Rathore

The Rathore (or Rathor / Rathur / Rathod / Rathour (Hindi: राठौड, IAST:Rāṭhauḍ or Rāṭhaur, Urdu: راٹھور) is a Suryavanshi Rajput clan of India^{[citation needed]}.Their Kuldevi is Nagnechiya Maa.Rathore are originally from Kannauj in Uttar pradesh. This clan inhabits Marwar and Jangladesh regions of western Rajasthan, Idar state of Gujarat. Chhapra, Sheohar (a village called tariyani Chapra also has a large number of Rathore Rajputs, migrated from Jaipur. There is a small number of Rathores in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar.They have inhabited 60 villages in Kaimur and Buxar district of Bihar. In the punjab, Rathores inhabit over 20 villages.

Current Demographics

In India, their native languages are Hindi and its dialects (such as Rajasthani, Marwari and other languages of Rajasthan, Gujarati and Kutchi in Gujarat, as well as Punjabi in the Punjab, a dialect of Punjabi called Rathi spoken in Ratia and Tohana in present day Haryana derives its name from the Rathore clan that held sway in this area uttarpradesh(Basti-60 km from ayodhaya),rathore have 10 village madhwapur umra, dasiya daulatpur karma gandhariya kusma, basdiha , kusmahiya ,madhopur these rathores are prevailing in that area and speak awadhi language.

Dynasties belonging to this clan ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states in Rajasthan and neighbouring states before India's independence in 1947. The largest and oldest among these was Jodhpur, in Marwar and Bikaner. Also the Idar State in Gujrat. Apart from Idar many of the Rathods had migrated to the different parts of Gujarat and one of them is Lunavada State (Currently in Panchmahals District of Gujarat.) Kanesar is one of the village in Lunawada State containing Rathods as a major population. The Maharaja of Jodhpur, is regarded as the head of the extended Rathore clan of Hindu Rajputs. Even in the modern times the clout of this clan in the democratic world is such that a large number of MLAs and MPs have been elected from among them.

Early history

The Mehrangarh fort, Jodhpur

Based on "khyats" (traditional accounts) written in seventeenth century, it is surmised that the Rathores and Rathods were originally feudatories of the Ujjaini-based Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, and may perhaps have been domiciled in the vicinity of Kannauj in the heyday of that dynasty. Pratihara-ruled Kannauj was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1019 CE, which ushered in a chaotic period for that area. A family known to us as the "Gahadvala" dynasty gained control of Kannauj and ruled for nearly a century; their best-known dynast was Raja Jaichand, their last king. The Gahadvalas were displaced from Kannauj by the invasion, in 1194 CE, of Muhammad of Ghor. It is said that Sheoji, a surviving grandson of Jaichand, made his way into the western desert with a group of faithful followers, finally settling in the town of Pali in Marwar, which was ruled by another branch of the Pratiharas. Sheoji is regarded as the patriarch of the entire Rathore clan and all Rathores and Rathods trace their patrilineage back to him. The tradition finds supports from a number of inscriptions found in the vicinity of Kannauj that mention several generations of a Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling there for two centuries. A very similar account is also mentioned in the "Rashtrayudha Kavya" of Rudrakavi, finished in 1595, who was the court poet in the court of the Rathore king, Narayana of Mayurgiri.

Marwar and beyond

The Rathores gradually spread across Marwar, forming a brotherhood of landowners and village chieftains, loosely bound to each other by ties of clan and caste. An epoch in the history both of Marwar and of the Rathores was marked by Rao Jodha, a warrior who founded a kingdom that grew to encompass all of Marwar. He also founded the city of Jodhpur in 1459, and moved his capital thither from Mandore. One of his sons, Rao Bika, with the help of his brave uncle Rawat Kandhal, established the town of Bikaner in 1488, in the Jangladesh region lying to the north of Marwar; that town was to become the seat of a second major Rathore kingdom. Some of these migrations from Marwar into Gujarat caused changes in language and the spelling of Rathore to Rathod, which is seen in clans present in Gujarat. Rathods of Gujarat trace their history to the city Jodhpur.

