The Rajputs rose to political importance in India in ninth century. They were either descended from the Huns settled in northern India or from those tribes who had entered India together with with the Hun invaders. The Rajputs became subjects of older Hindu kingdoms and assisted them in holding back the Arab advance. Hindu princes formally accepted the barbarian Rajputs as nobles in a fire ceremony at Mount Abu in western India. Four of the Rajput clans claimed later a special status on the grounds that they decsended from a mythical figure who arose out of a vast sacrificial fire pit near Mt. Abu. The Rajput princes became subsequently the principal defenders of India against the Moslems.
According to a mythical narration, the Rajputs originated from the sacrificial fire performed by Vashistha and other saints near the Nakhi Lake on Mount Abu with a view to containing the growing strength of demons. As the narration goes, four warriors came out of the sacrificial fire and destroyed the demons. The descendants of those four warriors came to be known from their name. They are:
(1) ‘Agnikul’ (the Fire lineage): The sub-castes of this lineage are Kala, Kalam, Kher, Chavada, Chad, Mori, Mahipal, Rehvar, Survar, Hada, Solanki etc.
(2) ‘Yadaukul (the Yadava lineage): The sub-castes of the lineage comprise Jadava, Jadeja, Chudasma, Rajada, Bhati, Jat etc.
(3) ‘Suryakul (the Sun lineage): The sub-castes include Gelot, Vala, Sisodiya, Gohil, Rathod, Jodha, Vaghela.
(4) The Odak lineage: The sub-castes included Kamad, Jethwa, Chavada, Dabhi, Makwana, and Zala; these are the chief ones that first settled in Gujarat and later moved to other places. There are said to be 36 families of the Odak lineage.
The Rajput reign in Gujarat commenced from the rule of King Jaishikhari of Panchasar. In fact, detailed history of the Rajput rule over Gujarat dates back from Vallabhipur where Gujarat dates back from Vallabhipur where Bhattark was the ruler then.
Jaishikhari succeeded Bhattrak. Between the 8th and the 10th centuries of Vikarm Samvat, jaishikhari and his son Vanaraj Chavada reigned for a long time. Then came Yograj, and the last chavada king was Samantsinh. The Solanki period in Gujarat started with Mularaj Solanki’s advent to the throne. Important Solanki kings after Mulraj included Bhimev I, Sidhraj Jaisinh, Kumarpal and Tribhuvanpal-the last in the solanki dynasty. The Solanki kings of course, did not rule over the entire Gujarat as Ra Navaghan and Ra Khengar also ruled over Junagadh during that period, nevertheless, the Rajputs reigned over large parts of Gujarat and Saurashtra for a long period of nearly 500 years.
The Rajputs worked in armies as soldiers of acted as bodyguards and watchmen. They did not yield on matters or principles. Loyalty and trustworthiness were their outstanding traits.
With the passage of time the Rajputs lost their prowess mainly because of disunity among various ruling families. They could not adjust their tunes with the changing times and continued to live in false beliefs of pried and past glory and ruined themselves. The wise among them quickly learnt to adjust with changing times.
Many Rajputs have now joined the police department. Some of them, called Garasias, have become agriculturists. The Rajpurs or Kshattriyas as they are now called have created a dominant position in politics of Gujarat and have emerged as an important section of the ruling class. In olden days the Rajputs used to put on ‘Safas’, ‘Kediya’ and breeches type of trousers or ‘dhoti’ in a Marathi style. They also used to move about with swords. The attire of the Rajput women is no different from that of any other Gujarati women, except the sari that they were is comparatively shorter. There are minor variations in the matter of dress among the Rajputs of Saurashtra region and those living in other parts of Gujarat.