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History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v2: Volume 2

History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v2

Language
English

Contents

Volume 2

Front matter

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The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.

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The craft guilds, which became so powerful in the later Middle Ages, were the successors of the earlier *collegia* of the Roman Empire. The *collegia* were associations of artisans and tradesmen, which were recognized by the state and had a legal existence. When the Roman Empire fell, these associations were largely destroyed, but the idea of association for mutual protection and the regulation of trade survived. In the early Middle Ages, the *gilds* began to reappear, and by the twelfth century they were firmly established in many of the cities of Europe.

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The craft guilds were organized on a democratic basis, and every member had a voice in the management of the guild's affairs. The officers were elected by the members, and the rules and regulations were made by the guild as a whole. The guilds had the power to fix prices, to regulate the hours of labor, and to determine the conditions of apprenticeship. They also had the power to punish members who violated the rules, and to expel those who were guilty of serious offenses. The guilds were thus a powerful force in the economic life of the Middle Ages, and they played an important part in the development of the modern industrial system.

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The decline of the craft guilds began in the sixteenth century, when the rise of the factory system and the growth of international trade made it difficult for the small, local guilds to compete with the larger and more efficient industrial organizations. The guilds were also weakened by the growth of the power of the state, which began to regulate trade and industry directly, and by the rise of the capitalist class, which sought to break the power of the guilds and to establish a system of free competition. By the end of the eighteenth century, the craft guilds had largely disappeared, but their influence lived on in the trade unions and other labor organizations of the modern world.

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OF

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MEDIAEVAL HINDU INDIA.

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(Being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.)

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VOL. II

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EARLY HISTORY OF RAJPUTS

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(750 to 1000 A. D.)

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BY

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C. V. VAIDYA, M.A., LL.B. *Honorary Fellow, Bombay University* *Author of Mahābhārata : a criticism,* *Riddle of the Rāmāyaṇa and* *Epic India, Etc.*

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POONA : THE ORIENTAL BOOK-SUPPLYING AGENCY, All Rights Reserved.

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Printer : K. R. Gondhalekar Esq., Proprietor, Jagaddhitecchu Press, 507, Shaniwar, Poona City.

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Publisher : Dr. N. G. Sardesai, L. M. & s., Manager, The Oriental Book-Supplying Agency, 15, Shukrawar, Poona City.

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BOOK III.

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THE ORIGIN OF THE RAJPUTS.

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| CHAPTER. | Subject. | PAGE. |
| I. | The Rajputs . . . . . | I |
| 2. | Theory of Foreign Descent .. .. .. .. .. | 7 |
| 3. | The Exploded Myth of Agnikulas .. .. .. .. | 12 |
| | NOTE—The Value of the Prithvīrāja Rāsā .. .. | 18 |
| | ,, The 36 Rajput Clans or Royal Families .. | 22 |
| 4. | Are Agnikulas Gujars ? .. .. .. .. .. | 27 |
| | NOTE—The Skanda Purāṇa list of countries .. .. | 39 |
| | ,, The meaning of the word Rajput.. .. .. | 43 |
| 5. | The Gotras of the Rajputs .. .. .. .. .. | 49 |
| | NOTE—Gotra and Pravara .. .. .. .. .. | 56 |
| 6. | Aryan Settlements in Rājputāna .. .. .. .. | 64 |

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BOOK IV.

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THE SECOND SET OF HINDU KINGDOMS.

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| I. | The Guhilots of Mewad and Bappā Rāwal .. .. | 70 |
| 2. | The Successors of Bappā .. .. .. .. .. | 77 |
| | NOTE—Are the Guhilots foreigners ? .. .. .. | 83 |
| 3. | The Chāhamānas of Sambar .. .. .. .. | 90 |
| 4. | The Imperial Pratihāras of Kanauj .. .. .. | 98 |
| 5. | The Chāvadas of Anhilwad Pātan .. .. .. | 114 |
| 6. | The Paramāras of Dhar .. .. .. .. .. | 117 |
| 7. | The Chandellas of Bundelkhand .. .. .. | 124 |
| | Note—Smith's wrong view about the origin of the Chan- | |
| | dellas . . . . . | 130 |
| 8. | The Kalachūris of Chedi .. .. .. .. .. | 134 |
| 9. | The Pālas of Bengal .. .. .. .. .. | 138 |
| 10. | The Rāshṭrakūṭas of the Deccan .. .. .. | 144 |
| 11. | The Other Kingdoms of India .. .. .. .. | 157 |
| 12. | Contemporary Arab writers .. .. .. .. | 162 |

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The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.

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The craft guilds, which became so powerful in the later Middle Ages, were the successors of the earlier *collegia* of the Roman Empire. The *collegia* were associations of artisans and tradesmen, which were recognized by the state and had a legal existence. When the Roman Empire fell, these associations were largely destroyed, but the idea of association for mutual protection and the regulation of trade survived. In the early Middle Ages, the *gilds* began to reappear, and by the twelfth century they were firmly established in many of the cities of Europe.

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The craft guilds were organized on a democratic basis, and every member had a voice in the management of the guild's affairs. The officers were elected by the members, and the rules and regulations were made by the guild as a whole. The guilds had the power to fix prices, to regulate the hours of labor, and to determine the conditions of apprenticeship. They also had the power to punish members who violated the rules, and to expel those who were guilty of serious offenses. The guilds were thus a powerful force in the economic life of the Middle Ages, and they played an important part in the development of the modern industrial system.

