Rajput
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From The Tribes And Castes Of The Central Provinces Of India
By R. V. Russell
Of The Indian Civil Service
Superintendent Of Ethnography, Central Provinces
Assisted By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Extra Assistant Commissioner
Macmillan And Co., Limited, London, 1916.
NOTE 1: The 'Central Provinces' have since been renamed Madhya Pradesh.
NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from a book. During scanning some errors are bound to occur. Some letters get garbled. Footnotes get inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot errors might like to correct them, and shift footnotes gone astray to their rightful place.
Rajput
Rajput, Kshatriya, Chhatri, Thakur
The Rajputs are i. introthe representatives of the old Kshatriya or warrior class, '^"'^.^^'T > -' ' notice. the second of the four main castes or orders of classical Hinduism, and were supposed to have been made originally from the arms of Brahma. The old name of Kshatriya is still commonly used in the Hindi form Chhatri, but the designation Rajput, or son of a king, has now superseded it as the standard name of the caste. Thakur, or lord, is the common Rajput title, and that by which they are generally addressed. The total number of persons returned as Rajputs in the Province in 191 i was about 440,000. India has about nine million Rajputs in all, and they are most numerous in the Punjab, the United Provinces, and Bihar and Orissa, Rajputana returning under 700,000 and Central India about 800,000.
The bulk of the Rajputs in the Central Provinces are of very impure blood. Several groups, such as the Panwars of the Wainganga Valley, the Raghuvansis of Chhindwara and Nagpur, the Jadams of Hoshangabad and the Daharias of Chhattlsgarh, have developed into separate castes and marry among themselves, though a true Rajput must not marry in his own clan. Some of them have abandoned the sacred thread and now rank with the good cultivating castes below Banias. Reference may be made to the separate articles on these castes. Similarly the Surajvansi, Gaur or Gorai, Chauhan, and Bagri clans marry among themselves in the Central Provinces, and it is probable that detailed research would establish the same of many clans or parts of clans bearing the narne of Rajput in all parts of India.
If the definition of a proper Rajput were taken, as it .should be correctly, as one whose family intermarried with clans of good standing, the caste would be reduced to comparatively small dimensions. The name Dhakar, also shown as a Rajput clan, is applied to a person of illegitimate birth, like Vidur. Over 100,000 persons, or nearly a quarter of the total, did not return the name of any clan in 191 1, and
these are all of mixed or illegitimate descent. They are numerous in Nimar, and are there known as chhoti-tur or lowclass Rajputs. The Bagri Rajputs of Seoni and the Surajvansis of Betal marry among themselves, while the Bundelas of Saugor intermarry with two other local groups, the Panwar and Dhundhele, all the three being of impure blood. In Jubbulpore a small clan of persons known as Paik or foot-soldier return themselves as Rajputs, but are no doubt a mixed low-caste group.
Again, some landholding sections of the primitive tribes have assumed the names of Rajput clans. Thus the zamindars of Bilaspur, who originally belonged to the Kawar tribe, call themselves Tuar or Tomara Rajputs, and the landholding section of the Mundas in Chota Nagpur say that they are of the Nagvansi clan. Other names are returned which are not those of Rajput clans or their offshoots at all. If these subdivisions, which cannot be considered as proper Rajputs, and all those who have returned no clan be deducted, there remain not more than 100,000 who might be admitted to be pure Rajputs in Rajputana.
But a close local scrutiny even of these would no doubt result in the detection of many persons who have assumed and returned the names of good clans without being entitled to them. And many more would come away- as being the descendants of remarried widows. A Rajput of really pure family and descent is in fact a person of some consideration in most parts of the Central Provinces.
2. The Traditionally the Rajputs are divided into thirty-six thirty-six grreat clans or races, of which Colonel Tod gives a list royal races. ^ ' ° _ compiled from different authorities as follows (alternative names by which the clan or important branches of it are known are shov/n in brackets) : 1. Ikshwaka or Surajvansi. 7. Kachliwaha (Cutchwaha). 2. Indu, Somvansi or Chandra- 8. Pramara or Panwar (Mori). vansi. 9. Chauhan (Hilra, Khichi, 3. Gahlot or Scsodia (Raghu- Nikumbh, Bhadauria). vansi). 10. Chalukyaor Solankhi(Baghel). 4. Yadu (Bhalti, Jareja, Jildon, 11. Parihar. Banaphar). 12. Chawara or Chaura. 5. Tuar or Tomara. 13. Tak or Takshac (Nagvansi, 6. Rathor. Mori).
Tak or Takshac, the Huna.and the Chaura, were considered by Colonel Tod to be the representatives of the Huns or Scythians, that is, the nomad invading tribes from Central Asia, whose principal incursions took place during the first five centuries of the Christian era. At least six of the thirty-six royal races, the Sarweya, Silar, Doda or Dor, Dahia, Johia and Mohil, were extinct in Colonel Tod's time, and others were represented only by small settlements in Rajputana and Surat. On the other hand, there are now a large number of new clans, whose connection with the thirty-six is doubtful, though in many cases they are probably branches of the old clans who have obtained a new name on settling in a different locality.
3. The It was for long the custom to regard the Rajputs as origin ^Yie direct descendants and representatives of the old Rajputs. Kshatriya or warrior class of the Indian Aryans, as described in the Vedas and the great epics. Even Colonel Tod by no means held this view in its entirety, and modern epigraphic research has caused its partial or complete ~ abandonment. Mr. V. A. Smith indeed says :
^ " The main points to remember are that the Kshatriya or Rajput caste is essentially an occupational caste, composed of all clans following the Hindu ritual who actually undertook the act of government ; that consequently people of most diverse races were and are lumped together as Rajputs, and that^ most of the great clans now in existence are descended either from foreign immigrants of the fifth or sixth century A.D.
or from indigenous races such as the Gonds and Bhars.") Colonel Tod held three clans, the Tak or Takshac, the Huna and the Chaura, to be descended from Scythian or nomad Central Asian immigrants, and the same origin has been given for the Haihaya. The Huna clan actually retains the name of the White Huns, from whose conquests in the fifth century it probably dates its existence. The principal clan of the lunar race, the Yadavas, are said to have first settled in Delhi and at Dwarka in Gujarat. But on the death of Krishna, who was their prince, they were expelled from • Early Ilislory of India (Oxford, Clarendon Press), 3rd edition, p. 414. ' '
these places, and retired across the Indus, settling in
Afghanistan. Again, for some reason which the account
does not clearly explain, they came at a later period to
India and settled first in the Punjab and afterwards in
Rajputana. The Jit or Jat and the Tomara clans were
branches of the Yadavas, and it is supposed that the Jits or
Jats were also descended from the nomad invading tribes,
possibly from the Yueh-chi tribe who conquered and occupied
the Punjab during the first and second centuries.' The
legend of the Yadavas, who lived in Gujarat with their
chief Krishna, but after his defeat and death retired to
Central Asia, and at a later date returned to India,
would appear to correspond fairly well with the Saka
invasion of the second century B.C. which penetrated to
Kathiawar and founded a dynasty there.
the second Saka king was. defeated by the Andhra king
Vilivayakura II. and his kingdom destroyed.^ But at
about the same period, the close of the first century,
a fresh horde of the Sakas came to Gujarat from Central
Asia and founded another kingdom, which lasted until it
was subverted by Chandragupta Vikramaditya about A.D,
390.^ The historical facts about the Sakas, as given on
the authority of Mr. V. A. Smith, thus correspond fairly
closely with the Yadava legend. And the later Yueh-chi
immigrants might well be connected by the Bhats with the
Saka hordes who had come at an earlier date from the
same direction, and so the Jats ^ might be held to be an
offshoot of the Yadavas.
