The Kachhwaha or Kachawa is a

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

clan found primarily in India. Sometimes families within the clan ruled a number of kingdoms and

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

s, such as

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known a ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. ...

and

Maihar Maihar is a tehsil in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India. Maihar is known for the temple of the revered mother goddess Sharda situated on Trikuta hill. Origin of the name It is said that when lord Shiva was carrying the body of the dead mother go ...

Subclans

Rajawat,

Shekhawat Shekhawat is a clan of Rajputs found mainly in Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. Shekhawats are descendants of Maharao Shekha of Amarsar. Shekhawat is the most prominent clan among Kachhwaha. The Shekhawati region was ruled by them for more ...

Naruka Naruka (Devnagari : नरुका or नरूका) is a clan of Rajputs found in India. Naruka Rajputs are offshoots of Maharao Naru Singh of Mozamabad, whose grandfather, Rao Bar Singh, gave up the throne of Amer kingdom. Rao Bar Singh was t ...

, Bikawat, Khangarot, Nathawat, Dhirawat, Bandhalgoti etc.are subclans of Kachwahas of

House.

Clan deities

Jamway Mata is their Clan Goddess (''kuldevi''). Historical temple dedicated to Jamway Mata is present in Jamwaramgarh sub-division of Jaipur District, Rajasthan. This temple was built by Raja Dulhe Rai Kachawaha after he won battle due to Goddess's blessings.

Etymology

According to Cynthia Talbot, the meaning of word ''Kachhwaha'' is tortoise.

Origin

There are many theories on the origin of the Kachhwahas.

Suryavansh Origin

Suryavansh Dynasty or Ikshwaku Dynasty or Raghuvansh Dynasty : Kachwaha claim descent from Kusha, a son of the

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

, Rama, as expressed by them citing historical documents during the Supreme court of India proceedings on Ram Mandir at

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

. Ish Devji a Kachhwaha Raja of outstanding merit, with his capital at Gwalior, is recorded to have died in 967 A.D.

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

genealogists place him as being the three hundred & third generation after Ikshwaku. The Kachhwahas of Amber are descendants of Ish Devji. According to Rima Hooja, the Kachhwaha word became popular in the late 16th century during the reign of Raja Man Singh. There are many inscriptions and manuscripts which prove this theory, like the ones found in Balvan, Chatsu, Sanganer and Rewasa.

Kurma Avtar Origin

Another view-point is that the Kachhawahas claim descent from Vishnu's turtle avatar.

Kacchapaghat Origin

T.H. Hendley states in his Rulers of India and the Chiefs of Rajputana (1897), that the Kachwaha clan is believed to have settled in an early era at Rohtas (Rahatas) on the Son River in present-day Bihar. He notes that their notable seats of power were Kutwar, Gwalior, Dubkhund, Simhapaniya and Narwar (Nalapura) (all in present-day Madhya Pradesh). This second westward migration to Madhaya Pradesh is said to have been initiated under Raja Nala, the legendary founder of Narwar. Historians state that the Kacchapaghatas, like the Chandellas and Paramaras, originated as tributaries of the preceding powers of the region. They point out that it was only following the downfall, during the 8th–10th centuries AD, of Kannauj (regional seat of power following the breakup of Harsha's empire), that the Kacchapaghata state emerged as a principal power in the Chambal valley of present-day Madhya Pradesh. This view is largely supported by archaeological artifacts: Kacchapaghata coinage (minted Gupta-fashion) discovered in Madhya Pradesh and Gopaksetra inscriptions. According to Rudolf Hoernle (1905), the Kachhwahas are related to the Gurjara-Pratiharas. He identifies similarities between the names of the line of rulers of Kannauj (mid-10th century) with the recorded line of eight Kachwaha rulers of Gwalior (based on the Sas-Bahu inscription of Mahipal). After Sumitra, Madhubramh, Kanh, Devanik and Isha Singh ruled Narwar. The Sas-Bahu inscription dates to 1093, and provides a genealogy of the ruling family up to Mahipal (who died sometime before 1104). Kachhwahas are the descendants of Kachchhapaghatas of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

and

History

Conquest of Dhundhar

Kachhwaha established their kingdoms in the Dhundhar region of modern Rajasthan in the 11th century. One Kachhwaha Dulha Rai conquered most of the dhundhar area from

Bargujars The Badgujar / Bargujar / Badgurjar is a clan of Rajputs. History The Bargujars ruled over Rajorgarh, Dausa, Deoti and Ghasira, Macheri. They were expelled from Dausa, Rajorgarh and Deoti by Kachhwaha Rajputs when they migrated to Dhundhar, ...

Rajputs.

Raja Kakil deo

After Dulherai, his son Kakil Deo defeated the Meenas of Amer and made Amer the capital of Dhundhar after

Khoh Khoh is a historical region of Rajasthan state in western India. Which was located just five miles to the east of Jaipur city. Colonel James Tod wrote it as Khogong in his book '' Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan''. Rao Chandrasen Chanda ab ...

