Editing Rajput (section)

===''Rājaputra''===
The word ''Rājaputra'' ({{Langx|sa|राजपुत्र}}; literally "son of a king") finds mention in some ancient [[Hindu]] scriptures like the ''[[Rigveda]]'', ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Mahabharata]]''.{{sfn|Rima Hooja|2006|p=181}} According to Sabita Singh, the word first appears in a sense other than its literal meaning in the 7th century [[Bakhshali manuscript]] from [[North-West Frontier Province|NWFP]] in reference to a mercenary soldier, while in the 8th century [[Chachnama]] of [[Sindh]], it is used for elite horsemen.<ref name=sab>{{cite book|title=The Politics of Marriage in India Gender and Alliance in Rajasthan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bSmDwAAQBAJ&dq=Chachnama+rajput&pg=PT22
|isbn=9780199098286|author=Sabita Singh| date=27 May 2019 |page=2|publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=Deeply set in the minds of historians of all hues is the association of medieval Rajasthan with the Rajputs. This is so deeply set indeed that one tends to forget that the earliest reference to the ''Rajputra'', in  a sense other than that of a prince, comes not from the records of Rajasthan, but occurs in the Bakhshali manuscript (seventh century) from North West Frontier Province, in the sense of mercenary soldier and as Irfan Habib points out in the ''Chachnama'' (eighth century) of Sind, in the sense of an elite horsemen.}}</ref> A late 11th century inscription from [[Mount Abu]] talks of "all the ''rājaputras'' of the illustrious ''Rājaputra'' clan".{{sfn|Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya|1994|p=83|loc="a Mt. Abu inscription of the late eleventh century speaks of ‘all the ''rājaputras'' of the illustrious ''Rājaputra'' clan.}} In [[Kalhana]]'s ''[[Rajatarangini|Rājatarangiṇī]]'' (12th century), the ''rājaputras'' appear as mercenary soldiers claiming high status on account of birth.<ref>
*{{cite book|editor=J.S. Grewal |year=2005 |title=The State and Society in Medieval India  |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=148 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LKkBJyKdoZ8C&q=The%20State%20and%20Society%20in%20Medieval%20India |isbn=0195667204|quote=Somadeva's Kathāsaritsāgara, composed in Kashmir between 1063 and 1081, shows the rājaputras as mercenary soldiers of some status. There is much evidence to the same effect in Kalhana's Rājatarangini (1149-50), the great history of Kashmir. In an early reference, relating to an incident of the eighth century, the rājaputra could be both a prince and a notable warrior. But early in the eleventh century, the sense of warrior is clear. The rājaputras lead the Kashmiri army sent to assist Shahi Trilochanapāla against Mahmud of Ghazni. A rājaputra is said to be one who has his pay and carries arms, and must therefore be loyal to his master...The rājaputras began to form a loose federation of castes well before the twelfth century in a manner characteristic of the Indian social system. Kalhana regards them as immigrants into Kashmir, one of them coming from as far as Champa (eastern Bihar). And yet they had begun to claim a very high position on account of their birth. Kalhana refers to 'those Rājaputras, Anantapāla and the rest, who claim descent from the thirty-six families, and who in their pride would not concede a higher position to the sun himself'.}}
*{{cite journal|last=Wink|first=Andre |year=2002 |title=The Mahārājas of India |publisher=Brill.com |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004483002/B9789004483002_s009.xml?rskey=O3hW42&result=1 |journal=Al-Hind, Volume 1 Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th-11th Centuries |pages=219–358 |doi=10.1163/9789004483002_009 |isbn=978-90-04-48300-2 |quote=Page 232 — The earliest extant and most important of these chronicles is the ''Rājatarangiṇī'' or 'Stream of Kings', compiled by Kalhana in about 1150 A.D.<br> Page 239 — Royal troops are then regularly seen engaging in expeditions against various ''dāmara'' chiefs. The mainstay of these royal troops were evidently the 'Rājaputras' and other mercenaries from outside of Kashmir, whose 'bravery' Kalhana contrasts with the conspicuous 'cowardice' of the ''dāmara'' and the rest of the Kashmirian population.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> An inscription from [[Chittor]] (1301) mentions three generations of ''rājaputras''.{{sfn|Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya|1994|p=83|loc="A Chitor inscription of AD 1301 mentions three generations of ''rājaputras'',..}}

B.D Chattopadhyay says that according to the references to ''rajputras'' in medieval and early medieval sources, they represent a mixed caste that constituted a large section of "petty chiefs holding estates".{{sfn|Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya|1994|p=62|ps=:If the early medieval and medieval references to rajputras in general are taken into account, they represent a mixed caste and constituted a fairly large sections of petty chiefs holding estates.}}
Thus, the ''Rajputra'' covers all levels from the actual son of a king to the lowest level landholder.{{sfn|Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya|1994|p=83|ps=:It is understandable then that among the ruling elites, rajputra covered a wide range, from the actual son of a king to the lowest ranking landholder.}} The term is used for a prince under the [[Chahamana]]s but for the lowest ranking "fief" holder under the [[Chalukya]]s.<ref>{{cite book|quote=Irfan Habib says: ''Rajaputras'', for example is used for a prince under Cahamanas, but for the lowest ranking "fief" holder under the Chalukyas. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oh7ICQAAQBAJ&dq=rajaputra+irfan+habib&pg=PT106 |title=Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500BCE to 1740CE |year=2015 |author=Kaushik Roy |isbn=978-1317586913 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref>