the uplifting of the Vedic Brahmin culture ( means performing only three Vedic  rituals instead of six prescribed for a Brahmin as per Vedas [Yajur veda]), instead of being the Shat-karmi Brahmins {[means brahmins performing all the six Vedic rituals as prescribed in the ancient texts for a Brahmin to perform, viz. Daan Lena, Daan Dena ( To receive and to give Alms), Vidya  Padhna, Vidya  Padhana (To study and to teach), Yagya Karna, Yagya Karana (To do Sacrifice rituals and to act as an officiating priest for the Sacrifice rituals) which were performed rest of  all other Clans of Brahmins, [like Gaud Brahmins, Shukla Brahmins etc., who were mostly living  in the peaceful areas of Ganges river valley. The seven Mohyal  Clans  strictly refrained from the work of Shat Karmi Brahmins, and excommunicated  those who broke that tradition, thus looking down upon such members of their groups who did not followed the life of a Tri- Karmi Brahmin. They also did not adhere to many customs and taboos observed by the rest of Shat Karmi Brahmin groups, and they married their off springs only in their seven groups known as Mohyal  Biradri , though in case of shortage of women in their own clans, due to various reasons,  they married off their sons into Shat karmi Brahmin groups, who felt as an honor when they married their daughters into the Mohyal clans, as when a girl comes into a Mohyal family she also becomes a part of the Mohyal clan, Till recently Mohyals never married their daughters out of their own seven clans into other varna groups, but in modern times it is not considered a barrier anymore, though even today most Mohyals still prefer to stay in their own clan family relationships.

The Hindu Varna system has been mentioned first in the ancient text of Rig Veda, the oldest of all Hindu literature, in the Purusha Sukta (Rig Veda 10..90.12), which states "The Brahmana was the mouth of the purusha, his two arms were made into the Rajanya, his two thighs were the Vaishya, and from his two feet the Shudra was born.",

This Varna system is also mentioned in Bhagavad-Gita chapter 4, Verse13 as explained by lord Krishna to Arjuna 

 cātur-varṇyaḿ mayā sṛṣṭaḿ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ |

tasya kartāram api māḿ viddhy akartāram avyayam ||

meaning "The four orders of society were created by Me [Krishna] classifying them according to the mode of Prakriti(nature),  predominant in each and apportioning corresponding duties to them; though the author of this creation, know Me[Krishna], the immortal Lord, to be a non-doer.

Out of These basic four Varna groups, each group was further divided into many clans within the group

• The four  varna  groups  consisted of the Brahmins, who  being the head group of these four groups, were placed in the society as the Scholars, teachers and priests.
• the Kshatriyas who were the Kings, rulers, Landlords and warriors (soldiers) in the society.
• the  Vaishyas who worked in the farms of the kings and landlords as Agriculturists and also as merchants
• the Shudras, the providers and artisans, who provided Services to the above three groups and were made of  various different groups, who were captured during invasions and wars, 

In current times most Mohyals are Hindus and many are also Sikhs, since the time of Guru Nanak Dev ji, and specially since the birth of Guru Gobind Singh ji, many more joined, because it was the same original cause defined by Lord Krishna to Arjuna  in Gita, the Protection of Dharma (Virtues) - largely as a result of the role played by Mohyals in the formative days of the Sikh religion and also because of a tradition once popular in Mohyal families of bringing up the eldest male child as a Sikh. In the 1800s, during the Sikh rule in Punjab, a great Mohyal of the Datt clan from Pind Dadan Khan spent nearly all the savings of his life just to sponsor repairs at the Fire Temple in Bakhu (The Atashgah), during his stay in Central Asia.

