Jethwa

Jethwa or Jethva is a name of a Rajput Kshatriya clan that claim decent from Pawan, ancestor of Lord Hanuman who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayan. They are a branch of the Suryavanshi Rajputs and are one of the oldest clans found in Rajput history.

The Jethwa's / Jethva's have had capitals at Morvi, Srinagar, Dhank, Chaya and lastly to Porbandar (in 1785). They are the first rulers of the Saurashtra area found in Western Gujarat. The Jethwa's ancient history is still a mystery but Lord Hanuman has always been at the heart of their story.

During the time of Mahmud of Ghazni, the Jethwa's controlled all the west and north of the Kathiawar but after suffering heavy losses to the Jhala and Jadeja Rajputs they were confined to a district known as Burda.

The Jethwa ruler Mayurdhwaj established the capital in what is now known as Morvi, formally known as Mayurpuri, and they were there from 1193. After shifting to Nagnah, they later established their rule in Ghumli, under Sal Kumar. It is however through Jethaji that the Jethwa's got their name. Sangaji was a descendent of Jethaji who received the title of Rana, which is still a title held by Jethwa rulers today, after defeating a large Vaghela army in Morvi.

The reigns of Rana Bhavsinhji (1900-1908) and Rana Natwarsinhji (1908-1979) both Maharaja of Porbandar gave the state of Porbandar first class status after many battles for the throne within the royal family in 1811, 1869 and 1886. The throne of Porbandar is vacant at the present time as Rana Natwarsinhji's cousin Udaybhansinhji was to take the crown but died in 1973.

The Jethwa Rajputs belong to the Gautam/Vajas Gotra and their kuldevi is Vindhyavasini. The main villages that the Jethwa Rajputs hail from are Morana, Ratdi, Shrinagar, Pandavadar, Gosa, Chaya, Ghumli and Baredia.