History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v2.c28.18

v2.c28.18

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.