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The post-Sindhuraja Paramara inscriptions and literary works widely mention the Agnikula myth. The Paramara inscriptions which mention this legend include the ''Udapur Prashasti'' inscription, the Nagpur stone inscription, the Vasantagarh inscription, the Arthuna inscription of Chamundaraja, the Neminath Jain temple inscription, the Donagaragrama inscription, the Patnarayan inscription and the Jainad inscription.{{sfn|Yadava|1982|p=32}} ''Tilaka-Manjari'' by Dhanapala, a contemporary of the Paramara king [[Bhoja]], also supports this account.{{sfn|Seth|1978|p=3}}
The post-Sindhuraja Paramara inscriptions and literary works widely mention the Agnikula myth. The Paramara inscriptions which mention this legend include the ''Udapur Prashasti'' inscription, the Nagpur stone inscription, the Vasantagarh inscription, the Arthuna inscription of Chamundaraja, the Neminath Jain temple inscription, the Donagaragrama inscription, the Patnarayan inscription and the Jainad inscription.{{sfn|Yadava|1982|p=32}} ''Tilaka-Manjari'' by Dhanapala, a contemporary of the Paramara king [[Bhoja]], also supports this account.{{sfn|Seth|1978|p=3}}

==Kharal acounts==

kharal proved to be a true rajput tribe that settled in punjab region of india and pakistan. They also found in Sindh . They decsendent from great Raja karan of mahabharta. Kharals are agnivanshi Rajputs . The legend of this tribe is Rai Ahmad khan kharal (1857) who fought against British raj at Lahore region and killed many of british soldiers . kharals Also killed nikai misl leader nar singh at kot kamalia (1789). They Converted to islam when they migrate to Punjab from Rajputana . Syed peer jahaniya jahan gash r.a, peer syed jalaludin bukhari r.a, Hazrat baba fareed ganj shakar, Converted kharal to islam from hinduism. They are very brave caste of punjab. They never accepted march of ranjeet singh or british and clashed with them. kharals are notorious land lords of punjab and play important role in the political activities in Pakistan. They Use commonly title "Rai" or " Raa" or sometime use "Ch" with there surname. [1][2] They are found primarily in Sindh , Balochistan and
Punjab Region of Pakistan and India .


== Chauhan accounts ==
== Chauhan accounts ==

Revision as of 14:23, 11 July 2016

In Indian culture, the Agnivanshi Rajputs are people who claim descent from Agni, the Vedic god of fire. The Agnivanshi lineage or Agnivansha is one of the three lineages into which the Rajput clans are divided, the others being the Suryavanshi (descended from Surya, the sun god) and the Chandravanshi (descended from Chandra, the moon god). There are four clans claiming Agnivanshi descent, being the Chauhans (Chahamanas), Parihars (Pratiharas), Parmars (Paramaras) and Solankis (Chalukyas).[1][a]

The legend might have been invented by Padmagupta, a 10th century court poet of the Paramara dynasty. His Nava-Sahasanka-Charita is the earliest source claiming an Agnivanshi origin for the Paramaras. He might have been motivated by the fact that the Paramaras were the only royal family in their region without a mythical account of heroic or divine origin. The 12th century poet Chand Bardai or the later Rajput bards might have extended the legend to include other imperial dynasties, in order to foster Rajput unity against Muslims.

Paramara legends

The Paramara kings of Malwa claimed to be members of the Agnivansha or Agnikula ("fire clan"). The legendary origin of the clan is mentioned in several inscriptions and literary works composed from the Paramara period. The account goes like this: The sage Vishvamitra forcibly took a wish-granting cow from another sage Vashistha on the Arbuda mountain (Mount Abu). Vashistha then conjured a hero from a sacrificial fire pit (agni-kunda), who defeated Vashistha's enemies and brought back the cow. Vashistha then gave the hero the title Paramara ("enemy killer").[2]

The earliest known source to mention this story is the Nava-sahasanka-charita of the Paramara court poet Padmagupta Parimala. The Sanskrit-language epic was composed during the reign of Sindhuraja (ca. 997-1010).[3] The work is based on the life of Sindhuraja, but is of little historical value.[4] The legend is not mentioned in earlier Paramara inscriptions (such as the Harsola copper plates) or literary works (such as Halayudha's Mritasanjivani). Therefore, K. N. Seth concludes that Padmagupta invented the legend in late 10th century. By this time, all of the Paramaras' neighbouring dynasties claimed descent from mythical heroes or gods: the Pratiharas from Lakshmana, the Chahamanas (Chauhans) from Surya (Sun), the Chalukyas from Brahma's water pot (chaluka), and the Chandelas from Chandra (Moon). The Paramaras were the only ones without a legend of mythical origin. This might have motivated Padmagupta to invent a new legend with Sindhuraja's approval.[5]

