Barnwal

Barnwal (also spelled Baranwal, Varnwal or Barnawal ) is a Baniya community originating in India.

Legend

Barnwal is a trader and merchants community in North India.[1][2]{[3] According to 19th century censuses, there were both Rajputs and Bania Barnwals, similar to Khandelwals.[4] The community traces its origins to Maharaja Ahibaran, a Tomar emperor in present Uttar Pradesh.[5] Earlier they had 36 clans which intermarried but now the clans are all assimilated into one.[6]

History

The history of Barnwals is intricately linked with the kingdom of Baran, the present day Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh. [7] The founder of the town was a Tomar/Yaudheya king named Parmal. His successor and the most famous king was Ahibaran. According to Tarikh-i-Yamini, Raja Hardutt was the ruler of Baran with Kannauj as his capital during the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017. The kingdom had dominion over Delhi, Meerut, Aligarh, Bulandshahar and most parts of current U.P.[8] In 1194, the ruler Chandra Sen fought against Muhammad Ghouri.

According to Hindu texts, Parikshit, the successor of Yudhisthir, came to throne in this town and later met his death by snake-bite. His son Janamejaya might have called himself or his descendant Pandavas as Ahibaran to style himself as the fort for protection against snakes. Most historians have identified Baran with the Varanavata, mentioned in the 143th chapter of the first book of Mahabharata.

There are 36 gotras in Barnwals. These are Garg, Vatsil, Goyal, Gohil, Kraw, Deval, Kashyap, Vats, Atri, Vamdev, Kapil, Galb, Sinhal, Aaranya, Kashil, Upmanyu, Yaimini, Parashar, Kaushik, Maunas, Katyaapan, Kaundilyam, Pulishh, Bhrigu, Sarvay, Angira, Krishnabhi, Udhhalak, Aashvalayan, Bhardwaj, Sankrit, Mudgal, Yamadgri, Chyevan, Vedpramiti and Sanskrittayan.[9]

History

It is traditionally believed by Barnwals that their ancestors adopted Vanika Dharma for promoting trade, commerce, development and peace in their region.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Statistical, descriptive and historical account of the North-western ... Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Asian Folklore Institute; Society for Asian Folklore (1972). Asian Folklore Studies. Asian Folklore Institute. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh (2008). People of India, Volume 16, Part 1 (1st ed.). India: Anthropological Survey of India. p. 131. ISBN 81-7046-302-5. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Census of the N.-W. Provinces, 1872, Volume 1. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  5. ↑ People of India: Uttar Pradesh (3 pts.).
  6. ↑ Balfour, Edward (1885). The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures, Volume 1. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume 48. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume 52. Asiatic Society. p. 280. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "2". Baranwal Samvad (in Hindi). Gorakhpur, India: Akhil Bhartiya Baranwal Vaishya Mahasabha. 2010.
  10. ↑ "2". Baranwal Chandrika (in Hindi) 3 (22 ed.). Gorakhpur, India: Barnwal Vaishya Mahasabha. pp. 23–34.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.