Raja Pajawan

Raja

Pajawan Pajawan or Pajjun was the 5th Kachhwaha ruler of the Kingdom of Amber. He belonged to the Kachhwaha Rajput clan who had migrated to Rajputana in the 12th century. He was married to Prithviraj Chauhan's cousin and was a prominent and truste ...

helped

Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his ca ...

in his most of the campaigns and conquests. He was married to a cousin of Prithviraj Chauhan. He died before the battle of Tarain.

Raja Prithviraj Singh I

Kachhwaha King Prithviraj Singh I fought along with

Rana Sanga Sangram Singh I (IAST: Rāṇā Saṅgrāma Siṃha; c. 1482 – 1528 CE), popularly known as Rana Sanga or Maharana Sanga, was an Indian ruler from the Sisodia dynasty. He ruled Mewar, the traditional territory of Guhilas (Sisodias) in presen ...

at battle of Khanwa.

Raja Man Singh I

He was one of the most trusted noble of Akbar. He was the supreme commander of the Mughal forces. He built the Amer Fort. He built and saved so many Hindu temples from Islamic destruction.

Sawai Jai Singh II

He built the pink city of Jaipur and five astronomical observatives at Delhi, Jaipur, Benaras, Mathura and Ujjain. He also established Govind Dev Ji temple at Jaipur.

Princely States

The Jaipur royal family is considered to be the head house of Kachhwahas. At the time of India's independence in 1947 there were so many princely states, ''jagirs, thikanas'' and other estate ruled by various branches of Kachhwaha clan across entire India. Some princely states included : *

(Dhundhar), in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 966 by Raja Sodh Dev *

, in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 1770 by Rao Raja Pratap Singh * Darkoti, in present-day Himachal Pradesh, founded in 1787 by Rana Balram * Maihar, in present-day Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1778 by Raja Beni Singh * Keonjhar, in present-day Orissa, founded in 1480 by Raja Govind Bhanj * Talcher, in present-day Orissa, founded in 1471 by Raja Narhari Singh

Notable people

Amer Kingdom

* Prithviraj Singh I *

Bharmal Raja Bharmal, also known as Bihari Mal, Bhagmal and Bihar Mal ( 1498 – 27 January 1574), was the 22nd Rajput ruler of Amber, which was later known as Jaipur, in the present-day Rajasthan state of India. His daughter, Mariam-uz-Zamani ( ...

* Bhagwant Das *

Man Singh I Man Singh I, popularly known as Mirza Raja Man Singh (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput Raja of Amer, later known as Jaipur state, in Rajputana. He was the most powerful and trusted general of the Mughal em ...

* Mirza Raja

Jai Singh I Jai Singh I (15 July 1611 – 28 August 1667) was a senior general (" Mirza Raja") of the Mughal Empire and the Raja of the Kingdom of Amber (later called Jaipur). His predecessor was his grand uncle, Raja Bhau Singh. Accession and early c ...

Jaipur State

* Maharaja Sawai

Jai Singh II Jai Singh II (3 November 1681 – 21 September 1743) popularly known as Sawai Jai Singh was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He was born at Amber, t ...

* Maharaja

Ram Singh I Ram Singh I was the elder son of Jai Singh I and was the ruler of Amber (now part of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation), and head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan. He was also subehdar of Kashmir. He was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Aurangz ...

* Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I * Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh * Maharaja

Sawai Man Singh II Major General Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II GCSI GCIE (born Sawai Mor Mukut Singh; 21 August 1912 – 24 June 1970) was an Indian prince, government official, diplomat and sportsman. Man Singh II was the ruling Maharaja of the princely ...

* Maharani Gayatri Devi * Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh * Princess

Diya Kumari Diya Kumari (born 30 January 1971) is an Indian politician. She is a member of Indian Parliament from Rajsamand parliamentary seat, and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Kumari is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Mahar ...

* Maharaja

Padmanabh Singh Padmanabh Singh is the titular Maharajah of Jaipur. He is known as a noble and public figure in Jaipur as well as an established polo player. Personal life Padmanabh Singh was born in New Delhi on 2nd July 1998 to Diya Kumari, an Indian polit ...

Alwar State

* Rao Raja Pratap Singh * Colonel HH Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja Sir Jai Singh * HH Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja Jitendra Singh * Rajkumari

Bhuvneshwari Kumari Bhuvneshwari Kumari is a former women's squash champion from India. She is recipient of prestigious awards like Padma Shri and Arjuna Award. She is also a record holder of Guinness Book of World Records by being National champion 16 times in a r ...

Shekhawati Region

* Rao Shekha * Ajit Singh of Khetri

References

{{Reflist

Subclans

Clan deities

Etymology

Origin

Suryavansh Origin

Kurma Avtar Origin

Kacchapaghat Origin

History

Conquest of Dhundhar

Raja Kakil deo

Raja Pajawan

Raja Prithviraj Singh I

Raja Man Singh I

Sawai Jai Singh II

Princely States

Notable people

Amer Kingdom

Jaipur State

Alwar State

Shekhawati Region

References

Further reading