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Nagar Brahmin

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This article is about the social caste. For the moth family, see Brahmaeidae. For similarly spelled words, see Nagar (disambiguation).
Nagar Brahmin
नागर ब्राह्मण
GotraSee list below
VedaBased on the Surname
Kuladevta (male)Hatkeshwar
Kuladevi (female)Based on the Surname
GuruThakurji
NishanKalam, Kadchhi, Barchhi
Religions Hinduism
LanguagesGujarati, Malvi, Hindi, English
CountryIndia, USA, Canada
Populated statesGujarat, Rajasthan, New Jersey, Illinois, Ontario
RegionMalwa, Mumbai, Kolkata
EthnicityIndian
Migration to IndiaAncient Greece-Hindu Kush
Notable membersNarsinh Mehta, see list below
SubdivisionsVadnagara, Visnagara, Prashnora, Sathodra, Chitroda, Krashnora
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Nagar Brahmins in western India (c. 1855-1862).

Nagars are believed to be one of the oldest of the Brahmin groups found primarily in Gujarat, but also in Rajasthan, Malwa and in states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar even as far as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh in the north, West Bengal in the east and Karnataka in the south. In North India, they form a sub-group of Vyas Brahmins.

File:Hatkeshwar Mahadev Temple Vadnagar 2007 Apr.JPG
"Hatkeshwar Mahadev Temple Vadnagar"

Origin

The oldest account of the Nagars is given in the Nagar Khand, a part of the Skanda Purana.[1] There are several theories regarding the origin of the Nagars. They all connect them with the Nags in one way or another, although they have no historical foundation. Later discoveries by historians throw light on their origin. Among these, three distinct pravaradhyay relating ancestry and Pravaras of these Brahmins discovered by Late Vallabhji Haridat Acharya, provide authentic information regarding the origin of Nagar Brahmins. One amongst these gives a list of 13 Sharmans used by the Nagar Brahmins 700 years ago. They are Datta, Gupta, Nand, Ghosh, Sharman, Das, Varman, Nagadatta, Trat, Bhut, Mitra, Dev and Bhav. This is further supported by the fact that three of these Sharmans - Mitra, Trat and Datta - are also found among the names of Brahmin grantees in the copper-plate grants of Valabhi Kings, who ruled North Gujarat during 509-766 AD. This also shows that the Nagars first appear in Gujarat during the reign of the Valabhi Kings in the 6th century AD. There is no doubt about the fact that these Sharmans are clan indicators, which are even now used by the Nagars during religious ceremonies. It may further be noted that out of these 13 Sharmans, at least 10 are found among the family names of the Bengali Kayasthas.[2]

The eminent historian D. R. Bhandarkar was the first to point out that the surnames used by the Nagar Brahmins in the recent past are amongst the surnames of Brahmins in whose favour the Kings made grants, as found in early inscriptions between the 6th and 8th centuries AD.[3] Dr. Bhandarkar has shown that the Sapadalaksha Brahmins were the same as the Nagar Brahmins, who were undoubtedly of Alpine origin. Alpine Aryans are believed to have entered India as part of Aryan immigration during the third millennium BC. It has been suggested that the Nagar Brahmins along with the present-day Bengali Kayasthas are amongst the purest forms of this type; they were originally the Brahmin priests of the Alpines, as evident from several early inscriptions, and that probably explains their comparative pure state till now.[4]

Among the early written sources, Nagars are also mentioned in the Skanda Purana, which contains some 81,000 slokas, or hymns.

Classification

There are six major Nagar castes (Gnati) called Pshatnagar. They are:
Vadnagara Nagars (from Vadnagar)
Visnagara (from Visnagar)
Prashnora (from Kathiawad)
Sathodra from Sathod
Chitroda from Chitrod
Krashnora or Krishnora

Vadnagara Nagars are known as only Nagars, while other Nagar groups are known as Nagar Brahmins.

Surnames of Nagars/Nagar Brahmins

Some of the following surnames are also found in other communities.

Derived from geographical (village or city) names:
Anjaria, Antani, Avashia, Badheka, Baxi, Bhachech, Bhatt, Buch, Chhaya, Desai, Dhebar, Dholakia, Dhruva, Divetia, Ghoda, Hathi, Jhala, Joshipura, Kachhi, Kantharia, Kavishwar, Lakhia, Majumdar/Mazumdar, Mankad or Mankar, Munshi, Oza, Pandya, Parghi, Pattani, Trivedi, Unakar, Vachharajani, Vahia, Vasavada, Vaidya, Vaishnav, Veravala,Vashishta, Vora, Vyas, Yagnik

Derived from family ancestry:
Amin, Anantani, Antani, Bavani, Bhatt, Kikani, Majmundar, Maknani, Premapuri, Rana, Rindani, Savani, Vachharajani, Vaishnav, Vyas

Derived from titles awarded by Rajput and Muslim rulers:
These rulers ruled Gujarat for about eight centuries. Nagars were on prominent positions and were awarded many titles. These twenty surnames include names such as:
Amin, Baxi, Bhagat, Desai, Divan, Gharekhan, Janita, Jathhal, Jha, Kothari, Medh, Munshi, Parghi, Pota, Swadia

Derived from professional titles:
Most Nagars are professionals. Many surnames were derived from their professions. These names include:
Acharya, Bhatt, Buch, Diwanji or Divanji, Druv, Jikar, Mandloi, Mankad/Mankodi/Mankar, Mehta, Nanavati, Pandit, Pathak,Pawar, Purohit, Upadhyay, Vaidya, Vyas

Other names:
Bhatt, Dave, Hathi, Hora, Jani, Kharod, Maharaja, Mankad/Mankodi/Mankar, Okhnis, Thakore, Vyas, machchhar, antani, kavishwar, joshipura, joshi, vora, vidya.

There are several surnames used in various regions in Gujarat.
From Kachchh:
Jhala, Kachchhi, Maru, Oza

From Kathiawad:
Bhatt, Dholakia, Jha, Mankad Mankodi/Mankar, Nagar, Oza, Pancholi, Virani, Vyas

The following are surnames of Gujarati Nagar Brahmins:
Acharya, Bhatt, Derasari, Desai, Dixit, Dwivedi, Joshi, Joshipura, Mankad/Mankodi/Mankar, Naik/Nayak, Pandya, Pathak, Pattani, Raval, Shukla, Thakar, Tripathi, Trivedi, Vora, Vyas, Yagnik, Yodh

Famous Nagars

See also

Nagar Muslims

References

  1. ^ Research in Sociology: Abstracts of M.A. and Ph. D. Dissertations Completed in the Department of Sociology, University of Bombay, Concept Publishing Company, 1989, p. 100
  2. ^ R. E. Enthoven (1990). The Tribes and Castes of Bombay. Asian Educational Services. pp. 234–235. ISBN 978-81-206-0630-2.
  3. ^ S. K. Sharma, U. Sharma (2005). Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy. North-East India. Volume 1. Mittal Publications. p. 182. ISBN 978-81-83-24035-2.
  4. ^ S. K. Sharma, U. Sharma (2005). Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy. North-East India. Volume 1. Mittal Publications. pp. 48, 176. ISBN 978-81-83-24035-2. 
   ^ http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/2834587#Famous_Nagar_Brahmins
   ^ http://www.dashora.ca/notes/nagar-history.htm
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