The Lost City of Agroha & its Agarwal Connection

AUTHOR Akshay Chavan
PUBLISHED 24 April 2018
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In India, it is often hard to differentiate between fact and myth. History and legend are often intertwined so tightly, especially in issues related to communities, that it is worth a retelling. One of the most interesting of these, is the story often told, about an ancient mystical city on the banks of the great river, Saraswati and how India’s hardy business community, the Agarwals, are linked to it. In this case, the legend actually resulted in the archaeologist’s finding the lost city. The Agarwals, dominate Indian business - from the small neighbourhood grocery store, to industrialists like the Bajajs and Mittals and also new age entrepreneurs like Bhavesh Agarwal from Ola… the list is long. However the community has a common ‘origins’ legend which traces it back to a ruler named Raja Agrasen, who they believe, ruled a ‘Kingdom of Traders’ during the time of the great epic, Mahabharata. According to this old oral legend, 5000 years ago there was a benevolent king Raja Agrasen, who ruled over a Janapada (Republic) named Agreya, with its capital at Agrodaka. He was savvy. He gave every person who wished to settle down in his kingdom bricks to build a house and capital to start a business. Soon, Agroha grew into a prosperous city-state of successful traders. People also believe that it was Raja Agrasen who established the city of Agra, then called Agravati as well as a stepwell called ‘Agrasen ki Baoli’ near present-day Connaught place, in New Delhi. According to legend, Raja Agrasen had 18 sons and each of them went on to start a sub clan, what we know as gotras, of the Agarwals today. These include the Mittals, Jindals, Bansals, Goyals and Gargs. It is believed that Agrasen’s kingdom thrived for centuries and then went into decline, due to invasions, forcing the Agarwals to migrate across India. While this was just an oral story passed down generations, it rece ...