Jaiswal Brahmin

Jaiswal Brahmin are a South Asian community who form part of the Pancha-Gauda division and are branch of Kanyakubja Brahmins. They are mainly Chandravanshis or Gadhiwals,[1] Some Jaiswals are also believed to be Nagar Brahmins. They share a history with the Nagar Brahmins and Sakaldwipiya or Shakadvipi Brahmins. According to one school of thought it is also believed that Jaiswal Brahmins have roots in Middle East. Some Jaiswals are Chaurasi Brahmins from Nepal or North India, they are also termed as Shiv Brahmins. There is a strong link between Chaurasi Brahmins of north India and Nagar Brahmins. Nag vel or Nagar vel(beetle nut plant) is also an interesting connecting link. They are not Brahmins.

Some Jaiswals are Brahmin Swarnkars. This is probably due to the profession they acquired.

Jaiswal Brahmins are also found amongst Utkal and Burmese Brahmins.

Most of them are Brahmin Thakurs.[2]

Surnames and middle names

Few of the common Jaiswal Brahmin Surnames are Jaiswal, Jayaswal, Gaur, Garg, Gupta, Bhagat, Vaish(nav), Dubey, Prasad, Chowdhury, Rai or Ray or Roy, Thakur, Sahu, Malviya, Varma or Varman Or Barman, etc.

Common middle names in North/East Indian Brahmins are: -Ranjan -Chandra -Ram -Prasad -Kumar

Name Prefix or Middle name -Gupta and -Varma or -Varman or -Barman were used by Brahmin Dynasty Kings in Eastern Parts of Indian Subcontinent and Far Eastern countries and after the fall of their empires to mongoloids or budhhist and Islamic hardliners, their descendants eventually used them as Surnames e.g. King Sri Gupta ruled parts of North and North-East India, East Pakistan, parts of western India etc., King Rudravarma of Champa (Vietnam), King Jayavarma I of Kambuja (Kampuchea or Cambodia), kings of other far eastern islands and regions.[3][4][5]

Brahmin Guptas are believed to be Vaidya Brahmins and are descendants of Dhanavantari, the god of medicine and father of Ayurveda.[3]

Jaiswal Rajput

Though being Brahmins Chandravanshi Jaiswals were efficient rulers and gallant warriors. They ruled various geographical domains spanning from Iran to Far East at various historical time segments hence some clans were also classified as Jaiswal Rajputs in more recent history . They were good rulers and gallant warriors. They believed in truly secular values and were great patrons of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and Hinduism. After invasions by Mughal or Arabic and Islamic hardliners in west and Mongol or Buddhist hardliners in east and far east they were compelled to fallback position in Indian subcontinent.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chandravansh".
  2. ↑ Sherring, M.A. (2008) [1872]. Hindu Tribes and Castes as Reproduced in Benaras. 6A, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049, India: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-2036-0.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Brahmin
  4. ↑ , Professor A.L. Basham, My Guruji and Problems and Perspectives of Ancient, by Sachindra Kumar Maity
  5. ↑ Origin of the Gupta dynasty
  6. ↑ Glimpses of Ancient Sind By B. D. Mirchandani
  7. ↑ P. 152 Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World By André Wink