According
to a mythical narration, the Rajputs originated from the sacrificial
fire performed by Vashistha and other saints near the Nakhi
Lake on Mount Abu with a view to containing the growing strength
of demons. As the narration goes, four warriors came out of
the sacrificial fire and destroyed the demons. The descendants
of those four warriors came to be known from their name. They
are:
(1) ‘Agnikul’ (the Fire lineage): The sub-castes
of this lineage are Kala, Kalam, Kher, Chavada, Chad, Mori,
Mahipal, Rehvar, Survar, Hada, Solanki etc.
(2) ‘Yadaukul (the Yadava lineage): The sub-castes of
the lineage comprise Jadava, Jadeja, Chudasma, Rajada, Bhati,
Jat etc.
(3) ‘Suryakul (the Sun lineage): The sub-castes include
Gelot, Vala, Sisodiya, Gohil, Rathod, Jodha, Vaghela.
(4) The Odak lineage: The sub-castes included Kamad, Jethwa,
Chavada, Dabhi, Makwana, and Zala; these are the chief ones
that first settled in Gujarat and later moved to other places.
There are said to be 36 families of the Odak lineage.
The Rajput reign in Gujarat commenced from the rule of King
Jaishikhari of Panchasar. In fact, detailed history of the Rajput
rule over Gujarat dates back from Vallabhipur where Gujarat
dates back from Vallabhipur where Bhattark was the ruler then.
Jaishikhari succeeded Bhattrak. Between the 8th and the 10th
centuries of Vikarm Samvat, jaishikhari and his son Vanaraj
Chavada reigned for a long time. Then came Yograj, and the last
chavada king was Samantsinh. The Solanki period in Gujarat started
with Mularaj Solanki’s advent to the throne. Important
Solanki kings after Mulraj included Bhimev I, Sidhraj Jaisinh,
Kumarpal and Tribhuvanpal-the last in the solanki dynasty. The
Solanki kings of course, did not rule over the entire Gujarat
as Ra Navaghan and Ra Khengar also ruled over Junagadh during
that period, nevertheless, the Rajputs reigned over large parts
of Gujarat and Saurashtra for a long period of nearly 500 years.
The Rajputs worked in armies as soldiers of acted as bodyguards
and watchmen. They did not yield on matters or principles. Loyalty
and trustworthiness were their outstanding traits.
With the passage of time the Rajputs lost their prowess mainly
because of disunity among various ruling families. They could
not adjust their tunes with the changing times and continued
to live in false beliefs of pried and past glory and ruined
themselves. The wise among them quickly learnt to adjust with
changing times.
Many Rajputs have now joined the police department. Some of
them, called Garasias, have become agriculturists. The Rajpurs
or Kshattriyas as they are now called have created a dominant
position in politics of Gujarat and have emerged as an important
section of the ruling class. In olden days the Rajputs used
to put on ‘Safas’, ‘Kediya’ and breeches
type of trousers or ‘dhoti’ in a Marathi style.
They also used to move about with swords. The attire of the
Rajput women is no different from that of any other Gujarati
women, except the sari that they were is comparatively shorter.
There are minor variations in the matter of dress among the
Rajputs of Saurashtra region and those living in other parts
of Gujarat.
The Rajputs have generally a whitish complexion and are strong-build
and fair looking. Straight nose-line, big impressive eyes, small
mouth and the oval face are the main facial features of Rajputs.
They also keep beards or long moustaches and wiskers. They like
long and curly hair.
The
Rajputs are a powerful factor in the social and political life
of Gujarat as they form about 45% of the total population of
the state. |