Kaswan

Kaswan ( _hi. कसवां) or Kuswan or Kasuan is a gotra of jats in Rajasthan and Haryana in India. The word Kaswan is 'XWN' of Tocharian language meaning 'King'.

Origin of Kaswan

Jat historian Thakur Deshraj writes that Kushans were the people from Krishnavanshi who moved with Pandavas in the great migration after Mahabharata. There is no doubt that Kushan word is derived from sanskrit word "karshneya" and "karshnik". The word is not 'Kushan' but Kaswan clan found in Jats. [Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas (Hindi), Maharaja Suraj Mal Smarak Shiksha Sansthan, Delhi, 1934, 2nd edition 1992. Page-202] The Taxila Ladle Copper inscription bears this as 'Kaswin' word. In Mahabharata there is a word "Khawakasha" which becomes 'Kashwa' when 'Kh' is changed to 'x' and tellies with the word 'kasuwa' of "Panchtar inscription". The word 'Kaswan' is in fact 'XWN' word of Tokharian language which means 'King'. In Mahabharata also there is mention of a country named 'Kuswan' which was situated in the north of Mansarovar lake. [Bhim Singh Dahiya:Jats the ancient rulers] [Jat Samaj Monthly Magazine, Agra, May (2006) page-7]

James Legge has mentioned in the book : A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, chapter XII about the rule of Kanishka in footnote 4 that “Kanishka appeared and began to reign early in our first century, about A.D. 10. He was the last of three brothers, whose original seat was in Yueh-she, immediately mentioned, or Tukhara.”

He further mentions in footnote 6 that “This king was perhaps Kanishka himself, Fa-hien mixing up, in an inartistic way, different legends about him. Eitel suggests that a relic of the old name of the country may still exist in that of the Jats or Juts of the present day. A more common name for it is Tukhara, and he observes that the people were the Indo-Scythians of the Greeks, and the Tatars of Chinese writers, who, driven on by the Huns (180 BC), conquered Transoxiana, destroyed the Bactrian kingdom (126 BC), and finally conquered the Punjab, Cashmere, and great part of India, their greatest king being Kanishka (E. H., p. 152).” [James Legge : A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, (Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his Travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399-414), in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline Translated and annotated with a Corean recension of the Chinese text)]

An article about Raja Kharavela in Orissa mentions about the rule of Kaswan in 2nd century of Vikram samvat. It has been mentioned in ‘Hathi Gumpha and three other inscriptions’ (page 24) in Sanskrit as under:

:Sanskrit - कुसवानाम् क्षत्रियानां च सहाय्यतावतां प्राप्त मसिक नगरम्

:IAST - “"unicode|Kusawānāṃ unicode|kshatriyānāṃ ca unicode|Sahāyyatāvatāṃ prāpt masika unicode|nagaraṃ"”.

:This translates that the city of 'Masik' was obtained with the help of 'Kuswa' Kshatriyas [Kishori Lal Faujdar:Jat Samaj Monthly Magazine, Agra, January/February (2001) page-6]

According to historian Bhim Singh Dahiya, the correct name for Kushans in India is Kasuan, the present Kaswan clan of Jats of Rajasthan and Haryana. This title remains in use by the Jat clan and indicates their possibility of ancestral lineage from Kushans. [Bhim Singh Dahiya:Jats the ancient rulers]

Kaswan people in Jangladesh

Kaswan people were rulers in Sindh. After the Kaswan rulers lost their kingdom they came from north-west India to Jangladesh. Around 4th century, they inhabited Jangladesh. Jangladesh coincided with the princely state of Bikaner in Rajasthan. Rathores under the leadership of Bika, were spreading their rule in Jangladesh. Bika founded Bikaner as their capital in 1488. At that time, Kaswan Jats were ruling in about 400 villages in Jangladesh. Kanwarpal was their king, and their capital was at Sidhmukh town. The people of this clan were known as warriors who used to fight with patience. They had 2000 camels and 500 riders always ready for defence. They were good cultivators as well as superb soldiers. Kaswan Jats had war with Rathores, but the Godara Jats had aligned with Rathores due to which Kaswan Jats faced a defeat. Rathores annexed their kingdom in 17th century. They used to elect their king with a democratic process. Chahar Jats were their neighbourhood rulers. [Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas (Hindi), Maharaja Suraj Mal Smarak Shiksha Sansthan, Delhi, 1934, 2nd edition 1992. Page-610 ]

Kaswan people at present

Presently, Kaswan clan people are Jats, who live in about 300 villages of the Bikaner, Churu, and Ratangarh areas.

As per above Jat historical traditions it is clear that the Kushan rulers and Kaswan clan of Jats were the same people.

Notable persons of this clan

DEVENDRA SINGH KASWA {BIKANER}
*Ram Singh Kaswan - Member of Parliament, Churu
*Swami Gopal Das - Freedom fighter, Social worker

*Amar Choudhary - C.M.D, Progeny Institute of Technology & Social worker

References