History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v2.c29.s1.15

v2.c29.s1.15

But we go a step still further. Even if we grant that Bappā or Guhadatta was a Brahmin and a Nāgar Brahmin from Ānandpura alias Vadnagar, how does that make the whole Guhilot family of Rajputs foreigners—irrespective of the fact we have already noticed that Nāgar Brahmins could not be treated as foreigners. We have already shown in Vol. I and in this volume also that at that period of Hindu history, Brahmins often married Kshatriya wives especially kings' daughters and the progeny of such unions was treated as Kshatriya and probably of the sept to which the mother belonged. The theory of putrikāputra has always been accepted in Hindu Law and moreover the Guhilot family, king by king, as mentioned in later inscriptions has always married into Kshatriya families. How can then the fact of one Brahmin coming in affect the race of the whole family? We believe that Bappā's being a Brahmin is a misconception of later inscriptions but we argue that even if he were a Brahmin, his marrying a Kshatriya princess is not at all inconsistent with the customs of the period. His wife must have belonged to the Guhila family of Idar or of Nāgadā and their son being a putrikāputra or daughter's son taken into the grandfather's family was a Guhila himself. He might have been named Guhila even for this reason just as the son of Durlabha-vardhana king of Kashmir who married the sole daughter of the preceding Kashmir king of the Gonandiya dynasty was called Pratāpāditya (See Vol. I, p.206). The inscription at Achaleśvara distinctly says that Bappā's son was Guhila and the whole family afterwards was called Guhilot after him. It seems then that even if we accept the idea that Bappā was a Brahmin, there is nothing strange if he married the daughter of a Guhila Kshatriya king of Nāgadā and became famous as many Brhmins did in his time e. g. Chacha of Sind or Lalliya of Kabul whose history we have already given in Vol. I and the descendants of these kings were Rajputs for all practical purposes for we know they gave daughters to and married daughters from Rajput families. But here in the Guhilot family all subsequent kings were treated as Kshatriyas and married Kshatriya ladies and we have a detailed list of them all. How can, even if Bappā were conceded to be a Brahmin, the whole line be treated as foreign by race?