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The decline of the craft guilds began in the sixteenth century, when the rise of the factory system and the growth of international trade made it difficult for the small, local guilds to compete with the larger and more efficient industrial organizations. The guilds were also weakened by the growth of the power of the state, which began to regulate trade and industry directly, and by the rise of the capitalist class, which sought to break the power of the guilds and to establish a system of free competition. By the end of the eighteenth century, the craft guilds had largely disappeared, but their influence lived on in the trade unions and other labor organizations of the modern world.

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In this second volume of our history is presented to the reader the history of the second sub-period of mediæval Hindu history of India. As stated in the beginning of the preface to our first volume, the mediæval Hindu period of Indian History extends, according to our view, from 600 A.D. to 1200 A.D. roughly, i. e. from the accession of Harsha, the last Buddhist Emperor of India to the death of Prithvīrāja, the last Hindu Emperor of India. This period of about 600 years curiously enough falls into three sub-periods of about 200 years each, in which appear on the stage of Indian history different sets of Hindu kingdoms. In the first volume we presented to the reader the history of the first set of Hindu kingdoms led by the Varmās of Kanauj and the Chālukyas of Badāmī. Indeed, throughout the Hindu period, Kanauj in the north appears to have been the acknowledged capital of India and there was always a competing kingdom in Mahārāshtra struggling to divide imperial honour with it in the south. These first imperial Hindu kingdoms at Kanauj and at Badāmī disappear about 800 A.D. with other kingdoms, and the second set of Hindu kingdoms come in, led by the Pratihāras in the north and the Rāshtrakūtas in the south. These again disappear about the end of the second sub-period, i. e. about 1000 A. D. and the history of this second set of Hindu kingdoms is presented to the reader in this volume. A third set of Hindu kingdoms appear hereafter led by the Gaharwārs of Kanauj and the later Chālukyas of Kalyan in the north and the south respectively; and their history will be given in our third volume.

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The most remarkable thing about the second set of Hindu kingdoms is that they are ruled by kings who call themselves Rajputs. In fact, the Rajput clans which exist today in India trace their descent to kings who established their rule about this time. And hence this period is conspicuously characterised by the rise of Rajput families. We have consequently given a second name to this volume, namely, the Pristine History of the Rajputs; and this volume chiefly contains the initial account of several Rajput families. Even Tod, the historian of the Rajputs could not give this history in sufficient and well authenticated detail owing to the absence of the epigraphic material which has since been so amply collected. This history, therefore, will be particularly interesting to Rajputs and to all those who admire the noble qualities of that heroic race.

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Who were these Rajputs is a question which has puzzled almost all European scholars and many Indian antiquarians. For most of the historians and researchers who have laboured to collect and interpret the epigraphic evidence relating to this period have been misled in this respect by the theory first put forward by Tod that the Rajputs are the descendants of the Getae and other foreign races, which invaded India from the first to the sixth century A. D. Kielhorn, Fleet, Smith, Buhler and Johnson and Bhandarkar D. R. and other Indian scholars who have laboured in this field and whose labours must be thankfully acknowledged here as on their elucidation of the epigraphic records of this period, this history is chiefly based, have been misled by this theory of the foreign descent of the Rajputs, and have represented them as descended from foreign peoples like Śakas and Hūṇas, or in some cases aboriginal peoples like Gonds and Bhars of Central India.

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But the riddle of the appearance of the Rajputs on the stage of Indian history about the middle of the eighth century A. D. has to be solved differently. The history of India is nothing if not religious. The march of events and the change of social or political conditions in India are dominated by religious upheavals, and thus the appearance of Rajputs at this stage of Indian history is to be explained by the nature of the religious events which took place in India at this time. Not only was the supplanting of Buddhism by the philosophy of Kumārila instrumental in reforming and re-enforcing Hinduism about 700 A. D. but the conquest of Sind by the Arabs, moving over the then known world under the influence of a new virile religion sent a shock through India and roused the forces of opposition to foreign faith and domination among the orthodox population. The Rajputs came forward under this impulse from among the ranks of the orthodox Khshatriyas of what is modern Rājputana and Central India, where Hinduism was particularly strong (See Map attached to the first volume). And their successful efforts led to the establishment of new kingdoms under new kingly families. Thus about 750 A. D. the Guhilots of Mewad under Bappā Rāwal, the Chāhamānas of Sāmbhar under Sāmanta and the Pratihāras of Māndor under Nāgabhata, as the reader will see in this volume, obtained renown by their opposition to the Mlenchhas surging eastwards from Sind towards Rājputana for conquest as well as conversion. We find from inscriptions that these leaders of opposition were all orthodox Hindus worshipping Śiva, and we are led to conclude that the Rajputs were descendants of orthodox Vedic Aryans who fought for their independence and their ancient religion against the ferocious onslaughts of Mahamedan Arabs.

