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Guha: see GUHIL, RAWAL.
Guhdatt, Guhadatta: see GUHIL, RAWAL.
Guhil, Rawal, recognised as the first ruler of the GUHILOT Dynasty (r. ca 569-603), the royal line that eventually became the Mewar Dynasty. (This enables the dynasty's link to the earliest Rajput warriors and, by tradition, to Lav, elder son of Ram, and Surya the Sun God; see MEWAR'S TRADITIONAL LINEAGE.) Variations of his name are Goha, Gohaditya, Guha, Guhdatt, Guhadatta, and Guhila. He ruled from Idar near the Mewar-Gujarat border. Guhil's origins are not recorded but at least Colonel James TOD in his ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF RAJASTHAN may have been close to the facts when he wrote that Guhil is said to have belonged to the Gurjara stock, kinsmen or allies of the Huns who entered India about the 6th century AD. He founded a kingdom in Rajputana, with its capital at Bhilmal (or Srimal), about 31 km. from Mt. Abu (which is in the general vicinity of Idar). Guhil is thought to have been the posthumous son of the Rajput King Siladitya VI, possibly of the Bala tribe, who ruled Vallabhi in Kathiawar (now modern Gujarat), and Queen PUSHPAVATI. According to legend, he was born while his mother was on a journey across the border in what was to become Mewar, to receive a blessing for her soon-to-be-born child. While she was away, Arab marauders sacked Vallabhi, killing the king and many of his subjects. On receiving the news, Pushpavati went into hiding in the wilderness of the Idar district. There, in a cave, she is said to have given birth to a son who was subsequently named Goha (meaning cave-born). She gave the royal child to Kamlavati, a Brahman nursemaid and left the Captain of her guard to protect him, then committed SATI. Young Goha, or Guhil as he came to be called, was reared in the seclusion and safety of the isolated jungles near the city of Idar, then ruled by the local BHIL chieftain Mandalik. To ensure the continuation of the bloodline, the child's true identity had to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal by the Arab conquerors. For many years, his Brahman nanny, Kamlavati, herself a mother, passed him off as one of her own children; even the boy was ignorant of his noble heritage. He grew up playing games with local Rajput children and Bhil youngsters, killing birds and hunting wild animals. The orphan prince became a constant source of uneasiness to his Brahman protectors and by age 11 was quite unmanageable. But, to use the words of the legend, "How should they hide the ray of the sun?"
As with many early historical identities, there are no written records of their reign, so the BARDS of later years, to give them identity and importance, invented legends about them: for instance, the legend above about Guhil's cave birth. There were others. One day, while out hunting deer, Guhil watched one of his Bhil friends draw his bow using only his two middle fingers. On asking why this was so, he was told the reason (see BHIL ARCHERS, LEGEND OF THE). Another day, a young Bhil accidentally pricked his thumb, drawing blood. Playfully electing Guhil as their king, he daubed the blood on Guhil's forehead as a TIKA, or mark of sovereignty. It was a game, but this custom was to gain great significance in the future. Then, when hunting, Mandalik, the Bhil chieftain of neighbouring Idar, saw these forest youths at play and was impressed by Guhil's noble bearing and leadership qualities. Around the same time, the old Captain who had been entrusted to guard Guhil announced to his Brahman foster-parents, "The boy must now be told he is an orphan; and not an ordinary boy of the village, but a prince. He must learn who he is and what happened to his kingdom." Subsequently, with this revelation, Mandalik, who was without an heir adopted him. Again, without written records, speculation evolves and is too often taken as fact. Some records state that in the year AD ca 568, when Guhil was 11, the Bhil chieftain granted Guhil his first territory. Thus, it is said, the state of Mewar was born (out of the area known as Medpat), and Guhil's descendants ruled over the area for the next seven generations (but see MEWAR). Another states that when Mandalik died in 592 (or 596), Guhil ascended the throne, not as a Bhil but as a Rajput, and established the Guhilot line. Credited with having been a great chieftain, he ruled Idar until his death some eleven years later. It is quite probable that Guhil's son, BHOJ succeeded him in AD ca 603. Note: There exist conflicting dates for the reigns of Guhil and his two immediate successors, Bhoj and Mahendra I. Some texts have Guhil beginning his rule as early as 566 and not 586 or 592 as shown above; Bhoj began his reign in 586, and Mahendra I in 606. Perhaps the dates were based on the Hindu calendar which would account for them being several decades earlier. The official Historical Genealogy of Mewar, released in December 1999, settles on Guhil reigning from 569 to 603; Bhoj ruling from 603 to 615; and Mahend (Mahendra) as being on the throne from 615 to 621. Information contained in some published textbooks also adds to the confusion. For example, In Chronology of India, Vol. 1 (Chaukhambha Orientalia, Varanasi, 1975) C. Mabel Duff in listing the Guhila Princes of Mevad (Mewar) suggests that two kings, one named Guhila, the other his successor Bhoja, did not rule Mewar until after BAPPA RAWAL (735). There is also speculation that Guhil may have greatly extended his kingdom by conquest, the suggestion prompted by the finding of inscriptions in Jaipur and coins in Agra, the site of this later city possibly having been his capital. Conquering such a large area does seem a lot to achieve in eleven years, even twenty years, and there is no further speculation as to how the kingdom was reduced again to its original boundaries by the time of the fourth ruler. (We leave it up to the scholars to arrive, if possible, at a firm commitment as to the actual dates.)
Guhilas: see GUHILOTS.
Guhilots (Gehlots, Guhilas), the family name of the Rajput dynasty founded by GUHIL; the forerunner of the Mewar Dynasty. The Guhilots became prominent after their capture of Chittor in AD 734, their original centres having been NAGDA and AHAR, which became the nuclei of the region called MEDPAT (later Mewar). Despite hostilities with the Chalukyas and Chauhans, the Guhilots maintained their position. A severe attack from the Turks in the early 13th century was parried under the leadership of Rawal JAITRA SINGH (1213-53). It is believed that Guhilot means simply son of Guhila, an abbreviation of Guhadatta, the more formal name of its founder (Guhil).
Gujars (cowherds): see CHARBHUJAJI TEMPLE.
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