This connection of the Yadava and Jat legends with the facts of the immigration of the Sakas and Yueh-chi appears a plausible one, but may be contradicted by historical arguments of which the writer is ignorant. If it were correct wc should be justified in identifying the lunar clans of Rajputs with the early Scythian immigrants of the first and second centuries.
Another point is that Buddha is said to be the progenitor
- Early History of India, pp. 252, was changed to Jat by a section of
254. them who also adopted Muhamniadan- - Ibidem, p. 210. ism. Colonel Tod also identifies the ' Ibidem, p. 227. Jals or Jits with the Vueh-chi as ' Colonel Tod states that the proper suggested in the text {Rdjastlidit, i. name of the caste was Jit or Jat, and p. 97).
of the whole Indu or lunar race.^ It is obvious that Buddha had no real connection with these Central Asian tribes, as he died some centuries before their appearance in India.
But the Yueh-chi or Kushan kings of the Punjab in the
first and second centuries A.D. were fervent Buddhists and
established that religion in the Punjab. Hence we can
easily understand how, if the Yadus or Jats and other
lunar clans were descended from the Saka and Yueh-chi
immigrants, the legend of their descent from Buddha, who
was himself a Kshatriya, might be devised for them by their
bards when they were subsequently converted from Buddhism
to Hinduism, The Sakas of western India, on the other hand,
who it is suggested may be represented by the Yadavas, were
not Buddhists in the beginning, whether or not they became
so afterwards.
But as has been seen, though Buddha was their first progenitor, Krishna was also their king while they were in Gujarat, so that at this time they must have been supposed to be Hindus. The legend of descent from Buddha arising with the Yueh-chi or Kushans might have been extended to them. Again, the four Agnikula or fireborn clans, the Parihar, Chalukya or Solankhi, Panwar and Chauhan, are considered to be the descendants of the White Hun and Gujar invaders of the fifth and sixth centuries.
These clans were said to have been created by the gods
from a firepit on the summit of Mount Abu for the re-birth
of the Kshatriya caste after it had been exterminated by
the slaughter of Parasurama the Brahman. And it has
been suggested that this legend refers to the cruel massacres
of the Huns, by which the bulk of the old aristocracy, then
mainly l^ddhist, was wiped out ; while the Huns and
Gujars, one at least of whose leaders was a fervent adherent
of Brahmanism and slaughtered the Buddhists of the Punjab,
became the new fire-born clans on being absorbed into
Hinduism.'^ The name of the Huns is still retained in the
Huna clan, now almost extinct.
There remain the clans descended from the sun through Rama, and it would be ' Kajasthaii, i. p. 42. Mr. Crooke the names seem to have a common points out that the Buddha here referred origin. to is probably the planet Mercury. But it is possible that he may have been ^ See also separate articles on Panidentified with the religious reformer as war, Rajput and Giijar.
tempting to suppose that these are the representatives of the old Aryan Kshatriyas. Ikit Mr. Jihandarkar has shown ^ that the Sesodias, the premier clan of the solar race and of all Rajputs, are probably sprung from Nagar lirahmans of Gujarat, and hence from the Gujar tribes ; and it must therefore be supposed that the story of solar origin and divine ancestry was devised because they were once Bruhmans, and hence, in the view of the bards, of more honourable origin than the other clans.
Similarly the Badgujar clan, also of solar descent, is shown by its name of darn or great Gujar to have been simply an aristocratic section of the Gujars ; while the pedigree of the Rathors, another solar clan, and one of those who have shed most lustre on the Rajput name, was held to be somewhat doubtful by the Bhats, and their solar origin was not fully admitted. Mr. Smith gives two great clans as very probably of aboriginal or Dravidian origin, the Gaharwar or Gherwal, from whom the Bundelas are derived, and the Chandel, who ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, and built the fine temples at Mahoba, Kalanjar and Khajaraho as well as making many great tanks.
This corresponds with Colonel Tod's account, which gives no place to the Chandels among the thirty-six royal races, and states that 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." Similarly the Kathi clan may be derived from the indigenous Kathi tribe who gave their name to Kathiawar. And the Surajvansi, Somvansi and Nagvansi clans, or descendants of the sun, moon and snake, which are scarcely known in Rajputana, may represent landholding sections of lower castes or non-Aryan tribes who have been admitted to Rajput rank. But even though it be found that the majority of the Rajput clans cannot boast a pedigree dating farther back than the first five centuries of our era, this is at any rate an antiquity to which few if any of the greatest European houses can lay claim.
Many of the great clans are now split up into a number
1 J.A.S.B., 1909, p. 167, Giihilots. See also annexed article on Rajput Sesodia.
- Ibidem, i. p. 105.
VOL. IV 2 E
4. Sub- of branches. The most important of these were according fhrcians"^ to locality, the different sachae or branches being groups settled in separate areas. Thus the Chalukya or Solankhi had sixteen branches, of which the Baghels of Rewah or Baghelkhand were the most important. The Panwars had thirty-five branches, of which the Mori and the Dhunda, now perhaps the Dhundele of Saugor, are the best known.
The Gahlot had twenty-four branches, of which one, the Sesodia, became so important that it has given its name to the whole clan. The Chamar-Gaur section of the Gaur clan now claim a higher rank than the other Gaurs, though the name would apparently indicate the appearance of a Chamar in their family tree ; while the Tilokchandi Bais form an aristocratic section of the Bais clan, named after a well-known king, Tilokchand, who reigned in upper India about the twelfth century and is presumably claimed by them as an ancestor. Besides this the Rajputs \va.v& gotras, named after eponymous saints exactly like the Brahman gotras, and probably adopted in imitation of the Brahmans.
Since, theoretically, marriage is prohibited in the whole clan, the gotra divisions would appear to be useless, but Sir H. Risley states that persons of the same clan but with different gotras have begun to intermarry. Similarly it would appear that the different branches of the great clans mentioned above must intermarry in some cases ; while in the Central Provinces, as already stated, several clans have become regular castes and form endogamous and not exogamous groups. In northern India, however, Mr. Crooke's accounts of the different clans indicate that marriage within the clan is as a rule not permitted.
