My Name is Delhi

VISITORS have been coming to meet me from eternity, even when I didn’t have a name. There are so many secrets that hide in my bosom, though some have been uncovered.

I am glad that Devanampriya (the beloved of Gods), Emperor Ashoka, also left his stamp on my soil, way back in 3BCE. The village of Bahapur near Sriniwaspuri only revealed this secret in 1966 through a contractor who was excavating in the area to source material for construction. I was very happy to let go of this one as it exhorted people to follow ‘Dhamma’ or the right path.

I would urge all the people of my land to visit it and learn from it. This edict shows that I was on a trade route even when no one knew my name.

Travellers came and went, but in the 8th century CE, Raja Anangpal Tomar founded his empire stretching from Lado Sarai to Mehrauli and its remains are still there in Lal Kot, Mehrauli. If you come to meet me there you can see Anangpal’s water reservoir and ruins from the later construction by the Delhi sultans. Oh! If only I could tell you stories of all the grandeur and beauty of this place. But never mind, I am getting maudlin, there’s so much to share with you.

But first, let me tell you about my name. Though there are references that I was named ‘Delu’ after the king of Kannauj in 50 BCE, I will keep that aside as archaeologists and historians have still to discover any solid reference for it.

I do know that I was called ‘Dhilli’ as a reference comes from 1132 CE from a hagiography of the 23rd Jain Tirthankar named Pasanahacariu, written by the Agravala Digambara poet, Sridhar. Sridhar refers to the “region of Hariyanau which has numerous villages, and whose inhabitants are ever happy, there is the large city called Dhilli, favoured by Indra.”