The various cadet branches of the Rathore clan gradually spread to encompass all of Marwar and later sallied abroad to found states in Central India and Gujarat. At the time of India's independence in 1947, the princely states ruled by various branches of the Rathore clan included:

• Jodhpur (Marwar): Covering the present-day districts of Jodhpur, Pali, Nagaur, Barmer, and Jalor.
• Bikaner (Jangladesh): Covering the present-day districts of Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar and Hanumangarh;
• Kishangarh in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 1611 by Raja Kishan Singh, son of Udai Singh of Marwar.
• Idar in present-day Gujarat, founded in 1728 or 1729.
• Ratlam in present-day Ratlam District of Madhya Pradesh, founded 1651.
• Jhabua in present-day Madhya Pradesh
• Sitamau in present-day Mandsaur District of Madhya Pradesh, founded 1701 by Raja Kesho Das.
• Sailana in present-day Ratlam District of Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1730 by Raja Jai Singh.
• Manda in present day uttar pradesh, direct lineage from the younger brother of Raja Jaichand of Kannauj. Former Indian Prime Minister, Raja Bahadur Vishwanath Pratap Singhji was Last King of Manda.
• Alirajpur in present-day Madhya Pradesh.
• Jobat in present-day Madhya Pradesh.
• Gajnod,Kod,and Kumedi presented -day Dhar District(Badnawar) of Madhya Pradesh, founded 1705.
• Kashipur in present day Uttarakhand.
• Jubbal in present day Himachal Pradesh.
• Jasol in present day Barmer district of Rajasthan.
• Salempur Junahasa in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh
• Kushalgarh in Banswara district of Rajasthan
• Tambesra in Banswara district of Rajasthan

Other Places

• Bihar: In the district called Sheohar there is a village called tariyani chapra,,there are lots of rathore rajputs who migrated from rajasthan(Jaipur)
• Uttar Pradesh: Rathores in Uttar Pradesh are settled a district called Basti 60 km from Ayodhya there is 10 villages of Rathores called Madhwapur Umra, Dasiya, Karma, Gandhariya,Daulatpur,Kusma,Basdiha etc.They migrated from Jodhpur(Rajasthan) and have lots of relation with chauhans.

• Pakistan: After partition of India in 1947, hundreds of Rathore villages became part of Pakistan. Till date, more than one hundred thousand Rathores reside within Pakistan in Sindh, primarily in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mithi, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Hyderabad, and Karachi districts.

Rathore branches in modern times

• Living in Punjab region of India : They are settled in Ropar distt near Chandigarh. There are 28 villages of Rathores.
• Rathore : Northern Punjab Lahor, JEHLAM, mirpur, muzfrabad and faisalabad pakistan there is about 56000 rathores live in pakistan and AZAD (Independent) KASHMIR.

Ropar disst of Punjab and having significant presence in and around Chandigarh.

• Living in MP region of INDIA: Rewa, Jabalpur, Indore, Bhopal, Sehore, Betul,ujjain,barnagar and Gwalior. In Chhastishgarh they are found in Raipur,Bilaspur.
• In Uttar Pradesh in the district Farrukhabad, Khimsaypur is a Rathore dominated area. In this area, Rathores sometimes call themselves as 'Rao' also e.g. Rao Surendra Pratap Singh Rathour Grandson of Rao Baldev Singh.
• in bihar in the district vaishali in bidu pur block is a rathore dominated area.

