
Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling
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 ...
families during the
Medieval India
Medieval India refers to a long period of Post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the breakup of the Gupta Empire in the 6th cent ...
in
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 s ...
.
Subclans
Khichi,
Hada,
Songara,
Bhadauria
Bhadauria also called Bhadoria, Bhadouria, paik,Bhadauriya, Bhadoriya or Bhaduria are Rajputs of Chauhan clan. They were historically mainly concentrated in what are now the districts of Agra, Etawah, Bhind and Dholpur, which includes the state ...
, Devda etc. are the branches or subclans of Chauhan Rajputs.
Origin
The word ''Chauhan'' is the vernacular form of the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
term ''Chahamana'' (IAST: Cāhamāna). Several Chauhan inscriptions name a legendary hero called Chahamana as their ancestor, but none of them state the period in which he lived.
The earliest extant inscription that describes the origin of the Chauhans is the 1119 CE
Sevadi inscription of
Ratnapala, a ruler of the
Naddula Chahamana dynasty. According to this inscription, the ancestor of the Chahamanas was born from the eye of
Indra.
The 1170 CE
Bijolia rock inscription of the
Shakambhari Chahamana king
Someshvara states that his ancestor
Samantaraja was born at Ahichchhatrapura (possibly modern
Nagaur) in the
gotra of
sage Vatsa. The 1262 CE Sundha hill inscription of the
Jalor Chahamana king Chachiga-deva states that the dynasty's ancestor Chahamana was "a source of joy" to the Vatsa. The 1320
Mount Abu (
Achaleshwar temple) inscription of the Deora Chauhan ruler Lumbha states that Vatsa created the Chahamanas as a new lineage of warriors, after the
solar dynasty
The Solar dynasty ( IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty i ...
and the
lunar dynasty had ceased to exist.
The Ajmer inscription of the Shakambhari Chahamana ruler
Vigraharaja IV (–64 CE) claims that Chahamana belonged to the solar dynasty, descending from
Ikshavaku and
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...
. The 12th-century ''
Prithviraja Vijaya''
mahakavya, composed by
Prithviraja III's court poet Jayanaka, also claims a solar dynasty origin for the ruling dynasty. According to this text, Chahamana came to earth from ''Arkamandal'' (the orbit of the sun).

The 15th-century ''
Hammira Mahakavya'' of Nayachandra Suri, which describes the life of the
Ranthambore branch ruler
Hammira, gives the following account: Once
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...
was wandering in search of an auspicious place to conduct a
ritual sacrifice. He ultimately chose the place where a lotus from his hand fell; this place came to be known as
Pushkara. Brahma wanted to protect his sacrificial ceremony against interference from
danavas
In Hindu mythology, the danavas are a race descending from Kashyapa and his wife Danu, a daughter of the progenitor god, Daksha. It is mentioned that there are one hundred danavas.
Origin
The danavas are a mythological race of demigods, ...
(miscreant beings). Therefore, he remembered
the Sun, and a hero came into being from the sun's
orb
Orb or Orbs may refer to:
* Sphere
* Globus Cruciger Ceremonial Orb
Places and rivers
* Orb (river), in southern France
* Orb (Kinzig), a tributary of the Kinzig river in Germany
* Bad Orb, a town in Hesse, Germany
Literature, radio, film, ...
. This hero was Chohan, the ancestor of the Hammira's dynasty. The earliest extant recension of ''
Prithviraj Raso'' of
Chand Bardai, dated to 15th or 16th century, states that the first Chauhan king –
Manikya Rai – was born from Brahma's sacrifice. The 16th-century ''Surjana-Charita'', composed by the
Bengali poet Chandra Shekhara under patronage of the Ranthambore ruler Rao Surjana, contains a similar account. It states that Brahma created the first Chahamana from the Sun's disc during a sacrificial ceremony at Pushkara.
Despite these earlier myths, it was the
Agnivanshi
In Indian culture, the Agnivanshi are people who claim descent from Agni, the Vedic god of fire. The Agnivanshi lineage (Agnivansha or Agnikula) is one of the three lineages into which the Rajput clans, the others being the Suryavanshi (descen ...
