·Porvad (पोरवाड), also called Porwad / Porwal, are an ancient Jain community that originated from southern Rajasthan. In Sanskrit inscriptions it is called Pragvata (प्राग्वाट).
They have originated from a region east of ancient Shrimal. Today numerically they rank behind the Oswal and Shrimal Jains from the same region. However in antiquity, they appear to have been more numerous and among the wealthiest. Many of the most famous Jain temples were built by the Porwads:
The term Pragvad refers to a region that eventually was called Mewad. A Kalchuri inscription refers to the Guhilots as ruling the Pragvad region.
The Porvad community became divided into several regional communities including:
Eventually they became independent communities. Some of the groups became a part of the Oswal or Navnat communities.
Both Jain traditions, Svetambara and Digambara are represented among different sections of the Porwad community. The historian H.L. Jain has suggested that Krisha, the patron of Muni Srichandra, a Digambara monk belonged to the same family Ninanvaya clan as Vimala who built the Vimala Vasahi temple at Abu.[3] Thus the one branche of the family followed Swetamabra tradition, while other followed Digambara tradition. This suggests the harmonious coexistence to the two Jain traditions in that region.
In the 16th century, Pushti Marga was founded by Vallabha, a Brahmin scholar from Telangana, who proposed that in the modern age, it is too hard to follow the Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti Margas. He proposed Pushti Marga (pursuance of worldly luxuries Raga, Bhoga and Shringar) as an alternative. A section of the Porwads has converted to Pushtimarga. Those who have converted to the Pushtimarg are known as Meshri (derived from Maheshwari)[4] or Vania.
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