Common Surnames/Subclans of Rathores

• Modresa Rathod, living in all parts of India (majorly in Rajasthan, Gujrat & Maharashtra). They are called Modresa Rathod, based on the name of their Kul devi - Ashapuri Modra mataji of the Modra village in Jalore district of Rajastjan.
• Gaherwar or Gaharwar, living in UP region mainly belonging to three dynasties of Dahia, Manda, and Vijaypur-Kantit. They were called Rathore when they migrated to Rajsthan. Large number in UK and USA.
• Bika, Rulers of Bikaner
  • Bika Rangot, living in Ajeetpura (Hanumangarh District), Sidhmudh (Churu District) and srrounding areas.
  • Bika Sangot, living in Ajeetpura and the same areas of the Bika Sangot's.
• Banirot, living in Churu District.
• Kandhal, living around Ghanau (Churu District).
• Jodha, Rulers of Jodhpur, Rajasthan
• Sohar, Descendent of Rao Shobhit ji Rathore
• Jaitawat, living around pali, descendent of rao Jaitaji Rathore
• Balawat , Jagirs located majorly in Barmer, Kota and Jalore districts Mokalsar Mandavala Nimblana Posana Bhanwarajadi
• Kotriya-living around Kotra,Hathi singh ka gaw,Biyar,and Shiv (Barmer)Kotriya son of Rawal Mallinath (oldest son of rao salkha 1357-1374 A.D.) [Rulers of Kotra]
• Barmera-liveing around barmer[rulers of Barmer]
• pokarna-liveing around pokran
• Champawat, Living around Pokaran,Peelwa,Jodhpur & Pali
• Udawat, Living around Pali
• Medatiya (Ruler of Medata)living largely in Nagaur, Pali,Mewar,Jodhpur district Rajasthan
• Sindhal, living around jalor & pali.Kaonla
• Kumpawat,
• Bidawat, living around Bidasar Churu
• Jodha Ratansinghot [Rulers of Ratlam]
• Rawatot, living around Rawatsar
• Karamsot, living around Khinvsar Nagaur and Bikaner
• Karnot the clan of Durgadas Rathore
• Taga Rathore, Descendent of Pratihar
• Jaitmalot - The royal house hold of Banol&dhansa nagari jalore.
• Routray - Living in Gurujanga near Puri migrated from Rajasthan in 1805
• Uttarpradesh-rathores in eastern U.P who said to have descends of Rao jodha use RAO as their surname instead of rathores e.g. siddharth rao ,said to be from suryavansh..Some of the desecendent of Rao jodha settled in eastern U.P.(KHIMSAYPUR is a famous place of rathour's in farrukhabad district) They use Rao word as sir name instead of Rathour.eg rao praduymn singh rathour s/o rao surender pratap singh rathour.
• Himachal- About 1500 Rathor's living in Sundernagar in Himachal.
• Nadahar, descended from Nadar Ali Khan/Rao Amar Singh Rathore from Sodawas who converted to islam and his household moved to pakistan.

Rathore/Rao Genealogy

(1200 A D onwards up to 1500 A D)

• Jetmalot

Rathore rulers of Marwar (Jodhpur)

