Rajput

(“king’s son”) Traditional Indian society
was modeled as a collection of endogamous, or intermarried, subgroups
known as jatis (“birth”). These jatis were
organized (and their social status determined) by the group’s hereditary occupation, over which each jati had a
monopoly. The Rajputs were a martial
Hindu jati that at times ruled large parts
of western India, and have always
claimed to be kshatriyas—buttressing
this claim by creating genealogies linking their families to the mythical Solar or
Lunar Lines of kings. Their origin is
uncertain, for they first appear around
the end of the first millennium, and
many scholars speculate that they were
descended from the Hunas and later
assimilated into the small kingdoms.
The four main Rajput clans were known
as the Agnikula (“fire lineage”), because
they claimed descent from a single
mythical king who had arisen from a
sacrificial fire pit in Mount Abu,
Rajasthan. These four ruling clans were
the Pariharas in southern Rajasthan, the
Chauhans in the region around Delhi,
the Solankis in Gujarat, and the Pawars
in western Madhya Pradesh.
Whatever their origin, the Rajputs
were warrior princes whose martial
code stressed death before dishonor
and swift reprisals against any insult.
During the Moghul Empire era
(1525–1707) Rajput kings were often
feudal vassals, given kingdoms in
exchange for their loyalty and service.
After the breakup of the Moghul Empire
many of them continued to reign as the
rulers of small princely states. They
remain an important ruling class even in
modern times, through the medium of
parliamentary politics.