Pani

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See Panis for the Rigvedic race of demons.

Pani is a surname used in India, found in the state of Orissa. There are two stories how this surname came about. The first one says the great grammar pundit Panini is the ancestor of Panis', and the other story is that a king of Kalinga conferred the title Pani to Brahmins who could easily memorize all of the Vedas.

Some Panis migrated inland to the tribal areas of Jharkhand and settled during the Mughal period (17th century). (The migrants' descendants still identify themselves as residents of Orissa.) There are a few Panis from this migratory group in Bengal and in western Orissa.


[edit] History

The surname pani is widely used in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and a large part of eastern and central India. This surname is used by Brahmins whose root can be traced to Ujjain of Madya Pradesh and to the period of Kalidasa, the great poet. In sanskrit "pani" means "hand". It is widely believed that the Brahmins who were primarily occupied with writing scriptures and preserving it were known by the surname Pani. Unlike other Brahmin communities, these Brahmins practiced martial arts and participated in wars. They migrated to Orissa in the 12th century AD after king Jajati Keshari invited them for a yajna that was held to honour Lord Shiva. This community reached their zenith and were revered as ministers in the period of king Vikramaditya..

Also, it can be used as a formal first name, such as in the case of Panijodd.

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