Padmagupta's legend appears to be based on a similar story mentioned in Balakanda of the Ramayana (1:53:18 — 1:54:3). In this story, Vishvamitra snatches Vashistha's Kamadhenu cow. To fight him, Vashistha creates the various non-Indo-Aryan tribes including the Shakas, the Kambojas, and the Pahlavas.[6]

The post-Sindhuraja Paramara inscriptions and literary works widely mention the Agnikula myth. The Paramara inscriptions which mention this legend include the Udapur Prashasti inscription, the Nagpur stone inscription, the Vasantagarh inscription, the Arthuna inscription of Chamundaraja, the Neminath Jain temple inscription, the Donagaragrama inscription, the Patnarayan inscription and the Jainad inscription.[2] Tilaka-Manjari by Dhanapala, a contemporary of the Paramara king Bhoja, also supports this account.[7]

Kharal acounts

kharal proved to be a true rajput tribe that settled in punjab region of india and pakistan. They also found in Sindh . They decsendent from great Raja karan of mahabharta. Kharals are agnivanshi Rajputs . The legend of this tribe is Rai Ahmad khan kharal (1857) who fought against British raj at Lahore region and killed many of british soldiers . kharals Also killed nikai misl leader nar singh at kot kamalia (1789). They Converted to islam when they migrate to Punjab from Rajputana . Syed peer jahaniya jahan gash r.a, peer syed jalaludin bukhari r.a, Hazrat baba fareed ganj shakar, Converted kharal to islam from hinduism. They are very brave caste of punjab. They never accepted march of ranjeet singh or british and clashed with them. kharals are notorious land lords of punjab and play important role in the political activities in Pakistan. They Use commonly title "Rai" or " Raa" or sometime use "Ch" with there surname. [1][2] They are found primarily in Sindh , Balochistan and Punjab Region of Pakistan and India .

Chauhan accounts

The earliest of the Chauhan inscriptions and literary works do not claim Agnivanshi descent. These sources variously state that the dynasty's legendary founder Chahamana was born from Indra's eye, in the lineage of the sage Vatsa, in the solar dynasty and/or during a ritual sacrifice performed by Brahma.[8]

Prithviraj Raso, an epic poem by Chand Bardai (c. 1149–1200), contains a legend similar to the Paramara legend, but does not present the sages Vashistha and Vishwamitra as rivals. In this version, Vishwamitra, Vashistha, Agastya and other great sages begin a major sacrificial ceremony on Mount Abu. The ritual is interrupted by miscreant daityas (demons). To get rid of these demons, Vashistha creates progenitors of three Rajput dynasties from the sacrificial fire pit. These were Parihar (Pratiharas), Chaluk (Chalukyas of Gujarat or Solanki), and Parmar (Paramara).[9][10] These heroes were unable to defeat the demons. So, the sages prayed again, and this time a fourth warrior appeared: Chahuvan (Chauhan). This fourth hero slayed the demons with help of the goddess Ashapuri.[10][6]

Prithviraj Raso is the earliest source that includes four different Rajput dynasties (not just the Paramaras) in this legend. According to K. N. Seth, Chand Bardai's patron Prithviraj Chauhan was facing Muslim invasions from the north-west at the time. Therefore, the poet's motivation might have been to foster political unity among the Rajput dynasties. This theory is strengthened by the fact that Chand Bardai's account includes only the four most influential Rajput clans of contemporary north-western India. Over the next few centuries, other Rajput clans also adopted this myth.[11] However, R. B. Singh believes that the original recension of Prithviraj Raso did not contain this legend. According to him, the 16th century poets came up with the legend to foster Rajput unity against the Mughal emperor Akbar.[12]

Adaptions of the Prithviraj Raso occur in later works written under the patronage of the various Chauhan dynasties. The Hammira Raso (1728 CE) by Jodharaja, a court poet of prince Chandrabhana of Neemrana, states that once the Kshatriyas (warriors) became extinct. So, the great sages assembled at Mount Abu and created three heroes. When these three heroes could not defeat the demons, they created Chahuvanaji.[13] A slight variation occurs in the writings of Surya Malla Mishrana, the court poet of Bundi. In this version, the various gods create the four heroes on Vashistha's request.[14] According to the bardic tale of the Khichi clan of Chauhans, the Parwar (Paramara) was born from Shiva's essence; the Solankhi (Solanki) or Chaluk Rao (Chalukya) was born from Brahma's essence; the Pariyar (Parihar) was born from Devi's essence; and the Chahuvan (Chauhan) was born from the fire.[15] The myth also appears with some variations in the Sisana inscription of the Chauhans of Bedla, and the Khyat of Nainsi.[6]

