History of RAJPUTS ¦ Satish Chandra ¦ Medieval History for UPSC

When we started Medieval History, we understood in the first video that after the end of Harsha's rule, there was a political confusion in North India. And this political confusion lasted for a long time. But we can still say that from 730 AD to 1036 AD, the most dominant power in North India was Gujarat Pratihar. But when the power of Gujarat Pratihar started declining, a new warrior class emerged in North India. This warrior class was called Rajputs. Who were Rajputs? Where did they come from? What was their origin? There is a lot of mystery and controversy related to all this. Whenever we want to study their origin, we come across three theories. The first theory is Agnikul theory, which we get to see in the 11th century Agnikul legend. It is said that Rishi Vashishtha performed a yagya, from which four Rajput clans were produced. These four Rajput clans were Pratihar, Solanki which is also called Chalukyas, Parmars which is later called Pawar, and Chahamans which is also called Chohan. The second theory is Indigenous theory, which we get to see in Mahabharata. It is said that Kshatriyas are of two types, Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi. Suryavanshi is that which is a descendant of the Sun, and Chandravanshi is a descendant of the Moon. Apart from this, it is also said in Indigenous theory that there are 36 Rajput clans in total, some of which are Suryavanshi and some are Chandravanshi. Rajputs are basically Kshatriyas, who have been mentioned since Vedic times. If you observe, you can see that the first two theories show the divine origin of Rajputs. Now let's talk about the third theory, which is Foreign invasion theory. Historians say that when Shaks and Kushans came to India from Central Asia, they got mixed in the Indian culture. In fact, many of them accepted Hinduism as well. It is believed that the aristocratic and noble classes of the Shak and Kushan dynasties made matrimonial alliances with the Kshatriya kings of India. This is how the Shak, Kushan and Kshatriya races got mixed. This is how Rajputs emerged. Apart from this, Foreign invasion theory also says that these Rajputs administered their vast territorial area as feudal lords during the rule of Gujarat. Historians believe more in this third theory. Based on this, it can be said that the Rajputs were the descendants of the feudal lords of Gujarat. The special thing about them is that they were very brave and could fight anyone for their honor. Apart from this, the second special thing about them is that they believed in Hinduism and they are seen as the strongest defenders of Hinduism. They have struggled for a long time to save Hindu temples and shrines from Islamic invaders. And that's why they are also called the champions of Hinduism. Historians say that because it was a warrior class and because warriors were classified as Kshatriya in Vedic culture, the Rajputs were included in the Kshatriya varna even though they were of mixed origin. This brings us to another important point about that time, and that is that the varna system in Hinduism was still not very rigid. And based on what people do, their varna was decided, not on the basis of their birth. So this is the origin of the Rajputs. But the question is how did the Rajput states emerge? So the straightforward explanation for this is that when the Gujarat Pratihar Empire was declining, their feudal lords, who were Rajputs, started declaring themselves independent. And in this way, the territory that they used to administer to the Gujarat Pratihars, now that territory had become their own independent territory. These independent territories can be called states. And in this way, many Rajput states emerged in North India. Now in the map, you can see the locations of 7 important Rajput states, which we are going to cover in this video. First, let's talk about Tomars. Tomars ruled in the Haryana region, and their capital was Anangpur, which is in Faridabad, Haryana. Anangpal Tomar II of the Tomar dynasty is considered the greatest ruler of the Tomar dynasty. He ruled from 1051 AD to 1081 AD. It is believed that Anangpal Tomar was the 16th ruler of the Tomar dynasty. Perhaps those rulers have also been included in this list, who were feudatories during the Gujarat Pratihars. Now, since we are calling them Anangpal Tomar II, it also makes it clear that