==============+=======
Districts. |Number.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
Mathura | 12
Agra | 46
Farrukhâbâd | 3,326
Mainpuri | 578
Etâwah | 389
Etah | 1,900
Budâun | 105
Morâdâbâd | 8
Shâhjahânpur | 269
Pilibhît | 164
Cawnpur | 2,162
Fatehpur | 118
Bânda | 433
Hamîrpur | 317
Allahâbâd | 4,013
Jhânsi | 17
Jâlaun | 219
Lalitpur | 19
Benares | 846
Mirzapur | 20,249
Jaunpur | 1,901
Ghâzipur | 6,583
Ballia | 693
Gorakhpur | 892
Basti | 369
Azamgarh | 260
Lucknow | 1,065
Unâo | 1,176
Râê Bareli | 509
Sîtapur | 360
Hardoi | 2,429
Kheri | 178
Faizâbâd | 2
Gonda | 120
Bahrâich | 32
Sultânpur | 1,076
Partâbgarh | 611
Bâra Banki | 131
+~~~~~~~
Total | 53,477
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
Gahlot.—A sept of Râjputs also known as Sisodiya and Ahariya. One
derivation of the name Gahlot is from Sanskrit guha, “a cave.” It is
said that when the ancestors of the Râna of Mewâr were expelled from
Gujarât, one of the queens named Pushpavati found refuge among the
Brâhmans of the Maliya mountains: she was shortly after delivered of a
son, whom she called from the cave (guha) in which he was born, by the
name of Gahlot. Others derive the name from gahla, “a slave girl,” in
allusion to their supposed descent. One derivation of the name Sisodiya
is Siva sudhiya, “a devotee of the god Siva;” another is from sîsa,
“lead” as one of the tribe once drank melted lead with impunity. A
third is from sasa or sussa “a hare,” which is supposed to have been
the tribal totem. But it seems safer to regard the name as a local
appellation, derived from the town of Sisodha, the first home of the
sept, as Ahariya is taken from the town of Anandpur Ahâr, near Udaypur.
The name Gahlot was changed to Ahariya when the sept migrated to
Nagindra. The throne of Chithor was recovered in 1201 A.D. by Bharat,
who was succeeded by Rakûp. Two great changes were introduced by this
prince—the first in the title of the sept to Sisodiya; the other in
that of its prince from Râwal to Râna.
2. According to Colonel Tod [386] they migrated from Kosala under Kanak
Sen, and became rulers of Ballabhi and Gajni, from which the last
prince Siladitya was expelled by Parthian invaders in the 6th century.
“A posthumous son of his, Grahaditya, obtained a petty sovereignty at
Edar. A change was marked by his name becoming the patronymic, and
Grahilaut or Gahlot designated the Sûryavansa of Râma. With reverses
and migrations from the wilds of Edar to Ahâr, near the modern Udaypur,
the Gahlot was changed to Ahâriya, by which name the race continued to
be designated till the 12th century, when the elder brother, Rakûp,
abandoned his claim to the throne of Chithor, obtained by force of arms
from the Mori, and settled at Dungarpur, which they yet hold, as well
as the title Ahâriya; while the younger, Mahûp, established the seat of
power at Sisodha, whence Sisodiya set aside both Ahâriya and Gahlot.”
There seems to have been always a prejudice against the tribe, and in
ancient times they had a reputation for cowardice. Their name has been
identified with the Gallitalutæ of Ptolemy’s lists. [387]
[The Gahlots of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh.] 3. One branch of
so-called Gahlots, who are now known as Chirâr, were in the service of
the Râja of Mainpuri, but their claims to pure Gahlot blood are not
admitted. In Farrukhâbâd [388] the sept claims to have come from
Chithor. Govind Râo, the founder of the colony, is said to have come
with Prithivi Râja, the Delhi prince, in his expedition against Jay
Chand of Kanauj, and to have received one hundred and eighty villages
in this and the neighbourhood of Cawnpur as a reward for the valour he
displayed. From him they have preserved a pedigree down to the modern
representative of the sept; but this shows but thirteen or fourteen
generations from Govind Râo, while it would require over forty years a
generation to make him a contemporary of Prithivi Râja. It is most
probable that some names have dropped out of the list. In Unâo [389]
the sept were emigrants in the time of Aurangzeb and dispersed the
original Kori inhabitants. In Mathura [390] they are classed as pure,
because they do not practise widow-marriage. The families there call
themselves Sâh, Chaudhari, and Râo. In Bulandshahr [391] they are
supposed to have given their name to the town of Gulâothi. In Cawnpur
[392] they are said to have turned out the Gaurs from Pargana Bilhaur,
where their territory acquired unenviable notoriety which gave rise to
the name Tisâh or “three harvests”—kharîf, rabi, and plunder. They have
a very remarkable legend that Partâp Chand Gahlot, the conqueror of
Chithor, was married to a daughter or grand-daughter of the famous
Nausherwân, and hence the tradition that the Rânas of Udaypur are of
Persian descent.
4. In Sultânpur they are reported to take brides from the Bilkhariya,
Tashaiya, Chandauriya, Kath Bais, Bhâlê Sultân, Raghubansi, Gargbansi,
Râjkumâr, Bachgoti, and Bandhalgoti; to receive brides from Tilokchandi
Bais, Mainpuri Chauhâns, Sûrajbansis of Mahul, Gautams of Nagar, and
Bisens of Majhauli. In Bulandshahr they receive brides from the
Chauhân, Bargûjar, Pundîr, Panwâr, Solankhi, Tomar, Bhatti, and
Râthaur, and give brides to the Dhâkrê, Chauhân, Bâchhal, Kachhwâha,
Bargûjar, and Tomar. They call their gotra Sûrajbansi Sanoha of Chithor
and Udaypur. In Unâo they usually marry their daughters to the
Kachhwâha, Râthaur, Chandel, and Panwâr; and select wives from the
Chauhân, Dikhit, Parihâr, Chandel, and Sengar septs. In Ballia they
take brides from the Donwâr, Sengar, Karchhuliya, Banâphar, Raghubansi,
Kâkan, Bhrigubansi, Barhauliya, Ujjaini, Sombansi, and Kinwâr. They
give brides to the Raghubansi, Nikumbh, Kausik, Sûrajbansi, Gautam,
Drigbansi, Maunas, Sirnet, Râjkumâr, Jâdon, and Baghel septs. In Agra
they claim to belong to the Kasyapa gotra.