The clans themselves and their branches have different degrees of rank for purposes of marriage, according to the purity of their descent, while in each clan or subclan there is an inferior section formed of the descendants of remarried widows, or even the offspring of women of another caste, who have probably in the course of generations not infrequently got back into their father's clan. Thus many groups of varying status arise, and one of the principal rules of a Rajput's life was that he must marry his daughter, sometimes into a clan of equal, or sometimes into one of higher rank than his own. Hence arose great
difficulty in arranging the marriages of girls and sometimes the payment of a price to the bridegroom ; while in order to retain the favour of the Bhats and avoid their sarcasm, lavish expenditure had to be incurred by the bride's father on presents to these rapacious mendicants/ Thus a daughter became in a Rajput's eyes a long step on the road to ruin, and female infanticide was extensively practised.
This crime has never been at all common in the Central Provinces, where the rule of marrying a daughter into an equal or higher clan has not been enforced with the same strictness as in northern India. But occasional instances formerly occurred in which the child's neck was placed under one leg of its mother's cot, or it was poisoned with opium or by placing the juice of the dkra or swallow-wort plant on the mother's nipple.
Properly the proposal for a Rajput marriage should 5. Maremanate
from the bride's side, and the customary method of
"us^jon^s
making it was to send a cocoanut to the bridegroom. ' The
cocoanut came,' was the phrase used to intimate that a
proposal of marriage had been made.^ It is possible that
the bride's initiative was a relic of the Swayamwara or
maiden's choice, when a king's daughter placed a garland on
the neck of the youth she preferred among the competitors
in a tournament, and among some Rajputs the Jayamala or
garland of victory is still hung round the bridegroom's neck
in memory of this custom ; but it may also have been due
to the fact that the bride had to pay the dowry. One tenth
of this was paid as earnest when the match had been
arranged, and the boy's party could not then recede from it.
At the entrance of the marriage-shed was hung the toran, a
triangle of three wooden bars, having the apex crowned with
the effigy of a peacock. The bridegroom on horseback,
lance in hand, proceeded to break the toran, which was
defended by the damsels of the bride. They assailed him
with missiles of various kinds, and especially with red powder
made from the flowers of the palas "^ tree, at the same time
singing songs full of immoral allusions. At length the
1 See also article Bhat. 3 Puiga frondosa. This powder is
also used at the Holi festival and has
- Riijasthan, i. pp. 231, 232. some sexual significance.
toran was broken amid the shouts of the retainers, and the fair defenders retired. If the bridegroom could not attend in person his sword was sent to represent him, and was carried round the marriage-post with the bride, this being considered a proper and valid marriage. At the rite of hdtleva or joining the hands of the couple it was customary that any request made by the bridegroom to the bride's father should meet with compliance, and this usage has led to many fatal results in history.
Another now obsolete custom was that the bride's father should present an elephant to his son-in-law as part of the dowry, but when a man could not afford a real elephant a small golden image of the animal might be substituted. In noble families the bride was often accompanied to her husband's house by a number of maidens belonging to the servant and menial castes. These were called Devadhari or lamp-bearers, and became inmates of the harem, their offspring being golas or slaves.
In time of famine many of the poor had also perforce to
sell themselves as slaves in order to obtain subsistence, and
a chief's household would thus contain a large number of
them. They were still adorned in Mewar, Colonel Tod
states, like the Saxon slaves of old, with a silver ring round
the left ankle instead of the neck. They were well treated,
and were often among the best of the military retainers
they took rank among themselves according to the quality of the mothers, and often held confidential places about the ruler's person. A former chief of Deogarh would appear at court with three hundred golas or slaves on horseback in his train, men whose lives were his own.^ These special customs have now generally been abandoned by the Rajputs of the Central Provinces, and their weddings conform to the usual Hindu type as described in the article on Kurmi.
The
remarriage of widows is now recognised in the southern
Districts, though not in the north ; but even here widows
frequently do marry and their offspring are received into
the caste, though with a lower status than those who do not
permit this custom. Among the Baghels a full Rajput will
allow a relative born of a remarried widow to cook his food
for him, but not to add the salt nor to eat it with him.
' Rcijaslhdn, i. p. 159.
Those who permit the second marriage of widows also allow a divorced woman to remain in the caste and to marry again. But among proper Rajputs, as with lirahmans, a wife who goes wrong is simply put away and expelled from the society. Polygamy is permitted and was formerly common among the chiefs. Each wife was maintained in a separate suite of rooms, and the chief dined and spent the evening alternately with each of them in her own quarters. The lady with her attendants would prepare dinner for him and wait upon him while he ate it, waving the punkah or fan behind him and entertaining him with her remarks, which, according to report, frequently constituted a pretty severe curtain lecture.
The dead are burnt, except infants, whose bodies are 6. Funeral
buried. Mourning is observed for thirteen days for a man, "^^•
nine days for a woman, and three days for a child. The
shrdddh ceremony or offering of sacrificial cakes to the spirit
is performed either during the usual period in the month of
Kunwar (September), or on the anniversary day of the death.
It was formerly held that if a Kshatriya died on the battlefield
it was unnecessary to perform his funeral rites because
his spirit went straight to heaven, and thus the end to which
the ceremonies were directed was already attained without
them. It was also said that the wife of a man dying such a
death should not regard herself as a widow nor undergo the
privations imposed on widowhood. But this did not apply
so far as self-immolation was concerned, since the wives of
warriors dying in battle very frequently became sati.
In
the case of chiefs also it was sometimes the custom, probably
for political reasons, that the heir should not observe
mourning ; because if he did so he would be incapable of
appearing in an assembly for thirteen days, or of taking the
public action which might be requisite to safeguard his
succession. The body of the late chief would be carried
out by the back door of the house, and as soon as it left his
successor would take his seat on the gaddi or cushion and
begin to discharge the public business of government.
The principal deity of the Rajputs is the goddess Devi 7. Reiior
Durga in her more terrible form as the goddess of war. S'O"-
Their swords were sacred to her, and at the Dasahra festival
they worshipped their swords and other weapons of war and their horses. The dreadful goddess also protected the virtue of the Rajput women and caused to be enacted the terrible holocausts, not infrequent in Rajput history, when some stronghold was besieged and could hold out no longer. A great furnace was then kindled in the citadel and into this the women, young and old, threw themselves, or else died by their husbands' swords, while the men, drunk with bhang and wearing saffron-coloured robes, sallied out to sell their lives to the enemy as dearly as possible. It is related that on one occasion Akbar desired to attempt the virtue of a queen of the Sesodia clan, and for that purpose caused her to lose herself in one of the mazes of his palace.
