Credit: Shitha Valsan
Chamoli is a new district that came into existence after 1960. It’s area has formed from the district of Pauri garhwal.
Ancient history of Chamoli
In ancient books, Chamoli was known by different names. It was known as Bahirigiri, one of the three divisions of the Himalayan mountains. Chamoli is the central or mid-Himalaya that lies to the north-east corner of the Garhwal.
Garhwal, in its ancient form, comprised many districts like Chamoli, Pauri garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, etc. But with history, it got fragmented under different rules. The most major are Britishers.
Different Hindu scriptures—Ramayan, Mahabharat, and Puranas—are scripted in Garhwal. In the Puranas, Garhwal is mentioned as Kedar Khand. Adi-purana tells the story of the Mahabharata, scripted in Vyas Gufa near Badrinath. The Rig Veda mentions the incident of inundation when Sapt-Rishis saved lives in Mana Village.
The list of prominent places like Atimuni Ashram in Anusuya and the workplace of Kashyap Rishi at Gandhamadan Parvat near Badrinath speaks about spiritual and religious importance. Pandukeshwar, a small village located 25 km away from Badrinath town, is known as the Tapsthali of King Pandu.
If we talk about these places, the list will keep going. The Garhwali language that is spoken in the area also speaks the same language due to the similarity of Garhwali language with Sanskrit.
Authentic History of Chamoli
But the evident history of garhwal is found from 6AD AD onward. Lalitsur in Pandukeshwar, Trishul in Gopeshwar, Navraman rock script in Siroli, and Chand Pur Gari rock script by King Kankapal further tell more about the culture and history of Chamoli.
Some historians give a theory about the origin of race. They believe it is the place where Aryans originated. But later, Khasa, who were considered outsiders, invaded the native Aryans. They came from Kashmir, Kumaon, and Nepal and captured small forts called Garhi in the local language. The name Garhwal comes from the word “Garhi.” It’s called the land of forts.
Later, hundreds of Garhi were confined to 52 garhi under the rule of Kshatriya. After defeating Khasa, they founded the capital in Joshimath.
During that time, Kartikeypur Vasudev Katyuri, who was the founder of Katyuravdyansty, was ruling over the majority of Garhwal. He was a great ruler, during which Adi-guru Shankar harya visited. He established one of the famous peeth. In India, others are Puri, Dwarka, and Sringeri. He also reinstated the idol of Lord Badrinath that was kept in Narad-Kund due to fear of Buddhas. After this, the practice of the Vedic cult began in Badrinath.
Among all the 52 garhs, Raturi King Bhanu Pratap Garhi is considered the strongest garh. The capital of the garhi was Chanpur-garhi.
Modern History of Chamoli
In modern history, Garhwal has experienced major administrative changes. Garhwal State experienced a major earthquake that devastated its economic and administrative setup.
The Gorkhas, who were expanding toward the west, seized the opportunity and attacked under the command of Amar Thapa. And Hastidal Chanturia.They ruled the region from 1804 to 1815 until they signed a treaty of Saugauli with the British.
When Gorkha was ruling, Panwar dynasty ruler Raja Sudarshan Shah sought help from Britishers. With the help of Britishers, he regained the region and established a capital at Tehri.The Britishers got the eastern part of Alaknanada and Mandakini from the capital, Srinagar. It was known as British Garhwal.
In the beginning, they kept British Garhwal with Dehradun and Saharnpur, but later established a new district named Pauri. Today, Chamoli was a tehsil of the British garhwal, which was later made into a new district. In 1997, in another change, Rudraprayag district was formed from two complete tehsils and two other blocks (partial) of Chamoli.
Present form of Chamoli
Credit: User:Milenioscuro