Origin of Jat people from Shiva's Locks

Lord Shiva

Painting of Shiva's locks with Parvati, from the Smithsonian Institution.

The mythological account of the origin of the Jat people from locks of the hair if Shiva was propounded in the Deva Samhita, a collection of Sanskrit hymns by Gorakh Sinha during the early medieval period; and constitutes the metrical portions of the Vedas. Deva Samhita records the myth in the form of discussion between Shiva and Parvati expressed in shloka (verses) numbering from 12-17.

Y. P. Shastri suggests that this theory was a brainchild of Shankaracharya, and the real motive behind the propagation of this theory by Shankaracharya's followers was to counter the embracement of Buddhism by Jats, and to absorb them in the Hindu fold. However, the ethnogeographer, A. B. Mukerjee disagrees with Shastri and claims that this theory was being propagated by none other than the Jats themselves for "political" and "social" motives, particularly to counter the unacceptable precedence presupposed by Rajputs.

See also

• World Jat Aryan Foundation

Further reading

• Y.P. Shastri, p.40-41
• Mukerjee, A B. The Deccan Geographer. p. 32-33