The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume IV Part 40

Rajput, Dhakar

_Rajput, Dhakar_.--In the Central Provinces this term has the meaning of one of illegitimate descent, and it is often used by the Kirars, who are probably of mixed descent from Rajputs. In northern India, however, the Dhakars are a clan of Rajputs, who claim Surajvansi origin; but this is not generally admitted. Mr. Crooke states that some are said to be emigrants from the banks of the Nerbudda; but the main body say they came from Ajmer in the sixteenth century. They were notorious in the eighteenth century for their lawlessness, and gave the imperial Mughal officers much trouble in the neighbourhood of Agra, rendering the communications between that city and Etawah insecure. In the Mutiny they broke out again, and are generally a turbulent, ill-conducted sept, always ready for petty acts of violence and cattle-stealing. They are, however, recognised as Rajputs of good position and intermarry with the best clans. [522]

In the Central Provinces the Dhakars are found princ.i.p.ally in Hoshangabad, and it is doubtful if they are proper Rajputs.

Rajput, Gaharwar

_Rajput, Gaharwar, Gherwal_.--This is an old clan. Mr. V.A. Smith states that they had been dominant in Central India about Nowgong and Chhatarpur before the Parihars in the eighth century. The Parihar kings were subsequently overthrown by the Chandels of Mahoba. In their practice of building embankments and constructing lakes the Chandels were imitators of the Gaharwars, who are credited with the formation of some of the most charming lakes in Bundelkhand. [523]

And in A.D. 1090 a Raja of the Gaharwar clan called Chandradeva seized Kanauj (on the Ganges north-west of Lucknow), and established his authority certainly over Benares and Ajodhia, and perhaps over the Delhi territory. Govindachandra, grandson of Chandradeva, enjoyed a long reign, which included the years A.D. 1114 and 1154. His numerous land grants and widely distributed coins prove that he succeeded to a large extent in restoring the glories of Kanauj, and in making himself a power of considerable importance. The grandson of Govindachandra was Jayachandra, renowned in the popular Hindu poems and tales of northern India as Raja Jaichand, whose daughter was carried off by the gallant Rai Pithora or Prithwi Raj of Ajmer. Kanauj was finally captured and destroyed by s.h.i.+hab-ud-Din in 1193, when Jaichand retired towards Benares but was overtaken and slain. [524] His grandson, Mr. Crooke says, [525] afterwards fled to Kant.i.t in the Mirzapur District and, overcoming the Bhar Raja of that place, founded the family of the Gaharwar Rajas of Kant.i.t Bijaypur, which was recently still in existence. All the other Gaharwars trace their lineage to Benares or Bijaypur. The predecessors of the Gaharwars in Kant.i.t and in a large tract of country lying contiguous to it were the Bhars, an indigenous race of great enterprise, who, though not highly civilised, were far removed from barbarism. According to Sherring they have left numerous evidences of their energy and skill in earthworks, forts, dams and the like. [526] Similarly Elliot says of the Bhars: "Common tradition a.s.signs to them the possession of the whole tract from Gorakhpur to Bundelkhand and Saugor, and the large pargana of Bhadoi or Bhardai in Benares is called after their name. Many old stone forts, embankments and subterranean caverns in Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Allahabad, which are ascribed to them, would seem to indicate no inconsiderable advance in civilisation." [527] Colonel Tod says of the Gaharwars: "The Gherwal Rajput is scarcely known to his brethren in Rajasthan, who will not admit his contaminated blood to mix with theirs, though as a brave warrior he is ent.i.tled to their fellows.h.i.+p." [528] It is thus curious that the Gaharwars, who are one of the oldest clans to appear in authentic history, if they ruled Central India in the eighth century before the Parihars, should be considered to be of very impure origin. And as they are subsequently found in Mirzapur, a backward forest tract which is also the home of the Bhars, and both the Gaharwars and Bhars have a reputation as builders of tanks and forts, it seems likely that the Gaharwars were really, as suggested by Mr. V.A. Smith, the aristocratic branch of the Bhars, probably with a considerable mixture of Rajput blood. Elliot states that the Bhars formerly occupied the whole of Azamgarh, the pargana of Bara in Allahabad and Khariagarh in the Kanauj tract. This widespread dominance corresponds with what has been already stated as regards the Gaharwars, who, according to Mr. V.A. Smith, ruled in Central India, Kanauj, Oudh, Benares and Mirzapur. And the name Gaharwar, according to Dr. h.o.e.rnle, is connected with the Sanskrit root _gah_, and has the sense of 'dwellers in caves or deep jungle.' [529]

The origin of the Gaharwars is of interest in the Central Provinces, because it is from them that the Bundela clan of Saugor and Bundelkhand is probably descended. [530]

The Gaharwars, Mr. Crooke states, now hold a high rank among Rajput septs; they give daughters to the Baghel, Chandel and Bisen, and take brides of the Bais, Gautam, Chauhan, Parihar and other clans. The Gaharwars are found in small numbers in the Central Provinces, chiefly in the Chhattisgarh Districts and Feudatory States.

Rajput, Gaur

_Rajput, Gaur, Chamar Gaur_.--Colonel Tod remarks of this tribe: "The Gaur tribe was once respected in Rajasthan, though it never there attained to any considerable eminence. The ancient kings of Bengal were of this race, and gave their name to the capital, Lakhnauti." This town in Bengal, and the kingdom of which it was the capital, were known as Ganda, and it has been conjectured that the Gaur Brahmans and Rajputs were named after it. Sir H.M. Elliot and Mr. Crooke, however, point out that the home of the Gaur Brahmans and Rajputs and a cultivating caste, the Gaur Tagas, is in the centre and west of the United Provinces, far removed from Bengal; the Gaur Brahmans now reside princ.i.p.ally in the Meerut Division, and between them and Bengal is the home of the Kanaujia Brahmans. General Cunningham suggests that the country comprised in the present Gonda District round the old town of Sravasti, was formerly known as Gauda, and was hence the origin of the caste name. [531] The derivation from Gaur in Bengal is perhaps, however, more probable, as the name was best known in connection with this tract. The Gaur Rajputs do not make much figure in history. "Repeated mention of them is found in the wars of Prithwi Raj as leaders of considerable renown, one of whom founded a small state in the centre of India. This survived through seven centuries of Mogul domination, till it at length fell a prey indirectly to the successes of the British over the Marathas, when Sindhia in 1809 annihilated the power of the Gaur and took possession of his capital, Supur." [532]

In the United Provinces the Gaur Rajputs are divided into three groups, the Bahman, or Brahman, the Bhat, and the Chamar Gaur. Of these the Chamar Gaur, curiously enough appear to rank the highest, which is accounted for by the following story: When trouble fell upon the Gaur family, one of their ladies, far advanced in pregnancy, took refuge in a Chamar's house, and was so grateful to him for his disinterested protection that she promised to call her child by his name. The Bhats and Brahmans, to whom the others fled, do not appear to have shown a like chivalry, and hence, strange as it may appear, the subdivisions called after their name rank below the Chamar Gaur. [533] The names of the subsepts indicate that this clan of Rajputs is probably of mixed origin. If the Brahman subsept is descended from Brahmans, it would be only one of several probable cases of Rajput clans originating from this caste. As regards the Bhat subcaste, the Charans or Bhats of Rajputana are admittedly Rajputs, and there is therefore nothing curious in finding a Bhat subsection in a Rajput clan. What the real origin of the Chamar Gaurs was is difficult to surmise. The Chamar Gaur is now a separate clan, and its members intermarry with the other Gaur Rajputs, affording an instance of the subdivision of clans. In the Central Provinces the greater number of the persons returned as Gaur Rajputs really belong to a group known as Gorai, who are considered to be the descendants of widows or kept women in the Gaur clan, and marry among themselves. They should really therefore be considered a separate caste, and not members of the Rajput caste proper. In the United Provinces the Gaurs rank with the good Rajput clans. In the Central Provinces the Gaur and Chamar-Gaur clans are returned from most Districts of the Jubbulpore and Nerbudda divisions, and also in considerable numbers from Bhandara.

