Information
on this page is based on information available from internet from Vedic
sources and not as per Lieutenant
Colonel Laurence Austine Waddell.
Angiras
:
Angiras
is a Vedic Rishi who has along with Rishi Atharvan written most of the
Atharv Ved. He as also contributed in the other three Vedas. Rishi Angiras
is also considered as one of the Saptarishis of the first Manvantar.
Angiras
or Angira was a Vedic rishi (sage) of Aryans. He is described in the
Rigved as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and
gods, as well as stated in other hymns to be the first of Agni-devas
(fire gods). He is known by both names angiras and angira. In some texts
he is called angiras and in some he is called angira. In some texts,
he is considered to be one of the seven great sages or Saptarishis,
but in others he is mentioned but not counted in the list of seven great
sages. In some manuscripts of Atharvved, the text is attributed to "Atharvangirasah",
which is a compound of sage Atharvan and Angira. The student family
of Angira are called "Angira", and they are credited to be
the authors of some hymns in the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth,
and tenth books of the Rigved. By the time of the composition of the
Rigved, the Angirases were an old Rishi clan, and were stated to have
participated in several myths
Many
hymns of the Rigved credit the Angirases as their authors, mainly in
Mandals I and VIII. Various Angiras sub-clans, including the Sunahotras,
the Gautams, and the Bharadvajs composed Mandals II, IV, and VI respectively.
Other
than crediting authorship, the Vedic texts mention sage Angiras in various
roles such as a fire priest or a singer. For example, the allegorical
hymn 3.31 of the Rigved calls him a singer :
The most
inspired one came, assuming a friendly attitude,
The rock made ripe (its) fruit for the one who performs the kind deed,
The young hero attained (his aim) with the youths, assuming a warlike
attitude,
And here right away, the singing Angiras appeared.
—
Rigved 3.31.7, Translator: Tatyana J. Elizarenkova
According
to some Puranic texts Angiras wife is Suruhpa.
Rishi
Harit and Bappa Rawal (Kalbhoj) :
Rishi
Harit :
Harit Maharaj (also known as Harit,
Haritasya, Haritra and Haritas) was son of Yuvanaswa (also known as
Yuvanashva / Yuvanaswa) and the grandson of king Ambarish and he was
also the great grandson of king Mandhatri, an ancient prince of the
Suryavansh dynasty, best known as the ancestor of the Kshatriya.Haritsa
left his kingdom as a symbolic expiation of his sin. The descendants
of haritsa maharaj fall under the haritsa gotra. They are a unique combination
of "Brahmans of the Kshatriya clan". Haritsa was an ancestor
of Ram. There is also another sage named Harita, Who was the son of
Chyavan Rishi and has authored Harit Samhita, Which is an Independent
work present in the Narasimha Puran, That sage is not to be confused
as the founder of Haritsa Gotra, As the purans clearly mention, "Ambarishasya
Mandhatus tanayasya Yuvanasvah putro bhut tasmad Harito yato ngiraso
Haritah." The son of Ambarisha, son of Mandhat was Yuvanasva
From him sprang Harit from whom the Harit Angirases were descended".
Although though a Brahmin lineage, this
gotra is descended from Kshatriya prince of the Suryavansh dynasty who
was the great grandson of legendary King Mandhatri.[citation needed]
Mandhatri was killed by Lavanasura who was killed later by Ram's brother
Shatrughna. This is one of ancient India's most prominent and famous
lineages, having produced Ram. The first notable king of the dynasty
was Ikshvaku. Other Brahmin gotras from solar line are Vatul, Shatamarshan,
Kuts, Bhadrayan. Of these Kuts and Shatamarshan also descend from King
Mandhat like Harit gotra and have either Mandhatri or his sons (Ambarish
/ Purukuts) as part of their Pravars. The Purans, a series of Aryan
mythological texts, document the story of this dynasty. Harit was separated
from Ikshvaku by twenty-one generations.
To this day, many Kshatriyas claim descent
from the Suryavanshi dynasty to substantiate their claims to royalty.
Although, Descendants of Harits do trace their origin in the solar dynasty
but are not related to the Suryavansh directly any longer as the founder
of the gotra, Haritsa himself willingly left the kingdom to expiate
for his sin and at the completion of the expiation, He became a Brahman
under the guidance of Maharishi Angiras. Those who belong to this
gotra are Brahmans and are supposed to lead a pious life and must do
the prescribed duties as directed by Lord Narayan himself to Haritsa.
While most Brahmins claim to be descended
from ancient sages, those of the Harita sagotra claim to be descended
from Kshatriyas trained by the Brahmin Angiras and hence they have
some Kshatriya and some Brahmin qualities. This created, according to
the Ling Puran, "Brahmins with the qualities of Kshatriyas".
