Tanwar

Tomara (also known as Tomar, Tanwar, and Tuar) is a Rajput clan whose members governed various regions of North India at different periods. The Tomars assert their lineage from the Puruvanshi ancestry of Indraprastha from the era of the Mahabharata.

History of Tanwars

According to ancient genealogies in the Puranas, the Tomars are believed to descend from the Pandava prince Arjuna, tracing their lineage through his great-grandson Emperor Janamejaya, son of Emperor Parikshit. Prince Dhritarashtra, born blind and the elder son of Kuru prince Vichitravirya, abdicated the throne in favor of his younger brother Pandu, whose sons were known as the Pandavas. Due to health issues, Pandu eventually returned the throne to his elder brother. The sons of Pandu engaged in a great battle, after which Yudhishthira emerged victorious over Duryodhana and became king. King Yudhishthira established Indraprastha in the Kuru kingdom and later abdicated in favor of Parikshit, Arjuna's grandson. After the Mahabharata war, Hastinapur remained the capital, but it was later flooded, prompting King Nishchakra to move the Pandava kingdom eastward. Indraprastha continued to be a significant city within the Kuru-Panchala Empire for many centuries. Around 300 BCE, the Kuru kingdom became one of the 16 Maha Janapadas under the Magadh Empire. King Kshemaka, the 28th in descent from Yudhishthira, was the last ruler with complete power in the Kuru kingdom before being overthrown by his ministers. His sons moved south to the Godavari River region, where his grandson Uttungabhuja founded a small kingdom. Centuries later, his descendants re-established Indraprastha under Anangpal Tomar I in the eighth century CE.

The Tomara dynasty in Delhi continued until Anangpal Tomar II, who built Lal Kot, a fortified wall around Delhi, likely as a defense against Mahmud of Ghazni's raids. This structure is one of Delhi’s oldest defenses. Anangpal Tomar II named his grandson, Prithviraj Chauhan (son of the King of Ajmer and his daughter), as his heir. Some historians believe Prithviraj acted merely as a caretaker for Delhi during Anangpal's lifetime and that he was never officially crowned there, suggesting he may have taken control of the throne from his maternal grandfather. Anangpal Tomar II had 23 brothers, each governing his own territory.