Titles of Mewar Chiefs : descent from the Sun. These are
styled Ranas, and are the elder branch of the Suryavansi, or
' children of the sun.' Another patronymic is Raghuvansi,
derived from a predecessor of Rama, the focal point of each scion
of the solar race. To him, the conqueror of Lanka, the genea-
logists endeavour to trace the solar lines. The titles of many of
these claimants are disputed ; but the Hindu tribes yield unani-
mous suffrage to the prince of Mewar as the legitimate heir to
the throne of Rama, and style him Hindua Suraj, or ' Sun of the
Hindus.' He is universally allowed to be the first of the ' thirty-
six royal tribes ' ; nor has a doubt ever been raised respecting
his purity of descent. Many of these tribes ' have been swept
away by time ; and the genealogist, who abhors a vacuum in his
mystic page, fills up their place with others, mere scions of some
ancient but forgotten stem.
name was Kausalya.^ The first royal emigrant from tlie north The country of which Ayodhya (now Oudh) was the capital,
and Rama monarch, is termed, in the geographical writings of the
Hindus, Kosala ; doubtless from the mother of Rama, whose
is styled, in the Rana's archives, Kosala-putra, ' son of Kosala.'
Rama had two sons, Lava and Kusa :
from the former the Rana's family claim descent. He is stated
to have built Lahore, the ancient Lohkot ; and the branch from
which the princes of Mewar are descended resided there until
Kanaksen emigrated to Dwarka. The difficulty of tracing these
races through a long period of years is greatly increased by the
custom of changing the appellation of the tribe, from conquest,
locality, or personal celebrity. Sen seems to have been the
martial termination for many generations : this was followed by
Dit, or Aditya, a term for the ' sun.' The first change in the
name of the tribe was on their expulsion from Saurashtra, when
for the generic term of Suryavansi was substituted the particular
appellation of Guhilot. This name was maintained till another
event dispersed the family, and when they settled in Ahar,
Aharya became the appellative of the branch. This continued
till loss of territory and new acquisitions once more transferred
the dynasty to Sesoda.
This descendant of one hundred kings use to shows himself in cloudy weather
from the surya-gaukhra, or ' balcony of the sun.'from the Udaipur city Palace.
