According to Hindu mythology, the Rajputs of Rajasthan were the descendants of the kshatriyas or warriors of Vedic India. The emergence of the Rajput warrior clans was in the 6th and 7th centuries. Rajputs' ancestry can be divided into two: the "solar" or suryavanshi-those descended from Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana, and the "lunar" or chandravanshi, who claimed descent from Krishna, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. Later a third clan was added, the agnikula or fire-born, said to have emerged from the flames of a sacrificial fire on Mt Abu.

It has been accepted that the Rajputs were divided into thirty-six races and twenty-one kingdoms. The Rajput clans gave rise to dynasties like Sisodias of Mewar (Udaipur), the Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur), the Rathores of Marwar (Jodhpur & Bikaner), the Hadas of Jhalwawar, Kota & Bundi, the Bhattis of Jaisalmer, the Shekhawats of Shekhawati, and the Chauhans of Ajmer.

Early History: Rajasthan is the north-western region of India, and has remained independent from the great empires. Buddhism failed to make substantial inroads here. Even though Ashoka, the renowned Mauryan emperor, converted to Buddhism in 261 BC, it did not impact Rajasthan much. However, there are Buddhist caves and stupas (Buddhist shrines) at Jhalawar, in Southern Rajasthan. Ancient Hindu scriptural epics refer to sites in present day Rajasthan. The holy pilgrimage site of Pushkar is mentioned in both the Mahabharata and Ramayana.