Rajput, Haihaya

_Rajput, Haihaya, Haihaivansi, Kalaehuri_.--This well-known historical clan of the Central Provinces is not included among the thirty-six royal races, and Colonel Tod gives no information about them. The name Haihaya is stated to be a corruption of Ahihaya, which means snake-horse, the legend being that the first ancestor of the clan was the issue of a snake and a mare. Haihaivansi signifies descendants of the horse. Colonel Tod states that the first capital of the Indu or lunar race was at Mahesvati on the Nerbudda, still existing as Maheshwar, and was founded by Sahasra Arjuna of the Haihaya tribe. [534] This Arjuna of the thousand arms was one of the Pandava brothers, and it may be noted that the Ratanpur Haihaivansis still have a story of their first ancestor stealing a horse from Arjuna, and a consequent visit of Arjuna and Krishna to Ratanpur for its recovery. Since the Haihayas also claim descent from a snake and are of the lunar race, it seems not unlikely that they may have belonged to one of the Scythian or Tartar tribes, the Sakas or Yueh-chi, who invaded India shortly after the commencement of the Christian era, as it has been conjectured that the other lunar Rajput clans wors.h.i.+pping or claiming descent from a snake originated from these tribes. The Haihaivansis or Kalachuris became dominant in the Nerbudda valley about the sixth century, their earliest inscription being dated A.D. 580. Their capital was moved to Tripura or Tewar near Jubbulpore about A.D. 900, and from here they appear to have governed an extensive territory for about 300 years, and were frequently engaged in war with the adjoining kingdoms, the Chandels of Mahoba, the Panwars of Malwa, and the Chalukyas of the south. One king, Gangeyadeva, appears even to have aspired to become the paramount power in northern India, and his sovereignty was recognised in distant Tirhut. Gangeyadeva was fond of residing at the foot of the holy fig-tree of Prayaga (Allahabad), and eventually found salvation there with his hundred wives. From about A.D. 1100 the power of the Kalachuri or Haihaya princes began to decline, and their last inscription is dated A.D. 1196. It is probable that they were subverted by the Gond kings of Garha-Mandla, the first of whom, Jadurai, appears to have been in the service of the Kalachuri king, and subsequently with the aid of a dismissed minister to have supplanted his former-master. [535] The kingdom of the Kalachuri or Haihaya kings was known as Chedi, and, according to Mr. V.A. Smith, corresponded more or less roughly to the present area of the Central Provinces. [536]

In about the tenth century a member of the reigning family of Tripura was appointed viceroy of some territories in Chhattisgarh, and two or three generations afterwards his family became practically independent of the parent house, and established their own capital at Ratanpur in Bilaspur District (A.D. 1050). This state was known as Daks.h.i.+n or southern Kosala. During the twelfth century its importance rapidly increased, partly no doubt on the ruins of the Jubbulpore kingdom, until the influence of the Ratanpur princes, Ratnadeva II. and Prithwideva II., may be said to have extended from Amarkantak to beyond the G.o.davari, and from the confines of Berar in the west to the boundaries of Orissa in the east. [537] The Ratanpur kingdom of Chedi or Daks.h.i.+n Kosala was the only one of the Rajput states in the Central Provinces which escaped subversion by the Gonds, and it enjoyed a comparatively tranquil existence till A.D. 1740, when Ratanpur fell to the Marathas almost without striking a blow. "The only surviving representative of the Haihayas of Ratanpur," Mr. Wills states, [538]

"is a quite simple-minded Rajput who lives at Bargaon in Raipur District. He represents the junior or Raipur branch of the family, and holds five villages which were given him revenue-free by the Marathas for his maintenance. The malguzar of Senduras claims descent from the Ratanpur family, but his pretensions are doubtful. He enjoys no privileges such as those of the Bargaon Thakur, to whom presents are still made when he visits the chiefs who were once subordinate to his ancient house." In the Ballia District of the United Provinces [539] are some Hayobans Rajputs who claim descent from the Ratanpur kings. Chandra Got, a cadet of this house, is said to have migrated northwards in A.D. 850 [540] and settled in the Saran District on the Ganges, where he waged successful war with the aboriginal Cheros. Subsequently one of his descendants violated a Brahman woman called Maheni of the house of his Purohit or family priest, who burnt herself to death, and is still locally wors.h.i.+pped. After this tragedy the Hayobans Rajputs left Saran and settled in Ballia. Colonel Tod states that, "A small branch of these ancient Haihayas yet exist in the country of the Nerbudda, near the very top of the valley, at Sohagpur in Baghelkhand, aware of their ancient lineage, and, though few in number, are still celebrated for their valour." [541]

This Sohagpur must apparently be the Sohagpur tahsil of Rewah, ceded from Mandla after the Mutiny.

