Jagas are a

social caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

based group of people higher up in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

hierarchy who held the traditional job of genealogists of primarily Gurjar,Jat and Rajput families mainly in

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 si ...

, India and surrounding states.They had power and a matching responsibility for accuracy as their

testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

in legal matters was tenable in the courts. Jagas visited villages in their charge every two to three years to record the events and collect the customary fees in the form of cattle, elephants (from very rich patrons), grain and money to which they were entitled. Jagas have also been described as

Bhat Bhat (also spelled as Bhatt or Butt) is a surname in the Indian subcontinent. Bhat and Bhatt are shortened rendition of Bhatta. Etymology The word "Bhat" ( sa, भट, ) means "teacher" in Sanskrit. While the original shortened rendition of "Bh ...

References

Social groups of Rajasthan Rajput culture {{Social groups of Rajasthan