Volume-XII, Issue-II, March 2026 |
Vanished or Erased: A Curious Case of Princess Champavati of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh Anjali Verma, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Himachal Pradesh University, Summer Hill, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India Khem Raj, Research Assistant, Department of History, Himachal Pradesh University, Summer Hill, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India |
Received: 24.02.2026 | Accepted: 05.03.2026 | Published Online: 31.03.2026 | Page No: | ||||
DOI: 10.29032/ijhsss.vol.12.issue.02W. | |||||||
ABSTRACT | ||
There is an ongoing debate in historians on the presence of women in history. Where nationalist historians always admired their presence anyhow, Marxist historians challenged the notion from their position, status, presence and contribution. Also, women were hardly noticed beyond royal and elite class. Here in the present study, we are observing a curious case of a princess named Champavati during 10th century Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. The case of her disappearance have formed the base of the present study on the grounds that: a) under what circumstances she disappeared, b) what was the justification of such disappearance, c) how several unattended questions kept floating in the pages of history. The case forms a strong base of patriarchy and its suppression, arrival of brahmans and their impact in temple formation of Champavati. The floating stories have been addressed through source based arguments. The simultaneous disappearance of Charpat Nath has also been taken under consideration with challenge on his existence in that particular time period when this princess disappeared. Thus, the present study is a unique contribution through a case probing in the history of Chamba and gender issues. | ||
Keywords: Champavati, Princess,Charpat, Nath-panth, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh |