The Great Dashora Family
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MANDSAURMandsaur in Madhya Pradesh is one place where the rocks of the city tell a story of their own. The city boasts a rich cultural heritage that has been preserved over the ages. Mandsaur (Mandsor) was earlier known as Dashpur, Dashor or Daaapura. There may be some truth to the theory that this may be the reason why we are called "DASHORAS" (people who originated from Dashpur). Dashpur was the capital of Aulikar Dynesty (5-6th century AD) The city, located on the bank of Shivana River, had its golden days during the Gupta age when it was the capital of Aulikara kings. The king of the city, Yasodharman, defeated the Hana chief, Mihirakula, and commemorating his conquest in 528 built two victory towers, which exist at Sondhni. There is also a legend attached to why Mandsaur was called Dashpur — das in Hindi means 10, as Dashpur encompassed 10 villages. The 10 villages are Khanpura, Chandrapura, Khilichipura, Madarpura, Khajapura, Narsinghpura, Jagadpura, Kagadpura, Dibbipura and Nyapura.(RE: Trip into History by Savresh Prinyanka Banerjee) Mandsaur lies on the Tropic of Cancer. When the sun is in winter solstice, the effect of its rays is less potent and this earned the region the name Mand Surya, which later morphed into Mandsaur Its glorious past and rich history are even further enhanced by the numerous references to it in ancient epics such as the Mahabharata, Megdoot, Kadambari, Puranas, and Bruhatsamhita. For another dose of history and heritage, a visit to the Mandsaur museum is a must. The museum has aninteresting collection of idols — Shiva, Ganesha, Vishnu, Parasnath, and Mahavira. Mandsaur has also found mention in old Jain literature. Amleshwar inscription of second century B.C. is the first of its kind to mention this city. Daáapura (Mandsor) is also the birth place of the Jaina Saint Äryarkshit The seventh schism in Jainism occurred at this place. Another reference states that " In the area that is known as Malwa, we find the clan names Dsharn, Dashrah, Malvatsya, Kukar, *****i, Bhoj, *****al, Charman, etc Near Dhar nagar we find Bhoj, and near Mandsor we find Dehorn and Dashrah people ", Vijay Singh Pathik considers the Dasharn to be formed of ten tribes, though the ancient texts take them to be of one tribe" One of the historic landmarks of the place is the fort built during 1404-35. The magnificent structure has 12 doors leading from it and the entire edifice is encompassed by gardens. However, with the passage of time, the fort has fallen into ruin, and is presently the court and office of the collector of the region. A famous landmark for our family is the shrine of "Maha-Sati Mata" which is half way in the river basin and is partially submerged and accessible only when the water level is low. Lord Shiva is worshipped in our Family and by Dashoras. There may be some connection between the Shiva temples in Mandsaur and our ancestors. It is believed that Dashoras were occupying high administrative ranks before the attack by Allaudheen Khilji. After the attack the remaining Dashoras moved out with a vow not to return to Mandsaur or drink the water from Shivna river. At a special ceremony "Dashora Dashpur Prawesh and Historical Gathering" in 1976 Dashoras were re-invited to Mandsaur in order to forgive and burry the past wounds and the inflicted pain. A copy of re-published welcome speech part 1 and part 2 is illustrative of this belief. Rajyashree Tripathi recently brought our attention to a rhyme in relation to the origin of the Dashora Brahmins, which she had heard in her childhood days in Rampura. It was intended to be funny or even disparaging, without people really understanding the possibly true information contained therein. It goes like this: Mandsour ni Bamani, ne Surat no Bohro According to Rajyashree Tripathi this couplet could be
a testimonial to both the Gujarat and Mandsaur connection of the Dashora
community.
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