Deora
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deora (occasionally Devda) is the name of a branch of the Chauhan clan of rajputs in India. Rao Deoraj, a patrilineal descendant of Prithviraj Chauhan, was the progenitor of the clan. In ages past, the rulers of Chandravati, Sirohi belonged to the Deora clan.
[edit] History
The Chauhans ruled Delhi, Ajmer and surrounding areas during the era of Prithviraj Chauhan. Due to persecution at the hands of Muslim invaders, they later dispersed to many places across northern India. One group of Chauhans moved southwards to the area around the border between the present-day Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The towns of Jalore and Chandravati (the latter situated on the river Banas) became centers of the Chauhan clan at an early date. A semi-legendary figure named Rao Deora, about whom little is known, was born into a Chauhan family of this region. All members of the Deora clan claim patrilineage from him.
Rao Lumba, grandson of Rao Deoraj and a scion of the younger branch of the Chauhan rulers of Jalore, seized the town of Abu in the year 1311 AD. He thus founded a dynasty that was to rule the surrounding area until India gained its independence in 1947.
Rao Rarmal, a descendant of Rao Deoraj, founded the settlement of old Sirohi c.1347 AD. He was the progenitor of the Lakhawat, Dungrawat, Tejawat and Bajawat branches of the Deora clan. In 1405 AD, Rarmal's son Rao Sobhaji founded a town, Shivpuri, on the eastern slope of the Siranwa hills in the area known as 'Khuba.' Sobhaji's son Rao Sahasmal abandoned this settlement, which now lies in ruins. He built the fort of Sirohi on the Western slope of the same hills and made that his capital. Later, the area under the rule of the Deora clan came to form the state of Sirohi.
