https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Gautam_%28clan%29Gautam (clan) - Revision history2026-10-31T15:26:07ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gautam_(clan)&diff=500069&oldid=prevMichalKohn: done!2025-12-23T05:05:28Z<p>done!</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Clan in India}}<br />
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{{Infobox tribe |name=Gautam |local name=गौतम |type= |ethnicity=*[[Rajput]] |location=*[[Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
*[[Bihar]]<br />
*[[Madhya Pradesh]]<br />
|parent_tribe=|branches=|language=*[[Hindi]]<br />
*[[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]|religion=[[Hinduism|Hindu]]}}<br />
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The '''Gautam''' is a [[Rajput]] clan found primarily in north region of Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Growse |first=F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DHfjEAAAQBAJ&dq=Gautam+Brahmin&pg=RA1-PA113 |title=Mathura: A District Memoir |date=2023-11-16 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-368-84209-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Ansari |first=Saiyad Hasan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxDWbsztdVQC&dq=Gautam+Rajput&pg=PA110 |title=Evolution and Spatial Organization of Clan Settlements: A Case Study of Middle Ganga Valley |date=1986 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |pages=110 |language=en}}</ref> The erstwhile head of Gautam Rajputs had also claimed himself to be descendant of the [[Shakya|Shakyas]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Anagarika H. |first=Dharmapala |title=Message from Raja Saheb of Aragal |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70778/page/n559/mode/2up |journal=The Maha-Bodhi |date=1931 |volume=39 |pages=508}}</ref> thus possibly giving an alternate origin for this clan.<br />
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They are primarily found in the [[India]]n states of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]], along with [[Rajasthan]] and [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Ram Bali |title=Rajput Clan-settlements in Varanasi District |date=1975 |publisher=National Geographical Society of India |page=61}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Ram Bali|title=Clan Settlements in the Saran Plain (Middle Ganga Valley): A Study in Cultural Geography|date=1977|publisher=National Geographical Society of India, Banaras Hindu University|pages=145}}</ref><br />
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The clan name ''Gautam'' means "descendant of Gautam or one who has most light", "Gautama" meaning "one who has the most light,"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bopearachchi |first1=Osmund |title=GREEK HELIOS OR INDIAN SŪRYA? THE SPREAD OF THE SUN GOD IMAGERY FROM INDIA TO GANDHĀRA |journal=Connecting the Ancient West and East. Studies Presented to Prof. Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, Edited by J. Boardman, J. Hargrave, A. Avram and A. Podossinov, Monographs in Antiquity |date=1 January 2021 |page=946 |url=https://www.academia.edu/50839613 |access-date=18 August 2022 |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913004936/https://www.academia.edu/50839613 |url-status=live }}</ref> and may indicate the possibility of [[Kshatriya]] clans adopting the [[Brahmin gotra|Brahminical gotra]] of their [[Purohita|purohit]].<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia|year=2012|title=Ṛṣis|encyclopedia=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online|publisher=Brill|last=Witzel|first=Michael}}</ref>{{qn|date=October 2023}}<br />
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== Territory ==<br />
The territory of key Gautam Rajput settlements included the following areas.<br />
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* [[Basti district|Basti]] (near modern [[Siddharthnagar district|Siddharthnagar]] district)<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://basti.nic.in/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225191752/https://basti.nic.in/history/ |archive-date=2021-02-25 |access-date=2024-10-31}}</ref><br />
* [[Azamgarh district|Azamgarh]]<br />
* [[Fatehpur district|Fatehpur]]<ref name=":2" />{{ref|noteNote1|Note1}}<br />
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== History ==<br />
The Gautam Rajput clan was formerly very powerful near lower [[Doab]]. The Gautam Rajput family of Argal, fought several battles for [[Sher Shah Suri|Sher Shah]] against [[Humayun]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kolff |first=Dirk H. A. |title=Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780521523059 |pages=65}}</ref> The clan is divided into tribes: Raja, Rao (Birhampur), Rana [Chilli (Kanpur)], and Rawat (Bhaupur).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliot |first=Henry M. |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Memoirs_on_the_History_Folk_Lore_and_Dis/p-lAAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=gautams+are+divided+into+rao+rana+and+rawat&pg=PA116&printsec=frontcover |title=Memoirs on the History, Folk-Lore, and Distribution of the Races of the North Western Provinces of India; being an amplified Edition of the original: Supplemental Glossary of India Terms By the late Henry M. Elliot. Edited, revised, and re-arranged by John Beames. In 2 Volumes. I |date=1869 |publisher=Trübner & Company |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dass |first=Arvind |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Caste_System_Caste_commentaries_and_docu/VAhuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=gautams+are+divided+into+rao+rana+and+rawat&dq=gautams+are+divided+into+rao+rana+and+rawat&printsec=frontcover.%20pg%20267 |title=Caste System: Caste commentaries and documentation |date=2002 |publisher=Dominant Publishers and Distributors |isbn=978-81-7888-029-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/National_Geographer/QYtKAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=rao+rana+rawat+national+geographer&dq=rao+rana+rawat+national+geographer&printsec=frontcover |title=National Geographer |date=1990 |publisher=Allahabad Geographical Society. |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Notable Gautam Rajputs ==<br />
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* [[:hi:जोधा_सिंह_अटैया|Jodha Singh Ataiya]]<br />
* [[Kedarnath Singh]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Kedarnath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnKPon0goOUC |title=Mere Saakshaatkar |date=June 2003 |pages=163|publisher=Kitabghar Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7016-536-1 }}</ref> {{ref|noteNote2|Note2}}<br />
* [[Suryadeo Singh]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2024|reason=His son's surname is Gautam, possibly indicating his clan. However, there are no other sources that clarify his clan explicitly}}<br />
* [[Balmukund Goutam|Balmukund Singh Gautam]]<br />
* Janardan Singh Gautam<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajput, Gautam}}<br />
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==Notes==<br />
:Note1.{{note|noteNote1}} The House of Aragal is in the Fatehpur district.<br />
:Note2.{{note|noteNote2}} Kedarnath Singh calls himself a Gautam Rajput in his autobiography.<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* {{cite journal |first1=S. Hasan |last1=Ansari |first2=Mohd. |last2=Saleem |title=Spatial Diffusion of Gautam Rajput Clan Settlements in Ghazipur District |journal=Man in India |volume=60 |issue=3 |year=1980 |pages=278–281}}<br />
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[[Category:Rajput clans of Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Rajput clans of Bihar]]<br />
[[Category:Rajput clans of Rajasthan]]<br />
[[Category:Rajput clans of Madhya Pradesh]]<br />
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{{India-ethno-stub}}</div>MichalKohn