Sauda (

Devnagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...

: सौदा चारण; IAST: Saudā) (also spelled Soda, Souda) is a clan of the

Charana ''Charana'' is an Indomalayan genus of hairstreak butterflies in the family Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members ...

s. They are also known as Sauda-Barhath. Sauda Charans came to prominence in the kingdom of Mewar with the establishment of Sisodia dynasty in 1326.

History

The founder of the Sauda clan was Baruji, a Charan from Khod village of Kutch (

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

). Baruji was a wealthy horse trader. When the Guhilot dynasty was displaced from Mewar following an

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

by the Delhi sultanate at the turn of the 13th century, Baruji provided military assistance to

Rana Hammir Maharana Hammir Singh (1314–1364), or Hammir (not to be confused with Hammir Singh of Ranthambore), was a 14th-century Hindu Rajput ruler of Mewar in present-day Rajasthan, India. Hammir Singh, was a scion of the cadet branch Rana of the Guh ...

and lent 500 of his

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s. Baruji and his men fought alongside Rana Hammir in the invasion of Chittor. After successfully capturing

Chittor Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghold ...

, Rana Hammir awarded the position of Prolpat (Barhath) of Mewar kingdom to Baruji, to be held by his descendents "for posterity". Baruji's descendents came to known as 'Sauda', a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

given by Rana Hammir as they were large horse traders ''(saudagar)''. In Mewar, the descendants of Baruji reside in Antri, Panod, Barwara, Soniyana (near Kankroli), Tallai, Bikakheda and Rabachha.

Notable people

* Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath * Thakur Zorawar Singh Barhath * Kunwar Pratap Singh Barhath

References

{{Charan Clans Charan Indian surnames Ethnic groups in India Charan clans