==============+========
District. |Number.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn | 9
Sahâranpur | 17
Muzaffarnagar | 3
Meerut | 19
Bulandshahr | 243
Aligarh | 109
Mathura | 5,036
Agra | 2,293
Farrukhâbâd | 90
Mainpuri | 1,061
Etâwah | 122
Etah | 320
Bareilly | 249
Budâun | 300
Morâdâbâd | 388
Pilibhît | 20
Cawnpur | 166
Allahâbâd | 135
Jhânsi | 1
Lalitpur | 4
Benares | 27
Mirzapur | 33
Ghâzipur | 79
Gorakhpur | 114
Kumâun | 2
Tarâi | 3
Lucknow | 9
Sîtapur | 129
Bahrâich | 34
Sultânpur | 5
+~~~~~~~~
Total | 11,020
==============+========
Males 5,452
Females 5,568
Chauhân.—An important sept of Râjputs. The Brâhmanical legend of their
origin is thus described by Colonel Tod [219]:—“Again the Brâhmans
kindled the sacred fire, and the priests assembling round the fire-pit
(agnikunda) prayed for aid to Mahâdeva. From the fire fountain a figure
issued out, but he had not a warrior’s mien. The Brâhmans placed him as
guardian of the gate, and hence his name Prithiha-dwâra. A second
issued forth, and being formed in the palm (challu) of the hand was
named Chalûka. A third appeared and was named Pramâra. He had the
blessing of the Rishis, and with the others went against demons; but
they did not prevail. Again Vasishtha, seated on the lotus, prepared
incantations; again he called the gods to aid; and as he poured forth
the libation, a figure arose lofty in stature, of elevated front, hair
like jet, eyes rolling, breast expanded, fierce, terrific, clad in
armour, quiver filled, a bow in one hand and a brand in the other,
quadriform (Chaturanga), whence his name Chauhân.” Another account
derives the name from the Sanskrit Chaturbâhu, the name of the first
king of the tribe. General Cunningham [220] shows from inscriptions
that even as late as the time of Prithivi Râja, the Chauhâns had no
claim to be sprung from fire, but were content to be considered
descendants of the sage Bhrigu through Jamadagnya Vatsa, and he
suggests another explanation of the fabled descent from fire, which
does not seem very probable. According to tradition the famous city of
Analpur, or Analwâra Patan, the capital of the Solankis, was said to
have been founded by Vana Râja Solanki, who named it after Anala, a
Chauhân cowherd, who pointed out the site to him. According to another
version, the place was originally established by Anala Chauhân himself.
As the date of the event was unknown, and was certainly remote, Anala
was placed at the head of all the Chauhân genealogies as the progenitor
of the race. Then, as Anala means “fire,” it naturally follows that the
cowherd was dropped and the element of fire adopted as the originator
of the race. He adds that in early times the name is written Chahuwân
in agreement with the Chahumân of the old Shaikhâwati inscription of
A.D. 961, and is pointedly derived from the Hindi châh “desire or
choice,” which is an abbreviation of the Sanskrit ichchha. Dr. Buchanan
[221] derives the name from chintapavana, “the thought purifier,” and
the low grade so-called Chauhâns of Bijnor say they are so named
because when crossing the Indus with Mân Sinh’s army in 1586 A.D., they
lost the four requisites (chau “four”, hân “loss”) of Hindu communion,
religion (dharm), ceremonies (riti), piety (daya) and duties (karma).
2. Of the Oudh Chauhâns, Sir C. Elliot writes [222]:—“In all
probability they followed closely on the Dikhits in the date of their
immigration. They colonised a tract of land which lies south of
Dikhtiyâna, with the Panwârs, Bâchhals, and Parihârs between it and the
River Ganges. Chauhâna is the name popularly given to this tract, which
is properly said to consist of ninety villages. The traditional cause
which led to the migration is as follows:—A certain Râja of Mainpuri
married a second wife in his old age, though his first wife had borne
him two sons. The bride expostulated with her family at being given in
marriage to so old a man, and stipulated that if she had a son he
should succeed to the estate and the title. The Râja agreed, and signed
a written acknowledgment to that effect. After some time he died; but
his wife had already borne him a son, and on his death she produced the
bond which the Râja had signed. All the brotherhood agreed that they
ought to abide by it. The two elder brothers left the country in
disgust and settled in Oudh. The traditions of different villages in
Chauhâna differ as to the names of these two brothers, and it is stated
that only one of them remained here and the other went on to the
borders of the Gomati and settled in Isauli, where there is now a large
Chauhân colony. But as the whole of the great colonies of Bachgotis,
Râjkumârs, Rajwârs, and Khânzâdas, who rule in the Faizâbâd and
Sultânpur Districts, are Chauhâns disguised under various names, and
originally emigrated from Mainpuri about the same time, it is safe to
trust an isolated local tradition as to any close connection existing
between any of these two colonies. It is sufficient to remark that they
are all of the same gotra, and therefore belong to the same stock.”
