Jaipur: A statue of a worrier on a horseback holding a spear in Budapest, the capital of Hungary , has a deep rooted connection with the Chauhan kings of India. So says Kovacs Imre Berne, a historian based in Hungary.

Berne claims that the Chauhans of Rajasthan and the Huns of Hungary share ancestry. He traces his ethnicity to Huns, a warrior tribe mentioned in Mahabhartha that ruled several territories of Europe. Berna rolled out similarities between Huns and Chauhans at a session ‘Cultural Similarities with Chauhan rulers of India’ organised recently by the department of History, Rajasthan University.

The historian from Hungary is in India tracing the connection between the Huns and the Chauhans. He has been to Chauhan rulers’ historical sites, including the temple of Shakambari Mata in Sambhar (Jaipur district). "I was astonished by the similarity between Shakambari Mata temple and our temples in Hungary. The image of the goddess at both the places emerged on rocks and were never carved. This discovery will open new vistas in the on-going research in tracking the connect between the Hun clans of India and Hungary and their migration route,” says Berne.

He backs the theory that Chauhans entered Modern day India during the reign of Alchan Hun rulers (1st to 5th century) The oldest details of the presence of Huns in India was documented by Chinese Buddhist monks — Sung Yun, who visited India in sixth century, and Hsuan Tsang (early 7th century), who mentioned about the White Huns,— in their accounts.

Berne presents a theory that Chao, a Mongol tribe and Huns united to form the Chauhans. The study says that nomadic Huns began migrating in 380 AD and at present were settled at several parts in Eurasia.

Berne says Huns of Hungary have over 300 totems, most of which are identical with the totems of Chauhans. “The surname ‘Csohan’ is the most common in the telephone directory in Hungary. It is nothing but a reference to the Chauhans. Many of our family names are after totems, gods or divine ancestor animals. We worship Babba Goddess, the symbol of which is called Amba Devi, an Indian deity. Every year hundreds of people gather to celebrate Babba Goddess festival,” says Berne.

The Hungarian outlines similarities between the two clans in terms of art, architecture and paintings, too, found in Rajasthan and in Hungary. The contribution of Huns in shaping modern day Europe and Asia has been widely ignored due to the impact of European history, says Berne.

K G Sharma, head of History department at RU, says the subject requires immediate attention for scientific research, including the study of bloodlines to bring forth the biggest discovery that can change India's relations with Europe forever. "Important centres of dynasties related to Huns were Sialkot in Pakistan and Kundoz in present day Afghanistan. They were predominant in Hindu Kush, which is north-eastern Afghanistan at present," says Sharma.

