Kachhwaha

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Kachhwaha
House of Amber
Jaipur State CoA - colourised.svg
Flag of Jaipur.svg
The Pachranga flag originally used by Man Singh I
Parent house Kachchhapaghata dynasty
Country Khoh
Jaipur State
Alwar State
Shekhawati
Kohra Estate
Founded1028
Founder Dulha Rai
Current head Padmanabh Singh
Final ruler Man Singh II
Titles Raja of Khoh
Maharaja of Amber
Raja of Jaipur
Raja of Alwar
Maharaja of Sirmaur
Maharaja of Maihar
Maharao of Shekhawati
Raja of Talcher
Babu of Kohra
Subahdar of Bengal
Subahdar of Lahore
Subahdar of Kabul

The Kachhwaha is a Rajput clan found primarily in India. [1] [2] They claim descent from the Suryavanshi (Solar) dynasty. [3] [4]

Contents

Etymology

According to Cynthia Talbot, the meaning of word Kachhwaha is tortoise. [5]

Origin

Original Jharshahi Flag (Kovidar/kachnar dhvaj) Flag of Kohra.png
Original Jharshahi Flag (Kovidar/kachnar dhvaj)

There are numerous theories on the origin of the Kachhwahas. Prominent of those theories are of claiming scion from the Suryavansh and the Kurma Avatar of Lord Vishnu.

Suryavansh origin

Suryavansh Dynasty or Ikshwaku Dynasty or Raghuvansh Dynasty : Kachwaha (Kushwah) claim descent from Kush, a son of the avatar of Vishnu, Rama, as expressed by them citing historical documents during the Supreme court of India proceedings on Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. [6] Ish Devji a Kachhwaha Raja of outstanding merit, with his capital at Gwalior, is recorded to have died in 967 A.D. Brahmin genealogists place him as being the three hundred & third generation after Ikshwaku. The Kachhwahas of Amber are descendants of Ish Devji. According to Rima Hooja, the Kachhwahas initially called themselves "Kachhapaghata", "Kachwaha" and "Katsawaha". "Kachawa" word became popular in the late 16th century during the reign of Raja Man Singh. There are many inscriptions and manuscripts which prove this theory, like the ones found in Balvan, Chatsu, Sanganer and Rewasa. [7]

History

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (1688-1743) one of the Greatest Kachhwaha Ruler. 1 Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II ca 1725 Jaipur. British museum.jpg
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (1688–1743) one of the Greatest Kachhwaha Ruler.
Chandramahal in City Palace, Jaipur, which was built by the Kachwaha Rajputs. Jaipur 03-2016 19 City Palace complex.jpg
Chandramahal in City Palace, Jaipur, which was built by the Kachwaha Rajputs.

Dulha Rai

Kachhwaha established their kingdoms in the Dhundhar region of modern Rajasthan in the 11th century. One Kachhwaha Dulha Rai conquered most of the Dhundhar area from Bargujars. [8] [9]

Raja Kakil deo

After Dulherai, his son Kakil Deo defeated the Meenas of Amer and made Amer the capital of Dhundhar after Khoh. [10] [11] He also defeated the Ahirs of Dhundhar region and annexed their territories in the battles of Med and Bairath. Bairath is the corrupted name of Viratnagar which has a great significance in Mahabharata.

Raja Pajawan

Raja Pajawan helped Prithviraj Chauhan in his most of the campaigns and conquests. In total, he is credited to have fought 64 battles in his career. He was married to a cousin of Prithviraj Chauhan. [8] He died before the popular Battle of Tarain.

Raja Prithviraj Singh I

Kachhwaha King Prithviraj Singh I fought along with Rana Sanga at battle of Khanwa. [8] He was married to the daughter of Rao Lunkarna of Bikaner, with all his wives summed to nine, giving birth to 18 sons. One of his sons, Purnamal died fighting with Humayun's brother Hindal in a battle that occurred in 1539 AD.

Raja Man Singh I

He was one of the most trusted nobles of Akbar. He was the supreme commander of the Mughal forces. He built the Amer Fort. He built and saved a number of Hindu temples.

Sawai Jai Singh II

He built the pink city of Jaipur and five astronomical observatories at Delhi, Jaipur, Benaras, Mathura and Ujjain. He also established Govind Dev Ji temple at Jaipur.

Notable people

Khoh Kingdom

Amer Kingdom

Jaipur State

Alwar State

Kohra Estate

Shekhawati Region

References

  1. Sen, Sailendra Nath (2007). Textbook of Indian History and Culture. New Delhi, India: Macmillan India Limited. p. 167. ISBN   978-1-4039-3200-6.
  2. The Rajput Palaces: The Development of an Architectural Style, 1450–1750 p. 88 – "the Kachwaha Rajputs (who had previously ruled in Gwalior) established themselves in an adjacent region, founding Dhundar as their capital in 967 AD ISBN   9780195647303."
  3. DK ‘The Kachhwahas are suryavanshi (of the Sun dynasty), tracing their descent from Kush, son of Lord Rama. They came into prominence in the tenth century as the rulers of Gwalior in central India, but in 986, Ishwar Das, the king of Gwalior, abdicated to lead a life of renunciation in the Himalayas.’ (2 November 2009). Great Monuments of India. Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN   978-1-4053-4782-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. Singh, Kumar Suresh (2005). People of India: Uttar Pradesh. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN   978-81-7304-114-3.
  5. Talbot, Cynthia (2015). "Imagining the Rajput Past in Mughal–era Mewar". The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000 (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 146–182. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316339893.006. ISBN   9781316339893. This is a reference to Pajjun's family name, Kachhwaha, which means tortoise
  6. Asnani, Rajesh (11 August 2019). "Citing historical documents, Jaipur royals claim to be descendants of Lord Rama". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  7. History of Rajasthan by Rima Hooja Section:The Kachwahas of Dhoondhar p. 2 ISBN   9788129108906
  8. 1 2 3 Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur: C. 1503–1938. Orient Blackswan. pp. 20–33. ISBN   978-81-250-0333-5.
  9. Wink, André (2002). Al-hind: The Making of the Indo-islamic World. BRILL. p. 287. ISBN   978-90-04-09249-5.
  10. Jaigarh, the Invincible Fort of Amber. RBSA Publishers, 1990. 1990. p. 18. ISBN   9788185176482.
  11. Taknet, D. K.; IntegralDMS (7 July 2016). Jaipur: Gem of India. IntegralDMS. ISBN   978-1-942322-05-4.

Further reading