Kotdwar is older than Haridwar
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Dinesh Kukreti
It is difficult to say exactly when Kotdwar town must have come into existence. The awareness of Daulu Jagri shows that the history of Kotdwar is very old. However, we do not have any such evidence that distinguished Kotdwar as a Vedic city. Mahakavi Kalidas also mentions neither Kotdwar nor Haridwar in his texts. Yes! Chinese traveler Xuanzang, who came to India in the seventh century, has mentioned Gangadwar and Mayapur, but did not say anything about Haridwar. Hwensang Mandawar, Gangadwar and Mayapur also visited. He also traveled a hundred miles further along the banks of the Ganges and described a beautiful city there. This city can be Srinagar or Uttarkashi. Cunningham also toured the country in the nineteenth century, like Hiuen Tsang. He has written Uttarakhand as Brahmapur and then mentioned Katyuri rule here. The copper mines at Dhanpur and Pokhari in Garhwal are also mentioned in their documents. According to Cunningham, Hwensang described Kotdwar as 50 miles away from Mandavar, but did not mention Haridwar anywhere. But, there is no doubt that both the cities of Kotdwar and Haridwar existed during the Mughal period.
Many
scholars believe that the mythical Kaumud shrine is Kotdwar. According
to scholars, the characteristics and directions of the Kaumud Tirtha
described in "Skanda Purana" give this place the distinction of being a
Kaumud Tirtha. In verse six of chapter 119 of the Skanda Purana, the
symbols of the Kaumud Tirtha have been told that "Tasya markam
prakakshyamayi ie tajjayate param, kumudasya and gandho lakshathe
midratrake." That is, in Maharatri, the smell of Kumud i.e. acacia
flower is targeted. Even today, acacia trees exist around this place
for proof. It is said about the Kaumud Tirtha that in the past, the
moon had pleased Lord Shankar in this pilgrimage on Kaumud i.e. Kartik
Purnima, hence the name of this place was Kaumud. The city got the name
Kotdwar probably due to the Kaumud Gate. However, due to the British
not being able to pronounce correctly, he started calling it Kodavar,
which he recorded as Kodavar in government records. Later, the name
Kotdwar became famous as its abusive form.If you break the treaty of the word Kotdwar, Kot means "mountain" and the door means "door" means the entrance of the mountain. Earlier, the route to Garhwal opened up through Kotdwar. So, this may be a big reason behind the town's name Kotdwar. The prevailing belief is that this city got the name Kotdwar due to being the entrance of the mountain. It would also be relevant to state here that Kotdwar had some connection with Kanwashram and Mordhwaj. Lalitha Prasad Naithani, the editor of "Satyapath", writes in his book "The Ruins of Malini Civilization" that the journey of Badrinath Dham in olden days began as it was through Kanwashram. Travelers used to go to Vyasghat from Kanwashram and from Vyasaghat to Kedarnath and Badrinath. Visiting Kanwashram was considered auspicious for the travelers before the journey of Kedar-Badri. This is the period when Haridwar did not exist. Actually, Haridwar is not a mythical city. The move to Haridwar happened after the train reached there. Whereas, Kanwashram has been known as Badrinath since ancient times. Mahakavi Kalidas described Abhigyan Shakuntalam as Kanvasashram and Malini River in a concise manner, it is not possible without seeing it.
Kotdwar region was in existence
even during the visit of Huanseang in the Buddhist period, the fort of
Mordhwaj is a proof of this. Hwensang and Cunningham state the
existence of Kotdwar 50 miles north of Mandawar. His articles show that
Kotdwar is a much older city than Haridwar. Kotdwar used to be an
account-area in the Mughal period. Then the border of Garhwal was up to
Badhapur and Haridwar, Kankhal, Chandighat and Laldhang areas were also
in Garhwal itself. During that time, the king of Garhwal had lent his
jagirdars to many jagirdars in the Kotdwar region. A 16th century
document of Aurangzeb's era reveals that the outpost-Kotdwar was then
where Puriya Naithani had given two thousand bighas of land in Jagir by
Maharaj Fatepati Shah. The descendants of Puriya Naithani are still
living in Jashodharpur. Outpost i.e. Chaukighata is still present
today.This chowkighata used to be a plentiful market till the year 1924, but the flood of 1924 destroyed the existence of this market. Its remains can still be seen there. The signature of the negroes and storehouses present in the said document is evidence that the outpost-Kotdwar must have been on the banks of the Malini River. Raja Bhim Singh's village Bhimsinghpur and his progeny are still present, but no information is available at present about the storehouses.
In the early 19th century, Gorkhyani ruined Garhwal and Bhabar and changed his picture. In the year 1816, Gorakhyani was defeated and the English Raj knocked. Kotdwar-Bhabar had reached a desolate state by then. Well! In the year 1879, Deputy Commissioner Graston began to resettle Garhwal Bhabar. The old Kotdwar was built between the Siddhbali Temple and the Kham Bagiche on the left side of the river Khoh, the ruins of which still tell stories of their early times. Then this terrain was surrounded by rugged forests and a population of about two thousand resided here. However, this Kotdwar also succumbed to the flood in the lair.
Meanwhile, in 1892, the
train had arrived in Kotdwar. The Kotdwar rail route, being the gateway
to the Himalayan region, was used to transport wood from the Himalayan
region. The first passenger train arrived here in the year 1901. In
the year 1917, Kham Superintendent Pt. Ganga Dutt Joshi started settling
Kotdwar on the west of Khoh River. Despite this, by the year 1930,
only a few houses were built here and the only primary school was in the
name of education. In fact, credit goes to the Deputy Commissioner
Bernard for fully organizing Kotdwar. In 1939, he prepared a plan for
Kotdwar, which was implemented in the year 1943. It was also
contributed by UMananda Barthalwal, the founder of GMOU. After the
formation of the Notified Area Committee in the year 1949, the
management of Kotdwar town came into the hands of the Municipality
Committee in the year 1951. Kotdwar then had a population of 8148.
Gradually the doors of Kotdwar's promotion opened, and it became a
prosperous city. Today Kotdwar is not only Garhwal but also a major
city of Uttarakhand.****** ---- *******
