=The Kachhwāha Tribe.=—The Kachhwaha or Kachhwa race claims descent from Kusa, the second son of Rama, King of Kosala, whose capital was Ayodhya, the modern Oudh. Kusa, or some of his immediate offspring, is said to have migrated from the parental abode, and erected the celebrated castle of Rohtas, or Rohitas,[9.1.3] on the Son, whence, in the lapse of several generations, another distinguished scion, Raja Nal, migrated westward, and in S. 351, or A.D. 295, founded the kingdom and city of Narwar, or classically, Naishadha.[9.1.4] Some of the traditional chronicles record intermediate places of domicile prior to the erection of this famed city: first, the town of Lahar, in the heart of a tract yet named Kachhwahagar, or region (_thal_) of the Kachhwahas;[9.1.5] and secondly, that of Gwalior. Be this as it may, the descendants of Raja Nal adopted the affix of Pal (which appears to be the distinguishing epithet of all the early Rajput tribes), until Sora Singh (thirty-third in descent from Nal), whose son, Dhola Rae, was expelled the paternal abode, and in S. 1023, A.D. 967, laid the foundation of the State of Dhundhar [347]. A family, which traces its lineage from Rama of Kosala, Nala of Naishadha, and Dhola the lover of Maroni, may be allowed ‘the boast of heraldry’; and in remembrance of this descent, the Kachhwahas of India celebrate with great solemnity ‘the annual feast of the sun,’ on which occasion a stately car, called the chariot of the sun (_thal_), drawn by eight horses, is brought from the temple, and the descendant of Rama, ascending therein, perambulates his capital.