The Rajput Kingdoms: A History of Power and Glory

Rajputs are a Hindu warrior clan from the northwestern region of India, particularly in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. They have a long and rich history, and have played a significant role in the politics and culture of the region for centuries. The Rajputs are known for their martial skills and bravery in battle, and have a strong code of honor and chivalry. They have traditionally been landowners and have held a high social status in the region. Today, the Rajputs continue to have a significant presence in Indian society, and many hold prominent positions in politics, business, and other fields.

After Harshavardhana, the Pratihara rulers provided political unity to northern India and did not allow the Arabs to advance beyond Sindh. The Gurjara-Pratiharas became most influential in North India as a result of success in the tripartite struggle for the supremacy of Kannauj, but they soon declined. With the break-up of the Pratihara-Gurjara empire, a number of Rajput states came into existence in north India.

Origin of Rajputs:

1. According to Colonel James Tod, the Rajputs were the descendants of a foreign Scythian race. According to this view, there is similarity in some social and religious practices of the Rajputs, such as the practice of yagyas, fighting with chariots, the practice of non-vegetarian food, living habits and uniformity in dress etc
2. According to Smith, the Rajput castes of the north-west – Pratihara, Chauhan, Parmar, Chalukya etc. were originated from Shakas and Hunas. Similarly, the Gahadavalas, Chandels, Rashtrakutas, etc. The castes of the central and southern regions were the descendants of indigenous primitive castes like Gond.
3. According to Prithvirajraso, the origin of Rajputs has been told by Agnikund. Rishi Vashistha performed a yagya on Mount Abu, where four Rajput clans arose in the fire of the yagya - Parmar, Pratihara, Chauhan and Chalukya.
4. According to scholars like Gauri Shankar Hirachandra Ojha and CV Vaidya, Rajputs were the descendants of pure Indian Kshatriyas, in which there was absolutely no mixture of foreign blood. According to them, the word Rajput is actually an distorted of Rajputra, which has been used in Indian texts for the Kshatriya caste. In Panini's Ashtadhyayi, the word Rajaputra is used as a rajanya or protector. In the Mahabharata, the person who wields different types of weapons has been called a Rajput. In 8th century the author of Bhavabhuti has called Kaushalya the Rajputri.

Rajput Clan’s: A Rajput is a patrilineal clan from western, central, and northern India. They claim to be descendants of ruling Hindu warrior classes of North India. Rajputs rose to prominence during the 6th to 12th centuries. Until the 20th century, Rajputs ruled in the “overwhelming majority” of the princely states of Rajasthan and Surashtra, where the largest number of princely states were found.

The Rajputs are divided into 36 clans and each clan belongs to one of three basic lineages (vanshas) which are:

• Suryavanshi Rajput claims to be related to Surya, the Hindu Sun God or those descended from Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana. 
• Chandravanshi Rajput claim to be a descendant of Chandra (the moon) or those descended from Krishna, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. 
• Agnivanshi Rajputs assert that they are descendants of Agni, the Hindu god of fire. With this Rajputs derive their claim to be Kshatriyas.

Clans of Rajput: Some worth noting Rajput kingdoms of of that time in central India were −

The Gahadavalas of Kannauj:

• After the Pratihars, the Gahadavalas gave new life to the prosperity of Kannauj. 
• Between 1080-85 AD, Chandradeva defeated the Rashtrakuta ruler Gopal and established his suzerainty over Kanauj and almost the entire (modern) Uttar Pradesh and ruled till 1100 AD.
• Madan Chandra's son and successor Govind Chandra (1114–1154 AD) was an ambitious and capable ruler. He conquered Magadha from the Palas of Bengal and Malwa he also attacked on the rulers of Orissa and Kalinga. 
• Jayachandra (1170-1193 AD) was the last powerful ruler of this dynasty. In his attempt to expand east, he was defeated by Lakshman Sen, the ruler of Bengal. There was enmity between the Chauhans and the Gahadwals over the suzerainty of Delhi, which was eventually captured by the Chauhans.
• After the conquest of Delhi, Qutbuddin Aibak attacked Jayachandra. In 1193 AD, Jayachandra was defeated and killed in the battle of Chandawar.

 The Tomars of Delhi:

• The Tomar territory included the parts of present-day Delhi, Haryana, and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
• Initially, Tomars were the feudatories or vassals of Pratiharas from the 8th-10th century CE.
• Tomaras, also known as Tanwars, are Chandravanshi Rajputs who are descended from Arjun, the legendary hero of Mahabharat, through his son Abhimanyu.
• Anangpal I, established the Tomar dynasty in 736 CE.
• By the 10th century, the Tomaras had established themselves as independent rulers when the Pratiharas' power diminished.
• Soon after attaining independence from Pratihars, the Tomaras were involved in battles with their neighbors such as the Chauhans of Ajmer and the Gahadavala dynasty.
• Later on, Anangpal II, popularly known as Anangpal Tomar, re-establish Delhi in 1052, which was founded by Yudhishthira as Indraprastha.
• Tomars was ousted by Chauhans of Ajmer in the 12th century.

 The Chauhans of Ajmer:

• Among the many branches of the Chauhan dynasty, the Chauhan kingdom of Shakambhari (near Ajmer) established by Vasudev in the seventh century has a special significance in history.
• Chauhans of Delhi and Ajmer ruled over part of modern-day Rajasthan and neighboring areas in India, between the 6th to 12th century.
• The Chauhans were a powerful clan known for their courage and power.
• After Vasudeva, there were many rulers like Samant Purnatalla, Jayaraj, Vigraharaj I, Chandraraj Gopraja etc.
• Arnoraj (about 1133 AD) became an important ruler. He defeated the army of Sultan Mahmud near Ajmer. He had conquered Bundelkhand, Delhi and some parts of Punjab.
• In the twelth century, Prithviraj Chauhan was a Rajput king who ruled the kingdoms of Delhi and Ajmer in northern India.

