According to the
Hindu Mythology, the Rajputs of Rajasthan were the descendants of the
Kshatriyas or warriors of Vedic India. The emergence of the Rajput warrior
clans was in the 6th and 7th centuries. Rajputs ancestry can be divided into
two: the "solar" or suryavanshi-those descended from Rama, the hero of the
epic Ramayana, and the "lunar" or chandravanshi, who claimed descent from
Krishana, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. Later a third clan was added,
the agnikula or fire-born, said to have emerged from the flames of a
sacrificial fire on Mt Abu.
It has been accepted that the Rajputs were divided into thirty-six races and
twenty-one kingdoms. The Rajput clans gave rise to dynasties like Sisodias
of Mewar (Udaipur), the Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur), the Rathors of Marwar
(Jodhpur & Bikaner), the Hadas of Jhalwawar, Kota & Bundi, the Bhattis of
Jaisalmer, the Shekhawats of Shekhawati and the Chauhans of Ajmer.
Early History
Rajasthan is the north-western region of India, and has remain independent
from the great empires. Buddhism failed to make substantial inroad here; the
Mauryan empire (321-184 BC), whose most renowned emperor, Ashoka, Converted
to Buddhism in 261 BC, had minimal impact in Rajasthan, However, there are
Buddhist caves and stupas (Buddhist Shrines) at Jhalawar, in Southern
Rajasthan.
Ancient Hindu scriptural epics make reference to sites in present-day
Rajasthan. The Holy Pilgrimage site of Pushkar is mentioned in both the
Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Emergence of the Rajputs
The fall of the Gupta Empire, which held dominance in northern India for
nearly 300 years until the early 5th Century, was followed by a period of
instability as various local chieftains sought to gain supremacy. Power rose
and fell in northern India. Stability was only restored with the emergence
of the Gurjara Partiharas, the earliest of the Rajput (from 'Rajputra', or
Sons of Princes) dynasties which were later to hold the balance of power
throughout Rajasthan.
Whatever their actual origins, the Rajputs have evolved a complex
mythological genealogy. This ancestry can be divided into two main branches:
the Suryavansa, or Race of the Sun (Solar Race), which claims direct descent
from Rama; and the Induvansa, or Race of the Moon (Lunar race), which claims
descent from Krishna, Later a third branch was added, the Agnikula, or 'Fire
Born'. These people claim they were manifested from the flames of a
sacrificial fire on Mt.Abu From these three Principal races emerged the 36
Rajput clans.
The Rajput clans gave rise to dynasties such as the Chauhans, Sisodias,
Kachhwahas and Rathores. Chauhans of the Agnikula Race emerged in the 12th
century and were renowned for their valour. Their territories included the
Sapadalksha kingdom, which encompassed a vast area including present- day
Jaipur, Ranthambore, part of Mewar, the western portion of Bundi district,
Ajmer Kishangarh and even, at one time, Delhi. Branches of the Chauhans also
ruled territories know as Ananta (in present-day Shekhawati) and
Saptasatabhumi.
The Sisodias of the Suryavansa Race, Originally from Gujarat, migrated to
Rajasthan in the mid-7th Century and reigned over Mewar, which encompassed
Udaipur and Chittorgarh.
The Kachhwahas, originally from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, travelled west in
the 12th century. They built the massive fort at Amber, and later shifted
the capital to Jaipur. Like the Sisodias, they belonged to the Suryavansa
Race.
Also belonging to the Suryavansa Race, the Rathore (earlier known as
Rastrakutas) traveled from Kanauj, in Uttar Pradesh. Initially they settled
in Pali, south of present-day Jodhpur, but later moved to Mandore in 1381
and ruled over Marwar (Jodhpur). Later they started building the stunning
Meherangarh (fort) at Jodhpur.
The Bhattis, who belong to the Induvansa Race, driven from their homeland in
the Punjab by the Turks, installed themselves at Jaisalmer in 1156. They
remained more of less entrenched in their desert Kingdom untill they were
integrated into the state of Rajasthan following Independence.
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