Sources of Jammu History

Jammu (the Duggar country) has a history of its own, separate from the Valley.

What the sources say

• No literary sources on Jammu's history up to the 11th century CE have been found.
• The words Durgara or Duggar state are first found in an inscription on two copper plates found in Chamba, issued in the 11th century CE. It describes events from the early 10th century, in the reign of Sahil Varman of Chamba.
• Kalhana's Rajatarangini gives no information about Jammu itself but mentions Poonch, Rajouri and Kishtwar.
• Jammu is mentioned in the Malfuzat-i-Timuri (Timur's autobiography). Timur plundered the town in 1399.

Genealogical sources (Vansavalis)

• The historian Ganesh Das Wadhera used manuscript vansavalis (family genealogies) to write Jammu's history.
• The vansavalis say the first raja of Jammu was Agnibaran, a descendant of Lord Rama. Four rulers followed him and the fifth was Bahu Lochan.

Other literary sources

Ancient archaeological sites in Jammu

• Manda, on the Chenab bank at Akhnoor: an Indus Valley civilisation site.
• Ambaran, Akhnoor: a Buddhist site.