History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c21.s1.3

v1.c21.s1.3

The Gujars like the Jats are the ancient Vedic Aryan Vaiśyas; and that explains why their names are not met with in ancient records before the fifth or sixth century. For such ancient scanty historical records as we possess concern themselves chiefly with kings and kingly families and rarely mention the common people. In the third century A. D. the Vaiśyas for the first time came into prominence because (most Kshatriya kingly families being killed or driven further south) many Vaiśya families took to the profession of arms against the foreign invaders of Scythic origin. The Guptas thus were Vaiśyas who first opposed the Yue-chi and latterly opposed the Huns. It seems that when the Huns first invaded India and founded a kingdom at Sialkot, the Gujars moved down into Rajputana, the sandy deserts of which have always afforded shelter to Aryans of the Panjab and the middle country when oppressed and dispossessed by foreigners. That seems to be the reason why the Gurjaras came into prominence about the time of the Huns. They moved from the Panjab into Rajputana and founded a kingdom at Bhinmal about the beginning of the sixth century. They even sent off-shoots further southwards and we find the Gurjara kingdom of Broach founded by Dadda at about the same time. These two kingdoms were found in a flourishing condition by Hiuen Tsang. Pratāpavardhana conquered the Gurjaras not because they were Huns or foreigners; he conquered them as every conquering hero in India did who conquered both foreigners and Indians in his digvijaya. The Gurjaras of Bhinmal were to his south-west and he must have established his overlordship over them also. Yet the Gurjara kingdom of Bhinmal was strong and even Harsha did not entirely dispossess the Gurjaras. They were probably only in nominal subjection to him as we have already stated. And they not only remained strong but in the next century grew stronger and subdued Kanauj itself.