SARMAL CLAN OF Dogra Rajputs

SARMALS ( also Sadmal/Surmal ) , are the Pahari Dogra Rajputs popularly known as Pahari Raje , belonging to Suryavanshi Lineage of Hindu Kshatriya Class. They lived in lower hills of Dugar Desh, so, also known as the Dogra Rajputs.
All the Dogra Rajputs are Khas Aryas.

In Rajatarngini, there is mention of Thakkuras, the chiefs of the hills who acknowledged their suzerainty to strong kashmir rulers . They are being addressed as the Lords of country by Kalhana. Sarmals are the offshoot of these Feudal Lords , Thakkuras.

CONTRIBUTION IN FEUDAL SET UP OF KASHMIR

They were active warriors . Mohd. Habib regards them as the actual fighters in India like the knights of Europe. In
his words, "the thakur could face death, that was easy for him but he could not risk captivity"
(Mohd. Habib, Introd. to Elliot & Dowson, Vol. II, p.44.

They were as so much proficient in fighting that this spirit could successfiilly be maintained by them till the old age.They provided the sure quota of soldiers required during the wars and monarch set up of kashmir.They were lover of horses and archery.
In Kalhana Rajatarngini , these Hill-Rajas or Thakurs ,  are presented as playing a significant role in Kashmiri politics from the 11th century onward.
The Hill-Rajas allied their houses with the royal house of Kashmir through marriage. The kings of Kashmir played a correspondingly powerful role in the local politics of the Hill-Rajas.The goodwill or obedience of the Hill-Rajas must always have been a desideratum for the kings of Kashmir, in order to regulate contact between themselves and the powers of the north Indian plains.


VANSH AND DYNASTY

Sarmals belongs to Survayansha DYNASTY. It is the dynasty in which Incarnation of Lord Ram took place.

VANSH= Suryavansh
GOTRA= Bhardwaj

Sun dynasty is oldest among the kshatriyas.

ETYMOLOGY
The societies in Himalayan region from jammu to Himachal Pradesh and Himachal to Uttrakhand , there is similar pattern of history, where numerous small kingdoms scattered over hills and small valleys.
To term it more precisely , these kingdoms were rather fortified villages of warrior--landlords known as Thakurs and Ranas.
These Feudal Lords were Rajputs by lineage.Most of Rajput groups in this region have origin in these kingdoms, the name of which became the name of their clan. Actually, similar for Sarmal Clan which have its origin in Sauram hills of Dugar region of Samba District of Jammu & Kashmir.The family of Rajputs of Sauram Region were then begin to known as Sarmal who were Suryavanshi Kshatriya.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Majority of the them are concentrated in the Samba District of the Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir.Moreover, also scattered in Jammu, Kathua, Doda, Katra, Bhadrawah and neighbouring states like Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.


Jai Dogra