• Rao Sheoji or Siyaji (1226-1273)
• Rao Asthan (1273-1292)
• Rao Doohad (1291-1309)-Rao Sindhal (1291-1309)
• Rao Raipal (1309-1313)
• Rao Kanhapal (1313-1323)
• Rao Jalansi (1323-1228)
• Rao Chada (1328-1344)
• Rao Tida (1334-1357)
• Rao Kanhadev (1357-1374)
• Rao Biram Dev (1374-1383)
• Rao Chanda or Chunda Rao (1383-1424)
• Rao Kanha (1424-1427)
• Rai Sanha (in rebellion) (1424-1427)
• Rao Ranmal or Ranmalla (1427-1438)
• Rao Jodha (1438-1488). Founder of Jodhpur.
  • Rao Satal (1488-1491) * Rao Suja (1491-1515)
• Rao Ganga (1515-1532)
• Rao Maldev or Malladeva (1532-1562)
• Rao Chandrasen (1562-1584)
• Raja Udai Singh or Udaya Singh (1584-1595)
• Sawai Raja Suraj Singh (1595-1620)
• Maharaja Gaja Singh (1620-1638)
• Maharaja Jaswant Singh I (1638-1679)
• Maharaja Ajit Singh (19 February 1679 - 24 June 1724). Born 1679, died 1724.
• Maharaja Abhai Singh (24 June 1724 - 18 June 1749). Born 1702, died 1749.
• Maharaja Ram Singh (1st time) (18 June 1749 - July 1751). Born 1730, died 1772.
• Maharaja Bakht Singh (July 1751 - 21 September 1752). Born 1706, died1752.
• Maharaja Bijay Singh (1st time) (21 September 1752 - 1753). Born 1724, died 1793.
• Maharaja Ram Singh (2nd time) (1753 -September 1772)
• Maharaja Bijay Singh (2nd time) (1772 - 17 July 1793)
• Maharaja Bhim Singh (in rebellion) (13 April 1792 - 20 March 1793). Died 1803.
• Maharaja Bhim Singh (17 July 1793 - 19 October 1803)
• Maharaja Man Singh Rathore (19 October 1803 - 4 September 1843). Born 1783, died 1843.
• Chhatra Singh (regent) (19 April 1817 - 6 January 1818). Born c.1800, died 1818.
• Maharaja Takht Singh (14 October 1843 - 13 February 1873). Born 1819, died 1873.
• Maharaja Jaswant Singh II (13 February 1873 - 11 October 1895. Born 1838, died 1895.
• Maharaja Sardar Singh (11 October 1895 - 21 March 1911). Born 1880, died 1911.
• Maharaja Sumer Singh (21 March 1911 - 3 October 1918). Born 1898, died 1918.
• Maharaja Umaid Singh (3 October 1918 - 9 June 1947). Born 1903, died 1947.
• Maharaja Hanwant Singh (9 June 1947-7 April 1949). Born 1923, acceded to India 7 April 1949, died 1952.
• Maharaja Gaj Singh II aka. Baap ji, present Maharaja of Jodhpur (Marwar)

Connection to the Rashtrakutas

At Hathundi, in what was formerly the princely state of Jodhpur, 10th century inscriptions have been found mentioning kings Harivarma, Vidagdha, Mammata, Dhavala and Balaprasada, all of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. This is not in fact surprising, since the Rashtrakutas held sway over Marwar in that era. However, as we have seen above, the Rathores first emerge in Rajasthan shortly after that same era; therefore, there have been some recent efforts to impute to the Rathores and Rathod a connection with the Rashtrakutas. The connection is tenuous to say the least, being based mainly upon the similarity of the two names; it is accpted by historians as being possible. One can only await further research into this question.

Some prominent Rathores figures

• Rao Maldeo Rathore
• Rao Jodha
• Rao Bika
• Rawat Kandhal
• Durgadas Rathore
• Amar Singh Rathore
• Maharaja Jaswant Singh
• Mohar Singh Rathore
• Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
• Raja Jai Singh Rathore
• Raja Mumtaz Rathore
• Rao Surender pratap singh rathour(KHIMSAYPUR)

Notes

References

• Dr. Hukam Singh Bhati (1990), Maheca Rathaurom ka mula itihasa: Ravala Mallinatha ke vamsaja - Maheca, Baramera, Pokarana, Kotariya aura Khavariya Rathaurom ka sodhapurna itihasa. Publisher: Ratan Prakashan, Jodhpur.
• Dr. Mahendra Singh Nagar (2004), The genealogical survey: Royal house of Marwar and other states. Publisher: Maharaja Man Singh Pustak Prakashan, Jodhpur.
• Bruyne, J.L. DE. (Rudra Kavi). The Great Poem of the Dynasty of Rastraudha. Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1968.
• Bijendra singh rathore dist-Hardoi 1974 (U P)