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In Book III, in the beginning of this volume on the origin of Rajputs, we have, therefore, first answered the arguments which are usually advanced to support the theory of a foreign origin. And then we have given in chapters V and VI those arguments which strike one as going to prove affirmatively that the Rajputs are the descendants of Vedic Aryans. The reader's attention is particularly drawn to the chapter on the exploded myth of the Agnikulas or Fire-born septs, which had been the principal support of the theory of foreign extraction of the Rajputs, and which has now been proved to be baseless from the ancient records of the very families which believe themselves to be fire-born.

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In the next Book IV we have given the history of the several Rajput kingdoms which were founded about this time and notably of the Guhilots of Mewad and the Imperial Pratihāras of Kanauj. In particular, it was necessary to examine the theory put forward by Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar about the Guhilots of Mewad that they were Nagar Brahmins and hence Mers or foreigners!!! This theory suggested by the general idea about the foreign origin of the Rajputs, no doubt, finds apparent support (at least with regard to Bappā Rāwal, the founder) in the ancient records of the family. But this view cannot be sustained, as we have shown at length, on a careful examination of these records. And Rai Bahadur Gaurishankar Ojha has also no doubt that the Guhilots are Solar race Kshatriyas, as shown in a special note on the subject in the Appendix. It may further be mentioned that the date of Bappā Rāwal as traditionally believed in in the Mewad family, namely Samvat 191, was difficult of explanation, even from the days of Tod, and the solution which we have offered of this difficulty will, it is hoped, generally recommend itself to our readers. Finally, the statements of Arab writers about the various kingdoms of this period have been collected together and explained in a special chapter. Their evidence is very valuable for this period, as the evidence of Hiuen Tsang was with regard to the previous period.

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As in the first volume, we have in the last book (V) taken a general survey of the condition of India during this period, and dealt with several important topics such as language, caste, religion, political ideas and administration civil and military. It is necessary to draw the special attention of the reader to the chapter on Kumārila and Śankara, two master-minds which gave to Aryanism its present form after overthrowing Buddhism in India. Hinduism, as it exists today, was then formed and this religious upheaval led not only to the remodelling of religion, but also of the social and even political condition of the country. In fact, as stated before, the rise of the Rājputs was due to this religious upheaval and the idea firmly gained ground that only Kshatriyas or Rajputs could rule. These Rajput rulers were naturally of a highly religious turn of mind (witness Bappā Rāwal and others) and were men of high moral character. They were, what is strange to our sight, even abstainers from wine. Arab travellers have recorded that kings in India abstained from drink; and any one indulging in it was considered unfit to rule. This religious revival was instrumental in raising the moral fibre not only of kings, but of the people also and there being only one religion in the land, namely Hinduism, this period was according to our view, the happiest period in Indian history. In the last chapter, we have tried to show at length how this period was the happiest in many ways. In fact, in our Marathi edition of this history, we have styled it the history of the rise, the prosperity and the fall of Hindu kingdoms; and truly enough, this period is the period of the highest prosperity of Hindu kingdoms, from which, in the next period they declined and eventually fell. Why they did so, is a very interesting and difficult question, which we shall have to deal with in our third volume.

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We look upon the Rajputs as undoubted descendants of Vedic Aryans of the solar and lunar race, and there was no third race or Vamśa, according to our view (namely the Agnivamśa). In the Appendix, we have, therefore, re-published our paper read before the Bombay Branch of the R.A.S. on the Solar and Lunar Kshatriya races in the Vedas, which will show how this idea of two races goes back even to the Vedas. Next, some important inscriptions are given in the original Sanskrit for the benefit of Sanskrit-knowing readers. A question raised by Mr. Rajawade, the well-known historical researcher of Mahārāshtra, about the ruling families of the Deccan in this period, is next examined, as he has doubted their being treated as Marāthās. Rai Bahadur Gourishankar Ojha's views on Bappā Rāwal have been discussed in a special note, and some facts discovered in recent research and not embodied in this history have been noticed in a special appendix. A map of India, giving the political divisions in this period and showing in different colours the prevailing religions has been appended, and will be found as useful and interesting as the map appended to the first volume.

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This volume is printed in Monotype and effort has been made, as far as possible, to secure correct printing for which thanks are due to Mr. C. R. Naidu, the Monotype-operator of the Jagaddhitecchu press, Indian printing, however, has yet to make good progress and an errata is yet a necessary evil which has to be tolerated by the reader. An index, prepared by Mr. N. N. Kulkarni B. A., of the Bhandarkar Institute for which my thanks are due to him as also to Mr. M. R. Moghe B.A., LL.B., for the preparation of the index of the 1st Volume, has been added which will facilitate easy reference. The attention of the reader is particularly drawn to the statement, given at the end, of contemporaneous kings prepared for the period 750 to 1000 A.D. which will show at a glance what kings ruled in the several kingdoms of India at any particular time, and thus will assist the reader in understanding the history of India as a whole during this period (800-1000 A.D.). Lastly I have to thank Dr. N. G. Sardesai L.M. & S., Manager, Oriental Book Supplying Agency Poona for carrying the book through the press.

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POONA, February 15, 1924. } C. V. VAIDYA.

Book III.

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THE RAJPUTS.