• Prithviraj is known as the Chauhan king of Delhi who repelled the Muslim onslaught in the first Battle of Tarain (1191). The following year, Prithviraj was beaten in a second battle at Tarain.
• Defeat of the Prithviraj chauhan brought in Muslim dominance in North India in the form of Slave Dynasty.

The Parmaras of Malwa:

• The Paramara ruled the Malwa region between the 9th and 14th centuries. They were successors of the Rashtrakutas, who controlled Malwa from the early ninth century with their capital at Dhar.
•  Specific information is not available today regarding the early rulers of the Parmar dynasty, Upendra, Varisingh I, Siyak I, Vakpati I and Varisingh II. By focusing deeply on the historical facts, it is known that they probably accepted the suzerainty of the Rashtrakutas.
•  Upendra or Krishnaraja was the founder of the Paramara dynasty.
• Their capital was originally in Ujjain, but it was eventually moved to Dhara (both Ujjain and Dhara are in Madhya Pradesh).
• Under the Paramaras, Malwa had a high level of political and cultural prestige.
• Bhoj (1000-1055 AD), the son and successor of Paramara ruler Sindhuraj, has an important place among the well-known rulers of the Middle Ages. 
•  He has commendable credit available in both the war and literature fields. Bhoja had defeated all his neighboring states by fighting relentlessly.
• In his name he established Bhojpur and built a very big pond named Bhojsar. The description of his construction work is found in Udaipur Prashasti that he had built many temples like Kedareshwar, Someshwar, Somnath,Sundar etc.
• His greatest work is the Bhojeshwar temple, a massive Shiva temple which boasts to be the largest shivling in India. It is located at a place called Bhojpur.
• He was known by the title of Kaviraj due to his scholarship. He is credited with the creation of texts like Bhujabala-bhima, Sarasvatīkaṇṭhabharaṇa, Vyavaharamanjari and. There are about 84 works attributed to him.
• Pratiharas were initially in charge of Malwa. The Paramaras took advantage of the Pratiharas' fading strength and rose to power in Malwa in the second part of the 10th century.
• The majority of the Paramara kings were Shaivites who built several Shiva temples while also patronising Jain scholars.

 The Chandellas of Bundelkhand:

• The early Chandela rulers Nannuk, Vakpati, Jayshakti (after whom Bundelkhand was named Jejakabhukti), Vijayshakti, were feudatories of the Pratihar emperors of Kannauj.
• Nannuk, a ruler of small kingdom was the founder of Chandela Dynasty.
• Chandella ruled over central India for approximately 500 years between the 9th and the 13th centuries.
• As they dominated most of Bundelkhand, they were also known as the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti (now called Bundelkhand).
• The capital city of Chandels was Khajuraho which was later changed to Mahoba. Kalinjar was their important fort.They were recognised for their art and architecture, particularly the temples in Khajuraho.
• The Chandela kingdom had acquired considerable power at the time of Yashovarman (925-50 AD), the successor of Harsha (about 900-925 AD). He conquered Kalinjar (probably from the Rashtrakutas) and extended the extent of his kingdom to the Yamuna and the Ganges.
• Yashovarman had received an idol of Vishnu, for the establishment of which he built a grand temple, which is considered to be the present quadrilateral temple of Khajuraho.
• Ghangdev (950-1007 AD) was a very famous ruler of his dynasty. Later he was also freed from the subjugation of the Pratiharas of Kannauj.
• Madanavarman (1129-1163 AD) became a mighty ruler. Many inscriptions and seals are obtained from which it is known that this king had won the Rewa region from King Gaikana of Chand dynasty and Bhilsa region from Yashovarman Parmar of Malwa. But he could hold it for some time only.
• In 1202 AD, Qutbuddin Aibak acquired Kalinjar.

The Guhilas or Sisodiyas of Mewar:

• Guhil was the founder of the Guhila Dynasty.
• This Clan originated in Kashmir, migrated to Gujarat in the 6th century, and then again migrated to Mewar around the area of Magadh in the 7th Century.
• The Rajput ruler Bappa Rawal laid the foundation of the Guhilot Dynasty or the Sisodiya dynasty in Mewar and Chittor was its capital.
•  During the period of Rawal Ratan Singh of Mewar in 1303 A.D. Ala-ud-din Khilji invaded his territory and defeated him.
• Rana Sangha and Maharana Pratap the Sisodiya rulers gave a tough fight to the Mughal rulers of India.
• Maharana Pratap was the 54th ruler of Mewar in the line of Sisodhiya Rajputs.
  

Solanki dynasty of Gujarat:

• The Chalukyas or Solankis were one of the Rajputs of Agnikul.
• Mulraj I (942 to 995 AD) was the founder of the Solanki dynasty of Gujarat. He made Anhilvad his capital.
• From 995 to 1008 AD, Mulraj's son Chamundarai was the ruler of Anhilvad.
• His son Ralabhraj ruled from 1008 to 1022 AD.
• Barrelraj's nephew Bhima I was the most powerful ruler of his dynasty. In the reign of Bhima I in 1024-25 AD, Mahmud Ghaznavi plundered the temple of Somnath but Bhima I did not compete with him and fled from Gujarat.
• Jai Singh Siddharaj had built Rudramahakal in Sidhpur and Sahastralinga temple in Anhilvad. He built 108 temples during his reign.
• Three years after the conquest of Multan, Muhammad Ghori again marched to conquer Gujarat in 1178 CE but the Chalukya ruler of Gujarat, Solanki Bhima II, defeated him at the battle of Kayadara.