New History of the Marathas v1.c5.111

v1.c5.111

10. The present day Marathas.—Thus from the Mauryas to the Yādavas there stretched a period of fifteen centuries, during which many great races and families came, settled and ruled in Mahārāshtra, only a few of whom have been prominently mentioned here. But there were certainly a large number of others, who, like the Kadambas of Banavasi, or the Silaharas of Kolhapur, Karhad and Thana, or the Vakatakas of Berar, the Kakatiyas of Warangal and the Ballals of Sagar, cannot all be here minutely enumerated, though they undoubtedly entered into the composition of the present-day Maratha nation at one time or another of our past history. Conquest and rule formed the sole occupation of these races and families. The conquerors often took for their wives maidens from the defeated races, thus giving rise to a free mixture of blood. The present day Maratha race boasts of including at least 96 separate families of whom several were long considered to be of very noble blood such as the Mauryas, the Sendrakas, the Rathods, the Silaharas, the Yadavas, etc., each with its high traditions of past valour and glory. The physical and mental powers of the present-day Marathas are a proof of the laws of heredity.