Epigraphic Gleanings on Brāhmaṇism in Chamba

Abstract

The Chamba region in the western Himalayas has attracted the attention of researchers after the decipherment of hundreds of inscriptions spanning the period between the early eighth to eighteenth centuries. This article studies the epigraphs to analyse the arrival of the brāhman. a community into Chamba from various parts of the country at different time spans. The study focuses on how this arrival in periodical waves affected the political and religious milieu of the region. Interactions between pre-existing indigenous elements of polity and religion with the new, dominating brahmanical elements ultimately legitimized the position of the kings within the brahmanical order, in exchange for the land-grants these brāhman. as received. In the epigraphs, we notice the dominance of brāhman. a writers with specific indications of their gotra and sometimes their Vedic affiliations, summarized in this article through tabular data for an easy understanding of their content and context. This analysis reveals new information about migration, grants-in-perpetuity, and the brahmanization of the royal house of Chamba between the eighth and eighteenth centuries.