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With the beginning of the ninth century A. D., the face of Indian history completely changes. Aryan India and Aryo-Buddhistic India have ended and Hindu India, as it practically is at present, is presented to us. Buddhism has entirely disappeared from the land, except in a few isolated places like Magadha. While, in the map appended to the first volume of this history, the reader finds about three-fourths of India painted rose, being Aryo-Buddhistic, in the map appended to this volume, nearly the whole of India is painted soiled red, being Hindu. But if Buddhism has disappeared from the land, Vedic Aryanism too exists no more. The sentiment of aversion to animal sacrifice had been too deeply implanted in the Indian heart to allow the Pūrva Mīmānsā doctrine which supplanted Buddhism to remain long supreme. In fact Buddhism and Pūrva Mīmānsā, so to say, killed each other. While respect for the Vedas revived and gained strength, respect for Vedic sacrifices was gone. The doctrine of the efficacy of the Vedic sacrifices inculcated by the Pūrva Mīmānsā no doubt gained credence for a time after the death of Harsha about 650 A. D.; but by 750 A. D., the aversion to animal sacrifice had again asserted itself so strongly that Vedic animal sacrifices died again and died finally. Modern India with its Hinduism does not countenance these sacrifices.

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and the Pūrva Mīmānsā doctrine is dead so far, along with Buddhism which it killed. The founders of the first set of Hindu kingdoms generally signalised their assumption of royal greatness by the performance of the Aśvamedha; the second set of Hindu kingly families which now began to establish themselves were indifferent to these sacrifices. The new kings were devout worshippers of the Puranic gods now enthroned supreme-viz., the five deities of modern Hinduism, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Sūrya, Devī, and Gaṇesha and chiefly of the first. The Śiva cult too of modern India is different from the same cult as it flourished in the previous period of Indian history. Its nature assumed a less revolting form and the offensive practices and the absurd doctrines which belonged to the Tāntric worship of Śiva of the days of Pushyabhūti, the founder of the Thanesar dynasty, were no more in vogue or obtained popular favour. Thus, religiously considered, modern Hindu India practically commences from about the beginning of the ninth century of the Christian era.

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One most prominent feature of this Hinduism, a feature which subsists to-day in all its strength, is the strengthened belief in the sacredness of the cow and the bull. The cow has been sacred indeed from Vedic times; but Vedic ritual included the sacrifice of cows and bulls. The now strongly entrenched sentiment of Ahimsā, made the slaughter of cows and bulls even for Vedic sacrifices one of the five most heinous sins and even the maiming of cows came to be looked upon as sinful. Both Śiva and Viṣṇu worships which were now enthroned supreme contributed to this strong belief in the sacredness of the bovine animal. The bull was sacred to Śiva and the cow to Viṣṇu in his highest incarnation as Śrī Kṛiṣhṇa. That great root cause of the terrible conflicts between Hindus and Mahomedans acquired its supreme influence at this time, an influence which subsists to-day in all its strength. In all Hindu States the killing or maiming of cows and bulls is even to-day a heinous crime under the Penal Code.

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Socially also, modern Hindu India can be traced back to the beginning of the ninth century A. D. Caste was till then not so exclusive as it is at this day, nor had castes sub-divided themselves into minor ramifications. The final overthrow of Buddhism and the inclusion of people who had previously professed that faith in the Hindu society probably led to the formation of sub-castes in the next sub-period within the main castes and though the modern sub-castes can not be traced back to the ninth century or rather the second sub-period of Mediæval Hindu India, the origin of it and its probable cause may be traced to that sub-period, viz., the difference of local tendencies due to the conversion of Buddhists into Hindus worshipping Puranic deities. The food of the people again generally became vegetarian and the accentuation of this fact contributed its share to the formation of more sub-castes within castes in the next period.

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What is more remarkable still is that the language of the people too changed markedly from this time. The modern vernaculars of India arose about this time for reasons which we shall try to elucidate in a separate chapter. It is sufficient here to state that the history of the modern vernaculars of India can be traced back continuously to this period and not beyond it; and hence it may be said, speaking historically, that the modern languages of India began to be formed about thist time. While in previous centuries the ancient Prākṛits Śaurasenī, Māgadhī, Mahārāshtrī and Paiśāchī or their Apabhraṇśas appear to have still been spoken, from the ninth century onward we find Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati and Panjabi appearing as new developed spoken languages of north, east, south and west India.

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But the greatest phenomenon of this period was the rising into political prominence of new kingly families—families which subsist as kingly families down to this day. It may in fact be said that modern political Hindu India as it is to-day also commences from this period. This phenomenon is marked by Indian historians and Sir V. Smith among them properly observes that the Rajputs about this time enter upon the stage of Indian history. The former kingly families are gone. The Guptas and the Vardhanas who were probably Vaiśyas were the leading kingly families of India during the Aryo-Buddhistic period and there were foreign kingly families also such as the Yavanas, the Śakas and the Hūṇas. These gradually disappeared in the first sub-period of Mediæval Hindu India. There were some Kshatriya families then also who are described as Kshatriyas even by Hiuen-Tsang, but these did not call themselves Rajputs and the Maitrakas of Valabhī or the Varmas of Kanauj in the north and the Chālukyas of Badāmi and the Pallavas of Kāñchī in the south are styled Kshatriyas but not Rajputs. These too disappeared about this time and new Kshatriya families arose all over India at this time which delighted to call themselves Rajputs, not a new name, however. And the wonder is that these Rajput kingly families subsist, though with diminished importance, as kingly families to this day. Indeed there are no other kingly families at this date in the whole world which can trace their pedigree back in a continuous line to the 9th century A. D. For this reason alone if not for anything else, the Rajputs of India deserve a prominence peculiarly their own.

