Balai or Balahi | |
---|---|
Religions | Hinduism |
Languages | Nimadi, Dhundari, Marwadi, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Gujarati |
Country | India |
Original state | Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh |
Related groups | Salvi, Meghwal, Koli |
The Balai, Raj Balai, Balahior Bunkar\Sutarkar are found in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in India. [1] [2] [3]
Balai is the bad pronounastion of hindi word "बुनाई", the word "Balai" itself is mean to weaving [4] [5] Weaving is the traditional occupation of Balais. [6] [7]
According to Hindu texts all the weaver in Hindu religion are the descendants of Rishi Mrikanda who was born in the clan of Bhrigu Rishi . [8] [9] Mrikanda is known as the father of modern weaving, He is also venerated as the father of Markandeya, the rishi (sage) who is featured extensively in the Markandeya Purana. [10] [11] [12] In this context Balai weaver are also said to be descendants of Rishi Mrikanda.
similar : The Kanjeevaram Silk Weavers are also considered as descendants of Rishi Markanda, who was considered to be the weaver of the clothes that Gods themselves wore. In this way it can be said that all the weaver communities in Hinduism associated with rishi mrikanda too. [8] [13]
Bunker is the sub group from the caste of balai some of the bunker's are still doing the work of weaving and they belong to the vaishya
caste. They are attached with the work of weaving or selling. [14]
Jain Shravak Sangha had preached among the Balai community in 1964 near Ratlam in village Guradia. Acharya Nanalal Maharaj from Jain Shravak Sangha gave Dharampal Jain Samaj to the balai community in the name of Lord Dharmanath, who was among the Tirthankaras of Jain society. Currently 1.25 lakh people of Malviya and Gujarati Balai community across the country have become Dharampal Jains. [15] [16]
Historically the Raj Balais are said to be royal messengers, they used to convey messages from one kingdom to another kingdom at the ancient times . 'Raj' is the synonym Royal therefore the Balais who was engaged in such royal services called Raj Balais. [17]
Balai are Hindus by religion. They are devotees of Maa Durga, Maa Chamunda and Maa Kalaratri. [18] They also pay tribute to Baba Ramdeo Ji and consider "KALRATRI" as their kuldevi. [19] [20] Balais do not marry in their families or within their gotra. [21] Balai have mixed gotras in their caste due to caste conversions. Balais are divided into a number of exogamous gotras such as Chouhan, Rathore, Parihar, Parmar, Solanki, [22] Marichi, Atri, August, Bhardwaj, Matang, Dhaneshwar, Mahachand, Jogchand, Jogpal, Meghpal, Garva and Jaipal. [23] They live in multi-caste villages in their own areas and bury their dead. [24]
Balais are traditionally non-vegetarian cause they belief in Bali (animal sacrifice). [19] Animal sacrifice is the part of worshiping Maa Durga and Kalaratri. [21] At present most of the people of the community choose to be pure vegetarian. [25]
According to 2011 Census of India, Rajasthan showed their population as 306,034 contributing 9.11% in state, while there are 2,668,000 in over all country. [26]
They speak languages like Nimadi, Dhundari, Marwadi, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Gujarati in various Indian states. [27]
Bhrigu was a rishi in Hinduism. He was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, and one of the many Prajapatis created by Brahma. The first compiler of predictive astrology and also the author of Bhrigu Samhita, an astrological (jyotisha) classic. Bhrigu is considered a manasaputra ("mind-born-son") of Brahma. The adjectival form of the name, Bhargava, is used to refer to the descendants and the school of Bhrigu. According to Manusmriti, Bhrigu was a compatriot of and lived during the time of Manu, the progenitor of humanity. Along with Manu, Bhrigu had made important contributions to the Manusmriti, which was constituted out of a sermon to a congregation of saints in the state of Brahmavarta, after the great floods in this area. As per the Skanda Purana, Bhrigu migrated to Bhrigukaccha, modern Bharuch, on the banks of the Narmada river in Gujarat, leaving his son Chyavana at Dhosi Hill.
In Hindu culture, the term gotra is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra forms an exogamous unit, with marriage within the same gotra being regarded as incest and prohibited by custom. The name of the gotra can be used as a surname, but it is different from a surname and is strictly maintained because of its importance in marriages among Hindus, especially among castes. Pāṇini defines gotra as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram, which means "the word gotra denotes the descendance, apatya, of a couple consisting of a pautra, a son and a bharti, a mother, i.e. a daughter-in-law."
Agrawal is a Hindu Bania community. The Banias of northern India are really a cluster of several communities, of which the Agarwal Banias, Maheshwari Banias, Oswal Banias, and Porwal Banias are mentioned separately in connection with certain They are found throughout northern and central India, mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and kashmir, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. They are also found in Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh, though at the time of the partition of India, most of them migrated across the newly created border to independent India. The majority religions followed by the Agrawals include Vaishnava Hinduism and Jainism.
The Meghwal or Meghwar people live primarily in northwest India, with a small population in Pakistan. Their traditional occupation was agricultural farming, cattle-herding and weaving. Meghwals are known for their contribution to embroidery and the textile industry. Most are Hindu by religion, with Rishi Megh, Kabir, Ramdev Pir and Bankar Mataji as their chief gods.
Kharnal is a village in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, India. It is the birthplace of Tejaji. It is situated at a distance of 16km from Nagaur in the south-west direction on Nagaur - Jodhpur Road. The Kharnal village was abandoned many times in the past and presently it is situated at a distance of 1 mile in north-west of ancient village. Tejaji is considered to be folk-deity and worshiped in entire Rajasthan and Malwa in Madhya Pradesh by all communities. He was born on Bhadrapad Shukla Dashmi in year 1074, in the family of Dhaulya gotra Jats. His father was Chaudhary Taharji, a chieftain of Kharnal. His mother's name was Sugna. Mother Sugna is believed to have got son Teja by the blessings of Naag-deity.
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