Rajas In Garhwal

          The earliest reign of the Garhwali Rajas is that of Man Shah, of whom we possess a grant inscribed in AD1547. Local traditions say that Ajaya Pal was the Rishikesh being the nearest Railhead, the nearest Airport is Jolly Grant, Dehradun. Thedistance between Uttarkashi to Gangotri is 105 kms, by bus or taxi. The distance between Haridwar to Uttarkhanshi is around 173 kms. It is well connectedto Sonprayag, Rudraprayag, Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun via roads.first leave the family home in Chandpur and settle in Dewalgarh, whence the capital was transferred to Srinagar by Mahipati Sah, of whom we have an inscription on the monastery of Kesho Rai in Srinagar itself dated in AD 1625. General Cunningham assigns the founding of Chandpur to the year AD 1159 and the founding of Srinagar to 1358. Other local accounts palace Ajaiya Pala in 1359, 1376 to 1389.Taking the date AD 1358 as having quite as much authority as any of the other three we have fourteen reigns between him and Man Shah and 189 years, and deducting fifteen years for the concluding portion of Jjaiya Pala’s reign and the opening years of Man Sash’s reign we have an average of twelve years for each reign, a fair result for the time and country. Up to the time of Ajaiya Pala, Garhwal was divided amongst a number of petty rajas.

           Every glen or hill, as formerly was the highlands of Scotland, was subject to its own chiefs who have left no record behind except the moss-covered walls of their strongholds. And although Ajaiya Pala is credited with having reduced fifty-two of these petty chiefs under his own rulepo, we may well suppose that he was only the first of his line to aim at more than tract now known as Tihri or foreign Garhwal. Indeed, Mahipati Sah, the founder of Srinagar, is often said to be the first Raja of the line who attained to any real Brahmdat of Timur’s narrative should have any connection with line of Garhwal Rajas. We have a grant of Dularam Sah dated in AD 1580, and he was the immediate predecessor of Mahipati Sah, and from his time the dates are ascertained by the aid of contemporary records…..