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But the Rajputs deserve much greater renown than this. In fact their greatness as a chilvalrous and valiant people has not adequately been realised by us. They shed a glory on the history of this time which deserves as great a record in the history of the world as the glory of the most heroic peoples in that history. The Śisodias of Mewad and the Chāhamānas of Sāmbar deserve the foremost mention in world's history for chivalry and heroism, for the orthodoxy of their faith and for the persistence of their struggle against a foreign faith and dominion. In fact, the flood of Arab conquest which westward inundated the north of Africa and pouring even over the straits of Gibraltar rushed into Spain and crossed the Pyrenees into France was only dashed to pieces against the rock of the valour of the Franks on the banks of the Loire. The flood of the same Arab conquest led by the same fanaticism of a new religion, which rushed eastward and engulfed Mesopotamia, Iran, and Baluchistan and crossing the Indus submerged Sind in India received its shattering at the hands of the heroic Gehlots. Had it not been for Bappa Rāwal who justly deserves the veneration in which his name is held by the Rajputs and who can fitly be styled the Charles Martel of India, the whole of India would have fallen before the Arabs and to use the eloquent words of Gibbon, professors of the Arabian faith might to-day have preached to a circumcised population in the city of Benares. But this fate was averted by the heroism of Bappa Rawal and his Rajputs and it is refreshing to observe that his descendants throughout their long and glorious history down to this day have always upheld the banner of independence and of Hinduism against the Mahomedan conquerors. The last upholder of Svadharma and Svarājya in Indian history was a descendant of this hero viz., Sivaji who fought with the Mahomedans in the Deccan and re-established the independence and the religion of the Marathas.

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There is, however, one great difference between the Aryans of the west and the Aryans of the east. The Spaniards remained in a deadly grip of fight for a thousand years nearly with the Moors on the banks of the Tagus in Spain when suddenly the Moors lost in strength and were immediately overthrown by the Spaniards and driven out of Europe. In India the Arabs followed by the Turks remained similarly grappled in conflict for about five hundred years, near about the Indus, with the Rajputs, the Indo-Aryans. In this tug-of-war, however, the Rajputs eventually gave way and were overthrown by the Turks and the Afghans about the end of the third period of our history. Though the Rajputs preserved their independence and their honour, their religion and their valour in the sands and hills of Rajputana, India as a whole lay prostrate at the feet of the Mahomedan conquerers. The Mahomedans were not only not beaten back out of India as in Spain but they eventually engulfed the whole of this country. Why unlike their Aryan brethren of the West, the Rajputs of India failed is a question which the historian of Mediæval Hindu India has to answer and we shall try to do so in the volumes which are now before us.

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Who are these Rajputs who arose at this time and for five hundred years at the least beat back the Mahomedan onslaughts and whence did they come? We have already said that they were Indo-Aryans, the most chivalrous representatives of the Vedic Aryans of India. They defended their ancient faith with heroism and may well be called the defenders of the Hindu faith.

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Were they new proselytes to Hinduism from the ranks of foreigners, the remnants of Huns and Śakas, of Yue-chi and Getae as many European and native antiquarian researchers think? We propose to discuss this subject at great length in this book as in spite of the verdict of anthropometry that the facial characteristics of the Rajputs show them to be true Aryans, noted historians like Sir V. Smith still adhere to the theory that the Rajputs are the descendants of foreign peoples who invaded India about the sixth century A. D.

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THEORY OF FOREIGN DESCENT.

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The Rajputs who now came to the front and who by their heroism diffuse such glory on this period of Mediæval Indian History can not but have been descendants of Vedic Aryans. None but Vedic Aryans could have fought so valiantly in defence of their ancestral faith. It is true that converts sometimes exhibit more virulence and more violence in the defence of their adopted religion but this is more by way of exception than the rule. It is, therefore, natural to infer that these Rajputs were the descendants of Vedic Aryans. Their own traditions also declare that they belonged to the well-known Solar and Lunar races of Kshatriyas, or as we have elsewhere interpreted the terms, that they were the descendants of the two hordes of Aryan invaders who in pre-historic times entered India by way of the Panjab and the Gangetic valley. Thirdly, anthropometric measurements taken at the time of the census of 1901 fully substantiate the claim of the Rajputs to Aryan descent. Their straight noses, their long heads and their tall statures unmistakably show them to be Aryans, as these characteristics of Aryan races have been marked all over the world. And many European observers like Nesfield and Ibbetson have no doubt whatever about the truth of this claim of the Rajputs to be treated as Aryans, as descendants of those ancient Kshatriyas who settled in India in Vedic times.

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But inspite of ethnology, of tradition and of probabilities, other European historians and scholars and many Indian antiquarians believe and maintain that the Rajputs who now began to figure on the stage of Indian history were the descendants of foreign barbarian races. Tod the famous historian of the Rajputs no doubt started this theory but in his days historical research and the science of anthropometry were in their infancy, the Roman world, and the most important events of the reign of Antoninus Pius, are related by his biographer, and the reader will not be sorry to find them here in a more concise form. The reign of Antoninus Pius is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history; which is only another mode of saying that its happiness was complete. During the twenty-three years of his administration, the Roman empire was governed by the same invariable maxims of justice and peace. The natives of a vast extent of country were protected by the same laws, and enjoyed the same privileges. The frontiers were defended by the same legions, and the same spirit of moderation and equity prevailed in the councils of the emperor. The death of Antoninus was lamented as a public calamity; and the memory of his virtues was preserved by the gratitude of his subjects, and the imitation of his successor.

