apable of building Jain temples in the eleventh
century. Mr. Smith also states that Maniya Deo, to whom a temple exists
at Mahoba, was the tutelary deity of the Chandels; and that the only
other shrine of Maniya Deo discovered by him in the Hamirpur District
was in a village reputed formerly to have been held by the Bhars. [515]
Two instances of intercourse between the Chandels and Gonds are given,
but the second of them, that the Rani Durgavati of Mandla was a Chandel
princess, belongs to the sixteenth century, and has no bearing on the
origin of the Chandels. The first instance, that of the Chandel Raja
Kirat Singh hunting at Maniagarh with the Gond Raja of Garha-Mandla,
cannot either be said to furnish any real evidence in favour of a Gond
origin for the Chandels; it maybe doubted whether there was any Gond
Raja of Garha-Mandla till after the fall of the Kalachuri dynasty of
Tewar, which is quite close to Garha-Mandla, in the twelfth century;
and a reference so late as this would not affect the question. [516]
Finally, the Chandels are numerous in Mirzapur, which was formerly
the chief seat of the Bhars, while the Gonds have never been either
numerous or important in Mirzapur. These considerations seem to point
to the possibility of the derivation of the Chandels from the Bhars
rather than from the Gonds; and the point is perhaps of some interest
in view of the suggestion in the article on Kol that the Gonds did
not arrive in the Central Provinces for some centuries after the
rise of the Chandel dynasty of Khajuraho and Mahoba. The Chandels
may have simply been a local branch of the Gaharwars, who obtained
a territorial designation from Chanderi, or in some other manner,
as has continually happened in the case of other clans. The Gaharwars
were probably derived from the Bhars. The Chandels now rank as a good
Rajput clan, and intermarry with the other leading clans.

Rajput, Chauhan

_Rajput, Chauhan_.--The Chauhan was the last of the Agnikula or
fire-born clans, According to the legend: "Again Vasishtha seated on
the lotus prepared incantations; again he called the gods to aid; and
as he poured forth the libation a figure arose, lofty in stature, of
elevated front, hair like jet, eyes rolling, breast expanded, fierce,
terrific, clad in armour with quiver filled, a bow in one hand and
a brand in the other, quadriform (Chaturanga), whence his name was
given as Chauhan." This account makes the Chauhan the most im