Khandayat or Khandait is a Martial caste from Odisha, East india.[1][2][3][4][5] They were Rulers, feudal chiefs, military generals, zamindars, large land holders and agriculturalists.[6][7][8][9] Numerically they are the largest caste of the state.[10] During British raj, they ruled many tributary states in Odisha.
| Khandayat | |
|---|---|
| Religions | Hinduism |
| Languages | Odia |
| Populated states | Odisha |
Etymology[edit | edit source]
The name Khandayat is originated from the word "Khanda" which means Sword and Khandayat means Rulers of Khanda(territories) Or Swordsman.[11][12]
History[edit | edit source]
The term Khandayat refers to a ruler who governs and administers a vast territory/region, and a great warrior who rules a Khanda (region). Every Kshatriya and warrior community in Odisha is referred to as Khandayat, as mentioned in various Odia texts, inscriptions, genealogies, and ancient records. Khandayat is synonymous with Kshatriyas of Odisha. Khandayat is the local name for Kshatriyas in Odisha. Most of the zamindaris (landlord estates) in Odisha are in the possession of Khandayats.
East India's political and military landscape was dominated by large Kshatriya landowners called Khandaits. The name Khandayat also appears to have evolved from medieval poetic expressions.
Mughal chronicler Ain-i-Akbari gave a clear picture of Odisha after the breakdown of the Gajapati Empire. It mentioned different forts ruled by Khandayat Zamindars along with their King Mukunda Dev.
During the 10th century and the medieval period, the Khandayats emerged as an important military class in Odisha. They served as the backbone of the armies under the Somavamshi, Eastern Ganga, and later Gajapati rulers. From the 10th century, the Khandayats functioned as an influential warrior and feudal military class in Odisha. Initially, many Khandayat chiefs acted as independent or semi-independent rulers, controlling local territories and maintaining their own armed forces.
They served as military generals, feudal chiefs, and commanders of cavalry units, particularly as heads of horse troopers, reflecting their importance in mobile warfare and responsible for defending forts, guarding strategic routes, and maintaining law and order in the countryside. According to K.N. Mohapatra, an eminent historian of Orissa, during the ganga rule in the 11th and 12th centuries Khandayat strategies were established in the surrounding area of Bhubaneswar to protect the Great Temple of Lingaraj.
The Kshatriyas of Odisha are called Khandayats. Khandayats are a martial caste of Odisha, originating from many ancient Kshatriya clans of Utkala. There are 3 listed as Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi and Nagavanshi based on their Kuldevi and gotras(lineage).
The kul is identity of many Khandayat clan and Vanshavali. Khandayats are the vedic Kshatriya clans of Eastern India including the 16 janapadas of Arjyabarta , Khandayat clans have their sublineages from different Kshatriya dynasties like (Kuru ,yadu,surjya,Naga) Lineages mentioned in authentic Odia scripts(Madela panjika )12th century old source , Odisha rulling records , Sanandas and Temple shilalekhas(stone scriptures) 700+ years ago.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Behuria, N. C. (1990). Orissa State Gazetteer. Gazetteers Unit, Department of Revenue, Government of Orissa.
- ↑ Behura, Nab Kishore; Mohanty, Ramesh P. (2005). Family Welfare in India: A Cross-cultural Study. Discovery Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7141-920-3.
- ↑ Patnaik, Nihar Ranjan (1997). Economic History of Orissa. Indus Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7387-075-0.
- ↑ Pati, Rabindra Nath (2008). Family Planning. APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-313-0352-8.
- ↑ Regional Development Dialogue. United Nations Centre for Regional Development. 2009.
- ↑ Bhola, Sudhira Chandra (1990). British Economic Policy in Orissa. Discovery Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7141-075-0.
- ↑ Samal, J. K. (1990). Economic History of Orissa, 1866-1912. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-7099-218-9.
- ↑ Ernst, Waltraud; Pati, Biswamoy (18 October 2007). India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-11988-2.
- ↑ Bailey, Frederick George (1970). Politics and Social Change. University of California Press. p. 132.
- ↑ Punjab Journal of Politics. Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak Dev University. 1986.
- ↑ Ghosh, G. K. (2000). Legends of Origin of the Castes and Tribes of Eastern India. Firma KLM. ISBN 978-81-7102-046-1.
- ↑ Pati, Biswamoy (2003). Identity, Hegemony, Resistance: Towards a Social History of Conversions in Orissa, 1800-2000. Three Essays Collective. ISBN 978-81-88789-04-7.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Ernst, Waltraud; Pati, Biswamoy, eds. (2007). India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-13411-988-2.
- Pati, Biswamoy (2001). Situating Social History: Orissa, 1800-1997. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-8-12502-007-3.
- Senapati, Fakir Mohan (2005). Six Acres and a Third: The Classic Nineteenth-century Novel about Colonial India. Mishra, Rabi Shankar (trans.). University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-52022-883-2.
- Roy, Bhaskar (2004). "Khandayats moving into political gear in Orissa". Times of India.