Rajput, Huna

_Rajput, Huna, Hoon_.--This clan retains the name and memory of the Hun barbarian hordes, who invaded India at or near the epoch of their incursions into Europe. It is practically extinct; but in his _Western India_ Colonel Tod records the discovery of a few families of Hunas in Baroda State: "At a small village opposite Ometa I discovered a few huts of Huns, still existing under the ancient name of Hoon, by which they are known to Hindu history. There are said to be three or four families of them at the village of Trisavi, three _kos_ from Baroda, and although neither feature nor complexion indicate much relation to the Tartar-visaged Hun, we may ascribe the change to climate and admixture of blood, as there is little doubt that they are descended from these invaders, who established a sovereignty on the Indus in the second and sixth centuries of the Christian era, and became so incorporated with the Rajput population as to obtain a place among the thirty-six royal races of India, together with the Gete, the Kathi, and other tribes of the Sacae from Central Asia, whose descendants still occupy the land of the sun-wors.h.i.+pping Saura or Chaura, no doubt one of the same race."

Rajput, Kachhwaha

_Rajput, Kachhwaha, Cutchwaha_--A celebrated clan of Rajputs included among the thirty-six royal races, to which the Maharajas of the important states of Amber or Jaipur and Alwar belong. They are of the solar race and claim descent from Kash, the second son of the great king Rama of Ajodhia, the incarnation of Vishnu. Their original seat, according to tradition, was Rohtas on the Son river, and another of their famous progenitors was Raja Nal, who migrated from Rohtas and founded Narwar. [542] The town of Damoh in the Central Provinces is supposed to be named after Damyanti, Raja Nal's wife. According to General Cunningham the name Kachhwaha is an abbreviation of Kachhaha-ghata or tortoise-killer. The earliest appearance of the Kachhwaha Rajputs in authentic history is in the tenth century, when a chief of the clan captured Gwalior from the Parihar-Gujar kings of Kanauj and established himself there. His dynasty had an independent existence till A.D. 1128, when it became tributary to the Chandel kings of Mahoba. [543] The last prince of Gwalior was Tejkaran, called Dulha Rai or the bridegroom prince, and he received from his father-in-law the district of Daora in the present Jaipur State, where he settled. In 1150 one of his successors wrested Amber from the Minas and made it his capital. The Amber State from the first acknowledged the supremacy of the Mughal emperors, and the chief of the period gave his daughter in marriage to Akbar. This chief's son, Bhagwan Das, is said to have saved Akbar's life at the battle of Sarnal. Bhagwan Das gave a daughter to Jahangir, and his adopted son, Man Singh, the next chief, was one of the most conspicuous of the Mughal Generals, and at different periods was governor of Kabul, Bengal, Bihar and the Deccan. The next chief of note, Jai Singh I., appears in all the wars of Aurangzeb in the Deccan. He was commander of 6000 horse, and captured Sivaji, the celebrated founder of the Maratha power. The present city of Jaipur was founded by a subsequent chief, Jai Singh II., in 1728. During the Mutiny the Maharaja of Jaipur placed all his military power at the disposal of the Political Agent, and in every way a.s.sisted the British Government. At the Durbar of 1877 his salute was raised to 21 guns. Jaipur, one of the largest states in Rajputana, has an area of nearly 16,000 square miles, and a population of 2 1/2 million persons. The Alwar State was founded about 1776 by Pratap Singh, a descendant of a prince of the Jaipur house, who had separated from it three centuries before. It has an area of 3000 square miles and a population of nearly a million. [544]

In Colonel Tod's time the Kachhwaha chiefs in memory of their descent from Rama, the incarnation of the sun, celebrated with great solemnity the annual feast of the sun. On this occasion a stately car called the chariot of the sun was brought from Rama's temple, and the Maharaja ascending into it perambulated his capital. The images of Rama and Siva were carried with the army both in Alwar and Jaipur. The banner of Amber was always called the _Panchranga_ or five-coloured flag, and is frequently mentioned in the traditions of the Rajput bards. But it does not seem to be stated what the five colours were. Some of the finest soldiers in the old Sepoy army were Kachhwaha Rajputs. The Kachhwahas are fairly numerous in the United Provinces and rank with the highest Rajput clans. [545] In the Central Provinces they are found princ.i.p.ally in the Saugor, Hoshangabad and Nimar Districts.

