The Rajputs wear the sacred thread, but many of them have abandoned
the proper _upanayana_ or thread ceremony, and simply invest boys with
it at their marriage. In former times, when a boy became fit to bear
arms, the ceremony of _kharg bandai_, or binding on of the sword, was
performed, and considered to mark his attainment of manhood. The king
himself had his sword thus bound on by the first of his vassals. The
Rajputs take food cooked with water (_katchi_) only from Brahmans, and
that cooked without water (_pakki_) from Banias, and sometimes from
Lodhis and Dhimars. Brahmans will take _pakki_ food from Rajputs,
and Nais and Dhimars _katchi_ food. When a man is ill, however,
he may take food from members of such castes as Kurmi and Lodhi
as a matter of convenience without incurring caste penalties. The
large turbans and long moustaches and beards no longer characterise
their appearance, and the only point which distinguishes a Rajput
is that his name ends with Singh (lion). But this suffix has also
been adopted by others, especially the Sikhs, and by such castes as
the Lodhis and Raj-Gonds who aspire to rank as Rajputs. A Rajput is
usually addressed as Thakur or lord, a title which properly applies
only to a Rajput landholder, but has now come into general use. The
head of a state has the designation of Raja or Rana, and those of the
leading states of Maharaja or Maharana, that is, great king. Maharana,
which appears to be a Gujarati form, is used by the Sesodia family of
Udaipur. The sons of a Raja are called Kunwar or prince. The title Rao
appears to be a Marathi form of Raj or Raja; it is retained by one or
two chiefs, but has now been generally adopted as an honorific suffix
by Maratha Brahmans. Rawat appears to have been originally equivalent
to Rajput, being simply a diminutive of Rajputra, the Sanskrit form
of the latter. It is the name of a clan of Rajputs in the Punjab, and
is used as an honorific designation by Ahirs, Saonrs, Kols and others.