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The reign of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, which followed, was a period of great activity and of great events. The empire was attacked on all sides by the barbarians, and the emperor was obliged to spend the greater part of his life in the camp. He was a man of a mild and philosophical temper, and he would have preferred the quiet of the study to the tumult of the field. But he was a prince of a high sense of duty, and he did not shrink from the task which was imposed upon him. He defended the frontiers with vigour, and he defeated the enemies of Rome in many a hard-fought battle. His death was a loss to the empire, and it was felt by all classes of his subjects. He was the last of the good emperors, and with him the golden age of the Roman empire may be said to have terminated.

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The character of the Roman government, under the Antonines, was that of a mild and paternal despotism. The emperor was the source of all power, and his will was the law of the land. But he was restrained by the influence of the senate, and by the force of public opinion. The senate was still a body of great dignity and importance, and its members were the principal officers of the state. The emperor was careful to consult them on all matters of importance, and he was always ready to listen to their advice. The public opinion was also a powerful check upon the actions of the emperor. The people of Rome were still a proud and independent race, and they were not afraid to express their dissatisfaction with the measures of the government. The emperor was aware of this, and he was always careful to avoid any act that would be likely to give offence to the people.

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The administration of justice was one of the most important duties of the emperor. He was the supreme judge of the empire, and he was always ready to hear the complaints of his subjects. He was assisted by a council of jurists, who were the most learned men of the age. The laws were administered with impartiality, and the rights of the citizens were protected. The taxes were moderate, and they were collected with fairness. The public works were carried on with vigour, and the cities of the empire were adorned with magnificent buildings. The trade and commerce of the empire were encouraged, and the people were prosperous and happy. The Roman empire, under the Antonines, was a model of good government, and it was the envy of the world.

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least. That they are a virile and a chivalrous people cannot be denied and their importance does not diminish by the supposed *descent* in their ancestry. But we are really concerned here with history, with the question whether this view of the origin of the Rajputs is historically correct. This view is supported if not originated by some Indian researchers like Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar and naturally enough is also accepted by the last *erudite* editor of Tod's *Annals of Rajasthan*. Mr. William Crooke who has just edited this famous history with notes based on up-to-date research thus observes in his introduction: "Recent research has thrown much light on the origin of Rajputs. A wide gulf lies between the Vedic Kshatriyas and the Rajputs of mediæval times which it is now impossible to bridge. It is now certain that the origin of many clans dates from the Saka or Kushān invasions or more certainly from that of the White Huns who destroyed the Gupta empire about 480 A. D. The Gurjar tribe connected with the latter people adopted Hinduism and their leaders formed the main stock from which the higher Rajput families sprang. When these new claimants to princely honour accepted the faith and the institutions of Brahmanism the attempt would naturally be made to connect them with the heroes of the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. Hence arose the body of legend recorded in these annals by which a fabulous origin from the sun and the moon was ascribed to these Rajput families" (P. XXXI). Mr. Crooke further on remarks "The group denoted by the name Kshatriya or Rajput depended on status rather than on descent and it was therefore possible for foreigners to be introduced into these tribes without any violation of the prejudices of caste, which was then only partially developed. But it was necessary to disguise this admission of foreigners under a convenient fiction. Hence arose the legend how by a solemn act of purification or initiation under the superintendence of the ancient Vedic Rishis, the *fire-born* septs were created to help the Brahmins in repressing Buddhism and other heresies. This privilege was confined to four septs known as Agnikula or fire-born—viz., the Paramār, Parihār, Chālukya and Chanhān." This long extract would also show how the latest English researchers do not believe in the generally accepted view of the Rajputs that they are the representatives of Vedic Kshatriyas and it also shows how the now generally accepted legend about Agnikula Rajput families is twisted into a support for the theory of foreign descent started by western scholars and antiquarians.

