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Revision as of 16:57, 11 August 2004 by 61.17.113.245 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Rajput ( from Sanskrit rāja-putra, "son of a king") is a member of a prominent caste who live throughout northern and central India, primarily in the northwestern state of Rajasthan.
The Rajputs are said to be descendants of the ancient Aryan warriors of the vedic era, the Kshatriyas However some scholars believe that some of them could also be the descendants of the pagan foreign tribes who entered the Indian subcontinent from the eurasian regions of the Oxus and Jakartes around the time of the birth of christ. Viz- The hepthalites,the parthians and the Scythians ( Shaka in sanskrit )
The Rajputs are divided into 36 clans, claiming three basic lineages: the Surya Vansi (Solar Race), the Chandra Vansi (Lunar Race), and the Agni kula (Fire Born).
the Surya Vansi (Solar Race):---These Rajputs claim descent from the Aryan Vedic Sun god through the emperors Manu and Ikshvaku. (Lord ram of the Hindu Pantheon and Buddha belonged to this lineage ) the Chandra Vansi (Lunar Race):-----These Rajputs claim descent from the Aryan Vedic moon god. (Lord Krishna of the Hindu Pantheon belonged to this lineage) the Agni kula (Fire Born):-----This lineage claims to have originated from a vedic sacrificial fire done by Hindu brahmins near Mount Abu. . (this myth is probably a metaphor for the vedic fire ritual being conducted for the pagan foreign tribes,wherein they were purified of their unclean foreign status and baptized as hindus into the kshatriya caste)
The Rajputs rose to prominence in Indian history in the ninth and tenth centuries. Rajasthan is located in northwestern India, near the Khyber Pass route used by most foreign invasions of India, including the Arabs, Afghans, Turks, Mughals, and other Islamic invaders of the Middle Ages. Hence most of the islamic incursions into India were faced by the Rajput clans ,who often fought to the very end of their lives and their kingdoms.
As is the norm elsewhere in India, the Rajputs refused to accept the spiritual authority of Brahmin priestly caste, and some scions of their noble families even officiate as priests in their Hindu temples; for example, the regent of the Suryavanshi House of Mewar is also the high priest of his clan deity, the form of Shiva known as "Ekling ji”. This could be a throwback to the memory of the distant Indo-Aryan tradition where the King or Ruler was the symbol of divinity in the world and was supposed to have direct communion with the gods.
The Rajput kingdoms were always at siege from the Islamic Mughal empires and later from the British, yet few of them managed to hold on to their sovereignity and independence till the 17th-18th centuries AD. Rajput power finally ended when the last surviving kingdoms fell or became vassals to the British empire. Then the Rajput rulers acceded to newly-independent India after 1947, and Rajputana, renamed Rajasthan, became an Indian state in 1950.
Most Rajputs are Hindu, although a minority are Muslim; most of the Muslim Rajputs presently live in Pakistan.There are also some Rajputs who are converts to Sikhism.
The Rajputs are traditionally martial in spirit, fiercely proud and carry a long history of lineage and tradition. Rajputs are known for their sense of honour, chivalry and love of tradition and revelry. They celebrate weddings, festivals and feasts to the Gods with great enthusiasm, customs which are now fading against the scenario of Indian culture which is now being rapidly urbanised and modernised.
No other race in India could boast of a finer feat of arms and martialdom than the rajputs in their hey-days.They are amongst the highest number of recuitments in the Indian Armed forces till date.
Most of the Rajputs are tall, relatively fairer-skinned than the other communities and have sharp grecian/mediterranean/caucasian features hinting at a definite aryan/scythian bloodline.