chieftain, whose capital
was at Bhinmal in Rajputana, conquered the king of Kanauj, the ruler
of what remained of the dominions of the great Harsha Vardhana, and
established himself there about A.D. 816 [555]. Kanauj was then held by
Gujar-Parihar kings till about 1090, when it was seized by Chandradeva
of the Gaharwar Rajput clan. The Parihar rulers were thus subverted
by the Gaharwars and Chandels, both of whom are thought to be derived
from the Bhars or other aboriginal tribes, and these events appear
to have been in the nature of a rising of the aristocratic section
of the indigenous residents against the Gujar rulers, by whom they
had been conquered and perhaps taught the trade of arms. After this
period the Parihars are of little importance. They appear to have
retired to Rajputana, as Colonel Tod states that Mundore, five miles
north of Jodhpur, was their headquarters until it was taken by the
Rahtors. The walls of the ruined fortress of Mundore are built of
enormous square masses of stone without cement, and attest both its
antiquity and its former strength [556]. The Parihars are scattered
over Rajputana, and a colony of them on the Chambal was characterised
as the most notorious body of thieves in the annals of Thug history
[557]. Similarly in Etawah they are said to be a peculiarly lawless
and desperate community [558]. The Parihar Rajputs rank with the
leading clans and intermarry with them. In the Central Provinces they
are found principally in Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore.

Rajput, Rathor

_Rajput, Rathor, Rathaur._--The Rathor of Jodhpur or Marwar is one
of the most famous clans of Rajputs, and that which is most widely
dominant at the present time, including as it does the Rajas of
Jodhpur, Bikaner, Ratlam, Kishengarh and Idar, as well as several
smaller states. The origin of the Rathor clan is uncertain. Colonel
Tod states that they claim to be of the solar race, but by the bards
of the race are denied this honour; and though descended from Kash, the
second son of Rama, are held to be the offspring of one of his progeny,
Kashyap, by the daughter of a Dait (Titan). The view was formerly
held that the dynasty which wrested Kanauj from the descendants of
Harsha Vardhana, and held it from A.D. 810 to 1090, until subverted
by the Gaharwars, were Rathors, but proof has now been obtained that
they were really Parihar-Gujars. Mr. Smith suggests that after the
destruction of Kanauj by the Muhammadans und