About Kushwaha

The Kushwaha (or Kauchhwaha) belong to the Suryavanshi lineage, descent from the Surya (Sun Dynasty) of the ancient Kshatriyas. Specifically, descent from Kusha younger of the twin sons of Rama, hero of the Ramayana, to whom patrilineal descent from Surya is in turn ascribed. Indeed, the name Kushwaha is held by many to be a patronymic derived from the name "Kusha". However, it has been suggested that Kushwaha is a diminutive of the Sanskrit conjoint word 'Kachhahap-ghata' or 'Tortoise-killer'; Tortoise in Sanskrit being Kashyapa, although there may be several connotations for the interpretation of these terms.

According to Vishnu Purana, bardic chronicles and popular tradition; Sumitra was the last king of this dynasty in Ayodhya. In the fourth century BC Mahapadma Nanda of Nanda Dynasty included Ayodhya in his empire and Kushwahas were forced to leave. Kurma was son of Sumitra thus migrated from their parental abode and established them self at the bank of the river Sone, where they constructed a fort called the Rohtas (Rahatas) fort.

T.H. Henley, states in his Rulers of India and the Chiefs of Rajputana (1897) that the Kushwaha clan is believed to have settled in an early era at Rohtas(Rahatas) on the Sone river in present-day Bihar. He notes however that their notable seats of power were Kutwar, Gwalior, Dubkhund, Simhapaniya and Narwar (Nalapura), all in present-day Madhya Pradesh. This second westwards migration to Madhaya Pradesh is said to have been initiated under Raja Nala, the legendary founder of Narwar.

James Tod, has recorded the view as being prevalent in his time, that the clan occupied Narwar in the 10th century and remained there until Narwar was captured by Parihara Rajputs in the 12th century, however local history suggests that the Kushwahas were in Narwar several centuries earlier than the date given by Tod's arbitrary view. Many historians aver that the Kacchapaghatas, like the Chandellas and Paramaras, originated as tributaries of the preceding powers of the region. They point out that it was only following the downfall, in the 8th-10th century, of Kannauj (the regional seat-of-power, following the break-up of Harsha's empire), that the Kacchapaghata state emerged as a principal power in the Chambal valley of present-day Madhya Pradesh. This view is largely supported by archaeological artefacts and Kacchapaghata coinage (minted in Gupta-fashion) discovered in Madya pradesh, as also by inscriptions of Gopasetra (Willis). It is interesting to note that according to popular legend, the rise of the Kachwahas in Madhya Pradesh is closely associated with Suraj/Surya Sen, a Kushwaha prince of the 8th century, whom is said to have been responsible for the building of Gwalior fort and the founding of that city. In the oldest section of Gwalior fort there still exists a sacred pond known as the Suraj-Kund It may thus be logical that the Kachwaha rule in Chambal valley predates the dates ascribed in the Sas-Bahu inscriptio