There are few Jats who also claim to
be descendants of the same king Haritsa, The great grandson of Mandhat.[citation
needed] According to some sources, They also raised their voices against
the Mughal oppression.[citation needed]
The
gotra is recorded in the Hindu tradition in the Vishnu Purana :
Ambarishasya Mandhatus tanayasya Yuvanashvah
putro bhut tasmad Harito yato ngiraso Haritah. "The son of Ambarish,
son of Mandhatri was Yuvanashva From him sprang Harita from whom the
Harita Angirases were descended.
and
in the Linga Purana :
Harito Yuvanasvasya Harita yata atmajah
ete hy Angirasah pakshe kshattropeta dvijatayah. "The son of Yuvanasva
was Harita of whom the Haritash were sons". "They were on
the side of Angiras twice born men." "Brahmans of Kshattriya
lineage."
and
in the Vayu Purana :
"They were the sons of Haritash
/ Angiras, twice-born men (Brahmans), of Kshatriya race", or sons
of Harita raised up by Sage Angiras.
Accordingly, from both Ling Puran and
Vayu Puran it can be inferred that Brahmins with Harita gotra belong
to Ikshvaku lineage and because of the training and tapo sakti of Angiras.
Swami Ramanuj and his primary disciple Sri Koorathazhwan were of Harita
gotra.
Haritsa Gotra comes under Angiras-Harit
Gan.
The
pravar to be used by brahmans of haritsa gotra in ceremonies and other
auspicious functions is of two variations, namely :
Bappa Rawal (Kalbhoj) :
Bappa Rawal was one of the most powerful
and famous rulers of the Mewar Dynasty. Although a surviving member
of the Guhilot clan, Prince Kalbhoj (his actual name) who came from
Atri clan did not continue the family name of seven generations
when he came to the throne; instead, he established the Mewar Dynasty,
naming it for the kingdom he had just taken. He went on to become a
celebrated hero on battlefields near and far, yet his fascinating life
is full of enigmas, and many were the legends created about him. It
is said that Bappa was blessed by Harit Rishi, a sage of the Mewar region,
with kingship. His father, Rawal Mahendra II had married a woman
of the Paramar Rajput clan, from Mt. Abu or Chandravati, both Paramar
centres at that time. She was also the sister of Maan Mori, the
Paramar king who ruled much of the State of Mewar. This included Guhilot
clan land, which Paramar invaders from Malwa had annexed a century or
so earlier, and set up their capital in the ancient fortress of Chittorgarh.
Bappa Rawal is said to have spent his
childhood near a place called Nagda. As with most high-spirited princes,
there are several legends from Bappa's early years as a youth in the
wild Vindhya Range. The pranks of this royal shepherd (he tended the
sacred cattle of the Brahmans) include his allegedly innocent mischief
among village damsels, although perhaps it was not so innocent. One
afternoon, in a game of his own devising, he 'married' several of the
young girls, which ended with his having to flee Nagda to a hide-out
in the hills to escape the maidens' irate parents. An interesting footnote
to this legend of potential virility is that Bappa Rawal is said to
have married many women, and sired well over one hundred children.
Bappa
Rawal played an important role in the Battle of Rajasthan, a series
of wars fought in the 8th century AD between the regional rulers of
North-Western India and the Arabs of Sindh, in which the regional Indian
rulers inflicted a resounding defeat on the invading Arabs. In the 8th
century Arab Muslims started attacking India within a few decades of
the birth of Islam, which was basically an extension of invasion of
Persia. In order to ward off Muslim invasions across the western and
northern borders of Rajputana, Bappa united the smaller states of Ajmer
and Jaisalmer to stop the attacks. Bappa Rawal fought and defeated the
Arabs in the country and turned the tide for a while. Bin Qasim was
able to defeat Dahir in Sindh but was stopped by Bappa Rawal. Some accounts
say that Qasim attacked Chittor, which was ruled by Mori Rajputs. Bappa,
of Guhilot dynasty, was a commander in Mori army and so was Dahir's
son. Bappa defeated and pursued Bin Qasim through Saurashtra and back
to the western banks of the Sindhu (i.e. current day Baluchistan). He
then marched on to Ghazni and defeated the local ruler Salim and after
nominating a representative returned to Chittor. After Raja Mori named
Bappa Rawal his successor and crowned him King of Chittor, Bappa Rawal
and his armies invaded various kingdoms including Kandahar, Khorasan,
Turan, Ispahan, Iran and made them vassals of his kingdom. Thus he not
only defended India's frontiers but for a brief period was able to expand
them.