19

JAUNSAR BABAR AND ITS DREAMY
INHABITANTS

About sixtyfive thousand feudal and happy go lucky people
of Jaunsar Babar inhabit 446 square miles of hill locked region
of Chakrata and Purola tahsil, which forms the northern half
of the Dehradun district; its southern side is adjacent to the wes-
tern Dun Pargana of the same district. The western and north-
western boundaries are contiguous with Sirmur, Jubbal and Taroch,
all of which were princely states. It blends legacy of the fast
vanishing past which was sill recently untouched by the rise and
fall of the glittering empires down below in the plains. In fact
they could hardly aspire to play lofty roles in the history of the
sub-continent, however, from the pages of the ancient history,
we have sufficient evidence to prove that this area had
certainly some link with the northern part of the country,
particularly during Vedic, Mauryan, Kushan and Gupta period.
The^Ashoka pillar at Kalsi bears testimony to the fact. At Jagat-
ram, near Kalsi, on the left bank of Yamuna, archaeological finds
of an Aswamedh Yajna were unearthed. The excavation at this
site led to the discovery of the two out of four sacrificial altars of
king Shahasranama. The bricks unearthed describe him as 'Yug
Shilageti' and *Yogeshwara* or lord of age. These altars are in
the shape of a hawk which seems as if ready to take a flight. This