Rajput, Nagvansi

_Rajput, Nagvansi_.--This clan are considered to be the descendants of the Tak or Takshac, which is one of the thirty-six royal races, and was considered by Colonel Tod to be of Scythian origin. The Takshac were also snake-wors.h.i.+ppers. "Naga and Takshac are synonymous appellations in Sanskrit for the snake, and the Takshac is the celebrated Nagvansa of the early heroic history of India. The Mahabharat describes in its usual allegorical style the war between the Pandus of Indraprestha and the Takshacs of the north. Parikhita, a prince on the Pandu side, was a.s.sa.s.sinated by the Takshac, and his son and successor, Janamejaya, avenged his death and made a bonfire of 20,000 snakes." [546] This allegory is supposed to have represented the warfare of the Aryan races against the Sakas or Scythians. The Tak or Takshac would be one of the clans held to be derived from the earlier invading tribes from Central Asia, and of the lunar race. The Tak are scarcely known in authentic history, but the poet Chand mentions the Tak from Aser or Asirgarh as one of the princes who a.s.sembled at the summons of Prithwi Raj of Delhi to fight against the Muhammadans. In another place he is called Chatto the Tak. Nothing more is known of the Tak clan unless the cultivating Taga caste of northern India is derived from them. But the Nagvansi clan of Rajputs, who profess to be descended from them, is fairly numerous. Most of the Nagvansis, however, are probably in reality descended from landholders of the indigenous tribes who have adopted the name of this clan, when they wished to claim rank as Rajputs. The change is rendered more easy by the fact that many of these tribes have legends of their own, showing the descent of their ruling families from snakes, the snake and tiger, owing to their deadly character, being the two animals most commonly wors.h.i.+pped. Thus the landholding section of the Kols or Mundas of Chota Nagpur have a long legend [547] of their descent from a princess who married a snake in human form, and hence call themselves Nagvansi Rajputs; and Dr. Buchanan states that the Nagvansi clan of Gorakhpur is similarly derived from the Chero tribe. [548] In the Central Provinces the Nagvansi Rajputs number about 400 persons, nearly all of whom are found in the Chhattisgarh Districts and Feudatory States, and are probably descendants of Kol or Munda landholding families.

Rajput, Nik.u.mbh

_Rajput, Nik.u.mbh_.--The Nik.u.mbh is given as one of the thirty-six royal races, but it is also the name of a branch of the Chauhans, and it seems that, as suggested by Sherring, [549] it may be an offshoot from the great Chauhan clan. The Nik.u.mbh are said to have been given the t.i.tle of Sirnet by an emperor of Delhi, because they would not bow their heads on entering his presence, and when he fixed a sword at the door some of them allowed their necks to be cut through by the sword rather than bend the head. The term Sirnet is supposed to mean headless. A Chauhan column with an inscription of Raja Bisal Deo was erected at Nigumbode, a place of pilgrimage on the Jumna, a few miles below Delhi, and it seems a possible conjecture that the Nik.u.mbhs may have obtained their name from this place. [550] Mr. Crooke, however, takes the Nik.u.mbh to be a separate clan. The foundation of most of the old forts and cities in Alwar and northern Jaipur is ascribed to them, and two of their inscriptions of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries have been discovered in Khandesh. In northern India some of them are now known as Raghuvansi. [551] They are chiefly found in the Hoshangabad and Nimar Districts, and may be connected with the Raghuvansi or Raghwi caste of these Provinces.

Rajput, Paik

_Rajput, Paik_.--This term means a foot-soldier, and is returned from the northern Districts. It belongs to a cla.s.s of men formerly maintained as a militia by zamindars and landholders for the purpose of collecting their revenue and maintaining order. They were probably employed in much the same manner in the Central Provinces as in Bengal, where Buchanan thus describes them: [552] "In order to protect the money of landowners and convey it from place to place, and also, as it is alleged, to enforce orders, two kinds of guards are kept. One body called Burkandaz, commanded by Duffadars and Jemadars, seems to be a more recent establishment The other called Paik, commanded by Mirdhas and Sirdars, are the remains of the militia of the Bengal kingdom. Both seem to have const.i.tuted the foot-soldiers whose number makes such a formidable appearance in the Ain-i-Akbari. These unwieldy establishments seem to have been formed when the Government collected rent immediately from the farmer and cultivator, and when the same persons managed not only the collections but the police and a great part of the judicial department. This vast number of armed men, more especially the latter, formed the infantry of the Mughal Government, and were continued under the zamindars, who were anxious to have as many armed men as possible to support them in their depredations. And these establishments formed no charge, as they lived on lands which the zamindar did not bring to account." The Paiks are thus a small caste formed from military service like the Khandaits or swordsmen of Orissa, and are no doubt recruited from all sections of the population. They have no claim to be considered as Rajputs.

