Rajput, (from Sanskrit raja-Putra, “son of a king”), any of about 12 million landowners organized in patrilineal clans and located mainly in central and northern India. They are especially numerous in the historic region of Rajputana (“Land of the Rajputs”) that also included portions of present-day eastern Pakistan.

The Books of Indian Kings comprises stories and essays about some of the greatest rulers and statesmen in the history of India. Beginning with an essay on one of the country’s iconic rulers, the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, by our greatest living historian, Romila Thapar, this volume brings together some of the finest writers of our time on a glittering array of monarchs, including Salman Rushdie on Emperor Akbar, Khushwant Singh on Maharaja Ranjit Singh, William Dalrymple on Bahadur Shah Zafar, Rajmohan Gandhi on Tipu Sultan, Jadunath Sarkar on Chhatrapati Shivaji, and Manu S. Pillai on Krishnadeva Raya. The Emergence of Empire: Mauryan India by Romila Thapar The First Hindu Empire by Abraham Eraly Raja Raja Chozhar by Kalki Krishnadeva Raya by Manu S. Pillai The Shelter of the World by Salman Rushdie Shivaji and His Times by Jadunath Sarkar Tipu Sultan by Rajmohan Gandhi The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of the Punjab by Khushwant Singh Madhavrao Scindia by Vir Sanghvi and Namita Bhandare

1)Maharana Pratap-

9 May 1540 – 19 January 1597), popularly known as Maharana Pratap, was a king of Mewar, a region in north-western India in the present-day state of Rajasthan. He was titled as "Mewari Rana" and was notable for his military resistance against the expansionism of the Mughal Empire and was known for his participation in the Battle of Haldighati and Battle of Dewair.

2)Prithviraj chauhan

-1178–1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora was a king from the Chahamana (Chauhan) dynasty. He ruled Sapadalaksha, the traditional Chahamana territory, in present-day north-western India. He controlled much of the present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi; and some parts of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. His capital was located at Ajayameru (modern Ajmer), although the medieval folk legends describe him as the king of India's political centre Delhi to portray him as a representative of the pre-Islamic Indian power.

3)Bappa Rawal

-also spelled as "Bappa Raval", (c. 8th century) was a ruler of the Mewar (Medapata) region in Rajasthan, India. The bardic chronicles describe him as a member of the Guhila (Gahlot) Clan (and thus an ancestor of the Sisodia Rajput dynasty), and some of these consider him as the founder of the Guhila dynasty. Different historians have identified him with various rulers of the Guhila dynasty, including Kalabhoja, Shiladitya, and Khumana.

4)Udai Singh ll- 

(4 August 1522 – 28 February 1572)[3] was the Maharana of Mewar and the founder of the city of Udaipur[4] in the present-day Rajasthan state of India. He was the 12th ruler of the Mewar dynasty. He was the fourth son of Rana Sanga[5][non-primary source needed] and Rani Karnavati, a princess of Bundi.

5)Rana Sanga-

12 April 1482 – 30 January 1528),[1] popularly known as Rana Sanga, was an Indian Hindu ruler of Mewar who reunited several Rajput clans to form a powerful Rajput confederation in Rajputana (present-day Rajasthan) during the 16th century.[2] He succeeded his father, Rana Raimal, as the ruler of Mewar in 1508. Sanga contemporarily fought against the Afghan Lodhi dynasty and Turkic Mughals during his lifetime. At its peak, his dominion covered present-day Rajasthan, Northern Gujarat and Western parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh,[3] with his capital at Chittor.

6)Amar Singh l

-the Maharana of Mewar (March 16, 1559 – January 26, 1620), was the eldest son and successor of Maharana Pratap of Mewar. He was the 14th Rana of Mewar dynasty of Sisodia Rajputs and ruler of Mewar from January 19, 1597 till his death on January 26, 1620. His capital was Udaipur

7)Vijaya sena-

also known as Vijay Sen in vernacular literature, was the son of Hemanta Sena, and succeeded him as a Sena dynasty ruler of Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. This dynasty ruled for more than 200 years. He conquered Bengal, fighting the kings of Gauda, Kamarupa, and Kalinga. He had a capital in Vijayapuri and Vikramapura.[1]

It appears from his records that he inherited the position of a subordinate ruler in Rarh under the Palas. He was possibly the same as Vijayraj of Nidravali, one of the fourteen Samanta kings who helped Ramapala in his recovery of Varendra.

8)Mihara bhoja-

c. 836–885 CE) or Bhoja I was a ruler of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of India. He succeeded his father Ramabhadra. Bhoja was a devotee of Vishnu and adopted the title of Ādivarāha which is inscribed on some of his coins.[1] One of the outstanding political figures of India in the ninth century, he ranks with Dhruva Dharavarsha and Dharmapala as a great general and empire builder.[2]

9)Vasudeva

-According to Hindu scripture, Vasudeva (Devanagari वसुदेव, IAST Vasudeva), also called Ānakadundubhii ("Drum", after the sound of drums heard at the time of his birth),[1][2] is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna (Vāsudeva, i.e. "son of Vasudeva"), Balarama and Subhadra. He was king of the Vrishnis and a Yadava prince.[3] He was the son of the Yadava king Shurasena. He was also the brother (cousin) of Nanda, the foster-father of Krishna.[4][5][6] His sister Kunti was married to Pandu. Kunti plays a big role later in the war Mahabharata.

The Rajputs regard themselves as descendants or members of the Kshatriya (warrior ruling) class, but they actually vary greatly in status, from princely lineages, such as the Guhilot and Kachwaha, to simple cultivators. Most authorities agree that successful claims to Rajput status frequently were made by groups that attained secular power; invaders from central Asia as well as patrician lines of indigenous tribal peoples were probably absorbed in that way. There are numbers of Muslim Rajputs in northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, and Rajputs generally have adopted the custom of purdah (seclusion of women). Their ethos includes an intense pride in ancestry and a mettlesome regard for personal honour. They seek hypergamous marriages (i.e., a bride marrying into a social group higher than her own)