Rath (Odia surname)

Rath or Rathasharma (Odia: ରଥ, ରଥଶର୍ମା, Sanskrit: रथ, रथशर्मा) are Utkala Brahmins having Atreya or Krishnatreya gotra. The surname in ancient days were given according to gotra and the speciality of the job done by Brahmin scholars. They especially specialise the Vikriti Paatha of Shukla Yajurveda and Rigveda which is Ratha Patha. The Veda can be recited in eleven different ways among which three are Prakruti and remaining seven are Vikruti. These are Samhita (Richa), Pada, Krama (3 Prakruti) and Jataa, Rekha, Maala, Dhwaja, Shikha, Danda, Ratha and Ghana (Vikrutis). So the surname holders once mastered the Ratha tradition of chanting Veda. Sometimes they are called Rathatreya(रथात्रेय).

Etymology

"Rath" is a word from the Sanskrit language meaning:

Rath

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Ratha

Ratha (Sanskrit: रथ, rátha, Avestan raθa) is the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot or a cart of antiquity.

The Rigvedic word rá-tha does not denote a war-chariot like those of Andronovo, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The word is from √ṛ ‘go’ giving primary rá-tha ‘a goer, car, vehicle’. Similar formations exist with the suffix -tha: ártha ‘goal’, ukthá ‘saying’, ǵāthā ‘song’ etc. The rigvedic ratha is described as pṛthu ‘broad’ 1.123.1; bṛhat ‘tall, big’ 6.61.13; variṣṭha ‘widest’ 6.47.9. It has space not for 1 only or 2 (i.e. the driver and the warrior with his spear and bow) but for 3: it is said to be trivandhurá (1.41.2; 7.71.4) and then to carry 8 aṣṭāvandhurá (10.53.7)

Textual evidence

Chariots are also an important part of Hindu, with most of the deities in their pantheon portrayed as riding them.

Chariots figure prominently in the Rigveda, evidencing their presence in India in the 2nd millennium BCE. Among Rigvedic deities, notably Ushas (the dawn) rides in a chariot, as well as Agni in his function as a messenger between gods and men.

Rath tribe

The Rath (Rajasthani: रथ (Devanagari) رتھ (Perso-Arabic)) are a Muslim Rajput community, found in the state of Rajasthan in India. They also settled in Punjab and Sindh provinces Pakistan. They are also known as Rathi, although their preferred self-designation is Rajput.

History and origin

The Rath are said to get their name from the Rathi breed of cattle, which they used to and still herd. They are divided into three major sub-groups, the Parihar or sometimes referred to as Parhar Rath, the Johiya and the Bohar, and a number of minor lineages, such as the Chanar, Larr, Chhachhar and Chandani. According to the traditions of the Parhar Rath, they were originally Parihar Rajputs of Mandore, who were defeated by the Rathores, and fled to Sindh. During their period of exile, the Parhar were converted to Islam. The community than moved to the desert regions of Bikaner State, and spread over time to the Cholistan desert region. While the Bohar and Johiya Rath both claim descent from the Bhatti Rajputs, and have different traditions as to their conversion to Islam. As a community, they have a strong self-identification as being a Rajput community. They are culturally close to tribesmen of the Cholistan region of Punjab, Pakistan, who are also largely Rath.