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{{Short description|Clan that ruled parts of northern India in the medieval period}} | |||
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{{EngvarB|date=April 2019}} | {{EngvarB|date=April 2019}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}} | ||
[[File:Vigraha Raja IV of the Chauhans of Ajmer Circa 1150-1164.jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of the [[Chahamanas of Shakambhari|Chahamana of Ajmer]] ruler [[Vigraharaja IV]], circa 1150–1164 CE.]] | |||
'''Chauhan''' | '''Chauhan''' or '''Chouhan''' is a clan name found amongst the [[Rajput]]s of northern India.<ref>{{cite book|title=Social Sciences Research Journal - Volume 19 - Page 73|publisher=Panjab University|date=2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1LtWAOAiBoC&q=Chauhan+is+a+rajput+clan|quote="Among the thirty six of Rajput clans, there flourished a clan of Chauhan in early medieval times in northern India."}}</ref> | ||
== Origin == | == Origin == | ||
The word ''Chauhan'' is the vernacular form of the [[Sanskrit]] term ''Chahamana''.{{meaning|date=October 2021}} Several Chauhan inscriptions name a legendary hero called Chahamana as their ancestor, but none of them state the period in which he lived.{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=10}} | The word ''Chauhan'' is the vernacular form of the [[Sanskrit]] term ''Chahamana'' (IAST: Cāhamāna).{{meaning|date=October 2021}} Several Chauhan inscriptions name a legendary hero called Chahamana as their ancestor, but none of them state the period in which he lived.{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=10}} | ||
The earliest extant inscription that describes the origin of the Chauhans is the 1119 CE [[Sewari|Sevadi]] inscription of [[Ratnapala (Chahamana dynasty)|Ratnapala]], a ruler of the [[Chahamanas of Naddula|Naddula Chahamana dynasty]]. According to this inscription, the ancestor of the Chahamanas was born from the eye of [[Indra]].{{sfn|Singh|1964|pp=10-11}} | The earliest extant inscription that describes the origin of the Chauhans is the 1119 CE [[Sewari|Sevadi]] inscription of [[Ratnapala (Chahamana dynasty)|Ratnapala]], a ruler of the [[Chahamanas of Naddula|Naddula Chahamana dynasty]]. According to this inscription, the ancestor of the Chahamanas was born from the eye of [[Indra]].{{sfn|Singh|1964|pp=10-11}} | ||
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The Ajmer inscription of the Shakambhari Chahamana ruler [[Vigraharaja IV]] (c. 1150–64 CE) claims that Chahamana belonged to the solar dynasty, descending from [[Ikshavaku]] and [[Rama]]. 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).{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=12}} | The Ajmer inscription of the Shakambhari Chahamana ruler [[Vigraharaja IV]] (c. 1150–64 CE) claims that Chahamana belonged to the solar dynasty, descending from [[Ikshavaku]] and [[Rama]]. 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).{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=12}} | ||
[[File:Drachms of the Chauhans of Ranthambhor.jpg|thumb|300px|Drachms of the [[Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura]].]] | |||
[[File:Stamp of India - 2018 - Colnect 787075 - Prithviraj Chauhan Medieval Hindu Ruler of NW India.jpeg|thumb|Stamp depicting [[Prithviraj Chauhan]], a medieval Hindu ruler of North India]] | |||
The 15th-century ''[[Hammira Mahakavya]]'' of Nayachandra Suri, which describes the life of the [[Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura|Ranthambore branch]] ruler [[Hammir Dev Chauhan|Hammira]], gives the following account: Once [[Brahma]] was wandering in search of an auspicious place to conduct a [[yajna|ritual sacrifice]]. He ultimately chose the place where a lotus from his hand fell; this place came to be known as [[Pushkar]]a. Brahma wanted to protect his sacrificial ceremony against interference from [[danava (Hinduism)|danavas]] (miscreant beings). Therefore, he remembered [[Surya|the Sun]], and a hero came into being from the sun's [[orb (astrology)|orb]]. This hero was Chohan, the ancestor of the Hammira's dynasty.{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=13}} The earliest extant recension of ''[[Prithviraj Raso]]'' of [[Chand Bardai]], dated to 15th or 16th century, states that the first Chauhan king – [[Manik Rai|Manikya Rai]] – was born from Brahma's sacrifice.{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=13}} The 16th-century ''Surjana-Charita'', composed by the [[Bengali people|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.