The emperor appeared before her suddenly as she was alone, but the lady, drawing a dagger, threatened to plunge it into her breast if he did not respect her, and at the same time the goddess of her house appeared riding on a tiger. The baffled emperor gave way and retired, and her life and virtue were saved. The Rajputs also worship the sun, whom many of them look upon as their first ancestor.
They revere the animals and trees sacred to the Hindus, and some clans show special veneration to a particular tree, never cutting or breaking the branches or leaves. In this manner the Bundelas revere the kadamb tree, the Panwars the nivi ^ tree, the Rathors the pipal ' tree, and so on. This seems to be a relic of totemistic usage. In former times each clan had also a tribal god, who was its protector and leader and watched over the destinies of the clan. Sometimes it accompanied the clan into battle. " Every royal house has its palladium, which is frequently borne to battle at the saddle-bow of the prince.
Rao Bhima Hara of Kotah lost his life and protecting deity
together. The celebrated Khichi (Chauhan) leader Jai
Singh never took the field without the god before him.
' Victory to Bujrung ' was his signal for the charge so
dreaded by the Maratha, and often has the deity been
sprinkled with his blood and that of the foe." ^ It is said that
a Rajput should always kill a snake if he sees one, because
the snake, though a prince among Rajputs, is an enemy,
• Melia indica. ^ Ficus R.
^ Rajasthan, i. p. 123.
and he should not let it live. If he does not kill it, the snake will curse him and bring ill-luck upon him. The same rule applies, though with less binding force, to a tiger. The Rajputs eat the flesh of clean animals, but not pigs s. Food, or fowls. They are, however, fond of the sport of pigsticking, and many clans, as the Bundelas and others, will eat the flesh of the wild pig.
This custom was perhaps formerly universal. Some of them eat of male animals only and not of females, either because they fear that the latter would render them efieminate or that they consider the sin to be less. Some only eat animals killed by the method of jatka or severing the head with one stroke of the sword or knife. They will not eat animals killed in the Muhammadan fashion by cutting the throat. They abstain from the flesh of the nilgai or blue bull as being an animal of the cow tribe.
Among the Brahmans and Rajputs food cooked with water must not be placed in bamboo baskets, nor must anything made of bamboo be brought into the rasoya or cooking-place, or the chauka^ the space cleaned and marked out for meals. A special brush of date-palm fibre is kept solely for sweeping these parts of the house. At a Rajput banquet it was the custom for the prince to send a little food from his own plate or from the dish before him to any guest whom he especially wished to honour, and to receive this was considered a very high distinction. In Mewar the test of legitimacy in a prince of the royal house was the permission to eat from the chiefs plate.
The grant of this privilege conferred a recognised position, while its denial excluded the member in question from the right to the succession.^ This custom indicates the importance attached to the taking of food together as a covenant or sacrament. The Rajputs abstain from alcoholic liquor, though some 9- Opium. of the lower class, as the Bundelas, drink it. In classical times there is no doubt that they drank freely, but have had to conform to the prohibition of liquor imposed by the Brahmans on high -caste Hindus. In lieu of liquor they became much addicted to the noxious drugs, opium and ganja or Indian hemp, drinking the latter in the form of the intoxicating liquid known as bhangs which is prepared ' Rdjasthdn, i. pp. 267, 268.
from its leaves. Bhang was as a rule drunk by the Rajputs before battle, and especially as a preparation for those last sallies from a besieged fortress in which the defenders threw away their lives. There is little reason to doubt that they considered the frenzy and carelessness of death produced by the liquor as a form of divine possession. Opium has contributed much to the degeneration of the Rajputs, and their relapse to an idle, sensuous life when their energies were no longer maintained by the need of continuous fighting for the protection of their country. The following account by Forbes of a Rajput's daily life well illustrates the slothful effeminacy caused by the drug :
^ "In times of peace and ease
the Rajput leads an indolent and monotonous life. It is
usually some time after sunrise before he bestirs himself
and begins to call for his hookah ; after smoking he enjoys
the luxury of tea or coffee, and commences his toilet and
ablutions, which dispose of a considerable part of the morning.
It is soon breakfast-time, and after breakfast the hookah
is again in requisition, with but few intervals of conversation
until noon. The time has now arrived for a siesta, which
lasts till about three in the afternoon.
At this hour the chief gets up again, washes his hands and face, and prepares for the great business of the day, the distribution of the red cup, kusumba or opium. He calls together his friends into the public hall, or perhaps retires with them to a garden-house. Opium is produced, which is pounded in a brass vessel and mixed with water ; it is then strained into a dish with a spout, from which it is poured into the chief's hand. One after the other the guests now come up, each protesting that kusumba is wholly repugnant to his taste and very injurious to his health, but after a little pressing first one and then another touches the chief's hand in two or three places, muttering the names of Deos (gods), friends or others, and drains the draught. Each after drinking washes the chief's hand in a dish of water which a servant offers, and after wiping it dry with his own scarf makes way for his neighbour. After this refreshment the chief and his guests sit down in the public hall, and amuse themselves with chess, draughts or games of chance, or perhaps dancing-girls are called in to ' RdsDidla, ii. p. 261.
exhibit their monotonous measures, or musicians and singers,
or the never-failing favourites, the Bhfits and Charans. At
sunset the torch-bearers appear and supply the chamber with
light, upon which all those who are seated therein rise and
make obeisance towards the chief's cushion. They resume
their seats, and playing, singing, dancing, story-telling go on
as before. At about eight the chief rises to retire to his
dinner and his hookah, and the party is broken up." There
is little reason to doubt that the Rajputs ascribed a divine
character to opium and the mental exaltation produced
by it, as suggested in the article on Kalar in reference
to the Hindus generally. Opium was commonly offered at
the shrines of deified Rajput heroes.
Colonel Tod states : " Uiiiul Idr khdna, to eat opium together, is the most inviolable pledge, and an agreement ratified by this ceremony is stronger than any . adjuration." ^ The account given by Forbes of the manner in which the drug was distributed by the chief from his own hand to all his clansmen indicates that the drinking of it was the renewal of a kind of pledge or covenant between them, analogous to the custom of pledging one another with wine, and a substitute for the covenant made by taking food together, which originated from the sacrificial meal. It has already been seen that the Rajputs attached the most solemn meaning and virtue to the act of partaking of the chief's food, and it is legitimate to infer that they regarded the drinking of a sacred drug like opium from his hand in the same light.
The following account " of the drinking of healths in a Highland clan had, it may be suggested, originally the same significance as the distribution of opium by the Rajput chief: " Lord Lovat was wont in the hall before dinner to have a kind of herald proclaiming his pedigree, which reached almost up to Noah, and showed each man present to be a cadet of his family, whilst after dinner he drank to every one of his cousins by name, each of them in return pledging him—the better sort in French claret, the lower class in husky (whisky)." Here also the drinking of wine together perhaps implied the renewal of a pledge of fealty and protection between the chief and his clansmen, ' Hdj'asthdn, i. p. 553. 2 Reminiscences of Lady Dorothy Nevill, Nelson's edition, p. 367.
