Rajputs of Nepal

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This article is about the Rajput community of Nepal. For the mainstream community in North India, see
Rajputs
.
Rajputs of Nepal
Total population
46,577[1]
Regions with significant populations
   Nepal
Languages
Maithili, Bhojpuri
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Chathariya Shrestha, Thakuris, Maithils and other Indo-Aryan peoples

Rajputs of Nepal (Nepali: नेपालका राजपुत) or anciently Rajputras (Nepali: राजपुत्र) are Rajput Kshatriya community of Nepal.

There were various historical groups of

Indo-Gangetic plain were routinely invited by the Mallas of the Kathmandu valley and a new noble class of courtiers, presently called "Thakoo/Thakur" and part of the Chatharīya Srēstha caste, were developed from the descendants of the plain Rajputs in the Malla court.[9] The Shah court also heavily favored Rajputs as legal regulations in the Kingdom of Nepal were inclined to them making them one of the Hindu high caste in the Tagadhari group[10] and a faction not permitted to be enslaved in Nepal.[11]

Some writers are of the opinion that the Rajputs of Nepal, are of spurious descent and many families claimed Rajput descent for political purposes.[12]

Legends and Chronicles

Amshuvarma respectively. [3] Similarly, the Lichchavi inscription of Sanga mentions the name of Rajputra Vikramasena who was a Dandanayaka (judge).[3] The Lichchavi inscription of Deopatan mentions Rajputra Shurasena as well as the inscriptions of Adeshwar mention the names of Rajputra Nandavarma, Rajputra Jishnuvarma and Rajputra Bhimavarma.[3] Thus, historian Dhanavajra Vajracharya concludes that Rajputra of Kshatriya ranks were found abundantly in the topmost position in the Lichchavi court.[3]
The Baleshwar Inscription of King Krachalla (or Krachalla Deva) of
Buddhist Jina family of hill Rajput background.[15] The inscription mentions his two regional chiefs (Mandalikas) as Rawat Rajas.[15]

Saka Era
1612

Few groups of

Muhammad Ghori.[6] Historian John T Hitchcock and John Whelpton contends that the regular invasions by Muslims led to heavy influx of Rajputs with Brahmins from the 12th century.[20][21]

The Hindu immigrants including Rajputs were mixed into the

Chaubise rajya (24 principalities) in Gandaki region. These Baise and Chaubise kingdoms were ruled by Rajputs and several decentralized tribal polities.[7]
Historian and Jesuit Ludwig Stiller contends that the Rajput intervention to the political affairs of Khas Malla Kingdom was significant reason behind the disintegration of the kingdom and he further conjectures:

Though they were relatively few in number, they were of higher caste, warriors and of a temperament that quickly gained them the ascendancy in the princedoms in the

Jumla Kingdom, their effect on the kingdom was centrifugal.

— Ludwig Stiller's "The Rise of House of Gorkha"[7]

After the Rajput immigration in Western Nepal,

Nepal valley were of patrilineal "Aryan Rajput" descent and matrilineal aboriginal descent.[24] He further contends that the royal house of Gorkha were such half-caste Rajputs.[24] Thakuris who are regarded as ruling clans of Nepal are also referred to as Rajputs.[25] Prayag Raj Sharma mentions that the Rajputs referred in the Muluki Ain (Legal Code) were Thakuris.[26]

Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana states that they were descended from Kunwar Kumbhakaran Singh, younger brother of Guhila King of Mewar, Rawal Ratnasimha. During the first siege of Chittorgarh in 1303 A.D., Kumbhakaran Singh's descendants left Mewar to north towards Himalayan foothills.[29]

History

Lichchavi Rajputras

Kathmandu, Amshuverma
(604-621 CE)

Amshuvarma respectively. [3] Similarly, the Lichchavi inscription of Sanga mentions the name of Rajputra Vikramasena who was a Dandanayaka (judge).[3] The Lichchavi inscription of Deopatan mentions Rajputra Shurasena as well as the inscriptions of Adeshwar mention the names of Rajputra Nandavarma, Rajputra Jishnuvarma and Rajputra Bhimavarma.[3] Thus, historian Dhanavajra Vajracharya concludes that Rajputra of Kshatriya ranks were found abundantly in the topmost position in the Lichchavi court.[3]

Khas Rajputs (Thakuri and Chhetri)

The Baleshwar Inscription of King Krachalla (or Krachalla Deva) of

Buddhist Jina family of hill Rajput background.[15] The inscription mentions his two regional chiefs (Mandalikas) as Rawat Rajas.[15]

Saka Era
1612

Few groups of

Muhammad Ghori.[6] Historian John T Hitchcock and John Whelpton contends that the regular invasions by Muslims led to heavy influx of Rajputs with Brahmins from the 12th century.[20][21]

The Hindu immigrants including Rajputs were mixed into the

Chaubise rajya (24 principalities) in Gandaki region. These Baise and Chaubise kingdoms were ruled by Rajputs and several decentralized tribal polities.[7]
Historian and Jesuit Ludwig Stiller contends that the Rajput intervention to the political affairs of Khas Malla Kingdom was significant reason behind the disintegration of the kingdom and he further conjectures:

Though they were relatively few in number, they were of higher caste, warriors and of a temperament that quickly gained them the ascendancy in the princedoms in the

Jumla Kingdom, their effect on the kingdom was centrifugal.

