History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c8.s1.15

v1.c8.s1.15

It is remarkable indeed that this tradition of race is still preserved among the Marathas of even modern days. It is well-known that the 96 kulis of Marathas believe in three vanśas viz., Soma, Surya, Śesha plainly proving that the Marathas are Aryo-Dravidians, and not Scytho-Dravidians. Now strangely enough the Chālukyas or Chalakes who are still one of the leading Maratha families are still assigned to the Suryavamśa, see the noted pothi issued from Kolhapur and called क्षात्रवंशसागर or मराठा शाहाण्णव कुळी. Now another Maratha family viz., the Kadams who are plainly the Kadambas of ancient inscriptions assigned in them to the same मानव्य gotra as the Chālukyas (Ind. Ants VI page 24) are also assigned to the Suryavamśa in the above book of the modern Marathas. These facts prove that these 96 families' traditions of the Marathas are not imaginary productions but are supported by inscriptional records which go back to the fifth and sixth centuries A. D. According to both of them the Chālukyas and the Kadambas are Solar race Kshatriyas while the Jādhavas and the Rāṣṭrakūtas (Ratakute in the modern Maratha books represented by भाळे, खण्डाराळे &c., see क्षात्रवंश सागर page 45) are believed to be Lunar race Kshatriyas.