Rajput, Parihar

_Rajput, Parihar_.--This clan was one of the four Agnikulas or fire-born. Their founder was the first to issue from the fire-fountain, but he had not a warrior's mien. The Brahmans placed him as guardian of the gate, and hence his name, _Prithi-ha-dwara_ of which Parihar is supposed to be a corruption [553]. Like the Chauhans and Solankis the Parihar clan is held to have originated from the Gurjara or Gujar invaders who came with the white Huns in the fifth and sixth centuries, and they were one of the first of the Gujar Rajput clans to emerge into prominence. They were dominant in Bundelkhand before the Chandels, their last chieftain having been overthrown by a Chandel prince in A.D. 831 [554]. A Parihar-Gujar chieftain, whose capital was at Bhinmal in Rajputana, conquered the king of Kanauj, the ruler of what remained of the dominions of the great Harsha Vardhana, and established himself there about A.D. 816 [555]. Kanauj was then held by Gujar-Parihar kings till about 1090, when it was seized by Chandradeva of the Gaharwar Rajput clan. The Parihar rulers were thus subverted by the Gaharwars and Chandels, both of whom are thought to be derived from the Bhars or other aboriginal tribes, and these events appear to have been in the nature of a rising of the aristocratic section of the indigenous residents against the Gujar rulers, by whom they had been conquered and perhaps taught the trade of arms. After this period the Parihars are of little importance. They appear to have retired to Rajputana, as Colonel Tod states that Mundore, five miles north of Jodhpur, was their headquarters until it was taken by the Rahtors. The walls of the ruined fortress of Mundore are built of enormous square ma.s.ses of stone without cement, and attest both its antiquity and its former strength [556]. The Parihars are scattered over Rajputana, and a colony of them on the Chambal was characterised as the most notorious body of thieves in the annals of Thug history [557]. Similarly in Etawah they are said to be a peculiarly lawless and desperate community [558]. The Parihar Rajputs rank with the leading clans and intermarry with them. In the Central Provinces they are found princ.i.p.ally in Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore.

Rajput, Rathor

_Rajput, Rathor, Rathaur._--The Rathor of Jodhpur or Marwar is one of the most famous clans of Rajputs, and that which is most widely dominant at the present time, including as it does the Rajas of Jodhpur, Bikaner, Ratlam, Kishengarh and Idar, as well as several smaller states. The origin of the Rathor clan is uncertain. Colonel Tod states that they claim to be of the solar race, but by the bards of the race are denied this honour; and though descended from Kash, the second son of Rama, are held to be the offspring of one of his progeny, Kashyap, by the daughter of a Dait (t.i.tan). The view was formerly held that the dynasty which wrested Kanauj from the descendants of Harsha Vardhana, and held it from A.D. 810 to 1090, until subverted by the Gaharwars, were Rathors, but proof has now been obtained that they were really Parihar-Gujars. Mr. Smith suggests that after the destruction of Kanauj by the Muhammadans under s.h.i.+hab-ud-Din Ghori in A.D. 1193 the Gaharwar clan, whose kings had conquered it in 1090 and reigned there for a century, migrated to the deserts of Marwar in Rajputana, where they settled and became known as Rathors. [559]

It has also been generally held that the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Nasik and Malkhed in the Deccan which reigned from A.D. 753 to 973, and built the Kailasa temples at Ellora were Rathors, but Mr. Smith states that there is no evidence of any social connection between the Rashtrakutas and Rathors. [560] At any rate Siahji, the grandson or nephew of Jai Chand, the last king of Kanauj, who had been drowned in the Ganges while attempting to escape, accomplished with about 200 followers--the wreck of his va.s.salage--the pilgrimage to Dwarka in Gujarat. He then sought in the sands and deserts of Rajputana a second line of defence against the advancing wave of Muhammadan invasion, and planted the standard of the Rathors among the sandhills of the Luni in 1212. This, however, was not the first settlement of the Rathors in Rajputana, for an inscription, dated A.D. 997, among the ruins of the ancient city of Hathundi or Hastikundi, near Bali in Jodhpur State, tells of five Rathor Rajas who ruled there early in the tenth century, and this fact shows that the name Rathor is really much older than the date of the fall of Kanauj. [561]

In 1381 Siahji's tenth successor, Rao Chonda, took Mundore from a Parihar chief, and made his possession secure by marrying the latter's daughter. A subsequent chief, Rao Jodha, laid the foundation of Jodhpur in 1459, and transferred thither the seat of government. The site of Jodhpur was selected on a peak known as Joda-gir, or the hill of strife, four miles distant from Mundore on a crest of the range overlooking the expanse of the desert plains of Marwar. The position for the new city was chosen at the bidding of a forest ascetic, and was excellently adapted for defence, but had no good water-supply. [562]

