Monday, 01 April 2024 | PNS | UTTARKASHI
Barahat, currently known as Uttarkashi, once housed the capital of Nagvanshi kings as per numerous archaeological evidences. Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan and ET Atkinson also mentioned Barahat as the capital of Nagvanshi kings in their world-acclaimed books. Many places like Shakti Stambh, Chamala Ki Chauri and Dattatreya temple are supposed to date back to the period when the Nagvanshi dynasty was ruling the region. Shakti Trishul of Barahat is mentioned in historian Shiv Prasad Dabral’s book ‘History of Uttarakhand Part-Three’. Historian say that something is written in the Trishul in Brahmi script about Nagvanshi king Ganeshwar and his son Guha.
Senior Professor of the department of Religious History at Elon University, North Carolina, USA, Brine K Pennington who had done extensive research on Thaulu (Magh Mela) of Barahat said that the name Barahat being found in old evidences, the present nomenclature Uttarkashi came into vogue between 1860 and 1870 AD. Rahul Sankrityayan has given detailed information about this Shakti Stambh and Dattatreya Temple in ‘Himalaya Introduction’. The inscription of Ashokchal and Kansdevchal of Mallavansh dynasty of Nepal is also inscribed on the trident. Supporting this view, H G Walton writes in Gazetteer of Garhwal Himalaya that this trident was installed by a king of Mallavansh. Scholars say that there might have been close contact between the kings of different dynasties in this region.
