Chandel (Rajput clan)

Chandel or Chandela is a Rajput clan from India. Families belonging to this clan ruled several kingdoms in north India and held various feudal estates. The most notable of these were the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti, who ruled the Bundelkhand region.

During 10th to 13th century CE, the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti ruled the Bundelkhand region in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The British indologist V. A. Smith theorised that the Chandelas were of either Bhar or Gond origin, a theory also supported by other some scholars including R. C. Majumdar. According to this theory, the Chandelas were originally Bhars, Gonds or a mixture of these two communities; they later styled themselves as Kshatriya Rajputs after attaining political power. This theory is based on the Chandelas' association with Bhar and Gond territories, their worship of the local deity Maniya, and the marriage of the Chandel princess Rani Durgavati to a Gond chief of Garha-Mandla. Historian R. K. Dikshit does not find these arguments convincing: he argues that Chandelas' rule over Gond territories does not necessarily mean a common descent; Maniya was not originally a tribal deity; and Durgavati's marriage to a Gond chief can be dismissed as a one-off case.

The rulers of the Bilaspur (Kahlur) and Nalagarh princely states of present-day Himachal Pradesh traced their origin to a Chandel from Garh Chanderi. Originally, these two states were part of a single kingdom; Ajai Chand established a separate state called Nalagarh because of differences with his brother.

The zamindaris controlled by Chandels included Agori Barhar, Ajabpur, Gidhaur and Sahaspur.

...
Wikipedia