Chapter 43

_Rajput, Chauhan_.--The Chauhan was the last of the Agnikula or fire-born clans, According to the legend: "Again Vasishtha seated on the lotus prepared incantations; again he called the gods to aid; and as he poured forth the libation a figure arose, lofty in stature, of elevated front, hair like jet, eyes rolling, breast expanded, fierce, terrific, clad in armour with quiver filled, a bow in one hand and a brand in the other, quadriform (Chaturanga), whence his name was given as Chauhan." This account makes the Chauhan the most important of the fire-born clans, and Colonel Tod says that he was the most valiant of the Agnikulas, and it may be asserted not of them only but of the whole Rajput race; and though the swords of the Rahtors would be ready to contest the point, impartial decision must assign to the Chauhan the van in the long career of arms. [517] General Cunningham shows that even so late as the time of Prithwi Raj in the twelfth century the Chauhans had no claim to be sprung from fire, but were content to be considered descendants of a Brahman sage Bhrigu. [518] Like the other Agnikula clans the Chauhans are now considered to have sprung from the Gurjara or White Hun invaders of the fifth and sixth centuries, but I do not know whether this is held to be definitely proved in their case. Sambhar and Ajmer in Rajputana appear to have been the first home of the clan, and inscriptions record a long line of thirty-nine kings as reigning there from Anhul, the first created Chauhan. The last but one of them, Vigraha Raja or Bisal Deo, in the middle of the twelfth century extended the ancestral dominions considerably, and conquered Delhi from a chief of the Tomara clan. At this time the Chauhans, according to their own bards, held the line of the Nerbudda from Garha-Mandla to Maheshwar and also Asirgarh, while their dominions extended north to Hissar and south to the Aravalli hills. [519] The nephew of Bisal Deo was Prithwi Raj, the most famous Chauhan hero, who ruled at Sambhar, Ajmer and Delhi. His first exploit was the abduction of the daughter of Jaichand, the Gaharwar Raja of Kanauj, in about A.D. 1175. The king of Kanauj had claimed the title of universal sovereign and determined to celebrate the Ashwa-Medha or horse-sacrifice, at which all the offices should be performed by vassal kings. Prithwi Raj alone declined to attend as a subordinate, and Jaichand therefore made a wooden image of him and set it up at the gate in the part of doorkeeper. But when his daughter after the tournament took the garland of flowers to bestow it on the chief whom she chose for her husband, she passed by all the assembled nobles and threw the garland on the neck of the wooden image. At this moment Prithwi Raj dashed in with a few companions, and catching her up, escaped with her from her father's court. [520] Afterwards, in 1182, Prithwi Raj defeated the Chandel Raja Parmal and captured Mahoba. In 1191 Prithwi Raj was the head of a confederacy of Hindu princes in combating the invasion of Muhammad Ghori. He repelled the Muhammadans at Tarain about two miles north of Delhi, but in the following year was completely defeated and killed at Thaneswar, and soon afterwards Delhi and Ajmer fell to the Muhammadans. The Chauhan kingdom was broken up, but scattered parts of it remained, and about A.D. 1307 Asirgarh in Nimar, which continued to be held by the Chauhans, was taken by Ala-ud-Din Khilji and the whole garrison put to the sword except one boy. This boy, Raisi Chauhan, escaped to Rajputana, and according to the bardic chronicle his descendants formed the Hara branch of the Chauhans and conquered from the Minas the tract known as Haravati, from which they perhaps took their name. [521] This is now comprised in the Kotah and Bundi states, ruled by Hara chiefs. Another well-known offshoot from the Chauhans are the Khichi clan, who belong to the Sind-Sagar Doab; and the Nikumbh and Bhadauria clans are also derived from them. The Chauhans are numerous in the Punjab and United Provinces and rank as one of the highest Rajput clans. In the Central Provinces they are found principally in the Narsinghpur and Hoshangabad Districts, and also in Mandla. The Chauhan Rajputs of Mandla marry among themselves, with other Chauhans of Mandla, Seoni and Balaghat They have exogamous sections with names apparently derived from villages like an ordinary caste. The remarriage of widows is forbidden, but those widows who desire to do so go and live with a man and are put out of caste. This, however, is said not to happen frequently. A widow's hair is not shaved, but her glass bangles are broken, she is dressed in white, made to sleep on the ground, and can wear no ornaments. Owing to the renown of the clan their name has been adopted by numerous classes of inferior Rajputs and low Hindu castes who have no right to it. Thus in the Punjab a large subcaste of Chamars call themselves Chauhan, and in the Bilaspur District a low caste of village watchmen go by this name. These latter may be descendants of the illegitimate offspring of Chauhan Rajputs by low-caste women.

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 principally 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 Shihab-ud-Din in 1193, when Jaichand retired towards Benares but was overtaken and slain. [524] His grandson, Mr. Crooke says, [525] afterwards fled to Kantit in the Mirzapur District and, overcoming the Bhar Raja of that place, founded the family of the Gaharwar Rajas of Kantit Bijaypur, which was recently still in existence. All the other Gaharwars trace their lineage to Benares or Bijaypur. The predecessors of the Gaharwars in Kantit 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 assigns 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 entitled to their fellowship." [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. Hoernle, 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 principally 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 worshipping 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 Dakshin 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 Godavari, and from the confines of Berar in the west to the boundaries of Orissa in the east. [537] The Ratanpur kingdom of Chedi or Dakshin 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 worshipped. 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-worshipping 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 assisted 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 principally in the Saugor, Hoshangabad and Nimar Districts.

Rajput, Nagvansi