The
majority populations coming under the title of Maurya, Babhan and Malla-Sainthwar
settle in the regions known as Malla and Magadha Mahajanpada of ancient India.
The ancient texts mention Malla, Maurya, Shakya and Koliya as the few ruling or
warrior tribes in and around Malla mahajanpada. Within them, the Shakyas and
Koliyas are especially shown as agriculturist tribes. Except Koliya who are
referred as Nagavanshi, the other three tribes are referred as Suryavanshi. As Koliyas
were serpent worshippers, the tribe belonged to Naga populations. The same is
confirmed from the visit of Ashoka to Ramagrama, the capital of the Koliyas.
Ashoka encountered a Naga King worshipping the stupa built by the Koliyas.
Historically, the Nagas were serpent worshippers and are traced as warrior populations
belonging to the Dravidians of Harappa and Mohenjodaro civilization. The Nagas
considered serpent as their protectors evident from the seals obtained during
excavations (including that wore by Pashupati or Shiva). The Nagas are considered
as the earliest rulers of India who resisted heavily to the moving Aryans. By
the time of the Mahabharata, the majority of them were displaced towards east
by the Pandavas and therefore occupying and ruling the regions around Magadha. Although
there was enmity between the Aryans and the Nagas, some of them established social
relations with each other evident from the epic stories which show Kusa, son of
Rama, marrying Naga Princess Kumudvati. By the end of the late Vedic period,
some Shakyas entered into matrimonial alliances with the Koliyas and the same is
visible in the legendary story of their elder sister Priya. The point here is
that was Koliya the only Dravidian tribe living in this region by the 5th
century BC? The answer is that many Dravidian populations must have been here
but the Koliya was a warrior or ruling class amongst them. It is evident from the
Buddhist texts which always refer them as people living with the title Raja (King) and therefore demarcating
them with others of the same civilization. The Aryan Mallas too, shared the
relics of Buddha with them indicating their recognition as the ruling class in the
society. Before the rise of Buddhism and hence the great division in society
based on faith, these warrior Nagas (or Koliyas) must have entered into
matrimonial alliances, due to political or some other reasons, with the other warrior
tribes belonging to Indo-Aryan and Mongoloid group of humans. The interbreeding
effect can be clearly seen in the Kshatriya populations of eastern Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar that show some Dravidian and Mongoloid traits in their appearance
after the same have been diluted considerably with the continuous influx of
Rajput populations from the northwestern regions in the medieval period. The Dravidian
and Mongoloid traits are, however, distinctly visible in some of the
communities such as Shakya, Maurya and Malla whose titles are recorded as
ancient warrior tribes and who possibly evolved as an endogamous group much
before the migration of Rajputanas in these areas. Similar to the warrior class
of all human groups, other classes too entered into matrimonial alliance with
each other over a period of time resulting in the present demographics of these
regions.
In
addition to these developments, the entire region of the Malla and Magadha
Mahajanpada was known as the land of Vratyas, much before the birth of Buddha,
as the warrior and priestly classes of Aryans settling in these regions
remained with their initial Vedic rituals, started following the culture of
aboriginals, used the raw form of Sanskrit in form of Pali / Prakrit and involved
in prohibited occupations against their northwestern counterparts. Now
understanding the social scenarios of that era, one can focus on the origin of
each community discussed in the earlier section.
8.1 Lineage of the Mauryas
The
legends or myths are generally far from the reality and it is true for the Murao
and Koiri community also. The lineage of Murao, Koeri and Kachhi castes from the
ancient Mauryas of Pipphalivana, traced by Gaya Prasad Maurya, comes in the same
category of myths. It is well recorded that the ancient Mauryas were a small
republic Kshatriya tribe, settled adjacent to the Koliyas and Mallas with population
very low compared to the Mallas and Shakyas. As per the records, a small
kingdom of that period consisted nearly 37 towns of 5,000 inhabitants each and
thus populations of approx 0.2 million (2 lakh). Pipphalivana was a small
republic and not even a Kingdom. The estimated approximate population figure of
1.15 million (11.5 lakh) in 3rd century BC for the ancestors of Murao
and Koiri community, therefore, strongly contradicts their origin from the
Mauryas of Pipphalivana. Further, the lineage of Murao, Koeri and Kachhi castes
from King Rama of Ayodhya through his son Kush and hence the ‘Kushwaha
Kshatriyas’, also looks a pure myth only. It is not surprising to know that
based on mythology, today almost all Rajputs (45 million), Kurmis (16 million)
and Murao - Koiris (11 million) claim their origin from the family of King Rama
and therefore nearly 6% of the entire Indian population originating from a single
family which could have existed around 1500 BC. However, it is also true that most
vegetable growing communities were known as Murao and Koiri in the United
Provinces and Bihar. It probably indicates the common origin belief of society
towards them, though in reality it cannot be. Therefore it cannot be ruled out
that they may be descended from the populations who converted to Buddhism when the
religion was flourishing under Mauryan King Ashoka and therefore known as Murao
or Mayura or Murai rather than belonging to the populations that grow radish.
Only Kshatriya origin of all Murao and Koiri populations look contradictory as
it is irrational to believe that suddenly all Kshatriyas adopted poppy
cultivation as their occupation after adopting Buddhism. And if at all they
adopted poppy cultivation then who was doing the same in the agricultural
society before them and what happened to them, will remain an unanswered
question.
The
Maurya titled populations of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who were listed under
Murao or Koiri castes in the census, seem to be descending from the ‘ancient
Mauryas of Pipphalivana and their
Kshatriya relatives’ who could have adopted Buddhism under the leadership of
King Ashoka Maurya. After adopting Buddhism, they must have turned towards
strict vegetarianism and non-violence. With the rise of the Brahmin Sunga
dynasty over Magadha, who dethroned Mauryas, the group could have lost their
dominance over society due to following of strict non-violence principle. With the
rise of Brahmanism during Gupta Empire, the socio-religious position of this
group could have worsened. As Mauryas were one of the early lots of Indo-Aryans
settled in this region, they must have made social alliances with the aboriginal
warrior populations. The same is clearly visible in the form of large Dravidian-Mongoloid
traits in their present populations. As Maurya titled populations could have
descended from the ancient ‘Mauryas of Pipphalivana’, their population cannot
be more than 0.1-0.2 million (1-2 lakh) in the year 2011.
8.2 The Indian censuses and Bhumihars
and Malla - Sainthwars - Click here to read
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Index Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
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