A #Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, 'son of a king') is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and some parts of Pakistan. They claim to be descendants of ruling #Hindu warrior classes of North India. Rajputs rose to prominence during the #6th to #12th centuries.
There are several major subdivisions of #Rajputs, known as vansh or vamsha, the step below the super-division jati.
These vansh delineate claimed descent from various sources, and the Rajput are generally considered to be divided into three primary vansh: Suryavanshi denotes descent from the solar deity Surya, Chandravanshi from the lunar deity Chandra, and Agnivanshi from the fire deity Agni.
Lesser-noted vansh include Udayvanshi, Rajvanshi, and Rishivanshi. The histories of the various vanshs were later recorded in documents known as vanshaavaliis.
Beneath the vansh division are smaller and smaller subdivisions: kul, shakh (‘branch’), khamp or khanp (‘twig’), and nak (‘twig tip’). Marriages within a kul are generally disallowed (with some flexibility for kul-mates of different gotra lineages).
The kul serves as primary identity for many of the Rajput clans, and each kul is protected by a family goddess, the kuldevi.
#Muslim Rajputs or Musalman Rajpoots are the descendants of Rajputs in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam.[1] They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period onwards, creating various dynasties and states while retaining Hindu surnames such as Chauhan.[2][3][4] Today, Muslim Rajputs can be found mostly in present-day Northern India and Pakistan.[5] They are further divided into different clans