— Ludwig Stiller's "The Rise of House of Gorkha"[7]

After the Rajput immigration in Western Nepal,

Nepal valley were of patrilineal "Aryan Rajput" descent and matrilineal aboriginal descent.[24] He further contends that the royal house of Gorkha were such half-caste Rajputs.[24] Thakuris who are regarded as ruling clans of Nepal are also referred to as Rajputs.[25] Prayag Raj Sharma mentions that the Rajputs referred in the Muluki Ain (Legal Code) were Thakuris.[26]

Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana states that they were descended from Kunwar Kumbhakaran Singh, younger brother of Guhila King of Mewar, Rawal Ratnasimha. During the first siege of Chittorgarh in 1303 A.D., Kumbhakaran Singh's descendants left Mewar to north towards Himalayan foothills.[30]

Newar Rajputs (Newar
Malla, Thakurs, and Chatharīya
)

Portrait of Rajput King Jayasthiti Malla (reign 1382-1395 CE)

In 1380 A.D., the last Baish Thakuri King, Arjun Dev or Arjun Malla, was ousted by his ministers and was displaced by a Rajput King

Malla father-in-laws were given the surname Singh.[9] Thus, the Rajput families became courtiers at Nepal and created a new endogamous courtier (Bharadari=Bharo) class.[9]

Rajput influx also occurred in the 14th century with the arrival of Karnat king

Chauhan, Raithor, etc. are given the highest "Thakur/Thakoo" status, while other Chatharīyas are lesser elevated, albeit still retaining their Chatharī/Kșatriya status. These Thakurs and Chatharīyas, are nonetheless, accorded the second highest caste-status among Newars after the Rajopadhyaya Brahmins.[36]

In

Jang Bahadur Rana's caste ordering in the Muluki Ain, Chatharīyas were placed among the Tagadhari dwij-jati status of upper twice-born castes.[37] The Muluki Ain refers them as tharghar ra asal sresth pointing out to the clans/houses as being of noble descent and being a real Shrestha, the archaic honorific term.[38]

Modern era: Terai Rajputs

Today, only Madheshi/Terai Rajputs still list themselves as Rajputs in Nepal's census where as Newar and Khas Kshatriyas are counted separately. As per the 2011 Nepal census, the population of Madhesi/Terai Rajputs is reported at 41,972. The caste with the largest ratio of representation in the civil service in Nepal is, the Rajput, who have a presence in the civil service that is 5.6 times that of their presence in the population.[39]

See also

Notes

  1. Gandak river.[4] The third tradition mentions that Rajputs reached Palpa through Kumaon and Jumla.[18]
  2. Gandak river.[4] The third tradition mentions that Rajputs reached Palpa through Kumaon and Jumla.[18]

References

  1. ^ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  2. ^ a b c Pradhan 2012, p. 2.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Vajracharya 1975, p. 239.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hamilton 1819, pp. 129–132.
  5. ^ a b c Regmi 1961, p. 14.
  6. ^ a b c Todd 1950, p. 209.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Pradhan 2012, p. 3.
  8. ^ a b Acharya 1970, p. 4.
  9. ^ a b c d e Acharya 1970, p. 12.
  10. ^ "How discriminatory was the first Muluki Ain against Dalits?". 2015-08-21.
  11. ^ Regmi 1969a, p. 44.
  12. ISBN 978-81-7024-847-7
    .
  13. ^ a b c d Regmi 1973a, p. 146.
  14. ^ a b Atkinson 1884, pp. 516–518.
  15. ^ a b c d Atkinson 1884, p. 518.
  16. ^ a b Wright 1877, pp. 167–168.
  17. ^ a b Hamilton 1819, pp. 240–244.
  18. ^ a b Hamilton 1819, pp. 12–13, 15–16.
  19. ^ a b Rahul 1996, p. 77.
  20. ^ a b Hitchcock 1978, pp. 112–113.
  21. ^ a b c d Whelpton 2005, p. 10.
  22. ^ a b Pandey 1997, p. 507.
  23. ^ a b Acharya 1976a, p. 172.
  24. ^ a b c d Temple 1970, p. 138.
  25. ^ a b Gurung 1994, p. 21.
  26. ^ a b Sharma 2004, p. 133.
  27. ^ a b Regmi 1975a, p. 91.
  28. ^ a b Wright 1877, p. 285.
  29. ^ Rana, Prabhakar S. J. B.; Rana, Pashupati Shumshere Jung Bahadur; Rana, Gautam S. J. B. (2003). "THE RANAS OF NEPAL".
  30. ^ Rana, Prabhakar S. J. B.; Rana, Pashupati Shumshere Jung Bahadur; Rana, Gautam S. J. B. (2003). "THE RANAS OF NEPAL".
  31. ^ Acharya 1970, p. 11.
  32. ^ a b Acharya 1975b, p. 186.
  33. ISBN 978-0-19-827960-0
    .
  34. ^ Rosser, Colin (1966). Social Mobility in the Newar Caste System. In Furer-Haimendorf.
  35. ^ Bista, Dor Bahadur (1967). People of Nepal. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.
  36. ISBN 978-0-19-827960-0
    .
  37. ^ Bista, Dor Bahadur (1967). People of Nepal. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.
  38. ^ https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/OPSA/article/download/1133/1558 Harka Gurung; The Dalit context
  39. ^ Dhakal, Amit (11 June 2014). "निजामती सेवामा सबैभन्दा बढी प्रतिनिधित्व राजपूत, कायस्थ र तराई ब्राम्हण". Setopati. Retrieved 25 January 2018.

Sources

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