In India, Buddhism was established in the sixth century BC. Mahatma Buddha succeeded in establishing his religion as a popular religion by traveling and preaching. In North India, this period became famous by the name of Mahajanapada or Prag-Buddha period. Sixth century BC Buddhist-Jain religious texts and Panini’s Ashtadhyayi are the most important among the literary sources. Information regarding sixteen mahajanapadas and republics is obtained from the Buddhist text Anguttarnikaya and the Jain text Bhagwati Sutra.
In this century, big districts (Mahajanapada) like Magadha, Kosala, Anga, Kashi, Kamboj, Panchal, Kuru and Avanti existed in the Indian subcontinent, of which ‘Magadha’ was the most powerful district. Therefore, ‘Magadha’ was an important state at the center of Indian history of this century. Sixth century BC there were Mahajanapadas like Kamboj, Kuru, Panchal etc. on the border of Central Himalayas. In ancient times, Kamboj Mahajanapada was formed by combining parts of south-western Kashmir and Kafiristan (Kapisha). In the south-east of this Mahajanapada, there existed Kunind Janapada, extending from North Punjab to Uttarakhand.
The ancient Panchal Mahajanapada was formed by consisting of the districts like Bareilly, Badaun and Farrukhabad etc. of modern Rohilkhand. That is, Panchal Mahajapad was in the south of present Kumaon. The land of Meerut, Delhi and Thaneshwar was called Kuru Mahajanapada, which was to the south-west of present Garhwal. Kuru i.e. Hastinapur kingdom of Mahabharata period had influence on the Garhwal region in the epic era. On the basis of geographical boundaries of Mahajanapadas, it can be said that during the Mahajanapada period, the Central Himalayan region was under or under the influence of the powerful Kuru and Panchal Mahajanapadas.
Apart from Buddhist and Jain texts, the sixth century B.C. Panini’s book ‘Ashtadhyayi’ also throws light on the history of. Panini, whose period was Bhandarkar and Mukherjee dated 700 B.C. And Majumdar and Agarwal dates back to 500 B.C. It is believed that the names of some ‘districts’ of the Central Himalayas have been given. These districts were to the north of Kuru and Panchal states. While the ‘Maha Samanta’ and ‘Samanta’ system emerged in India around the sixth century AD. ‘Mahajanapada’ and ‘Janapada’ administrative system existed in BC.
According to Ashtadhyayi, “In response to Kuru and Panchal Mahajapad – ‘Kalkut’ (4.1.173), ‘Kulun’ (4.2.93), ‘Katri’ (4.2.93), ‘Yugandhar’ (Kashika), ‘Ranku’ (4.2.100), ‘Ushinar’ (2.4.20, 4.2.118) and ‘Bhardwaj’ (4.2.145) etc. were the districts. Kalkoot is the southern valley of Yamuna, Kalsi, Dehradun, Srughan Pradesh.” Historians associate Kalkoot with Kalsi and Kulun with Kullu in Himachal (Kulun is the region south of Sutlej up to Tons River). ‘Katri’ is associated with ‘Katripur’ or ‘Katyur’.
After 6th B.C. Indian history had been the history of propagation of Buddhism. It is believed that Mahatma Buddha had come to visit a place called Govishan (Kashipur) in Uttarakhand. Historians have the following opinions in this regard-
1- Badridatt Pandey- “It is a historical fact that Lord Buddhadev had come to Kashipur (Govishan).”
2- Dr. Yashwant Singh Katoch- “The only source of detailed information about Govishan is the travelogue of Yuvanchwad. Regarding the capital Govishan, he writes that “near the city there is a Sangharam built by Ashoka and a stupa where the hair and nails of Lord Buddha are preserved.”
3- Shivprasad Dabral- “There was a stupa built by Ashoka near the city. This stupa stood at the place where Buddha preached for a month. There were two stupas here, in which the hair and nails of Buddha were kept.
It is clear from the above statements of historians that Mahatma Buddha had traveled to a place called ‘Govishan’ in Uttarakhand and preached for a month. Maurya ruler Ashoka built a stupa here in the memory of Mahatma Buddha and kept Buddha’s hair and nails inside the stupa. “Ther Moggaliputta Tisya, the head of the Third Buddhist Council, had sent Ther Majjhim and his four companions from Himachal Pradesh to Kumaon in Himavat to conquer the Dharma. This tradition has been confirmed by the Sanchi and Sonari Stupa-Manjusha inscriptions.” When Buddhism was propagated to foreign countries, these preachers must have gone to the inaccessible areas of the Central Himalayas and post-Himalayan areas like the Kailash Yatra.
Mount Kailash has been a pilgrimage site for Hindus and Jains as well as Buddhists. India during the Maurya period emerged as a powerful country in the world scenario under the leadership of ‘Magadha State’. The north-western border of the Magadha state had expanded up to Kabul (Afghanistan) during the Maurya period (322 BC-185 BC). Ashoka, the best Maurya ruler of this period, got inscriptions installed on the boundaries of his kingdom. The Kalsi (Dak Patthar, Dehradun) inscription of Ashoka confirms Maurya rule in the central Himalayan region. “It was discovered by Forrest in 1860.”
But historians of Uttarakhand believe that the Central Himalayas were earlier ruled by Kuninda rulers. According to Yashwant Singh Katoch – “In summary, Kuninda in the central Himalayas appears to be independent even in the Maurya era.” But it is also a fact that Chandragupta Maurya had taken the help of a ruler named Parvateshwar to conquer Magadha. “Under him, a huge army of Shakas, Yavanas, Kirats, Kambojas, Bahlikas etc. had surrounded Pataliputra during the time of cataclysm, like the fierce waves of the sea.”
It is clear from the above quote that when Magadha was ruled by the Nanda dynasty. The rulers of the Kirat caste or Kuninda dynasty of the central Himalayas were subordinate to Parvateshwar. According to the play Mudrarakshasa, after winning the Magadha kingdom, Chanakya got Parvataka killed by deceit. Therefore, the Kirat etc. castes or Kuninda dynasty kings subordinate to Parvateshwar automatically became subordinate to Chandragupta Maurya, where Ashoka later got the Kalsi inscription established.
At the same time, a stupa was built on the remains of Buddha in Kashipur of Kumaon and a preacher named ‘Majjhim’ was sent to the Himalayan region to propagate ‘Dhamma’.
The Kalsi inscription symbolizes ‘Dhamma Vijaya’ in the central Himalayan region. This type of inscriptions were carved in the frontier areas of the Maurya Empire, which determine the boundaries of Emperor Ashoka’s kingdom. These inscriptions of ancient India are fourteen different edicts/government orders of Ashoka which have been obtained from eight different places. One inscription each has been found from Kalsi (Uttarakhand) and Erragudi (Andhra Pradesh) in the northern and southern border areas respectively and from two sites in the north-west region, Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra. One inscription each has been found from Girnar in Gujarat in Western India and Sopara in Maharashtra and Jaugarh and Dhauli in Odisha in Eastern India.
It is clear from the above demarcation that Ashoka had carved inscriptions in the border areas of Magadha state as a symbol of Dhamma victory. That is, these historical places were under the Maurya Empire and in the border areas. Therefore, it is clear from the inscriptions found in the border areas of Magadha state that the first historical dynasty of Uttarakhand, ‘Kunind’, was not independent during the Maurya period.