Chauhan

Chauhan
Ruled in	Nadol, Jalor, Dhundhar, Ajmer, Delhi, Haryana, Neemrana, Hadoti, Godwar
Territories:	Ajmer (7th century - 1365) Ranthambore (1236–1301)
Princely States:	Tulsipur (7th century - 1857), Mainpuri, Devgadh Baria, Ambliara State, Bhaddaiyan Raj, Bundi, Sirohi, Kotah

Prithvi Raj Chauhan

Chauhan is a community sometimes described as a tribe and sometimes as a caste. In the medieval period some those associated with it ruled parts of Northern India and one, Prithviraj Chauhan, was the king of Delhi.

Myth of origin

Rajput bardic accounts, which are based on mythology, describe the Chauhans as one of the four Agnikula Rajput clans who claim to have originated from a sacrificial fire-pit (agnikunda) at Mount Abu. These claims of supernatural origin are clearly improbable and unacceptable to the modern mind. However, these have numerous variants and give rise to the Chauhans claiming to be a clan of the Agnivanshi dynasty.

Ethnographic status

Denzil Ibbetson, an administrator of the British Raj, classified the Chauhans as a tribe rather than as a caste. He believed, like Nesfield, that the society of the Northwest Frontier Provinces and Punjab in British India did not permit the rigid imposition of an administratively-defined caste construct as his colleague, H. H. Risley preferred. According to Ibbetson, society in Punjab was less governed by Brahmanical ideas of caste, based on varna, and instead was more open and fluid. Tribes, which he considered to be kin-based groups that dominated small areas, were the dominant feature of rural life. Caste designators, such as Jat and Rajput, were status-based titles to which any tribe that rose to social prominence could lay a claim, and which could be dismissed by their peers if they declined. Susan Bayly, a modern anthropologist, considers him to have had "a high degree of accuracy in his observations of Punjab society ... [I]n his writings we really do see the beginnings of modern, regionally based Indian anthropology."

History

The Chauhans were historically a powerful group in the region now known as Rajasthan. For around 400 years from the 7th century AD their strength in Sambhar was a threat to the power-base of the Guhilots in the south-west of the area, as also was the strength of their fellow Agnivanshi clans. They suffered a set-back in 1192 when their leader, Prithviraj Chauhan, was defeated at the Battle of Tarain but this did not signify their demise. The kingdom broke into the Satyapura and Devda branches after the invasion of Qutbu l-Din Aibak in 1197.

The earliest Chauhan inscription are the Hansot Plates.

Notable people

• Vasudeva started the dynasty in the 6th century, with the capital located in Ahichatra. The dynasty assumed the title of Maharaja during the reign of Vakpatiraja (917-944 AD). His son Simharaja declared independence from the Pratiharas. His son Vigraharaja (971-998 AD) conquered Gujarat.
• Aryaraja led Chauhans who captured the commander of the Paramara forces in his "aggressive imperial policy", and founded the city of Ajayameru (Ajmer). His son Anroraja (1135-1150) defeated a Muslim invasion by Bahram Shah.
• Vigraharaja IV (1150-1164 AD) extended the kingdom by defeating the Tomaras while defending incursions by the Muslims of Ghazni under Bahram Shah and Khusrau Shah. He also composed Harikeli Nataka and built the Sarasvati Mandir temple, Adhai-din-ka-Jhonpra, in Ajmer.
• Prithviraj (1178-1192 AD)) fought the Chandellas, Chalukyas and the Gahadavalas, besides Muhammad Ghori in the Battles of Tarain.
• Gugga, a warrior, minor king and Nāga demigod
• Hammir Dev Chauhan, ruler of Ranathambore

See also

• Dhami

References

Notes

Citations