Chauhan Gotra
चौहान
At a glance
Related Gotras
Common surnames
About
Chauhan (Chahamana) is a Rajput clan that ruled from Sambhar and Ajmer, then Delhi, and later from Ranthambore, Nadol, Jalor, Bundi, Kota and Sirohi. Bardic tradition counts it among the Agnivanshi clans made by Vasishtha at Mount Abu. The clan's own twelfth-century inscriptions give other origins, including a Brahmin ancestor of the Vatsa gotra. The kuldevi in Rajput tradition is Ashapura (Asapuri), linked with Shakambhari of Sambhar. Branches differ in gotra and kuldevi.
Founding Rishi
Pravara Lineage
The Pravara is the line of illustrious ancestral rishis recited in ritual, from the first ancestor down:
Regional Spread
The Chauhan Gotra is predominantly found in:
Etymology
Chauhan is the later spoken form of Chahamana, the name used in the clan's inscriptions, also written Chahuvana. The bardic account in Tod's translation derives it from the four-armed (Chaturbhuja) or four-limbed (chaturanga) figure that Vasishtha raised from the fire-pit. That is a popular etymology. The inscriptions give the ancestor Chahamana a different birth: Ratnapala's plates say he was born from the eye of Indra, and the Prithvirajavijaya says he came from the orb of the sun.
Historical Journey
Three accounts of origin are on record. The bardic one, found in the later recensions of the Prithviraj Raso, says Vasishtha made four warriors from a fire-pit on Mount Abu, and the fourth, Chahuvana, succeeded where the Parihar, Chalukya and Paramara had failed. Dasharatha Sharma (Early Chauhan Dynasties) argued that the fire-origin story first appears for the Paramaras, in the Navasahasankacharita of about 1000 CE, and was later borrowed for the Chauhans; the oldest surviving manuscript of the Raso does not contain it. The Chauhans' own records say otherwise. The Bijolia inscription of 1170 CE calls their early ancestor Samanta a Brahmin born in the Vatsa gotra at Ahichchhatrapura. Other records claim birth from Indra's eye or from the sun, and a later Ajmer inscription claims solar descent. D. R. Bhandarkar argued for a foreign priestly origin. Sharma rejected that and placed the clan's early home in Sapadalaksha, the country around Sambhar. The early line is known from inscriptions. Vasudeva is the first name, dated 551 CE by the later Prabandhakosha, a date that is uncertain. The earliest dated record is the Harsha inscription of 973 CE, in the reign of Vigraharaja II. Vakpatiraja I (about 917 to 944) took the title Maharaja, and his son Lakshmana founded the Nadol line. Ajayaraja II, about 1100, is credited with founding Ajmer. Vigraharaja IV (Visaladeva, about 1150 to 1164) took Delhi from the Tomaras and wrote the play Harikeli. His nephew Prithviraj III (reigned 1177 to 1192) beat Muhammad of Ghor at Tarain in 1191 and was defeated and killed there in 1192. His descendants kept Ranthambore until Hammiradeva died there in 1301, in Alauddin Khalji's siege. Tod lists twenty-four branches (sakha) of the Chauhans. The best known are the Hara of Bundi and Kota, the Deora of Sirohi, the Sonigira of Jalor, the Khichi of Gagron, and the Chauhans of Sanchor. Tod dates Rao Dewa's taking of Bundi from the Minas to 1342 CE; other accounts give earlier dates. Russell notes that the Bhadauria and Nikumbh clans are also given as Chauhan offshoots.
Migration & Diaspora
After the defeat of 1192 the main line moved. The Ghurids set up Prithviraj's son Govindaraja at Ajmer as a vassal; he later settled at Ranthambore, which Alauddin Khalji took in 1301. Tod traces the Hara branch to Ishtpal, who left Hansi (Asi) in 1025 CE for Asir, and then through Bhainsror and Bumbaoda to Bundi. The Nadol branch ruled in the Pali area from the tenth century and gave rise to the Jalor line, whose last great defence against Alauddin ended in 1311. Crooke records Chauhan settlements in the Mainpuri area of the Ganges-Jumna Doab from the twelfth or thirteenth century, and others in Oudh. Later ruling houses are recorded in Sambalpur, Patna and Sonepur (Odisha), Korea (Chhattisgarh), Raghogarh (Madhya Pradesh), Vav (Gujarat) and Dhami (Himachal Pradesh).
Presence Across Regions
Rajasthan
Rajput
The original homeland: Sambhar, Ajmer, Nadol, Jalor, Ranthambore. Later houses ruled Bundi, Kota and Sirohi. The Hara live mainly in Hadoti, the Deora around Sirohi and Abu, the Songara around Jalor and Sanchor.
