igin and divine ancestry was devised because they were once Brahmans,
and hence, in the view of the bards, of more honourable origin than
the other clans. Similarly the Badgujar clan, also of solar descent,
is shown by its name of _bara_ or great Gujar to have been simply an
aristocratic section of the Gujars; while the pedigree of the Rathors,
another solar clan, and one of those who have shed most lustre on the
Rajput name, was held to be somewhat doubtful by the Bhats, and their
solar origin was not fully admitted. Mr. Smith gives two great clans
as very probably of aboriginal or Dravidian origin, the Gaharwar
or Gherwal, from whom the Bundelas are derived, and the Chandel,
who ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, and
built the fine temples at Mahoba, Kalanjar and Khajaraho as well as
making many great tanks. This corresponds with Colonel Tod's account,
which gives no place to the Chandels among the thirty-six royal
races, and states that the Gherwal Rajput is scarcely known to his
brethren in Rajasthan, who will not admit his contaminated blood to
mix with theirs, though as a brave warrior he is entitled to their
fellowship. [468] Similarly the Kathi clan may be derived from the
indigenous Kathi tribe who gave their name to Kathiawar. And the
Surajvansi, Somvansi and Nagvansi clans, or descendants of the sun,
moon and snake, which are scarcely known in Rajputana, may represent
landholding sections of lower castes or non-Aryan tribes who have been
admitted to Rajput rank. But even though it be found that the majority
of the Rajput clans cannot boast a pedigree dating farther back than
the first five centuries of our era, this is at any rate an antiquity
to which few if any of the greatest European houses can lay claim.

4. Subdivisions of the clans

Many of the great clans are now split up into a number of branches. The
most important of these were according to locality, the different
_sachae_ or branches being groups settled in separate areas. Thus
the Chalukya or Solankhi had sixteen branches, of which the Baghels
of Rewah or Baghelkhand were the most important. The Panwars had
thirty-five branches, of which the Mori and the Dhunda, now perhaps
the Dhundele of Saugor, are the best known. The Gahlot had twenty-four
branches, of which one, the Sesodia, became so important that it has
given its name to the whole clan. The Chamar-Gaur section of the Gaur
clan now claim a higher rank than th