Until the 19th century what is now India (like Europe) was a
patchwork of over 650 princely states, like kingdoms, ranging
from the small and relatively unimportant, to the large,
immensely wealthy and powerful, ruled over by men (mostly) with
a wide range of titles in addition to the familiar maharajahs
and rajas. Under an ancient Hindu custom, to avoid a disputed
succession to the throne, a ruler with no born-to heir could
adopt a male of any age from another branch of the ruling family
and appoint him heir apparent. This parallels similar customs in
ancient Rome and during the Chinese Qing Dynasty. In the Rajput
kingdoms, a ruler might adopt a number of boys, called bhayats,
who would live in the palace and be groomed for the succession
together. An heir apparent would eventually be selected from
this pool of candidates if no competent born-to son were
produced (an obviously unsuitable or treasonous born-to son
could be excluded from the succession). If the ruler died before
adopting a successor, one of hi