II. Dress.
all of whom were held to be of his kin. The belief in the
kinship of the whole clan existed among the Rajputs exactly
as in the Scotch clans. In speaking of the Rathors Colonel
Tod states that they brought into the field fifty thousand men,
Ek bap ka beta, the sons of one father, to combat with the
emperor of Delhi ; and remarks : " What a sensation does it
not excite when we know that a sentiment of kindred
pervades every individual of this immense affiliated body,
who can point out in the great tree the branch of his origin,
of which not one is too remote from the main stem to forget
his pristine connection with it."
The taking of opium and wine together, as already
described, thus appear to be ceremonies of the' same
character, both symbolising the renewal of a covenant
between kinsmen.
The temptations to a life of idleness and debauchery to which Rajput gentlemen were exposed by the cessation of war have happily been largely met and overcome by the careful education and training which their sons now receive in the different chiefs' colleges and schools, and by the fostering of their taste for polo and other games. There is every reason to hope that a Rajput prince's life will now be much like that of an English country gentleman, spent largely in public business and the service of his country, with sport and games as relaxation. Nor are the Rajputs slow to avail themselves of the opportunities for the harder calling of arms afforded by the wars of the British Empire, in which they are usually the first to proffer their single-hearted and unselfish assistance.
The most distinctive feature of a Rajput's dress was
formerly his turban ; the more voluminous and heavy this
was, the greater distinction attached to the bearer. The
cloth was wound in many folds above the head, or cocked
over one ear as a special mark of pride. An English gentleman
once remarked to the minister of the Rao of Cutch on
the size and weight of his turban, when the latter replied,
' Oh, this is nothing, it only weighs fifteen pounds.' " A
considerable reverence attached to the turban, probably
becau.se it was the covering of the head, the seat of life, and
1 Rdjasthan, ii. p. 3. ^ Mrs. Postans, Ciitcli, p. 35.
the exchanging of turbans was the mark of the closest friendship. On one occasion Shah Jahan, before he came to the throne of Delhi, changed turbans with the Rana of Mewar as a mark of amity. Shah Jahan's turban was still preserved at Udaipur, and seen there by Colonel Tod in 1820, They also wore the beard and moustaches very long and full, the moustache either drooping far below the chin, or being twisted out stiffly on each side to impart an aspect of fierceness. Many Rajputs considered it a disgrace to have grey beards or moustaches, and these were accustomed to dye them with a preparation of indigo.
Thus dyed, however, after a few days the beard and moustache assumed a purple tint, and finally faded to a pale plum colour, far from being either deceptive or ornamental. The process of dyeing was said to be tedious, and the artist compelled his patient to sit many hours under the indigo treatment with his head wrapped up in plantain leaves.^ During the Muhammadan wars, however, the Rajputs gave up their custom of wearing beards in order to be distinguished from Moslems, and now, as a rule, do not retain them, while most of them have also discarded the long moustaches and large turbans. In battle, especially when they expected to die, the Rajputs wore saffron-coloured robes as at a wedding. At the same time their wives frequently performed sati, and the idea was perhaps that they looked on their deaths as the occasion of a fresh bridal in the warrior's Valhalla. Women wear skirts and shoulder-cloths, and in Rajputana they have bangles of ivory or bone instead of the ordinary glass, sometimes covering the arm from the shoulders to the wrist.
Their other ornaments should be of gold if possible, but the rule is not strictly observed, and silver and baser metals are worn. The Rajputs wear the sacred thread, but many of them 12. Social have abandoned the proper npajiayana or thread ceremony, and simply invest boys with it at their marriage. In former times, when a boy became fit to bear arms, the ceremony of kJiarg band(7!\ or binding on of the sword, was performed, and considered to mark his attainment of manhood. The king himself had his sword thus bound on by the first of his vassals. The Rajputs take food cooked with water {JcatcJii) ' Mrs. Postans, Cutch, p. 13S. customs.
only from Brahmans, and that cooked without water {pakkt)
from Banias, and sometimes from Lodhis and Dhlmars.
Brahmans will take pakki food from Rajputs, and Nais and
Dhlmars katchi food. When a man is ill, however, he may
take food from members of such castes as Kurmi and Lodhi
as a matter of convenience without incurring caste penalties.
The large turbans and long moustaches and beards no longer
characterise their appearance, and the only point which distinguishes
a Rajput is that his name ends with Singh (lion).
But this suffix has also been adopted by others, especially
the Sikhs, and by such castes as the Lodhis and Raj-
Gonds who aspire to rank as Rajputs. A Rajput is usually
addressed as Thakur or lord, a title which properly applies
only to a Rajput landholder, but has now come into general
use.
The head of a state has the designation of Raja or Rana, and those of the leading states of Maharaja or Maharana, that is, great king. Maharana, which appears to be a Gujarati form, is used by the Sesodia family of Udaipur. The sons of a Raja are called Kunwar or prince. The title Rao appears to be a Marathi form of Raj or Raja ; it is retained by one or two chiefs, but has now been generally adopted as an honorific suffix by Maratha Brahmans. Rawat appears to have been originally equivalent to Rajput, being simply a diminutive of Rajputra, the Sanskrit form of the latter. It is the name of a clan of Rajputs in the Punjab, and is used as an honorific designation by Ahirs, Saonrs, Kols and others.
13. Seciu- Women are strictly secluded by the Rajputs, especially in Upper India, but this practice does not appear to have been customary in ancient times, and it would be interesting to know whether it has been copied from the Muhammadans. It is said that a good Rajput in the Central Provinces must not drive the plough, his wife must not use the rehnta or spinning-wheel, and his household may not have the katJiri or gudri^ the mattress made of old pieces of cloth or rag sewn one on top of the other, which is common in the poorer Hindu households.