(or Agnikula) myth that became most popular among the Chauhans and other Rajput clans. According to this myth, some of the Rajput clans originated from
Agni, in a sacrificial fire pit. This legend was probably invented by the 10th-century
Paramara court poet Padmagupta, whose ''
Nava-sahasanka-charita'' mentions only the Paramaras as fire-born. The inclusion of Chauhans in the Agnivanshi myth can be traced back to the later recensions of ''Prithviraj Raso''. In this version of the legend, once
Vashistha and other great sages begin a major sacrificial ceremony on Mount Abu. The ritual was interrupted by miscreant
daityas (demons). To get rid of these demons, Vashistha created progenitors of three Rajput dynasties from the sacrificial fire pit. These were Parihar (
Pratiharas), Chaluk (
Chaulukya or Solanki), and Parmar (Paramara). These heroes were unable to defeat the demons. So, the sages prayed again, and this time a fourth warrior appeared: Chahuvana (Chauhan). This fourth hero slayed the demons.
The earliest available copies of ''Prithviraj Raso'' do not mention the Agnivanshi legend. It is possible that the 16th-century bards came up with the legend to foster Rajput unity against the
Mughal emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...
. Adaptions of the ''Prithviraj Raso'' occur in several later works. 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. 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. According to the bardic tale of the
Khichi
Chauhan, a name derived from the historical Chahamanas, a clan name associated with the various ruling Rajput families in Rajasthan during the Medieval Indian eras .
Subclans
Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branche ...
clan of Chauhans, the Parwar (Paramara) was born from
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
'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 Agni, the fire.
History
The Chauhans were historically a powerful group in the region now known as
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 s ...
. For around 400 years from the 7th century CE 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
Second 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
Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطبالدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination i ...
in 1197.
The 13th and 14th centuries saw the struggle between the Chauhan Rajputs and the
Delhi Sultanate to control the strategic areas of Delhi, Punjab and Gujarat.
The earliest Chauhan inscription is a copper-plate inscription found at
Hansot.
Dynasties and states
The ruling dynasties belonging to the Chauhan clan included:
*
Chahamanas of Shakambhari (Chauhans of Ajmer)
*
Chahamanas of Naddula (Chauhans of Nadol)
* Chahamanas of
Lata
* Chahamanas of
Dholpur
Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur (princel ...
* Chahamanas of Partabgarh
*
Chahamanas of Jalor (Chauhans of
Jalore); branched off from the Chahamanas of Naddula
* Chauhan's of
Raghogarh State; branched off from the Chahmanas of Shakamabhari and Gagron
[Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 21, p. 34.](_blank)
/ref>
* Chahamanas of Sirohi State
Kingdom of Sirohi or later Sirohi State (in colonial time) was an independent Hindu state in present-day Rajasthan state of India. The state was founded in 1311 CE and lasted for six centuries until its peaceful dissolution in 1949 CE, when ...
; branched off from the Chahamanas of Naddula
* Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura (Chauhans of Ranthambore); branched off from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari
* Chauhan's of Bundi State branched off from the Chahmanas of Shakamabhari[M. S. Naravane, V. P. Malik, ''The Rajputs of Rajputana: a glimpse of medieval Rajasthan'', p. 121]
* Chauhan's of Kota State; branched off from the Chahamanas of Shakamabhari (later Bundi)[M. S. Naravane, V. P. Malik, ''The Rajputs of Rajputana: a glimpse of medieval Rajasthan'', p. 121]
* Chauhan's of Patna State; branched off from the Chuahans of Garh Sambhar (Mainpuri)
* Chauhan's of Tulsipur State
Tulsipur State was a small kingdom in the Awadh region of India that became the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh under the British Raj and Dundwa Range of the Siwaliks in the Dang and Deukhuri Valleys that became part of the Kingdom of Nepa ...
* Chuahans of Vav; branched off from the Chahmanas from Naddula
* Chauhan's of Dhami State; branched off from the Chahmanas from Delhi
* Chauhan's of Sambalpur State
* Chauhan's of Sonepur State
* Chauhan's of Changbhakar
* Chauhan's of Koriya
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
Indian surnames
Rajput clans
Gurjar clans
Agnivansha