Padmagupta's legend appears to be based on a similar story mentioned in
Balakanda of the
Ramayana (1:53:18 — 1:54:3). In this story, Vishvamitra (initially a Kshatriya) snatches Vashistha's
Kamadhenu cow (called "Shabala"). With Vashistha's permission, the cow creates the non-Indo-Aryan warriors who defeat Vishvamitra's army. These warriors include the
Barbaras, the
Kambojas, the
Pahlavas, the
Shakas, and the
Yavanas. The
Mahabharata repeats this legend with some variations. In this version, the stolen cow (called "Nandini") retaliates by creating the various
mleccha tribes from different parts of her body. Seeing the power of the Brahmin Vashistha, Vishvamitra decides to become a Brahmin as well. Some
colonial-era historians interpreted the Agnikula myth to suggest a foreign origin for the Agnivanshi Rajputs. According to this theory, the foreign ancestors of these Rajputs came to India after the decline of the
Gupta Empire around 5th century. They were admitted in the
Hindu caste system after performing a fire ritual.
James Tod, who relied on bardic legends, was the first to propose this theory. He speculated that the Agnivashi Rajputs, who were of "good-stature and fair", could not have descended from the "dark, diminutive and ill-favoured" aboriginal natives of India. He proposed that their ancestors were
Scythians and other groups residing beyond the
Hindu Kush mountains.
A. M. T. Jackson proposed a similar theory, but argued that the Rajputs had originated from
Gurjars, who according to him, came to India as part of invading hordes. The basis for his theory was the Agnivanshi myth, and the prevalence of surnames such as Pavar (Parmar) and Chavan (Chauhan) among Gurjars. The theory was further supported by other British scholars as well as some Indian scholars, such as
D. R. Bhandarkar.
William Crooke theorised that the demons referred to in the Agnikula legend were
Buddhist rivals of the Brahmins. He argued that the Kshatriya descent was based on status rather than descent, and therefore
Brahmins conducted a purification or initiation fire ritual to raise the status of foreign warriors who helped them repress the Buddhists. The foreign-origin theory has been criticised by several later scholars.
Alf Hiltebeitel states that the colonial historians saw the foreign-origin theory as a way of justifying their own colonial invasion. R. B. Singh criticises Indian supporters of the theory for having failed to see the "subtle game" of the colonial historians. Hiltebeitel argues that the
Ramayana story cannot be the origin of the Agnikula myth, because it has nothing to do with birth from fire. There are other mythological legends involving sages and birth of warriors, which do not support the foreign-origin theory. For example, the
Ramayana also mentions that Vashistha and
Rishyasringa performed a ceremony that resulted in the birth of
Rama and his three brothers. The
Pratisarga-Parvan of
Bhavishya Purana mentions a legend according to which the Brahmins destroyed the mlecchas by pulling them into a sacrificial fire pit (rather than creating them from it). Besides, the fire-origin legend is not unique to the Rajputs. There are several south Indian legends of fire-born dynasties and communities: • The
Tamil work
Purananuru, which predates the Paramaras, mentions a fire-born chief: the ruler of Tuvarai (identified with
Dvārakā). This ruler, who was an ancestor of Pulikatimal
Irunkovel of Arayam, came out of "the sacrificial fire-pit of the
Rishi". • An inscription issued during the reign of
Kulothunga Chola III (r. c. 1178–1218) also mentions a fire-born legend. According to it, the
Surutiman ("left-hand") castes were created from the
agni-kunda (fire pit) to protect the sacrificial ceremony of the sage
Kashyapa. They migrated from
Antarvedi to the Chola country as attendants of migrant Brahmins, during the reign of the emperor Arindama. • The legends of the
Telugu speaking castes
Balijas (including their offshoots
Kavarais and Janappans / Yaga Kshatriyas) and
Togatas claim that their ancestors were born from sacrificial fire-pits. • The
Vanniyar community has historical legends from 17th century copper plates and temple inscriptions that their ancestor Rudra Vanniya Maharaja (or Vira-Vanniyan) was born from the flames of a fire sacrifice, *An inscription issued during the reign of
Kulothunga Chola III mentions the Pannattars (Palli-Nattars) of 79 Nadus as those who emerged from the sacrifice of Sambu Maharishi and those who were entrusted to guard the capital of the Cholas. This sacrifice was performed by the sage Sambu to ward off the demons Vatapi and Mahi. Vira-Vanniyan had four sons, and he defeated the demons with the help of the goddess
Durga. Certain Merchant and Artisan castes have fire born myths as well. . . • The 15th century Tamil
Mahabharata of Villiputtur Alvar makes three references to Agnivanshi (fire),
Suryavanshi (solar) and
Chandravanshi (lunar) dynasties. One particular segment describes the
Chola king as from the solar dynasty, the
Pandyan king as from the lunar dynasty and the
Chera king as from the fire dynasty. The more ancient
Silappatikaram alludes to the
solar ancestry of the Cholas and the
lunar ancestry of the Pandyas, but remains silent on the ancestry of the Cheras. The
Tiruvilayatar Puranam (or
Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam), possibly from the 17th century, repeats the Villiputtur Alvar's account. Hiltebeitel notes that the common theme among all these "fire-origin" legends is not the theft of a cow: rather, it is the creation of a new order of Kshatriyas (as opposed to the traditional
solar and
lunar Kshatriyas mentioned in the ancient sources). Hiltebeitel further theorises that the Agnikula myth is of south Indian origin, and may have been transmitted to northern India by the feudatories of the
Pallavas and the
Chalukyas. He suggests that the Tamil-language
Silappatikaram legend is "an Agnikula myth waiting to be realized". It mentions solar and lunar ancestry of the Cholas and Pandyas respectively, but remains silent on the ancestry of the Cheras. According to a legend in this text, after the destruction of the Chola and the Pandya capitals (the latter by
agni or fire), it is the Chera king who redeems the royals by establishing the worship of
Kannagi. Besides the south Indian legends of fire-origin, Hiltebeitel also connects the
Chaulukyas (Solanki Rajputs) to the south Indian
Chalukyas of Kalyani in his support. Before the popularisation of the Agnikula myth, both these dynasties claimed origin from
Brahma's
chaluka (folded palm or water-pot). The
Guhilot Rajputs of
Mewar as well as the Chaulukyas of Gujarat are known to have employed Brahmins from Deccan for fabricating their myths of origin.
D. C. Sircar also suggested that the Paramara court poet Padmagupta might also have been a native of southern India. According to Paramara inscriptions, his patron
Vakpati Munja had achieved military successes in southern India. According to K. N. Seth, the foreign-origin theory is weakened by the fact that the Agnikula legend is not mentioned in the earliest of the Paramara records (such as the
Harsola copper plates). Moreover, the earliest Paramara-era accounts do not mention the other Rajput clans as fire-born. The early Chauhan dynasties were centered around
Ajmer-
Pushkar region, and their association with Mount Abu is a later invention. R. B. Singh argues that if the ancestors of Rajputs were the Indo-Aryan natives of north-western India, Tod's claim of stark differences between the appearances of the Scythians and the natives is misleading, as both the groups have
Indo-European origins. == References ==