Other accounts

Dvyasraya-Mahakavya, an account of the Solanki dynasty by Hemachandra (c. 1088-1173 CE), mentions the Agnikula legend.[9]

The Bhavishya Purana, some of whose portions date as late as the 19th century, also contains the legend with some variations. In this version, the Kanyakubja Brahmins conducted a sacrifice on Mount Abu to appease Brahma. The recital of the Vedic mantras produced four Kshatriya heroes: Samavedin Paramara, Yajurvedin Chahumana (Chauhan), Trivedin Shukla and Atharvavedin Parihara (Pratihara).[16][7]

Abu'l Fazl mentions another variation of the legend in his Ain-i-Akbari: In 761 BCE, a sage called Mahabaha kindled a flame and established a fire temple, which started attracting several devotees. Later, the Buddhists, unhappy with these Brahminical rites, managed to get an order prohibiting this style of worship. The fire temple devotees then prayed to seek a hero who would overthrow Buddhism and restore their traditional faith. The "Supreme Justice" then conjured a hero from the now-cold fire temple. This hero, called Dhananjaya (or Dhanji), attained power in a short time and restored the Brahminical rites. He came to Malwa from Deccan, and established a government there. When his fifth-generation descendant Putaraja died childless, the nobles elected one Aditya Ponwar as his successor. The Paramara dynasty descended from Ponwar.[17]

Interpretations

Some colonial-era historians interpreted this mythical account to suggest a foreign origin for the Agnivanshi Rajputs. According to this theory, the foreign ancestors of these Rajputs came to India after the decline of the Gupta Empire around 5th century CE. They were admitted in the Hindu caste system after performing a fire ritual.[18] James Tod, who relied on bardic legends, was the first propose this theory.[19] He speculated that the Agnivashi Rajputs, who were of "good-stature and fair", could not have descended from the "dark, diminutive and ill-favoured" aboriginal natives of India. He proposed that their ancestors were Scythians and other groups residing beyond the Hindu Kush mountains.[20]

A. M. T. Jackson proposed a similar theory, but argued that the Rajputs had originated from Gurjars, who according to him, came to India as part of invading hordes. The basis for his theory was the Agnivanshi myth, and the prevalance of surnames such as Pavar (Parmar) and Chavan (Chauhan) among Gurjars.[21] The theory was further supported by other British scholars as well as some Indian scholars, such as D. R. Bhandarkar. William Crooke argued that the Kshatriya descent was based on status rather than descent, and therefore Brahmins conducted a purification or initiation fire ritual to raise the status of foreign warriors who helped them repress the Buddhists.[22]

However, this "foreign origin" theory is weakened by the fact that the legend is not mentioned in the earliest of the Paramara records, and even the earliest Paramara-era account does not mention other Rajput clans as Agnivanshi.[23] The early Chauhan dynasties were centered around Ajmer-Pushkar region, and their association with Mount Abu is a later invention.[24] Moreover, if the ancestors of Rajputs were the Indo-Aryan natives of north-western India, Tod's claim of stark differences between the appearances of the Scythians and the natives is misleading, as both the groups have Indo-European origins.[25]

References

Notes

  1. ^ There are numerous variant spellings of these clan names.

Citations

  1. ^ Jaswant Lal Mehta (1980), Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Sterling, p. 34, ISBN 978-81-207-0617-0
  2. ^ a b Yadava 1982, p. 32.
  3. ^ Alf Hiltebeitel (2009). Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics. University of Chicago Press. p. 444. ISBN 9780226340555.
  4. ^ Siba Pada Sen, ed. (1979). Historical biography in Indian literature. Institute of Historical Studies. p. 30.
  5. ^ Seth 1978, pp. 10–13.
  6. ^ a b c Sharma 1959, p. 4.
  7. ^ a b Seth 1978, p. 3.
  8. ^ Singh 1964, pp. 10–12.
  9. ^ a b Yadava 1982, p. 33.
  10. ^ a b Seth 1978, p. 5.
  11. ^ Seth 1978, pp. 13–15.
  12. ^ Singh 1964, pp. 17–18.
  13. ^ Singh 1964, p. 15.
  14. ^ Singh 1964, p. 16.
  15. ^ Seth 1978, p. 6.
  16. ^ Vikrama Volume. Scindia Oriental Institute. 1948. p. 597. OCLC 673844.
  17. ^ Yadava 1982, p. 34.
  18. ^ Yadava 1982, p. 35.
  19. ^ Singh 1964, pp. 20–25.
  20. ^ Singh 1964, p. 20.
  21. ^ Singh 1964, p. 25-26.
  22. ^ Singh 1964, p. 27.
  23. ^ Seth 1978, p. 16.
  24. ^ Singh 1964, p. 23.
  25. ^ Singh 1964, p. 22.

Further reading

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