The Rajputs as depicted by Colonel Tod resembled the
knights of the age of chivalry. Courage, strength and
endurance were the virtues most highly prized. One of the
sion of
Rajput trials of strength, it is recorded, was to gallop at full 14. Tradi speed under the horizontal branch of a tree and cling to it character while the horse passed on. This feat appears to have been of the a common amusement, and it is related in the annals of ^J'^"*^" Mewar that the chief of Bunera broke his spine in the attempt ; and there were iaw who came off without bruises and falls, in which consisted the sport. Of their martial spirit Colonel Tod writes : " The Rajput mother claims her full share in the glory of her son, who imbibes at the maternal fount his first rudiments of chivalry ; and the importance of this parental instruction cannot be better illustrated than in the ever-recurring simile, ' Make thy mother's milk resplendent' One need not reason on the intensity of sentiment thus implanted in the infant Rajpiit, of whom we may say without metaphor the shield is his cradle and daggers his playthings, and with whom the first commandment is, ' Avenge thy father's feud.' ^ A Rajput yet loves to talk of the days of chivalry, when three things alone occupied him, his horse, his lance and his mistress ; for she is but third in his estimation after all, and to the first two he owed her." - And of their desire for fame : " This sacrifice (of the Johar) accomplished, their sole thought was to secure a niche in that immortal temple of fame, which the Rajput bard as well as the great minstrel of the West peoples ' with youths who died to be by poets sung.' For this the Rajput's anxiety has in all ages been so great as often to defeat even the purpose of revenge, his object being to die gloriously rather than to inflict death ; assured that his name would never perish, but, preserved in immortal rhyme by the bard, would serve as the incentive to similar deeds." ^ He sums up their character in the following terms : " High courage, patriotism, loyalty, honour, hospitality and simplicity are qualities which must at once be conceded to them ; and if we cannot vindicate them from charges to which human nature in every clime is obnoxious ; if we are compelled to admit the deterioration of moral dignity from continual inroads of, and their consequent collision with rapacious conquerors ; we must yet admire the quantum of virtue 1 Riyasthan, i. pp. 543, 544. ~ Ibidem, i. p. 125. •* Ibidem, ii. p. 52.
which even oppression and bad example have failed to banish. The meaner vices of deceit and falsehood, which the delineators of national character attach to the Asiatic without distinction, I deny to be universal with the Rajputs, though some tribes may have been obliged from position to use these shields of the weak against continuous oppression." ^ The women prized martial courage no less than the men : they would hear with equanimity of the death of their sons or husbands in the battlefield, while they heaped scorn and contumely on those who returned after defeat.
They were constantly ready to sacrifice themselves to the flames rather than fall into the hands of a conqueror ; and the Johar, the final act of a besieged garrison, when the women threw themselves into the furnace, while the men sallied forth to die in battle against the enemy, is recorded again and again in Rajput annals. Three times was this tragedy enacted at the fall of Chitor, formerly the capital fortress of the Sesodia clan ; and the following vivid account is given by Colonel Tod of a similar deed at Jaisalmer, when the town fell to the Muhammadans :
^ " The chiefs were assembled ; all were unanimous to make Jaisalmer resplendent by their deeds and preserve the honour of the Yadu race. Muhaj thus addressed them :
- You are of a warlike race and strong
are -your arms in the cause of your prince ; what heroes excel you who thus tread in the Chhatri's path ? For the maintenance of my honour the sword is in your hands ; let Jaisalmer be illumined by its blows upon the foe.' Having thus inspired the chiefs and men, Muhaj and Ratan repaired to the palace of their queens.
They told them to take the sohdg'^ and prepare to meet in heaven, while they gave up their lives in defence of their honour and their faith. Smiling the Rani replied, ' This night we shall prepare, and by the morning's light we shall be inhabitants of heaven ' ; and thus it was with all the chiefs and their wives. The night was passed together for the last time in preparation for the awful morn. It came ; ablutions and prayers were finished and at the royal gate were convened children, wives and 1 Rajasthdn, i. p. 552. milion on the bride before a wedding, '^ Vol. ii. p. 227. which is beheved to bring good for- ^ A ceremony of smearing ver- tune.
mothers. They bade a last farewell to all their kin ; the Johar commenced, and twenty-four thousand females, from infancy to old age, surrendered their lives, some by the sword, others in the volcano of fire. Blood flowed in torrents, while the smoke of the pyre ascended to the;, heavens : not one feared to die, and every valuable was consumed with them, so that not the worth of a straw was preserved for the foe. The work done, the brothers looked upon the spectacle with horror. Life was now a burden and they prepared to quit it.
They purified themselves with water, paid adoration to the divinity, made gifts to the poor, placed a branch of the tulsi ^ in their casques, the sdligrdm ^ round their neck ; and having cased themselves in armour and put on the saffron robe, they bound the marriage crown around their heads and embraced each other for the last time. Thus they awaited the hour of battle. Three thousand eight hundred warriors, their faces red with wrath, prepared to die with their chiefs." In this account the preparation for the Johar as if for a wedding is clearly brought out, and it seems likely that husbands and wives looked on it as a bridal preparatory to the resumption of their life together in heaven.
Colonel Tod gives the following account of a Rajput's
arms :
^ " No prince or chief is without his silla-kJidna or
armoury, where he passes hours in viewing and arranging
his arms. Every favourite weapon, whether sword, dagger,
spear, matchlock or bow, has a distinctive epithet. The
keeper of the armoury is one of the most confidential officers
about the person of the prince. These arms are beautiful
and costly. The sirohi or slightly curved blade is formed
like that of Damascus, and is the greatest favourite of all
the variety of weapons throughout Rajputana.
The long cut-and-thrust sword is not uncommon, and also the khanda or double-edged sword. The matchlocks, both of Lahore and the country, are often highly finished and inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold ; those of Boondi are the best. The shield of the rhinoceros-hide offers the best resistance, and is often ornamented with animals beautifully painted ^ The basil plant, sacred to Vishnu. to be a form of Vishnu. - A round black stone, considered ^ Riijasi/u'in, i. p. 555.
and enamelled in gold and silver. The bow is of buffalohorn, and the arrows of reed, which are barbed in a variety of fashions, as the crescent, the trident, the snakes tongue, and other fanciful forms." It is probable that the forms were in reality by no means fanciful, but were copied from sacred or divine objects ; and similarly the animals painted on the shields may have been originally the totem animals of the clan.
15. Occu- The traditional occupation of a Rajput was that of a pation. warrior and landholder. Their high-flown titles, Bhupal (Protector of the earth), Bhupati (Lord of the earth), Bhusur (God of the earth), Bahuja (Born from the arms), indicate.
Sir H. Risley says,^ the exalted claims of the tribe. The
notion that the trade of arms was their proper vocation
clung to them for a very long time, and has retarded their
education, so that they have perhaps lost status relatively
to other castes under British supremacy. The rule that a
Rajput must not touch the plough was until recently very
strictly observed in the more conservative centres, and the
poorer Rajputs were reduced by it to pathetic straits for a
livelihood, as is excellently shown by Mr. Barnes in the
Kdngra Settlement Report :
^ " A Mian or well-known Rajput,
to preserve his name and honour unsullied, must scrupulously
observe four fundamental maxims : first, he must
never drive the plough ; second, he must never give his
daughter in marriage to an inferior nor marry himself much
below his rank ; thirdly, he must never accept money in
exchange for the betrothal of his daughter ; and lastly, his
female household must observe strict seclusion.