Uttar Pradesh and the Ganges-Jumna Doab
Rajput
Crooke describes Chauhan settlements around Mainpuri, Etawah and Oudh whose families trace descent to the Delhi house after 1192. Russell calls the Chauhans numerous in the Punjab and United Provinces.
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
Rajput
Russell records Chauhans in Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad and Mandla in the early twentieth century. Former ruling houses include Raghogarh in Madhya Pradesh and Korea in Chhattisgarh.
Odisha
Rajput
Chauhan houses ruled Sambalpur, Patna and Sonepur, and are listed under the Chauhan clan on Wikipedia. How they trace the link to the Rajasthan clan was not checked.
Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab
Rajput
Smaller houses and village clans include Vav in Gujarat and Dhami in Himachal Pradesh. Delhi was Prithviraj III's last capital.
Other communities
Gujjar, Jat and others
Chauhan is also a clan or family name among some Gujjar and Jat families. This page describes the Rajput clan only.
Notable Personalities
Vigraharaja IV (Visaladeva)
12th century
Took Delhi from the Tomaras and extended Chauhan rule between the Aravalli hills and Hissar. He wrote the play Harikeli Nataka.
Prithviraj III
Reigned 1177 to 1192
Last Chauhan ruler of Ajmer and Delhi, nephew of Vigraharaja IV. He defeated Muhammad of Ghor at Tarain in 1191 and was defeated and killed there in 1192. The Prithvirajavijaya and Britannica give the outline; the Prithviraj Raso adds later bardic detail.
Hammiradeva of Ranthambore
c. 1283 to 1301
Last Chahamana ruler of Ranthambore. He died fighting when Alauddin Khalji took the fort in 1301. The Hammira Mahakavya of Nayachandra Suri is the main source, written about a century later.
Kanhadadeva of Jalor
c. 1292 to about 1311
Songara ruler of Jalor, remembered for holding out against Alauddin Khalji's army for years. The fort fell in 1311. Dasharatha Sharma names him with Sataladeva as examples of Hindu resistance to Delhi.
Rao Dewa (Deva) Hara
14th century (1342 CE in Tod)
Credited by Tod with taking the Bundi valley from the Minas, founding Bundi and giving the country the name Haravati.
Stories & Legends
The fire-pit at Mount Abu
In the bardic story, as Tod translated it from Chand Bardai, daityas defiled the sages' sacrifice on Mount Abu. Vasishtha raised Parihar, Chalukya and Paramara from the fire-pit and none could drive the demons off. He then raised a fourth, four-armed figure, who became the Chauhan. Shakti, riding a lion, blessed him and promised as Asapurna, the fulfiller of hope, to hear his prayer. Historians treat this as a later bardic tale rather than the clan's recorded origin.
Lakshmana and the horses of Nadol
The Puratanaprabandhasangraha and Nainsi's Khyat, as summarised by Dasharatha Sharma, tell how Lakshmana, son of Vakpatiraja I, left Sambhar with a few companions and guarded the town of Nadol against Med raiders. Wounded and low in spirits, he was told by his tutelary goddess that a convoy of storm-driven horses would enter the town and that saffron water would change their colour. It happened, and he gained thousands of horses. He is said to have built the temple of his family goddess at the entrance of his palace. Later tradition at Nadol names that goddess Ashapura.
Ritual Significance
Gotra: the documented claim is Vatsa. The Bijolia inscription of 1170 CE and the Sundha hill inscription of 1262 CE both name Vatsa for the Chahamanas, and the bard's gotracharya in Tod gives "Vacha" gotra (read as Vatsa) with five pravaras, from the Bhrigu line. The pravara above is the Vatsa gotra's. Many present-day Chauhan families instead name Vasishtha, the sage of the Agnikula legend, and the site's search index lists Vasishtha; branches differ. Tod's gotracharya names the Sama Veda and the Madhwani sakha (read as Madhyandina); the Vatsa page here has the Yajurveda. Kuldevi, in Rajput tradition: Ashapura (Asapuri, Asapurna), regarded as a form of Shakambhari of Sambhar. Sharma, summarising the Prithvirajavijaya, mentions the Sapadalaksha king returning to Sakambhari at Navaratri to worship his family goddess Asapuri. Her main shrine is at Nadol in Pali district, traditionally dated to Lakshmana's time; there is also a shrine at Modran near Jalor, and Tod places the Hara tutelary shrine at Satur near Bundi. Other Chauhan families name Shakambhari, whose temples are at Sambhar and Sakrai. The family deity of the early Chauhans at Ananta, near Sikar, was Harshadeva (Harshanatha, a form of Shiva), per Sharma. Tod's bardic gotracharya also names Ambika-Bhavani, Kalbhairon and Achaleshwar Mahadeva of Abu. Which of these a family honours depends on its branch and village.