In the year 681 AD & Islamic Year 61 Hijri, a great battle was fought in the Iraqi city of Karbala . Hussein Ibne Ali as (the grandson of Muhammad) had not come to a war but to help the people of Kufa who invited him with thousands of signatures, asking him to save them from the oppressor Caliphate. A battle was eventually fought at Karbala where Husseiin Ibne Ali as and his family and friends were encircled and left without food and water for days. Rahib Sidh Datt, a Hindu Saraswat Brahmin, was a highly respected figure in Arabia and had close relations with the family of Mohammed. When Ali ibn Abu Talib, the fIrst Shia IMAM and son-in-law of Muhammad was martyred , and later his elder son Hassan was martyred Ali's younger son, Hussein Ibne Ali as, came out to oppose the new Caliph, Yazid ibn Muawiyah. The vastly superior forces of Yazid, at Karbala surrounded his force consisting of 72 men, women and children. In the war, when hardly any muslim came to his help, Rahib fought on the side of Hussein and sacrificed his seven sons Namely:- Poroo,Ram Singh,Haras Rai,Rai Pun,Sahas Rai,Sher Khan and Dharoo.
In the ferocious war’ on the bank of river Euphrates and surrounded by a hostile desert, On the 7th day of Mohurrum, all hell broke out when 2lakh strong army sent by the tyrant Yazid from Mecca and other places, attacked them. 6,000 soldiers guarded the river bank to ensure that not a drop of water reached the Hussain’s thirsty innocents. By sunset of 10th (Ashoor), a Friday, all were dead including his son Ali Akbar (22), his step brother Abbas (32), daughter Skeena (4) and 6 months old infant Ali Asghar who was killed by an arrow while perched in his lap. Imam Hussain himself was slain with thirty three strokes of lances and swords by Shimr, the hatchet man of ignominious Yazid. Hussain was slaughtered in the desert on the 10th day of Muharram (Day of Ashura) along with his band of disciples in a bloody battle.
Rahib datt chased the murderers as they ran with the severed head of Hussein, up to Kufa. He retrieved the holy man’s head, washed it reverentially and then carried it to Damascus. According to legend, he was overtaken by Yazid’s men during his overnight shelter on the way. They demanded Hussain’s head from him: Rahab executed the head of one of his sons and offered to them. They shouted that it was not the Hussain’s head, then he beheaded his second son and they again yelled that it was not his. In this way Rahab executed the heads of his seven sons but did not part with the head of Imam Hussain. Later, after one year, the head was carried to Damascus and he was finally buried in karbala with rest of the body.
The valiant dutts and Shia disciples of Imam Hussein did not lay down their arms till they saw the end of Yazid who could rule just for 40 days.The intrepid Datts rallied round Amir Mukhtar, the chief of the partisans of Imam Hussain, fought with extraordinary heroism and captured and razed the fort of Koofa, seat of Yazid’s governor, Obaidullah, the Butcher. After scoring a resounding victory on the battlefield, they beat the drums and yelled out that they had avenged the innocent blood of Hussain shed at Karbala.
It is also significant to note that even before the Karbala incident, Hazrat Ali had entrusted the public exchequer to the regiment of the valiant Datts, at the time of the Battle of Camels fought near Basra. The above provides impeccable evidence about the pragmatic role played by the Datt Mohyals in the catastrophe of Karbala.
Later descendants of Rahib had many clans (Kabilas) in modern day Afghanistan and NWFP. The clans were called Mohdaa. To this day, a group of Brahmins called Hussaini Brahmins claim ancestry from Rihab Sidh Datt and participate in Muharram celebrations in India. After returning to India the descendants of Rahib Datt received grand welcome by the native Mohyals. They eventually settled near Nankana Sahib in the district of Sheikhupura in present-day Pakistan.
Many direct descendants of Rahib Dutt use last names such as Dutt, Datt, Sharma, Bharadwaj.
Interesting Stories Related to Datts/Mohyals/Dutts
Pir Wahun and Shiv Datt
Shiv Datt - The chief of the Datts.Pir Wahun - a trickster chess player
Pir Wahun was known for his knack of consistently winning the games. According to a bet fixed by him, the loser would either pay the price with his head or embrace Islam. In this way, he converted a large number of Hindus to the Muslim faith until he met his match in Shiv Datt. Shiv Datt challenged the Pir to a game of chess and defeated him three times in a row, thereby claiming the heads of his wife and two sons as per the stakes. However out of sheer generousness, Shiv Datt pardoned their life. When Wahun came to know that one of the ancestors of Shiv Datt had sacrificed his 7 sons for the sake of Muhammad in the battle of Karbala, he took a solemn vow that in the future he would never convert any Hindu by coercion to Islam. It was on this occasion that the Pir echoed the famous words: Wah Datt Sultan, Hindu ka Dharam Musalman ka Iman Adha Hindu Adha Musalman (Hail, O King Datt for Thou are endowed with the Dharma of the Hindu and the Iman of the Muslim Half Hindu, half Muslim).
The Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king called Chandragupta.
One of the wives of Imam Hussain, the Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king called Chandragupta. When it became clear that Yazid was adamant on killing the Imam, the Imam’s son Ali ibn Hussain rushed off a letter to Chandragupta asking him for help against Yazid. When Chandragupta received the letter, he dispatched a large army to Iraq to assist the Imam. By the time they arrived, however, the Imam had been slain. In the town of Kufa, in present-day Iraq, they met with one Mukhtar Saqaffi, a disciple of the Imam, who arranged for them to stay in a special part of the town, which even today is known by the name of Dair-i-Hindiya or ‘the Indian quarter’. Some Dutt Brahmins, under the leadership of one Bhurya Dutt, got together with Mukhtar Saqafi to avenge the death of the Imam. They stayed behind in Kufa, while the rest returned to India. Here they built up a community of their own, calling themselves Hussaini Brahmins, keeping alive the memory of their links with the Imam.