[The Chauhâns of the Ganges-Jumna-Duâb.] 3. The most conspicuous
families and those of the bluest blood are those of Mainpuri, Rajor,
Pratâpner, and Chakarnagar. The Mainpuri family, [223] the head of the
sept, is said to have settled in the Central Duâb in the twelfth or
beginning of the thirteenth century. They are generally represented to
be the lineal descendants of Pratâp Rudra, who was son of Râna Sangat,
the great grandson of Chahir Deva, the brother of Prithivi Râja, the
last Chauhân King of Delhi, who was conquered by Shahâb-ud-dîn Ghori in
1193 A.D. It is almost certain, however, that the real founder of this
important branch of the Chauhâns was Deva Brahma, a less distinguished
cadet of the same house. Shortly after the defeat of Prithivi Râja and
the fall of the Chauhân dynasty, Brahma, accompanied by a numerous
following of kinsmen and retainers, left his original seat at Nimrâna
and settled at Pratâpner, near Bhongâon, in the Mainpuri District. The
founder of this branch was Pratâp Rudra, who is constantly mentioned in
the Makhzan-i-Afghâni of Niyâmat-ulla as having played a prominent part
in the reign of Muhammad Ala-ud-dîn and Bahlol Lodi. He held Bhongâon,
Kampil, and Patiyâli, and was confirmed by Bahlol Lodi as Governor of
that part of the country. In the war between Bahlol and the Sharqi
monarch of Jaunpur, Râê Pratâp and Qutb Khân, the Afghân Governor of
the adjoining District of Râpri, acted in concert, sometimes on one
side and sometimes on the other, and presumably on account of the
assassination of Narasinha Deva, son of Râê Pratâp, they organised a
conspiracy against Sultân Bahlol and compelled him to retreat towards
Delhi, leaving the Jaunpur King in possession of the Central and Lower
Duâb. A tradition runs that a Chauhân being sorely pressed by his
son-in-law, and smarting under the sense of disgrace, as the father of
a married daughter seemed to entail upon him, called together his son
and bound them by an oath to save his family from future contempt by
killing every female child that might be born to them. Since then the
sept has borne an evil reputation for the practice of infanticide.
[224]
[Traditions of other branches.] 4. One family in Lucknow are called
Rakhula, because it is said that one of them had to lay an evil spirit,
a Brahma Râkshasa, before he could occupy the village. Another story is
that this family had a Churel as their ancestress. [225] In Mathura
[226] the sept is classed as pure, because they do not allow
widow-marriage. The Bareilly [227] branch say that ten generations back
(1500–1550 A.D.), Nandhar Deva and Gandhar Deva came to Parauli in
Budâun, and thence moving on expelled the Bhîls from Bisauli. The
Gorakhpur branch are alleged by Dr. Buchanan [228] to have intermarried
with impure Hill tribes, and to have a Chinese caste of features. In
Bulandshahr [229] one branch accepted Islâm as they murdered the
Muhammadan Governor of Sikandarâbâd, and another adopted
widow-marriage, and have been expelled from the tribe. The legitimate
Azamgarh branch traces its origin to Sambhal, in the Morâdâbâd
District. [230]
[Inferior branches of the sept.] 5. In addition to the above, who claim
legitimate descent, there are others whose position is more than
doubtful. Such are those in Morâdâbâd and Bijnor, some of whom say they
were originally Gahlot, others Gaur, Bais, Pânwâr, and so on. [231]
They appear to be divided into three classes—Chaudhari, Padhân, and
Khâgi. The last of these are the lowest, widow-marriage being permitted
among them. The Chaudhari do not give their daughters to the Padhân,
but take theirs.
They, as a rule, worship Mahâdeva and Devi. In Morâdâbâd, by one
account, they take their name from chûha, “a rat,” which would connect
them with distinctly non-Aryan races like the Musahar. They are said to
have been driven into the Sub-Himalayan Tarâi by the advancing Thâkurs
and Ahars. Similar and probably akin to these are the Aswâl of the
hill, who also claim Chauhân origin. [232]
[Marriage rules.] 6. To the west of the Province the true Chauhâns
usually seek alliances for their daughters with the Kachhwâha,
Badhauriya, Baghel, and Râthaur, and the humble Chauhân will take a
wife from the Parihâr of Bundelkhand or the Jâdon of Karauli. In Râê
Bareli their sons marry Bisen girls, and their girls Kalhans and
Burheliya youths. In Faizâbâd they marry their sons to Bais and Gautam
girls and their daughters to the Panwâr, Chamar Gaur, Sûrajbans, and
Raikwâr. Their ancestor is said to have married a Kalhans maiden. From
Bulandshahr it is reported that the Chauhâns give brides to the Panwâr,
Râthaur, Gahlot, Tilokchandi Bais, Kachhwâha, Sisodiya, and other high
class Râjputs; and marry Bargûjar, Pundîr, Katheriya, Bâchhal, Gahlot,
and other high caste Râjput girls. In Unâo they usually marry their
girls in the Kachhwâha, Râthaur, Janwâr, Gahlot, or Panwâr septs, and
their sons to the Sombansi, Sakarwâre, or Chandel. In Gonda they give
brides to the Bhadauriya, Sengar, Râthaur, or Bisen: their sons to the
Bais, Bisen or other respectable Râjput septs. The bastard Chauhâns
marry much lower caste people. [233]