there must have been another ruler named Anangpal Tomar before them in their dynasty. So, the first Anangpal Tomar established Anangpur as his capital. This means that Anangpur was the capital of the Tomar dynasty for a very long time. In fact, even when they were feudatories of the Gujarat Pratihars, their base was Anangpur. Now, let's talk about Anangpal Tomar II, who is considered the most powerful ruler of the Tomar dynasty. He founded Delhi and made Delhi his capital. He built a fort in Delhi, which was called Lalkot. Kot means fort, and since it was made of red stone, it was called Lalkot. Later, Prithviraj Chauhan renovated this fort and changed its name to Kila Rai Pithora, because Prithviraj Chauhan is also known as Rai Pithora. So, in today's date, this fort is known as Kila Rai Pithora. And here, Anangpal Tomar also installed that famous iron pillar, which had a famous inscription on it, which tells us about the conquest of King Chandra. And historians have identified King Chandra as Chandragupt II. Anangpal Tomar has also inscribed an inscription on the same iron pillar, where he has called himself the founder of Delhi. This pillar was originally located in an ancient city called Vishnupadigri. But Anangpal Tomar brought it to Delhi and got it installed here. And he also inscribed this inscription on it. So, these were the details of the Tomar dynasty, which ruled in the Haryana and Delhi regions. Now, let's talk about the Gaharwal dynasty, which ruled in eastern Uttar Pradesh. And at the same time, we will talk about the Chauhan dynasty, which ruled in the Ajmer region. First, let's look at their capitals. The capital of the Tomar dynasty was Delhi. The capital of the Gaharwal dynasty was Varanasi. And the capital of the Chauhan dynasty was Nadol, which is in the Nagore district of Rajasthan today. Let's first talk about the Gaharwal kingdom, which ruled in the eastern Uttar Pradesh regions. The greatest ruler of this dynasty was Govind Chandra, who ruled from 1114 AD to 1155 AD. He attacked the Tomars and captured Delhi. And at the same time, he extended his boundaries to the Munger of Bihar. In this way, the Gaharwal kingdom had now extended from the Munger of Bihar to Delhi. And to administer his territorial area, he built two capitals. The first was in Kannauj and the second in Varanasi. But their main capital was Kannauj. But after their rule ended, the Gaharwal kingdom shrank again. And their boundaries remained confined to eastern UP. In this way, now their only capital was Kannauj. Now let's talk about the Chauhan dynasty. The greatest ruler of the Chauhan dynasty was Vighrehraj Chauhan, who ruled from 1150 AD to 1164 AD. He started his rule from the Nagore region. But by defeating the rulers around him one by one, he extended his territorial area to Ajmer and Chittorgarh. And shifted his capital to Ajmer. At that time, Ajmer was called Ajaymeru. After capturing Ajmer and Chittorgarh, Vighrehraj Chauhan attacked Delhi and captured Delhi as well. But despite this, he allowed the Tomars to rule Delhi as their feudatory. Now we are going to observe 2-3 things here. If you look at the timeline, you will see that after the Tomar dynasty's most powerful ruler ended, the most powerful ruler of the Gaharwal dynasty came. And after the Gaharwal dynasty's most powerful ruler ended, the most powerful ruler of the Chauhan dynasty came. That is, first of all, the Tomars were powerful. After their weakening, Gaharwal became powerful. And after their weakening, Chauhan became powerful. And Delhi was controlled only by him, who was powerful. Another important thing you should know is that Prithviraj Chauhan was the descendant of Vigraha Raj Chauhan and the ruler of Garhwal dynasty was Jaichand. We will talk about Prithviraj Chauhan and Jaichand in future videos because we should know about Islamic States, Ghaznavid Empire and Ghurid Empire before talking about them. Now let's talk about other Rajput states. You can see Mewar region in the map. Rajput rulers in Mewar region were Gohilas, Malwa region. Rajput rulers in Mewar region were Parmars, Chandels in Bundelkhand region and Solankis in Gujarat region which is also known as Chalukyas of Gujarat. These were the details of Rajput states. For UPSC, India's History, Indian Polity, Indian Economy and Indian Geography, follow Bookstawa's playlist. Thank you so much for watching and supporting Bookstawa.