One of the most important early epigraphic references to the Gaurahar (Gaudahara) Kshatriyas comes from the Baraudi inscription of Yajvapala Gopala, the 13th-century ruler of Narwar (Nalapura) in present-day Madhya Pradesh.
This inscription is one of the rare primary sources that directly records the name, lineage, religion, and homeland of a Kshatriya family called Gaudahara.
Gaudahara as a Named Kshatriya Lineage
Verse 10 and 11 of the Baraudi inscription introduce a Kshatriya family to which the hero of the prashasti belonged. The inscription states that this family was:
- A Kshatriya lineage
- Belonging to the Vatsa gotra
- Named Gaudahara
The text further notes that this Kshatriya family was regarded as resembling a Brahmana family in purity and discipline, a standard Sanskrit way of indicating orthodox Kshatriya status.
The name Gaudahara is presented as a clan name, not as a title or place-name.
Religion and Clan Deity of the Gaudaharas
Verse 12 records the religious identity of the Gaudahara Kshatriyas. It states that the Gaudahara family worshipped three forms of the Mother Goddess:
- Chamunda
- Nava-vidha Devi (the nine-formed Goddess, i.e., Navadurga)
- Gaudahara Devi
Among these, Gaudahara Devi is mentioned as the family deity (kuladevi) of the Gaudahara Kshatriyas. The presence of a clan-named kuladevi is a classical feature of Rajput lineages and confirms that Gaudahara was a hereditary warrior house.
Original Homeland of the Gaudahara Kshatriyas
Verse 13 of the inscription states that Tribhuvanagiri was the capital of the Surasena king, and that a Gaudahara Kshatriya named Damodara lived there. The inscription indicates that this was the original homeland of the Gaudahara family.
The Surasena kingdom is historically associated with the Mathura region of northern India. Thus, the inscription places the Gaudahara Kshatriyas’ ancestral homeland in the Mathura–Surasena zone, from where the family later moved into central India.
Continuity among Gaur Rajputs
Even today, a Gaur Rajput branch known as Gaurahar/Gurhar survives in the Etah, Aligarh, and Mainpuri region of western Uttar Pradesh. Their clan name corresponds exactly to the medieval Gaudahara recorded in the Baraudi inscription, indicating long-term continuity of this Gauda-derived Rajput line in North India.