Joda had fourteen sons, of whom the sixth, Bika, was the founder of the Bikaner state. Raja Sur Singh (1595-1620) was one of Akbar's greatest generals, and the emperor Jahangir buckled the sword on to his son Gaj Singh with his own hands. Gaj Singh, the next Raja (1620-1635), was appointed viceroy of the Deccan, as was his successor, Jaswant Singh, under Aurangzeb. The Mughal Emperors, Colonel Tod remarks, were indebted for half their conquests to the Lakh Tulwar Rahtoran, the hundred thousand swords which the Rathors boasted that they could muster. [563] On another occasion, when Jahangir successfully appealed to the Rajputs for support against his rebel son Khusru, he was so pleased with the zeal of the Rathor prince, Raja Gaj Singh, that he not only took the latter's hand, but kissed it, [564] perhaps an unprecedented honour. But the constant absence from his home on service in distant parts of the empire was so distasteful to Raja Sur Singh that, when dying in the Deccan, he ordered a pillar to be erected on his grave containing his curse upon any of his race who should cross the Nerbudda. The pomp of imperial greatness or the suns.h.i.+ne of court favour was as nothing with the Rathor chiefs, Colonel Tod says, when weighed against the exercise of their influence within their own cherished patrimony. The simple fare of the desert was dearer to the Rathor than all the luxuries of the imperial banquet, which he turned from in disgust to the recollection of the green pulse of Mundore, or his favourite _rabi_ or maize porridge, the prime dish of the Rathor. [565] The Rathor princes have been not less ready in placing themselves and the forces of their States at the disposal of the British Government, and the latest and perhaps most brilliant example of their loyalty occurred during 1914, when the veteran Sir Partap Singh of Idar insisted on proceeding to the front against Germany, though over seventy years of age, and was accompanied by his nephew, a boy of sixteen.

The Ratlam State was founded by Ratan Singh, a grandson of Raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur, who was born about 1618, and obtained it as a grant for good service against the Usbegs at Kandahar and the Persians in Khorasan about 1651-52. Kishangarh was founded by Kishan Singh, a son of the same Raja Udai Singh, who obtained a grant of territory from Akbar about 1611. Idar State in Gujarat has, according to its traditions, been held by Rathor princes from a very early period. Jodhpur State is the largest in Rajputana, with an area of 35,000 square miles, and a population of two million. The Maharaja is ent.i.tled to a salute of twenty-one guns. A great part of the State is a sandy desert, and its older name of Marwar is, according to Colonel Tod, a corruption of Marusthan, or the region of death. In the Central Provinces the Rathor Rajputs number about 6000 persons, and are found mainly in the Saugor, Jubbulpore, Narsinghpur and Hoshangabad Districts. The census statistics include about 5000 persons enumerated in Mandla and Bilaspur, nearly all of whom are really Rathor Telis.