The prejudice against the plough is perhaps the most inveterate of all ; that step can never be recalled ; the offender at once loses the privileged salutation ; he is reduced to the second grade of Rajputs ; no man will marry his daughter, and he must go a step lower in the social scale to get a wife for himself In every occupation of life he is made to feel his degraded position. In meetings of the tribe and at marriages the Rajputs undefiled by the plough will refuse to sit at meals with the Hal Bah or plough-driver as he is • Tribes and Castes of Ben'^al, art. ^ Quoted in Sir D. Ibbelson's/'w/yrt/; Rajput. Census Report (1881), para. 456.
contemptuously styled ; and many to avoid the indit^nity of exclusion never appear at public assemblies. . . . It is melancholy to see with what devoted tenacity the Rajput clings to these deep-rooted prejudices. Their emaciated looks and coarse clothes attest the vicissitudes they have undergone to maintain their fancied purity. In the quantity of waste land which abounds in the hills, a ready livelihood is offered to those who will cultivate the soil for their daily bread ; but this alternative involves a forfeiture of their dearest rights, and they would rather follow any precarious pursuit than submit to the disgrace.
Some lounge away their time on the tops of the mountains, spreading nets for the capture of hawks ; many a day they watch in vain, subsisting on berries and on game accidentally entangled in their nets ; at last, when fortune grants them success, they despatch the prize to their friends below, who tame and instruct the bird for the purpose of sale. Others will stay at home and pass their time in sporting, either with a hawk or, if they can afford it, with a gun ; one Rajput beats the bushes and the other carries the hawk ready to be sprung after any quarry that rises to the view. At the close of the day if they have been successful they exchange the game for a little meal and thus prolong existence over another span.
The marksman armed with a
gun will sit up for wild pig returning from the fields, and in
the same manner barter their flesh for other necessaries of
life. However, the prospect of starvation has already driven
many to take the plough, and the number of seceders daily
increases. Our administration, though just and liberal, has
a levelling tendency ; service is no longer to be procured,
and to many the stern alternative has arrived of taking to
agriculture and securing comparative comfort, or enduring
the pangs of hunger and death. So long as any resource
remains the fatal step will be postponed, but it is easy to
foresee that the struggle cannot be long protracted ; necessity
is a hard task-master, and sooner or later the pressure
of want will overcome the scruples of the most bigoted."
The objection to ploughing appears happily to have been
quite overcome in the Central Provinces, as at the last
census nine-tenths of the whole caste were shown as employed
VOL. IV 2 F
in pasture and agriculture, one-tenth of the Rajputs being landholders, three -fifths actual cultivators, and one -fifth labourers and woodcutters. The bulk of the remaining tenth are probably in the police or other branches of Government service.
Rajput
(From People of India/ National Series Volume VIII. Readers who wish to share additional information/ photographs may please send them as messages to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be gratefully acknowledged in your name.)
Synonyms: Thakur [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Thakur [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Gaderi [Orissa] Chattri, Chauhan, Chhatri, Chhetri [West Bengal] Chhatri, Kshatriya, Thakur [Russell & Hiralal] Groups/subgroups: Chandrabansi, Kushbhavan, Kuwar, Nikumbh, Parmar, Surajbanshi [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Agnivanshi, Chandravanshi, Suryavanshi [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Chandrabangsio, Suryabangsio [West Bengal] Agarwala, Agastwar, Almecha, Anai, Bahariya (in inner Bias), Bahman, Barwar, Behila, Belwar, Bhale, Bharadih Bais, Bhat, Bhatiya, Bhatiya of Jaisalmer, Bhatiyas of Dharanganu, Bhatner Bhitariya (in outer Bias), Bhorar, Bhudi, Bhuinhar, Bhur, Bhurta, Birpur, Bohra, Briku, Budano, Chahus, Chandrabansi, Chauhan, Chauhava, Chaurasi, Chhatri (in Ghazipur), Dasena Gandhariyas, Gaurs of, Gujaratis, Halais, Hariyana, Jadon, Jadonbansi, Jasawat, Jaysalmer, Kachhis (Bhatiya), Kain, Kalacha, Kalamor, Kana (Gaur of Oudh), Kathiawari Khairagarh of Allahabad, Kharara, Khasiya, Laugaha, Madkul, Mahespuriya, Maheswari, Markaha, Marwari, Mathuriya, Modal gotra (Brahman Gaur), Nagaur, Naipuriya, Oswal, Oudh, Pakhni Palliwal, Panjab, Prijas, Rahtu, Raja (Chamar Gaur), Ranikiya, Rao, Raska, Rawat, Sahasri, Sarai, Sengas, Sherpuriya, Silhala, Sindh, Sirwariye, Surhi, Tantiya, Tarai, Thaktaya Tilokchandi Bias, Togra, Untahir (sakha of Gaur) [W. Crooke] •Sub-divisions: Agnikul, Bachgoti Chauhan, Baiaghrapad, Bhanj, Bhojpuria, Chahil, Chahira, Chandrabansi, Chaudrabausi, Chauhan, Gaur, Jadubansi, Malwe, Mar Rajput, Sombansi, Suryabansi (in Behar) Surjabansi [H.H. Risley] Titles: Raja, Rana, Singh [West Bengal] Surnames: Singh, Sinha, Thakur [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Banaphar, Bias, Chouhan, Handa, Parihar, Parmar, Singh, Sisodia, Solanki, Thakur, Tomar [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Babu, Barik, Bhanja, Chanda, Chhatri, Das, Rai, Rout, Samant [Orissa] Roy, Singh, Sinha, Sisodia [West Bengal] Ahban, Athbhaiya, Bachgoti, Bachhal, Bachhil, Bais, Balbhadraut, Banbirpota, Bandhilgoti, Beriyagar, Bhankawat, Bharadwaja (in Hardoi), Bisen (Oudh Rajput), Chandel, Chandraseniya Chatrabhujaut, Chauhan, Devdas, Dikhsit, Gahawar, Gajama, Gaur, Gautam, Gehlot, Gugawat, Janwar, Kalyanaut, ECanhpuriya, Khangaraut, Khasiya, Khumbani, Khumbhawat, Kukaur, Kulhiya Lautamiya, Madhobadha, Mahror, Mainu, Manava, Maun, Multani, Naihaltra, Naruka, Nathawat, Pachhayanaut, Palwars, Panwar, Parikar, Parinmalot, Rae, Rae Chamuja, Rae Daiya, Rae Dhadhar Rae Dhava, Rae Gagla, Rae Ghaga, Rae Gungulab, Rae Jaydhan, Raejiya, Rae Jiyala, Rae Kajariya, Rae Kapur, Rae Karangona, Rae Kartari, Rae Korhaiya, Rae Kova, Rae Malan, Rae Mogaya Rae Palija, Rae Panchloriya, Rae Parijiya, Rae Pawar, Rae Rariya, Rae Rika, Rae Saraki, Rae Sijballa, Rae Soni, Raikwar, Raja, Rajkumar, Ramaiya, Rao, Raotar, Rawat (in Unao), Rishivan Sainbansi, Sakarwar, Sanras, Sengar, Senya (in Sultanpur), Siubaranpota, Sudharvan, Sultanaut, Suphla, Surajbansi, Taseli in North Western Province [W. Crooke]
- Exogamous sections: Bhudaria, Bias, Bisene Thakur, Brahmangaur, Chamargaur, Chandel, Chandrabansi,
Chaubaria, Chavan, Dikkhat, Gautam, Harha Thakur, Jadhav, Kachhwah, Kanwar, Kaseb, Pamar, Parihar (Rajput), Pawar, Raghubansi, Rahekwar, Rana, Rathor Thakur, Sakharwar, Sangir Thakur, Sengar, Simia, Sisodia, Somavanshi, Sulankha, Surajbansi, Suryabansi, Ujain Thakur, Waghel Thakur in Hyderabad [S.S. Hassan] Exogamous units/clans (kuri): Banaphor, Bias, Chauhan, Handa, Parihar, Solanld, Tomar [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Clans: Ada, Avera, Balater, Barod, Bhati, Bihola Solanld, Biya, Bodav, Chamarpa, Chandravrat, Chavad, Chavada, Chochu, Chohan, Choid, Chudavat, Dabhi, Dagh, Daima, Dairja, Devchand, Devda Dhandhu, Dod, Dodiya, Duval, Ed, Galecha, Ghelot, Gohel, Goiter, Gor, Gujjar, Hadial, Harashi, Hatha, Humad, Jadav, Jadeja, Jhala, Jiriya, Jodha, Joja, Jut, Kaba, Kachhotia, Kalam Karodia, Kher, Khod, Khula, Kukan, Lakam, Mahida, Makvana, Mai, Masani, Mer, Mohal, Mori, Narwan, Padhar, Padhiar, Palonia, Parmar, Pesrau, Puravia, Rana, Ranrathod, Rathod, Raval Ravar Solanld, Rehevar, Revod, Sadria, Sedhal, Sisodia, Sodha, Sodria, Sojatria, Solanld, Songad, Surcha, Suvar, Tank, Tantol, Thokiya, Tuar, Udvat, Uma, Vadhel, Vadvasia, Vaghela Vaish, Vaja, Vala, Vamla, Vanol, Vantia, Varam, Vehtia, Vejola, Vezania, Virpura Solanki [R.E. Enthoven] Badgujar, Bais, Balla, Chalukya or Solanki, Chauhan, Chawara or Chaura, Daharia, Dahia, Dahima, Dhabi, Doda, Gahlot or Sisodia, Gaur, Gherwal or Gaharwar, Gohil, Hul, Huna Ikshwaka or Surajvansi, Indu, Jaitwa, Jhalla, Jit or Gete, Johia, Kachhwaha, Kathi, Mohil, Nikumbh, Parihar, Parmara, Rajpali, Rathor, Sarweya, Sengar, Sikarwal, Silar Somvansi or Chandravansi, Tak or Takshac (Nagvansi or Mori), Tuar or Tomara, Yadu [Russell & HiralaJ] Gotra: Bharadwaj, Kashyap [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Agasthya, Bharadwaj, Goutam, Kashyap, Sandilya, Vasisht, Vishwamitra [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Kasyapa, Kausik, Parasar, Vasisht, Vatsa [Orissa] Atri, Batsa, Bharadwaj, Goutam, Kashyap, Sandilya, Vasisht, Vishwamitra, Vyas [West Bengal] Ahariya, Amethiya, Baghel, Bais, Bandhalgoti, Bargaiyan, Bargala, Bargujar, Barhaiya, Barhauliya, Barhiya, Barholiya, Barwar, Benban, Berwar, Bhaduriya, Bharadwaj, Bhargav, Bharsaiyan Bhatti, Bhikha Sahib, Bhuinhar, Bias of, Birwar, Bisen, Bundela, Burhela, Byarsiyan, Chamar, Chanamiya, Chandauriya, Chandel, Chaupata Khamb, Chhatris, Dhakara, Dhakra, Dikhshit, Dor Dundiyakkhera, Durgbansi, Gaharwar, Garg, Gargbansi, Gaur, Gaurua, Gautam, Gauvahar, Gehlot, Goutam, Hara, Hayobans, Jaiswar, Janwar, Jaughara, Johiya, Kachhwaha, Kakan, Kalhans, Kanet Kanhpuriya, Kashyap, Katheriya, Kathi, Kadiia, Katiyar, Kattak, Kattaur, Katti, Kausik, Khatri, Khetar, Khichi, Kinwar, Kirar, Koushik, Mahror, Mandahar, Marwar (Marwar), Maudarkiya Mauhar, Monas, Mongil, Nagbansi, Narauliya, Naudwani, Nikumbh, Pachtoriya, Pahari, Paliwar, Palwar, Panwar, Parasar, Parihar, Pundir, Raghubansi, Raikwar, Rajkumar, Rathaur, Sakarwar Sarpakriya, Sengar, Sirnet, Sisodia, Solanid, Sounaka, Surajbansi, Tank, Tomar\ Tunwar, Ujjaini, Vais, Vasisht, Vatsa, Vatsya, Vayasas in North West Province [W. Crooke]
- Septs: Ahir Paik, Amaithia, Ataia, Athral, Adirol, Bachhil, Badhik, Baghel, Bahrsuria, Bais, Balkharya, Banampur,
Banaphar, Banaudhia, Bandhalgoti, Barahi, Baraia, Bardia, Bargair, Barhwatia Barnia, Basbaria, Bauadhia, Bengal and Chotanagpur, Besain, Bhadaria, Bilkharia, Birwa, Budhbansi, Chandail, Chaubaria, Chaudhria, Chauhan, Damarwar, Dandwar, Dangar, Gaharwar, Gahlaut Gautam, Harihobans, Jaitar, Jasatbar, Kachhwah, Kailwar, Kakan, Kanwar, Kapur, Karnwar, Kausik, Khati, Kinwar, Kulchulia, Kulharia, Kurminia, Kusbansi, Lautni, Mahraur, Mahto, Mali Maulwar, Narauni, Nauthni, Nikumbh, Nisan, Pamar, Raghubansi, Rahtaur, Raksain, Rana, Ranauni, Sabarnia, Sakarwar, Sangir, Sarnia, Sengar, Sirnait, Sirnia, Sisodia, Solanki, Somwar Subansi, Sukalnaki, Surkhi, Surwar, Tarwar, Tekha, Tetia, Tilaut, Tongar, Ujain in Behar [H.H. Risley] Exogamous units/lineages: Bulandshahr, Chatranagar family, Chaudhari, Chauhan, Chauhan of, Ganga Jamuna, Gorakhpur family, Khagi, Lucknow family, Padhan, Pratapner family Rajor family, in North West Provincely family [W« Crooke] Exogamous units/lineages (bans/ktd): Azamgarh family, Bareil [Bihar and/or Jharkhand]
