History Of VIRKs

 

 History

The Virks are one of the most important clans.^{[citation needed]} They are mentioned by Pāṇini and V.S. Agrawal identified the Virks with the Jats. The same identification was mentioned by Buddha Prakash [1]. Mahabhasya mentions Vrika and its derivative Varkenya, the Varkan of the Persians, and Hyrcan of the Greeks. The Caspian sea was once called the Sea of Vrkans (Hyrcanian). The identification of Hyrcan with Varkan has also been mentioned by Rawlinson in his "History of Herodotus". He mentions that, even in the thirteenth century, their country in Central Asia was mentioned as Urkanich in Yakut. According to Herodotus, they fought in the battle of Thermopylae under their leader, Megapanus, who afterwards was a Satrap of Babylonia [2]. They are one of the earliest clans to enter India and, up to the sixth century A.D., they were ruling in Malwa under their king Vishnuvardhana, Vrik. The Vriks are remembered in the Brahma, Vaman and Markandeya Puranas. Their antiquity goes very much deep in the past.

A country called Uruk, or Wark, is mentioned in Sumeria along with a country called Gutium. In fact, Trigan, the last Gutian king in the twenty-second century B.C. was defeated by Utu-Khegal, the ruler of Wark country. It is possible that this country has been named after them.

The word Vrik in Sanskrit means "wolf" - the same meaning as the Russian word volka, after which the river Volga is named.

In the Kushana period, an officer of Vima Kadphises was a Vrika, according to K.P.Jayaswa.

According to Patan Jali Bhashya 4.6-114, Ashtadhyayi l-6-155 Mahabhasya 4-2-154 and Kashika varti 1-1-175, Raja Virk Vardhan had his forts in Kasrud (Mandsaur), Central India, Shakil (Sialkot) Sosaph, Dathaaprastha, Naudipur, Koak, Kandewa, Mula, Pava Datt, Karkar, Virkgary, etc.

According to historians, the present day Sheikhupura was the site of Virkgarh.

According to Th. Yugendrapal, Virks are Vahikas who are mentioned in the Mahabharata and who took one-sixth of the income of King Shalya. In the fourth century AD, they had a powerful kingdom. They were contemporaries of the Gupta rulers. According to Brij Indra Bhaskar, in 428 AD, the Virk rulers performed a big Yagya near Bayana and constructed a Pillar, on which they are mentioned as Virks. Rock inscriptions of Yasodharman have been found in Mandsaur. Their reign in Malwa came to an end in 462 AD.

King Singhavarma belonging to this dynasty and ruled from 535 AD to 585 AD. He had two sons, Narvarma and Chandravarma. Chandravarma's son was Yasovarman. According to a rock inscription found in Gandhara, he was an independent ruler. He had two sons, Bhimvarma and Bondhuvarma. Bondhuvarma was defeated by the Gupta rulers and Bhimvarma was appointed the savant of a principality near Kausambhi but, once again, he became independent and, allying himself with Anu Gupta, fought the Huns. This has been referred to in the "Chandra Viyakaran".

Bhandhuvarmas's son was Yasodharman and his son Shiladitya.

The Virk Jat Kapur Singh founded Kapurthala and made it his capital. Before Punjab's partition, Sir Shahab-ud-Din, member of the Punjab Assembly and Secretary of Jat Sabha belonged to Tar in Sialkot. Jandiala in Amritsar belonged to the Virks.

The Virk tribe was designated by the British as a Martial race.

  Yasodharman was Virk Clan Jat

The Bijayagadh Stone Pillar Inscription of Vishnuvardhana shows that Yasodharman, the father of Vishnuvardhana, was a king of Virk gotra.^[1][2]Thakur Deshraj and C.V. Vaidya concluded that the inscription of Bijaygarh and Mandsaur proves that Yasodharman, the ruler of Malwa, was a Jat king of the Virk gotra.^[3][4]

  Manhas and Virk linkage

Traditionally, Virk have been associated with horse and buffalo trading throughout Punjab. This account of the Virk clan's historical role in Punjab has recently gained increasing support with the discovery of 17th century texts written by Bhai Gurdas. However, speculation remains regarding the extent of these actions as well as the accuracy of this account.

The headquarters of the Virk appear to be the Gujranwala and Sheikhupura districts, especially the former in which they have 132 villages. They claim origin from a Rajput called Virk, who left Jammu and settled at Ghuchli in Amritsar, Sheikhupura and, Gujranwala,. Nearly a third of them have returned as Rajputs, but they marry freely with the Jat tribes in their neighbourhood. They say that their ancestor, Virk, had descended from Raja Malan Hans Dev of Jammu, the founder of the Manhas or Minhas clan of Rajputs. Leaving Paragowal (the founder of paragowal was Raja parago Minhas) in Jammu, Virk settled in Amritsar and married a Gill Jat girl. His descendants, shortly afterward, moved westwards into Gujranwala. There are three main sections of the tribe, the Jopur, Vachra, and Jan. The tribes rose to some political importance about the end of last century, ruling a considerable tract in Gujranwala and Lahore, till subdued by Ranjit Singh.

  Sheikhupura

According to the historians, the present-day city of Sheikhupura in the province of Punjab (Pakistan), was the site of Virkgarh till the Mughal emperor, Jahangir built the city of Sheikhupura. The epical ancestor of the Virks, Raja Virk Vardhan, was a ruler of the area with its capital in the present-day city of Sialkot, Punjab (Pakistan). The eastern extent of his Raj included Amritsar (India) which still belongs to the Virks. The Virks are still strong in this area politically and economically. There are 132 villages in this area which belong to the Virks.

  Muslim and Sikh Virk

Whether Muslim, Hindu or Sikh, Virks always took pride in being members of the Jat community. The majority of Virks on the western side of Punjab converted to Islam while the majority of Virks on the eastern side of Punjab converted to Sikhism. The Virk chieftain, Nawab Kapur Singh founded the Dal Khalsa and later divided it into twelve Misls. He belonged to "Fyzallapur" village which remained his headquarters. This village was later renamed Singhpur. The Misl that he headed was, consequently, known as the Singhpuria Misl.

  Notable people

• Nawab Kapur Singh Virk was a famous Jat Sikh Misl warrior and leader in the 18th century in Punjab.