House System

2. MARATHA HOUSE

Early Life

Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri, near the city of Junnar in what is now Pune district. Shivaji's father Shahaji Bhonsle was a Maratha general who served the Deccan Sultanates. His mother was Jijabai, the daughter of Lakhuji Jadhavrao of Sindhkhed, a Mughal-aligned sardar claiming descent from a Yadav royal family of Devagiri. Shivaji was devoted to his mother Jijabai, who was deeply religious. Shivaji was deeply interested in religious teachings, and regularly sought the company of Hindu and Sufi saints. Shahaji, meanwhile had married a second wife, Tuka Bai from the Mohite family. Many of Shivaji's comrades, and later a number of his soldiers, came from the Maval region, including Yesaji Kank, Suryaji Kakade, Baji Pasalkar, Baji Prabhu Deshpande and Tanaji Malusare. Shivaji traveled the hills and forests of the Sahyadri range with his Maval friends, gaining skills and familiarity with the land that would prove useful in his military career.

Combat with Afzal Khan

An early 20th century Painting by Sawlaram Haldankar of Shivaji fighting the Bijapuri general Afzal Khan Adilshah was displeased at his losses to Shivaji's forces, which his vassal Shahaji disavowed. Having ended his conflict with the Mughals and having a greater ability to respond, in 1657 Adilshah sent Afzal Khan, a veteran general, to arrest Shivaji. Before engaging him, the Bijapuri forces desecrated the Tulja Bhavani Temple, holy to Shivaji's family, and the Vithoba temple at Pandharpur, a major pilgrimage site for the Hindus.

Conflict with the Mughals

Until 1657, Shivaji maintained peaceful relations with the Mughal Empire. Shivaji offered his assistance to Aurangzeb, the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan and son of the Mughal emperor, in conquering Bijapur in return for formal recognition of his right to the Bijapuri forts and villages under his possession. Dissatisfied with the Mughal response, and receiving a better offer from Bijapur, he launched a raid into the Mughal Deccan.Shivaji's confrontations with the Mughals began in March 1657, when two of Shivaji's officers raided the Mughal territory near Ahmednagar.

Peace with the Mughals

After Shivaji's escape, hostilities with the Mughals ebbed, with Mughal sardar Jaswant Singh acting as intermediary between Shivaji and Aurangzeb for new peace proposals. During the period between 1666 and 1668, Aurangzeb conferred the title of raja on Shivaji. Sambhaji was also restored as a Mughal mansabdar with 5,000 horses. Shivaji at that time sent Sambhaji with general Prataprao Gujar to serve with the Mughal viceroy in Aurangabad, Prince Mu'azzam. Sambhaji was also granted territory in Berar for revenue collection.

Coronation

An early 20th century depiction of the coronation of Shivaji by the Chitrashala press, Pune Shivaji had acquired extensive lands and wealth through his campaigns, but lacking a formal title he was still technically a Mughal zamindar or the son of an Bijapuri jagirdar, with no legal basis to rule his de facto domain.
A kingly title could address this and also prevent any challenges by other Maratha leaders, to whom he was technically equal.It would also provide the Hindu Marathas with a fellow Hindu sovereign in a region otherwise ruled by Muslims.

Death and succession

Sambhaji, Shivaji's elder son who succeeded him the question of Shivaji's heir - apparent was complicated by the misbehaviour of his eldest son, Sambhaji, who was irresponsible. Unable to curb this, Shivaji confined his son to Panhala in 1678, only to have the prince escape with his wife and defect to the Mughals for a year. Sambhaji then returned home, unrepentant, and was again confined to Panhala. In late March 1680, Shivaji fell ill with fever and dysentery, dying around 3–5 April 1680 at the age of 52, on the eve of Hanuman Jayanti. Putalabai, the childless eldest of the surviving wives of Shivaji committed sati by jumping into his funeral pyre.

3. MAURYAN HOUSE

Chandragupta Maurya (reign: 321–297 BCE) was the founder of the Maurya Empire in ancient India. Of obscure origins, he was counselled and guided in his adolescent years by Chanakya, who is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya, the author of the Arthashastra (a treatise of statehood and nation building). Chandragupta, under the tutelage of Chanakya, conquered the Nanda Empire and the eastern provinces of the Seleucid Empire, thus establishing the largest empire that would exist in the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta's life and accomplishments are described in ancient Hindu, Buddhist and Greek texts, but they vary significantly in details from the Jaina accounts. Megasthenes served as a Greek ambassador in his court for four years. In Greek and Latin accounts, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokottos and Androcottus.

Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya and Jain sage Bhadrabahu depicted in a medieval stone carving from Shravanabelagola, Karnataka
1st Mauryan emperor

Early Life

A modern statue depicting Chandragupta Maurya, Laxminarayan Temple, Delhi Chandragupta's ancestry, birth year and family as well as early life are unclear.This contrasts with abundant historical records, both in Indian and classical European sources, that describe his reign and empire. The Greek and Latin literature phonetically transcribes Chandragupta, referring to him with the names "Sandrokottos" or "Androcottus". According to Radhakumud Mookerji Design of a peacock, on the railing of the Bharhut Stupa Design of a peacock, on the stairway balustrade of the Great Stupa at Sanchi.
• The Greek sources are the oldest recorded versions available, and mention his rise in 322/ 321 BCE after Alexander the Great ended his campaign in 325 BCE. These sources state Chandragupta to be of non-princely and non-warrior ancestry, to be of a humble commoner birth.
• The Buddhist sources, written centuries later, claim that both Chandragupta and his grandson, the great patron of Buddhism called Ashoka, were of noble lineage. Some texts link him to the same family of Sakyas from which the Buddha came, adding that his epithet Moriya (Sanskrit: Maurya, Mayura) comes from Mora, which in Pali means peacock. Most Buddhist texts state that Chandragupta was a Kshatriya, the Hindu warrior class in Magadha and a student of Chanakya.
• The Jain sources, also written centuries later, claim Chandragupta to be the son of a village chief, a village known for raising peacocks.