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We have tried in our first volume to refute many of these arguments. We have shown in that volume how Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar’s theory that the Gujars are foreigners (Khizars) who came along with the Huns in the beginning of the fifth century is baseless, inasmuch as it is admitted by even Smith that there is no historical evidence either of native tradition or foreign record to suggest, much less to prove that the Gujars came into India from outside about this time and further because we find that the history of the Khizars proves that they never left their own country. We also showed that the characters of the two people are diametrically opposed. While the Khizars are stationary in habits and traders by profession, the Gujars are of roving habits and cattle-grazers by profession. It was also shown that the Gujars of India are distinctly Aryan by features, that their noses are more prominent than the noses of even Parisans, that in short the whole theory based on the premiss that Gujars are foreigners is mistaken for the Gujars are not foreigners and Scythians but are distinctly Aryans. We will, therefore, not repeat in this volume what we have urged already in refutation of this theory. We have also shown that foreigners like the Huns and the Śakas could not have left many descendants behind, that ruling races generally disappear when their rule is gone. We will, however, address ourselves in this volume to the second part of Mr. Bhandarkar’s theory accepted by Sir Vincent Smith and Mr. William Crooke that it is established on good evidence that the Rajputs are the descendants of Gujars. In fact we may say that while we have refuted the second premiss of Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar’s argument in our first volume, we will in this volume try to refute his first premiss. For Dr. Bhandarkar’s argument may be stated thus: "1st The Rajputs are the descendants of Gujars; 2nd the Gujars are foreigners. Therefore, 3rd the Rajputs are the descendants of foreigners." We have already shown that the Gujars are not foreigners but are true Aryans; and hence even if the Rajputs are descendants of Gujars they cannot be classed as Non-Aryans. But we go further and will prove in this volume that the Rajputs are not descended from Gujars but from Kshatriyas who may well be believed to be the representatives of the Vedic Kshatriyas. Dr. Bhandarkar’s theory has been elucidated principally in his papers on the Gujars (J. Bom. R. A. S. 1903) and on Foreign Elements in the Indian Population (Ind. Ant. 1911). Many of his arguments advanced in these papers have been accepted by historians like Smith and Crooke from whom we have quoted above at length. These arguments have always derived a strong support from the tradition relating to the Agnikulas current among the Rajputs themselves. It is here that we see the immense value of research. For research has already established that this tradition or myth of Agnikulas is indeed a myth, a creation and a modern creation of a poet’s brain; and we see here how false traditions once set up by poets and accepted in popular belief not only delude the people themselves but even historians like Smith and Crooke and researchers like Bhandarkar and Johnson. Indeed one can demonstrate the value and usefulness of historical research by the example of this very baseless myth of fire-born races which has so strongly supported the theory of the foreign descent of the Rajputs.

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THE EXPLODED MYTH OF AGNIKULAS.

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Gibbon, in explaining the doctrine of Transubstantiation, remarks truly that in popular belief what is originally rhetoric becomes subsequently logic. Most popular traditions arise in this way in poetical fancies which are eventually accepted as undeniable truths. No sane man believes that human races could have sprung from the sun or the moon. Such beliefs are certainly absurd, but the tradition of solar and lunar origins of Indo-Aryan races is of very ancient date and even goes back to the Rigveda. This tradition, therefore, absurd as it is, has a historical importance and we have already elsewhere noted the inference derivable from this tradition viz., that the Indo-Aryans must have come into India in two different hordes, an inference first suggested by Sir R. Grierson on linguistic grounds. The traditions similarly of the origins of different Rajput clans have some historical importance if they are of long standing and unvarying character. The tradition about the origin of Agnikulas might thus have been of use historically and might have supported the theory of foreign peoples being incorporated into Hindu society, if it had not been proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that it originated in a poet's brain, nay it may be shown further that it is based on a misconception of that poet and is finally of quite recent date. Research has amply shown this but unfortunately western scholars have not sufficiently recognised the fact and drawn the necessary inference from it.

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As is generally known, this story of four warrior clans having been created out of fire by Vashishtha was first told by Chand the bard of Prithviraj in his epic the Prithviraj Rasa on the exploits of this last chivalrous Rajput king. The story shortly is that when this world was oppressed by Rakshasas or Mlechchas, Vasiṣṭha created from his sacrificial fire four warriors in succession viz., first the Paramāra, then the Chālukya, then the Parihāra and when these could not destroy the Rākṣasas, the terrible Chāhomāna from whom the poet's hero Pṛthvīrāja was decended. This story along with the Rāsā became by and by extremely popular and was eventually accepted by all Rajputs and what is strange by the descendants of these four clans themselves. Naturally the great historian of the Rajputs Col. Tod accepted it and incorporated it in his history. These four clans, it is now currently believed, cannot trace their pedigree to the sun or the moon as the other Kṣatriyas do, but are fire-born thus giving colour to the theory that these clans are really foreigners who have been transformed into Kṣatriyas by the Brahmins by a fiction of purification by fire.