A small percentage of Mohyals also converted to Muslim religion, who were stationed in ancient Iraq, during the time of Hassan and husayn the grand sons of  Prophet Mohammad and are known as Hussaini Brahmins who were originally Datts since the the great Husayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, time.  Imam Hysayn was the son of the final Rashidun Calipha and the first Shia Imam “Ali” and “ Fatimah Zahra”, daughter of prophet Mohammad. Imam Husayn is also called Hussain, who had gained the status of third Imam for a period of ten years, after the death of his brother Hassan in 669.  On 10 October 680 (Muharram 10, 61 AH), Husayn and his small group of about 72, followers and family members, fought in the battle of Karbala, with a large army under the command of Umar ibn Sa’ad, son of Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas Husayn who was working for the Umayyad Calipha Yazid I,of  Syria ( Sham)  and all of his men were killed and beheaded. The commander Umar, took the head of Hussain as a prized possession and started his journey toward Damascus (Dimashq, commonly known as “ al-Shām”, also known as the "City of Jasmine) to show his Calipha Yazid I, but on the way , when it was becoming dark, he stopped for the night, and fearing an uprising from the local supporters of Hussain, who were living in the area, he decided to hide Hussain’s head for the night in the care of a local Mohyal Dutt family, who  could only be trusted, with such a prized possession, being a non Muslim Hindu family, living in those parts. In the morning when the soldiers went to recover Hussain’s head, they saw someone else head on the plate, they said that it was not the head of Hussain, and told the Mohyal Datt to get the right head which they gave him the previous night, He went back in the house and brought another head, though it appeared of a younger person than the first head which he previously tried to give them, the soldiers again sent him back, and thus four times he went back four different heads. The soldiers were astonished, and to check it out what was going on, they went inside the house and saw four headless corpses of young men covered in blood. They finally recovered Hussain’s head, which this great Mohyal Dutt was hiding, and took him to their commander Umar for questioning. When Commander Umar questioned this great Mohyal, who were these headless corpses, whose heads he was trying to depict as the head of Hussain. This great Mohyal Dutt broke out into tears and told Umar they were his own sons, and thus narrated the following story to Umar ibn Sa’ad,:- “Long ago, I was childless and getting old, and tried all medicines from various Hakims, without any results, and was then suggested by my neighbours to go and seek the grace from the Prophet Mohhamad, the divine messenger of God, so I took upon the journey to seek his blessings, after listening to the miracle stories narrated to me by my neighbours, still fearing in my mind how to ask, because I am from a Hindu Brahmin clan, but I did believed in the sanctity of the prophet, as my faith allows me to believe in all holy men who are close to God,. When I reached his house in Medina after a long journey, I sought his blessings in this matter, but the prophet said, Regarding the matter of birth and death, it is up to God,  and thus he could not interfere in such matters. I was so disappointed because I had high hopes in this matter which got crushed, and was walking away grievingly, when I saw his grandson young Hussain playing in the courtyard, who noticed me wiping away my tears and asked  me “Baba why are you crying’, I looked upon the young lad and saw a glow on his smiling face, and then narrated to him my sorrowful story, after which the child Hussain again smiled and thus said” Do not worry Baba, God is merciful, you will have not one but four sons, and so I went back home. In due course of time I was blessed with four sons, for which I never had any hopes. So now after seeing his blessed head , which you left in my care, I sacrificed all my children for him, who I had because of his grace long ago, hoping you will not be able to notice, but with my bad luck I was not able to fulfill my mission . After hearing this story, Commander Umar released Mohyal Dutt, not knowing how to react to such a sacrifice. When the neighbours heard about his such sacrifice, he was honored among them with the title of Sultan, as such brave sacrifices could only be done by a real brave Sultan and since then  Hussani brahmins were honored by these sayings “Datt Raje Sultan, Adhe Hindu Adhe Musalmaan” and their decendants used the titles of Sultan and Khan.

 Some Mohyals also converted during the 1947 partition times of India and Pakistan.

The Mohyal community is noted for a long tradition of producing distinguished leaders and soldiers.

Origin
The Mohyals are a branch of the bigger Bawanjai Saraswat group. Bawanjai literally means 52 lineages, including 6 that have since converted en masse to Islam (most prominently, the Gakhar community).
When Gandhara witnessed repeated invasions and decline in Hinduism, many Brahmins are said to have become administrators and warriors. Mohyals ...are believed to be a community that emerged from this larger group, from the grouping together of seven lineages sharing records of distinguished martial and administrative achievements.
Across the subcontinent, other Brahmins are also believed to switched from the traditional duties of Brahmins in favor of military and administrative ones. In other parts of the sub-continent, outside of Punjab and the Gandhara region they have been known as "brahma-kshatriya" groups. These are believed to have descended from Parshuram, such as Tyagi Brahmins in Western U.P and Haryana, Goud Brahmins in U.P. and Rajasthan, Bhumihar Brahmins in U.P. and Bihar, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins in Maharashtra, Niyogi Brahmins in [Andhra Pradesh], Anavil Brahmins in Gujarat, Havyak Brahmins in Karnataka, Namboothiri Brahmins in Kerala.
With most men either in established militaries or mercenaries, the Mohyals developed a warlike culture and reputation over the last millennium.
"A group of chivalrous Hindus called Muhiyals are very well at par with Pushtuns and Rajputs. Muhiyals have been rulers of territories in the present day Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. They are essentially a military race, which have served as soldiers throughout the centuries. They have a reputation of courage, loyalty and bravery. Muhiyals are composed of seven clans; Datt, Vaid, Chibbar, Bali, Muhan, Lau and Bhimwal. Though small in numbers but all these clans have a rich military history. In India, they are also called ‘Hussaini Brahmins’ as Muhiyals proudly claim that though being non-Muslim, a small number of them fought in the battle of Karbala on the side of Hussain. Muhiyals are very close to Pushtuns in their character. For centuries, they never or seldom paid in their revenue until coerced by a military expedition involving a number of casualties on both sides. On one occasion, they fought three sanguine battles against Babur's army as they refused to surrender a khatri girl to Mughals who had sought their protection. The testament to their chivalry is the fact that during Muslim rule, they were the only non-Muslim group on whom the title of Khan or Sultan was ever bestowed. During British rule, a number of them were residing in the military belt of Campbelpur, Rawalpindi and Jhelum area. A number of Muhiyals served with distinction in British Indian army especially cavalry. They served in many regiments especially 9th, 11th, 13th, and 19th Lancers, 3rd, 4th and 15th Punjab Cavalry and Guides Cavalry.

Jai Mohyal

CH. ANIL DUTTA

(Member, Managing Committee, GMS-Delhi)                                                                                 

(Senior Vice President, Mohyal Sabha, Amritsar) 

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