page_title: Garhwal Kingdom
section_title: Ancient
hierarchical_section_title: Garhwal Kingdom / History / Ancient
caption_attribution_description: English: Gangotri group Himalaya Uttarakhand
context_page_description: Garhwal Kingdom was an independent kingdom in the current north-western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India, founded in 823 AD by Kanakpal, the progenitor of the Panwar dynasty that ruled over the kingdom uninterrupted until 1803.
  The kingdom was divided into two parts during the British Raj, namely: the princely state of Garhwal and the Garhwal District of British India. During this period, the princely state of Garhwal was one of the States of the Punjab Hills which became part of the Punjab Hill States Agency although it was not under the Punjab Province administration. The princely state of Garhwal or Independent Garhwal consisted of the present day Tehri Garhwal district and most of the Uttarkashi district. This former state acceded to the Union of India in August 1949.
context_section_description: Traditionally the region finds mention in various Hindu scriptures as Kedarkhand being home to the Garhwali people. Garhwal kingdom was dominated by Kshatriyas. The Kuninda Kingdom also flourished around the 2nd century BC. Later this region came under the rule of Katyuri Kings, who ruled unified Kumaon and Garhwal regions from Katyur Valley, Baijnath, Uttarakhand, starting 6th century AD and eventually fading by the 11th century AD, after their fall Kurmanchal was divided into numerous small principalities and they eventually lost the control over garhwal region and the region fragmented into several small forts(garh). Huen Tsang, the Chinese traveller, who visited the region around 629 AD, mentions a kingdom of Brahampura in the region.
  Based on the testimony of inscriptions (the earliest dating back to the 4th century AD), literary accounts, and local traditions it may be suggested that Far Western Nepal and Uttarakhand formed one single polity for centuries under the Katyuri Kings. Therefore, both regions inherit a shared past or collective memory. The Bhārata/Jāgara of Maulā alias Jiyā Rānī, a Katyūrī princess, as narrated in Doti (modern-day Nepal) and Uttarakhand (present-day India) is an example of this common heritage.
  In the book of Rahul Sanskrityayan, Garwahl (Allahabad 1953) it is written that, "The kings of Kumaon-Garwahl were called, Kedare Khasamandale which means Kedar region as the residence of Khasa people".
  The royal dynasty of Garhwal started with Kanakpal. Garhwal Kingdom was founded in 823 AD, when Kanakpal, the prince of Malwa, on his visit to the Badrinath Temple, met Raja Bhanu Pratap, the ruler of Chandpur Garh one of the 52 Garhs of Garhwal. Raja Bhanu Pratap had no sons. The King married his only daughter to the prince and subsequently handed over his kingdom, the fortress town. Kanakpal and his descendants of Panwar dynasty, gradually conquered all the independent fortresses (Garhs) belonging to its 52 small chieftains, and ruled the whole of Garhwal Kingdom for the next 915 years, up to 1804 AD.
caption: Garhwal Himalaya
exif: {"Image Orientation": "0", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "PicsArt Photo Studio", "Image Artist": "212914394000102", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "164", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "0", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "0"}