Source: Times of India
The Varaha’s are the progenitors of the lesser known dynasty which defended Bharat’s western frontier against Mahmud-I- Ghazanvi. It was only after successive kings of the Hindu Shahi Dynasty (Raja Jaypal, Anandapala..) were defeated that invaders could enter Bharat and create mayhem during the medieval period. Varahas have not found their way in the history books written by most Indian historians and only passing remarks are mentioned by those who have taken note of their presence. DNA analysis and historical documents confirm that the Varaha are the Central Asian Hephthalites or Alkhan to be more specific. In the Gandhar and Punjab region, they were known as the Turk Shahi and later the Hindu Shahi. They finally settled In Western, Central, North India and adopted the local religion and traditions. Thus, their character has changed as they migrated, and the Varaha’s have adapted to new cultures and religious followings.
There is enough reference to the Varaha’s in Iranian history and their movement from Eastern Khorasan (Torkhistan) through Afghanistan to Punjab. Varaha’s have rarely used their clan’s name after establishing their rule in India, except for rulers like DharaniVaraha, JayaVaraha from Gurjadesa, and UdayVaraha from Orissa. In the book Annals of Rajasthan, a historian like Col. James Tod has written about Varaha’s and the deliberate move to obliterate their names and references from Indian history. It is interesting to find the names of clans and family trees that originated from the Varaha’s, e.g. Wadan Gils (Rose, 1914, pp. 299-301), Man (Rose, 1914, p. 64) & Bhuller, but there is no documentation of the Varaha’s, or can we safely assume that some motivated genealogists have deliberately blotted their names. (Rose, 1914). Abul Fazl in his Ain has shown the presence of Varhas in the Mahals of Sarhind, Sumana, Karyat Rae Samu and Machhiwara of Sarkar Sarhind of Subah Delhi and Mahals of Bajwara, Dardak, Rahimabad and more. The chaudhari’s of Ambota in Una district of Himachal Pradesh are Varaha by caste as documented in their vanshavali (shajra). The vanshavali further details a few important notes on the extent of the kingdom of Raja Anadpal. His capital was in Bhatinda and ruled over the hills of Shimla (Shamla), Dehradun and BadriNarain Teerath. This gives the same lineage to the Varyas of Ambota to that of the Hindu Shahi’s. Some of the Raja’s mentioned in the vanshavali are Raja Mansar and Raja Mohar. Thereafter the title changed to Rai, Rana and Chaudhari. Chaudhari Jahjar came from Arniala and settled in Ambota.
Varaha ruled the plains of Punjab in the early medieval century (Devra, 2003). According to Muhnot Nainsi, the famous Khyat writer of seventeenth-century Rajasthan, Varha were the lords of the forts, like Uchchha (near Multan) and Derawar (Baltistan) at that time. The Khyats of Jaisalmer also include Vitheda or Bhatinda under their possession (Devra, 2003). Bhatinda’s fort, the oldest fort in India, was built between the 4-6th century A.D. by Raja Dhab, who was a Varaha Rajput (Ibbeston, D., 1883).The presence of Varaha in the region of Baluchistan has also been mentioned in the work of James Tod (Tod, 1920). Muhnot Nainsi, too, informs that the territory lying between Hakra and Derawar, along with the forts of Uchchha (near Multan) and Derawar (in the upper Sind), were parts of their possession (Nainsi, 1967).
The Hindu Shahis were the last known great Varaha’s dynasty who were forced to retreat to Kashmir and the interiors of Himachal Pradesh after repeated invasions by Mahmud Ghazanvi. During the Mughal rule, most of them converted to Islam, a handful of them who did not convert moved into the hills of Himachal Pradesh to escape from the oppression and thus probably did not reveal their identity. The ancestors of Varaha’s are associated with famous forts like those at Chittorgarh, Kangra, and Bhatinda, to name a few. Temples like the famous Somanatha temple in Gujarat , the Multan Sun Temple, Universities like the Sarda University in Kashmir. They donated to the construction of Buddhist Stupas and the famous Bamiyan Buddha statues. They ruled over Western, Northern and Central India during the medieval period after having ruled in the Khorasan region of Central Asia, now North Iran and Afghanistan.
Varahas have defended Bharatavarsha’s Northern frontiers with valour and courage, offering supreme sacrifices to ward off invaders. The name Varaha is derived from the third avatar of Lord Vishnu (Varaha meaning “boar” in Sanskrit), which he took in the Satya Yug. Lord Vishnu is incarnated in this avatar as a Boar to protect the earth (Prithvi). The name also appears in Central -Asian, and Iranian tribes, also known as Indo-Scythic tribes, as Varaz/Waraz/Barah, which has the same meaning. The book that I am writing will trace Varaha’s journey from Mongolia through Central Asia in the 4-5th Century A.D. ,Gandhara 9-10th Century and Punjab, Himachal Pradesh.
The Indo-Scythic tribes trace their origin to the Hephthalites. The Hephthalites originated from North China as the Xiongnu tribe at the beginning of the 1st century. Due to the prevailing internal strife and unsettled political atmosphere, they migrated west towards Central Asia. As they moved, hordes of other tribes joined them too. Hephthalite identity changed from an ethnic tribe to a political entity. A branch split and migrated towards Europe, and the other migrated south towards Central Asia, South Asia. As they moved, they displaced other tribes, thereby altering the region’s demographics. The Varahas are these Hephthalites from Central Asia who had long settled in the Bactria region. They are also one of the seven noble families of Persia, called the ‘House of Waraz’ during the Sassanian reign.
The Y-chromosome haplogroup Q has three major branches: Q1, Q2, and Q3. The haplogroup Q3-L275 is confined to West Asia and neighboring parts of Central and South Asia – mainly Pakistan, West India, and up to 7% in Iran. Over the past decade, Chinese archaeologists have published several reviews regarding the results of excavations in Xinjiang. They imply the genetic composition of Xiongnu’s supreme ruling class.
Al-Beruni, the historian once wrote, “The Hindu Shahi dynasty is now extinct, and of the whole house there is no longer the slightest remnant in existence. We must say that, in all their grandeur, they never slackened in the ardent desire of doing that which is good and right, that they were men of noble sentiment and bearing”. I have traced their origin and where they are at present. I am a Hindu Shahi and a proud Varaha.
Afghan Hindus and Sikhs 