The Bhavsar also known as Bhavasara Kshathriya or Bhavsar Kshatriya are a
caste found in the
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
states of
Maharashtra,
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
,
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
and
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
. Their traditional occupation is
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
,
dyeing
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular c ...
and printing of cloth.
However, many became tailors in course of time and are known as, "
shimpi
Shimpi is an umbrella term for the Indian caste traditionally involved in the business of clothing and tailoring. Saint Namdev of the Bhakti movement is revered as the patron of the community.
Occupation
The traditional occupation of the commu ...
" in Maharashtra while those who continued in the former profession of dyeing and printing of clothes are known as, "
Rangārē" but most Bhavsars are now pursuing modern day occupations, including private sector or public sector jobs.
History
According to legend, the Bhavsar originated in the
Saurashtra region, which is now in the state of Gujarat.
The Bhavsar community has negotiated with the
Pakistani government
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories, ...
to assure passage for regular pilgrimages to
Hinglaj
Hinglaj (Devanagari: हिंगलाज, bal, هنگلاج, sd, هنگلاج, ur, ) is an important Hindu pilgrimage place in Balochistan, Pakistan and Kuldevi of many Kshatriya, Charan, Rajpurohits and other Hindu Communities of India ...
.
Hinglaj Mata
Hinglaj Mata ( Hindi: हिंगलाज माता, bal, هنگلاج ماتا, ), also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, ...
is their Community deity.
Language
The Bhavsar community in Rajasthan speaks
Bagri, a
Rajasthani
Rajasthani may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India
* Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there
* Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region
* Rajasthani architecture
* Rajasthani art ...
dialect,
those in Gujarat speak
Gujarati
Gujarati may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India
* Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat
* Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them
* Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
and the rest speak
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
, apart from the local language but the Gujarati speaking and Marathi speaking Bhavsars were traditionally
endogamous
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
.
See also
*
Pujya Mota
*
Rangrez
References
{{Reflist
External links
* http://www.bhavsarsamaj.com/index.php
Further reading
*''Advanced communities among the Kshatriyas of Malwa and Western India'' – Shankar Patwardhan, Arvind Vyas Paper no. AS056/2007 submitted to Anthropological Survey of India
Indian castes
Social groups of Gujarat
Social groups of Maharashtra
Social groups of Rajasthan