Rao Bhati

Rao Bhati (also Rao Bhatti or Raja Bhatti) was the progenitor (apical ancestor) ancestor of the Bhati clan of Rajputs. Said to have been a Hindu raja (monarch) who ruled during the  3rd-century, Bhati's descendants claim descent from the Hindu mythological Yaduvanshi lineage of the Lunar dynasty.

Biography

Bhati and his descendants claim direct descent from Yadu, the legendary king of the Hindu Yaduvanshi lineage, a branch of the Lunar dynasty in Hindu mythology, through the mythological figure Pradyumna. They reportedly originated in Mathura. According to the seventeenth-century Nainsi ri Khyat, the Bhatis after losing Mathura moved to Bhatner in the Lakhi Jungle, and from there to other locations in western and northwestern India including Punjab.

Raja Sálbán, a legendary monarch of Sialkot, is also sometimes claimed to be Rao Bhati's grandfather and held to be the first of the Yaduvanshi Rajputs to settle in Punjab.

According to genealogical accounts, Bhati was born in the Punjab region, in what is now Sialkot, during the 3rd century. Bhati was a monarch and the leader of a Yaduvanshi Yadu Rajput clan, which was named after Yadu, the legendary king in Hinduism. During his rule in the 3rd century, Bhati conquered and annexed territories from 14 princes in Punjab, including the area of what is now modern-day Lahore. He is also credited with establishing the modern city of Bathinda, Punjab, after he captured the area in the 3rd century.

Legacy

During Bhati's rule, and in recognition of his achievements, the patronymic of his clan, which had previously been named Yadu after the same mythological king in Hinduism, was changed to Bhati. The Bhati Rajput clan was then named after him. Many of Bhati's descendants achieved notability. His descendant in the 12th century, Jaisal Singh, became the founder and Rawal of the Kingdom of Jaisalmer. Through his 17th-century descendant, Phul Sidhu, who was also a direct descendant of Jaisal Singh, he is the direct ancestor of the Phulkian dynasty royal families of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, and Faridkot, and their descendants.