Building the Empire

Chandragupta's guru was Chanakya, with whom he studied as a child and with whose counsel he built the Empire. This image is a 1915 artistic portrait of Chanakya.
According to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa tika, Chandragupta and his guru Chanakya began recruiting an army after he completed his studies at Taxila (now in Pakistan). This was a period of wars, given that Alexander the Great had invaded the northwest subcontinent from Caucasus Indicus (also called Paropamisadae in ancient texts, now called the Hindu Kush mountain range). Alexander and the Greeks abandoned further campaigns of expansion in 325 BCE, and began a retreat to Babylon, leaving a legacy of Indian subcontinent regions ruled by new Greek governors and local rulers.
A supply of warriors was already in place, and the future emperor and his teacher chose to build alliances with local rulers and a small mercenary army of their own. Chanakya also identified talent for future administration. By 323 BCE, within two years of Alexander's retreat, this newly formed group had defeated some of the Greek-ruled cities in the northwest subcontinent.Each victory led to an expanded army and territory. Chanakya provided the strategy, Chandragupta the execution, and together they began expanding eastward towards Magadha (Gangetic plains).

4. RAJPUT HOUSE

Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, "son of a king") is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent.
The origin of the Rajputs has been a much - debated topic among the historians. According to this theory, the Rajputs originated when these invaders were assimilated into the Kshatriya category during the 6th or 7th century. theorized that the Rajputs were Brahmins who became rulers. Rajputs came from a variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds.The root word "rajaputra" (literally "son of a king") first appears as a designation for royal officials in the 11th century Sanskrit inscriptions. Before the 15th century, the term "Rajput" was associated with people of mixed-caste origin, and was therefore considered inferior in rank to "Kshatriya". Rajput came to denote a social class, which was formed when the various tribal and nomadic groups became landed aristocrats, and transformed into the ruling class. These groups assumed the title "Rajput" as part of their claim to higher social positions and ranks. The early medieval literature suggests that this newly formed Rajput class comprised people from multiple castes. Rajput clans as associates of Prithviraj Chauhan, fostered a sense of unity among these clans. The text thus contributed to the consolidation of the Rajput identity by offering these clans a shared history. Rajputs as similar to the Anglo-Saxon knights.

Rajput lifestyle

The double-edged scimitar known as the khanda was a popular weapon among the Rajputs of that era. On special occasions, a primary chief would break up a meeting of his vassal chiefs with khanda nariyal, the distribution of daggers and coconuts. Another affirmation of the Rajput's reverence for his sword was the Karga Shapna ("adoration of the sword") ritual, performed during the annual Navaratri festival, after which a Rajput is considered "free to indulge his passion for rapine and revenge". The Rajput of Rajasthan also offer a sacrifice of water buffalo or goat to their family Goddess ( Kuldevta) during Navaratri. The ritual requires slaying of the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite of passage for young Rajput men.

Rajput diet

Rajputs are 'by and large' non-vegetarians, eating wild boar, regular drinkers of alcohol, and also smoke and chew betel leaves. These traits are also followed by Rajputs of Maharashtra with mutton, chicken and fish being consumed.

Rajput politics

A royal Rajput procession, depicted on a mural at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur Rajput politics refers to the role played by the Rajput community in the electoral politics of India. In states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttrakhand, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat, the large populations of Rajputs gives them a decisive role.

Arts

The term Rajput painting refers to works of art created at the Rajput-ruled courts of Rajasthan, Central India, and the Punjab Hills. The term is also used to describe the style of these paintings, distinct from the Mughal painting style. According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, Rajput painting symbolised the divide between Muslims and Hindus during Mughal rule. The styles of Mughal and Rajput painting are oppositional in character. He characterised Rajput painting as "popular, universal and mystic". Rajput painting varied geographically, corresponding to each of the various Rajput kingdoms and regions. The Delhi area, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Central India each had its own variant.

5.PALLAVA HOUSE

The Pallava dynasty was an Indian dynasty that existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a portion of southern India. They gained prominence after the eclipse of the Satavahana dynasty, whom the Pallavas served as feudatories.
Pallavas became a major power during the reign of Mahendravarman I (571 – 630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630 – 668 CE) and dominated the Telugu and northern parts of the Tamil region for about 600 years until the end of the 9th century. Throughout their reign they were in constant conflict with both Chalukyas of Badami in the north and the Tamil kingdoms of Chola and Pandyas in the south and Pallava were finally defeated by the Chola Aditya I in the 9th century CE.

6.MUGHALS HOUSE

The Mughal Empire (Persian: گورکانیان‎, translit. Gūrkāniyān; Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت‎, translit. Mughliyah Saltanat) or Mogul Empire was an empire in the Indian subcontinent, founded in 1526. It was established and ruled by the Timurid dynasty, with Turco-Mongol Chagatai roots from Central Asia, claiming direct descent from both Genghis Khan (through his son Chagatai Khan) and Timur, and with significant Indian Rajput and Persian ancestry through marriage alliances; the first two Mughal emperors had both parents of Central Asian ancestry, while successive emperors were of predominantly Rajput and Persian ancestry. The dynasty was Indo-Persian in culture, combining Persianate culture with local Indian cultural influences[ visible in its court culture and administrative customs.