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Now it will be a revelation to many to know that this story is not only a poet's fancy but further arises from a misconception of even that fancy. For as a matter of fact it seems that even Chand himself did not wish to represent that these Kṣatriyas were *newly created* Kṣatriyas. For epigraphic evidence unequivocally proves that these four or at least three of these, in the ninth century A. D., represented themselves as and were believed to be descended from the solar and lunar Vamśas. Thus the Pratihāra clan which established its empire at Kanauj which Dr. Bhandarkar and others strive to show to be Gujar in origin and therefore foreign is distinctly said in a stone inscription of the 10th century to belong to the solar line. This Gwalior Bhoja inscription is very important in this connection and states that the imperial Pratihāras of Kanuaj were descended from Lakṣmaṇa brother of Rāma, the hero of the solar race, Lakṣmaṇa being Rama's Pratihāra or door-keeper. As already stated we attach no value to such traditions except in so far as they represent the beliefs current at particular times. This tradition proves that the Pratihāra clan was in the ninth century treated as solar in race. How can Chand then in the 12th century represent these Pratihāras as Agnikulas? Similarly the Chāhamānas are also said in records previous to Chand's Pṛthvīrāj Rāsā distinctly to belong to the same solar line. The Harsha stone inscription (Ep. Ind. II. p. 119) gives the line of the Chāhamānas from one Gūvaka and to our mind clearly conveys that this clan is solar in descent. (तन्मुक्त्यर्थमुपागता रघुकुले भूचक्रवर्ती स्वयम्.) Mr. Harbilasa Sarda of Ajmere has, in his paper in R. A. S. 1903 on Pṛithvīrāj Vijaya—a poem by a contemporary poet in the Darbar of Pṛithvīrāj himself, shown that the poem describes Pṛithvīrāj as born of the solar line. Hammīra Mahākāvya again declares that the Chāhamānas were descended from the sun, as also a stone inscription in the Ajmere Museum. It is, therefore, certain that from the ninth century down even to the thirteenth and the fourteenth, the Chāhamānas were considered to belong to the solar line of Kshatriyas. The third clan Solankhī or Chālukya of Anahillapāṭaṇ is, in epigraphic records described as belonging to the lunar line. It must be remembered that the Chālukyas of Badāmī were different from these. Here it is sufficient to state that these Chālukyas belong to the Bhāradvāja gotra and are so described even in the Pṛithvīrāj Rāsā. Now this gotra of these Chālukyas is given in an inscription of the Haihayas of Chedi. The Bilhari stone inscription (Ep. Ind. I. p. 253-9) states that Keyūravarsha Haihaya married Nohalādevī, daughter of Avanivarman Chālukya of the Bhāradvāja gotra. This inscription which has been assigned to the beginning of the 11th century A. D. gives a different version about the origin of these Chālukyas from that of the southern Chālukyas given by Bilhaṇa as also by Eastern Chālukya kings and states that the first ancestor of these Chālukyas was created out of the water in his handful by Droṇa Bhāradvāja for killing Drupada, and hence belonged to his gotra. As Bhāradvāja belonged to the lunar line, the Chālukyas of Bhāradvāja gotra also belonged to the same line. Now since in this inscription, the Chālukyas were believed to belong to the lunar line and were also believed to be created by Droṇa, how can Chand in the 12th century represent these same Chālukyas as created by Vaśiṣṭha from his fire?

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These three clans, it is now admitted by researchers (see introduction by Mr. Crooke himself to Tod's Rajastan page XXXI) do not belong to the Agnikula creation origin, but the necessary inference from this is not drawn by them. If the Chāhamānas and the Prātihāras, the two most important clans who were supposed to be Gujars transformed into Kshatriyas by purification, are proved to be no longer Agnikulas but on the contrary were believed to be solar in descent in the 9th and 10th centuries, does not the whole theory of foreign descent fall to the ground? But this is not all. Even the fourth, the Paramāras are not Agnikulas as represented by Chand. In fact stone inscription records of these Paramāras from the 12th century though giving the origin of the Paramāras from the fire of Vasiṣṭha, do not give the story of the Rāsā, but an entirely different story. Vasiṣṭha is said therein to have created the first Paramāra to chastise Viśvāmitra who was taking away the divine cow belonging to the former. The Udepur Praśasti for instance (Ep. Ind I.) gives this story and states that the gotra of the Paramāras is consequently Vasiṣṭha. This gotra is still claimed by the Paramāras all over India and is also given by Chand.

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How can then the story given by Chand in the Rāsā be taken to be a correct representation of the traditions prevailing in his time and in earlier centuries about the lineage of Pratihāras and Chāhamānas, of Chālukyas and Paramāras, and recorded even in contemporaneous poems? The only explanation is that either the Pṛthvīrāja Rāsā is a forgery, a later work produced in Mahomedan times when inscriptions had been forgotten, or that the story as given by Chand in his poem is misinterpreted. The authenticity of the Rāsā as a poem written by a contemporary poet is questioned by Shyamaldas Pandya. Our views on the subject will be given in a note as it is not necessary to discuss this subject here at length. For one can see and say that the Rāsā merely gives here a poetical imaginary story which has subsequently been taken to be a real story. These four races, we know, came to the front by their fights with the Mlechhas and hence have been brought together in this story. But it seems that the story even as given by Chand is misinterpreted and it appears that Chand did not intend here to set forth a third lineage for Kshatriyas viz., the fire in addition to the two well-known Puranic lineages the solar and the lunar. This is clear from the fact that Chand mentions only three lineages (1) the solar (2) the lunar and (3) the Yādava for the famous thirty-six royal families enumerated by him. He does not give the Agnikula lineage at all but assigns the four supposed Agnikula clans the Parihāra, the Paramāra, the Chāhamāna and the Chālukya under the old two or three lineages. The enumeration of the 36 Rajput families in the Rāsā begins thus रवि ससि जाधवं वंस । ककुत्स्थ परमार सदावर । चाहुआन चालुक, । छंदक सिलार आभियर ॥ Here it is clear that he puts the three Paramāra, Chāhamāna and Chālukya under the three old recognised Vamśas, the solar, the lunar and the Yādava. We think Chand's story has entirely been misconstrued. In describing the four warriors, Paramāra, Pratihāra, Chālukya, and Chāhamāna as coming out of fire at the call of Vasiṣṭha, he did not intend to convey that these warriors were heroes newly created by Vasiṣṭha. He simply wanted to convey that four warriors out of the already existing clans came out of the fire at Vasiṣṭha's bid to fight the Rākṣasas.

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