{{sfn|Singh|1964|pp=13-14}} | The 15th-century ''[[Hammira Mahakavya]]'' of Nayachandra Suri, which describes the life of the [[Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura|Ranthambore branch]] ruler [[Hammir Dev Chauhan|Hammira]], gives the following account: Once [[Brahma]] was wandering in search of an auspicious place to conduct a [[yajna|ritual sacrifice]]. He ultimately chose the place where a lotus from his hand fell; this place came to be known as [[Pushkar]]a. Brahma wanted to protect his sacrificial ceremony against interference from [[danava (Hinduism)|danavas]] (miscreant beings). Therefore, he remembered [[Surya|the Sun]], and a hero came into being from the sun's [[orb (astrology)|orb]]. This hero was Chohan, the ancestor of the Hammira's dynasty.{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=13}} The earliest extant recension of ''[[Prithviraj Raso]]'' of [[Chand Bardai]], dated to 15th or 16th century, states that the first Chauhan king – [[Manik Rai|Manikya Rai]] – was born from Brahma's sacrifice.{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=13}} The 16th-century ''Surjana-Charita'', composed by the [[Bengali people|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.{{sfn|Singh|1964|pp=13-14}} | ||
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== History == | == History == | ||
The Chauhans were historically a powerful group in the region now known as [[Rajasthan]]. For around 400 years from the 7th century CE their strength in [[Sambhar, Rajasthan|Sambhar]] was a threat to the power-base of the [[Guhilot]]s in the south-west of the area, as also was the strength of their fellow Agnivanshi clans.{{sfn|Gupta|Bakshi|2008|p=95}} 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.{{sfn|Gupta|Bakshi|2008|p=100}} The kingdom broke into the Satyapura and Devda branches after the invasion of [[Qutbu l-Din Aibak]] in 1197.<ref name="sen28">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |page=28}}</ref> 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.<ref name=JP>{{Cite book|first=Tanuja|last=Kothiyal|title=Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2016|pages= | The Chauhans were historically a powerful group in the region now known as [[Rajasthan]]. For around 400 years from the 7th century CE their strength in [[Sambhar, Rajasthan|Sambhar]] was a threat to the power-base of the [[Guhilot]]s in the south-west of the area, as also was the strength of their fellow Agnivanshi clans.{{sfn|Gupta|Bakshi|2008|p=95}} 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.{{sfn|Gupta|Bakshi|2008|p=100}} The kingdom broke into the Satyapura and Devda branches after the invasion of [[Qutbu l-Din Aibak]] in 1197.<ref name="sen28">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |page=28}}</ref> 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.<ref name=JP>{{Cite book|first=Tanuja|last=Kothiyal|title=Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2016|pages=44–45|isbn=9781107080317|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be-7CwAAQBAJ|quote=Delhi, Punjab and Gujarat were seen as strategic centres by the Sultans of Delhi. Throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, intense struggle to control these towns waged between the various sultans of Delhi and Rajput lineages like Chauhans.}}</ref> | ||
The earliest Chauhan inscription is a copper-plate inscription found at [[Hansot]].<ref>[[Sharma, Dasharatha]] : "[https://books.google.com/books/about/Early_Chauh%C4%81n_Dynasties.html?id=A86fAAAACAAJ Early Chauhan Dynasties]" (1959) by S.Chand & Co. Page 14.</ref> | The earliest Chauhan inscription is a copper-plate inscription found at [[Hansot]].<ref>[[Sharma, Dasharatha]] : "[https://books.google.com/books/about/Early_Chauh%C4%81n_Dynasties.html?id=A86fAAAACAAJ Early Chauhan Dynasties]" (1959) by S.Chand & Co. Page 14.</ref> | ||
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* Chahamanas of Partabgarh{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=115}} | * Chahamanas of Partabgarh{{sfn|Singh|1964|p=115}} | ||
* [[Chahamanas of Jalor]] (Chauhans of [[Jalore Fort|Jalore]]); branched off from the Chahamanas of Naddula | * [[Chahamanas of Jalor]] (Chauhans of [[Jalore Fort|Jalore]]); branched off from the Chahamanas of Naddula | ||
* Chahamanas of [[Sirohi State]]; branched off from the Chahamanas of Naddula<ref>branched off from the Chahamanas of Naddula</ref> | |||
* [[Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura]] (Chauhans of [[Ranthambore Fort|Ranthambore]]); branched off from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari | * [[Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura]] (Chauhans of [[Ranthambore Fort|Ranthambore]]); branched off from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari | ||
== References == | == References == | ||