Origin of Jat People From Shiva's Locks - Brahmanical Legends of Origin of The Jats

The two ethnologists, Russel and Hira Lal, give a different version of the above anecdote in the Brahmanical legends of origin of the Jats, which is reproduced below:

"The Jats relate the legend thus. On the occasion when Raja Daksha, father-in-law of Mahadeva (Shiva) was performing a great sacrifice, he invited all the gods to present except his son-in-law Mahadeva. The latter's wife, Sati, was, however, very eager to go; so she asked Mahadeva to let her attend, even though she had not been invited. Mahadeva was unwilling to allow her, but finally consented. Daksha treated sati with great want of respect at the sacrifice, so she came home and told Mahadeva about her plight. When Mahadeva heard all this he was filled with wrath and untying his matted hair (jata) dashed it on the ground, whence two powerful beings arose from it. He sent them to destroy Daksha's sacrifice and they went and destroyed it. From these were descended the race of Jats, and they take their name from the matted locks (jata) of the Lord Shiva. Another saying of the Jats is that the ancestors of the Rajputs was from Kashyapa and that of the Jats from the Shiva. In the beginning these were the only two races in India."

It is also mentioned that after the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice by Virabhadra and his ganas, the followers of Shiva, the defeated gods sought Brahma and asked his counsel. Brahma advised the gods to make their peace with Shiva. Shiva accepted his advice and restored the burnt head of Daksha and the broken limbs were made whole. Then the devas thanked Shiva for his gentleness, and invited him to sacrifice. There Daksha looked on him with reverence, the rite was duly performed, and there also Vishnu appeared. A compromise was achieved between Vaishnavas and followers of Shiva.

The above account was set afloat during the medieval age which is marked by ascendancy of powerful Rajput warriors. It was a period of unhealthy growth of blind superstitions, the decay and death of adventure in science and thought in practical life. It was a period during which "the fairy of the fortune of the Jats, particularly after Harsha Vardhana, had gone to sleep." The account cast a spell on the mind of the simple Jat folk and soon became popular with them. They were taken by pious fraud that they were born from the highest bodily part (jata) of the highest god (Shiva) whereas all others are born of the lower part of Brahma.

The Brahmanical accounts wrongly interpret word jata (Hindi: जट) as 'locks'. Since Jats were strong followers of Shiva and were his ganas. Word 'Jata' should be understood as a federation of clans in the light of Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi. The linguistic and religious etymology about the origin of the word, 'Jata' is that it finds mention in most ancient Indian literature like Mahabharata, Ramayana and Rig Veda. Over sixty clans are named in the Rig Veda. In the Mahabharata as they are mentioned ‘Jartas’ in ‘Karna Parva’. The famous Sanskrit scholar Pāṇini (traditionally dated 520-460 BCE, with estimates ranging from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE) has mentioned in his Sanskrit grammar known as Aṣṭādhyāyī in the form of shloka as "Jata Jhata Sanghate" (Hindi: जट झट सङ्घाते). This means that the terms 'Jata' (Hindi: जट) and 'democratic federation' are synonymous. He has mentioned many Jat clans as settled in Punjab and North west areas. They are mentioned in the grammar treatise of Chandra of the fifth century in the phrase sentence "Ajay Jarto Huṇān" (Hindi: अजय जर्टो हुणान), which refers to the defeat of Huns by two Jat rulers under the leadership of Yasodharman. Other Jat ruler who fought with him was Baladitya.