In Indian mythology and culture, the Agnivanshi are people descended from Agni, the Vedic god of fire. The Agnivanshi lineage or Agnivansha is one of the three lineages into which the Kshatriya caste of Hindus is divided, the other two races being the Suryavanshi (descended from Surya, the Sun God) and the Chandravanshi (descended from Chandra, the Moon God).
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The Agnikunda legend gives an account of the origin of the Agnivanshi Kshatriyas. In fact, it attempts to explain the origin of some of the Rajputs & agnikula kshatriyas of south. There are several versions of the legend.
The Bhavishya Purana version of the legend begins with the puranic legend wherein Parashurama, an avatar of Vishnu, exterminated the traditional kshatriyas of the land. Later, the legend says, sage Vasishta performed a great Yajna or fire-sacrifice, to seek from the gods a provision for the defense of righteousness on earth. In answer to his prayer, a youth arose from the Agnikunda or fire-altar—the first Agnivanshi Rajput. According to different versions of the legend, one or three or four of the Rajput clans originated from the Agnikunda, including the Naru Rajputs (Naru means Fire), Yadavs,[1][2] Gurjara-Pratihara s, Chauhans (Chahamanas), Solankis, and Paramaras (Parmars)(Rahevar)(Rever), Agnikula kshatriya
The Pratiharas established the first Rajput kingdom in Marwar in southwestern Rajasthan in the 6th century the greatest kingdom after Ashoka and Harshvardhan, the Chauhans at Ajmer in central Rajasthan, the Solankis in Gujarat, and the Paramaras in Malwa
The current day Agnikula kshatriyas in andhra pradesh are the suryavanshi rajputs migranted from rajasthan. Some portion of these agnikula kshatriyas mixed with pallavas(called as palli's))in south andhra and Tamil border. The venu gopala(krishna) temples are the perfect example which proves the migration from north as we don't find krishna temples in andhra or south like we see many in north. Where ever these agnikula kshatriyas settled we see venu gopala temple build by them.
In Tamil Nadu, at Sirkazhi Vaideeswaran Temple, Inscriptions about the origin of Agnivansha are observed and in Tamil Nadu, the origin of agnivansha is called Vanniyar Puranam. It denotes that at ancient times there were two Asuras known as Vatapi and Mahi, who worshipped Brahma and obtained immunity from death and subsequently they garrisoned the Earth. At the request of Gods and Lords, Jambuva Mahamuni or Sambu/Jambu Maharishi or Vashistar performed a Yagam, or sacrifice by his yogic powers. Soon armed horsemen sprung from the flames, named VanniRaja or Rudra Vanniyan in south; they undertook twelve expeditions and destroyed the Asuras and freed the Earth. Their leader then assumed the government of the country under the name Rudra Vanniya Maharaja or Veera Vanniyan, who had five sons,the Ancestors of Vanniyar Caste(One of the Agnivansha). These five sons took five different regions and started ruling them.
The Bhavishya Purana text, as avaialble today, is regarded to have later additions, some as late as 1850 CE.[3]
This legend shows how the true history of India is hidden under the thick veil of Brahmanic and Bardic fiction.[4]
Fortunately, large number of inscriptions and texts have come to light in the past one and half centuries that allow us to trace the history of Rajputs and the evolution of the legend in detail.
The Agni-kunda story was first given in Nava-sahasanka-charita of Padmagupta, a fictional romance where the hero is identifiable as Sindhuraj, the patron of Padmagupta. In Nava-sahasanka-charita the progenitor Paramara is created from fire by Vashishtha.
During the decline of the Dhar Paramaras, the story was included in royal inscriptions.
Later, the story was expanded to include two or three other Rajput clans.
Eventually some of the scholars, proposed that all of the Rajputs were created from the Agnikunda.
Historian such as Vincent Arthur Smith, K. M. munshi, D.B. Bhandarkar states that Agnikula Kshatriyas namely Gurjara-Pratihara, Paramara, Solanki and Chauhans were from Gurjara stock .[5][6][7]. Moreover Agnikula accounts theories claim Suryavanshi descent originally.[8][9]