Interestingly, in the Preface of his famous historical Book, titled Karbala, published in 1924 from Lucknow, Munshi Prem Chand has stated that the Hindus, who fought and sacrificed their lives in the holy war of Karbala, are believed to be the descendants of Ashvathama. This clearly establishes their link with the Datts who consider Ashvathama as an ancestor of their clan.
In the ferocious war’ on the bank of river Euphrates and surrounded by a hostile desert, On the 7th day of Mohurrum, all hell broke out when 2lakh strong army sent by the tyrant Yazid from Mecca and other places, attacked them. 6,000 soldiers guarded the river bank to ensure that not a drop of water reached the Hussain’s thirsty innocents. By sunset of 10th (Ashoor), a Friday, all were dead including his son Ali Akbar (22), his step brother Abbas (32), daughter Skeena (4) and 6 months old infant Ali Asghar who was killed by an arrow while perched in his lap. Imam Hussain himself was slain with thirty three strokes of lances and swords by Shimr, the hatchet man of ignominious Yazid. Hussain was slaughtered in the desert on the 10th day of Muharram (Day of Ashura) along with his band of disciples in a bloody battle.
Rahib datt chased the murderers as they ran with the severed head of Hussein, up to Kufa. He retrieved the holy man’s head, washed it reverentially and then carried it to Damascus. According to legend, he was overtaken by Yazid’s men during his overnight shelter on the way. They demanded Hussain’s head from him: Rahab executed the head of one of his sons and offered to them. They shouted that it was not the Hussain’s head, then he beheaded his second son and they again yelled that it was not his. In this way Rahab executed the heads of his seven sons but did not part with the head of Imam Hussain. Later, after one year, the head was carried to Damascus and he was finally buried in karbala with rest of the body.
The valiant dutts and Shia disciples of Imam Hussein did not lay down their arms till they saw the end of Yazid who could rule just for 40 days.The intrepid Datts rallied round Amir Mukhtar, the chief of the partisans of Imam Hussain, fought with extraordinary heroism and captured and razed the fort of Koofa, seat of Yazid’s governor, Obaidullah, the Butcher. After scoring a resounding victory on the battlefield, they beat the drums and yelled out that they had avenged the innocent blood of Hussain shed at Karbala.
It is also significant to note that even before the Karbala incident, Hazrat Ali had entrusted the public exchequer to the regiment of the valiant Datts, at the time of the Battle of Camels fought near Basra. The above provides impeccable evidence about the pragmatic role played by the Datt Mohyals in the catastrophe of Karbala.
Later descendants of Rahib had many clans (Kabilas) in modern day Afghanistan and NWFP. The clans were called Mohdaa. To this day, a group of Brahmins called Hussaini Brahmins claim ancestry from Rihab Sidh Datt and participate in Muharram celebrations in India. After returning to India the descendants of Rahib Datt received grand welcome by the native Mohyals. They eventually settled near Nankana Sahib in the district of Sheikhupura in present-day Pakistan.
Many direct descendants of Rahib Dutt use last names such as Dutt, Datt, Sharma, Bharadwaj.
Interesting Stories Related to Datts/Mohyals/Dutts
Pir Wahun and Shiv Datt
Shiv Datt - The chief of the Datts.Pir Wahun - a trickster chess player
Pir Wahun was known for his knack of consistently winning the games. According to a bet fixed by him, the loser would either pay the price with his head or embrace Islam. In this way, he converted a large number of Hindus to the Muslim faith until he met his match in Shiv Datt. Shiv Datt challenged the Pir to a game of chess and defeated him three times in a row, thereby claiming the heads of his wife and two sons as per the stakes. However out of sheer generousness, Shiv Datt pardoned their life. When Wahun came to know that one of the ancestors of Shiv Datt had sacrificed his 7 sons for the sake of Muhammad in the battle of Karbala, he took a solemn vow that in the future he would never convert any Hindu by coercion to Islam. It was on this occasion that the Pir echoed the famous words: Wah Datt Sultan, Hindu ka Dharam Musalman ka Iman Adha Hindu Adha Musalman (Hail, O King Datt for Thou are endowed with the Dharma of the Hindu and the Iman of the Muslim Half Hindu, half Muslim).
The Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king called Chandragupta.
One of the wives of Imam Hussain, the Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king called Chandragupta. When it became clear that Yazid was adamant on killing the Imam, the Imam’s son Ali ibn Hussain rushed off a letter to Chandragupta asking him for help against Yazid. When Chandragupta received the letter, he dispatched a large army to Iraq to assist the Imam. By the time they arrived, however, the Imam had been slain. In the town of Kufa, in present-day Iraq, they met with one Mukhtar Saqaffi, a disciple of the Imam, who arranged for them to stay in a special part of the town, which even today is known by the name of Dair-i-Hindiya or ‘the Indian quarter’. Some Dutt Brahmins, under the leadership of one Bhurya Dutt, got together with Mukhtar Saqafi to avenge the death of the Imam. They stayed behind in Kufa, while the rest returned to India. Here they built up a community of their own, calling themselves Hussaini Brahmins, keeping alive the memory of their links with the Imam.
Interestingly, in the Preface of his famous historical Book, titled Karbala, published in 1924 from Lucknow, Munshi Prem Chand has stated that the Hindus, who fought and sacrificed their lives in the holy war of Karbala, are believed to be the descendants of Ashvathama. This clearly establishes their link with the Datts who consider Ashvathama as an ancestor of their clan.