Rajput, Sesodia

_Rajput, Sesodia, Gahlot, Aharia_.--The Gahlot or Sesodia is generally admitted to be the premier Rajput clan. Their chief is described by the bards as "The Suryavansi Rana, of royal race, Lord of Chitor, the ornament of the thirty-six royal races." The Sesodias claim descent from the sun, through Loh, the eldest son of the divine Rama of Ajodhia. In token of their ancestry the royal banner of Mewar consisted of a golden sun on a crimson field. Loh is supposed to have founded Lah.o.r.e. His descendants migrated to Saurashtra or Kathiawar, where they settled at Vidurbha or Balabhi, the capital of the Valabhi dynasty. The last king of Valabhi was Siladitya, who was killed by an invasion of barbarians, and his posthumous son, Gohaditya, ruled in Idar and the hilly country in the south-west of Mewar. From him the clan took its name of Gohelot or Gahlot. Mr. D.R. Bhandarkar, however, from a detailed examination of the inscriptions relating to the Sesodias, arrives at the conclusion that the founders of the line were Nagar Brahmans from Vadnagar in Gujarat, the first of the line being one Guhadatta, from which the clan takes its name of Gahlot [566] The family were also connected with the ruling princes of Valabhi. Mr. Bhandarkar thinks that the Valabhi princes, and also the Nagar Brahmans, belonged to the Maitraka tribe, who, like the Gujars, were allied to the Huns, and entered India in the fifth or sixth century. Mr. Bhandarkar's account really agrees quite closely with the traditions of the Sesodia bards themselves, except that he considers Guhadatta to have been a Nagar Brahman of Valabhi, and descended from the Maitrakas, a race allied to the Huns, while the bards say that he was a descendant of the Aryan Kshatriyas of Ajodhia, who migrated to Surat and established the Valabhi kingdom. The earliest prince of the Gahlot dynasty for whom a date has been obtained is Sila, A.D. 646, and he was fifth in descent from Guhadatta, who may therefore be placed in the first part of the sixth century. Bapa, the founder of the Gahlot clan in Mewar, was, according to tradition, sixth in descent from Gohaditya, and he had his capital at Nagda, a few miles to the north of Udaipur city. [567] A tradition quoted by Mr. Bhandarkar states that Bapa was the son of Grahadata. He succeeded in propitiating the G.o.d Siva. One day the king of Chitor died and left no heir to his throne. It was decided that whoever would be garlanded by a certain elephant would be placed on the throne. Bapa was present on the occasion, and the elephant put the garland round his neck not only once, but thrice. Bapa was thus seated on the throne. One day he was suffering from some eye-disease. A physician mixed a certain medicine in alcoholic liquor and applied it to his eyes, which were speedily cured. Bapa afterwards inquired what the medicine was, and learnt the truth. He trembled like a reed and said, "I am a Brahman, and you have given me medicine mixed in liquor. I have lost my caste," So saying he drank molten lead (_sisa_), and forthwith died, and hence arose the family name Sesodia. [568] This story, current in Rajputana, supports Mr. Bhandarkar's view of the Brahman origin of the clan. According to tradition Bapa went to Chitor, then held by the Mori or Pramara Rajputs, to seek his fortune, and was appointed to lead the Chitor forces against the Muhammadans on their first invasion of India. [569] After defeating and expelling them he ousted the Mori ruler and established himself at Chitor, which has since been the capital of the Sesodias. The name Sesodia is really derived from Sesoda, the residence of a subsequent chief Rahup, who captured Mundore and was the first to bear the t.i.tle of Rana of Mewar. Similarly Aharia is another local name from Ahar, a place in Mewar, which was given to the clan. They were also known as Raghuvansi, or of the race of king Raghu, the ancestor of the divine Rama. The Raghuvansis of the Central Provinces, an impure caste of Rajput origin, are treated in a separate article, but it is not known whether they were derived from the Sesodias. From the fourteenth century the chronicles of the Sesodias contain many instances of Rajput courage and devotion. Chitor was sacked three times before the capital was removed to Udaipur, first by Ala-ul-Din Khilji in 1303, next by Bahadur Shah, the Muhammadan king of Gujarat in 1534, and lastly by Akbar in 1567. These events were known as Saka or ma.s.sacres of the clan. On each occasion the women of the garrison performed the Johar or general immolation by fire, while the men sallied forth, clad in their saffron-coloured robes and inspired by _bhang_, to die sword in hand against the foe. At the first sack the G.o.ddess of the clan appeared in a dream to the Rana and demanded the lives of twelve of its chiefs as a condition of its preservation. His eleven sons were in their turn crowned as chief, each ruling for three days, while on the fourth he sallied out and fell in battle. [570] Lastly, the Rana devoted himself in order that his favourite son Ajeysi might be spared and might perpetuate the clan. At the second sack 32,000 were slain, and at the third 30,000. Finally Aurangzeb destroyed the temples and idols at Chitor, and only its ruins remain. Udaipur city was founded in 1559. The Sesodias resisted the Muhammadans for long, and several times defeated them. Udai Singh, the founder of Udaipur, abandoned his capital and fled to the hills, whence he caused his own territory to be laid waste, with the object of impeding the imperial forces. Of this period it is recorded that the Ranas were from father to son in outlawry against the emperor, and that sovereign had carried away the doors of the gate of Chitor, and had set them up in Delhi. Fifty-two rajas and chiefs had perished in the struggle, and the Rana in his trouble lay at nights on a counterpane spread on the ground, and neither slept in his bed nor shaved his hair; and if he perchance broke his fast, had nothing better with which to satisfy it than beans baked in an earthen pot. For this reason it is that certain practices are to this day observed at Udaipur. A counterpane is spread below the Rana's bed, and his head remains unshaven and baked beans are daily laid upon his plate. [571] A custom of perhaps somewhat similar origin is that in this clan man and wife take food together, and the wife does not wait till her husband has finished. It is said that the Sesodia Rajputs are the only caste in India among whom this rule prevails, and it may have been due to the fact that they had to eat together in haste when occasion offered during this period of guerilla warfare.