Menaria (Menariya, Menaria) is a warrior community found in south Rajasthan, mainly across Udaipur,

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...

, Bhilwara and Rajsamand.

About

Menaria (मेनारिया in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

), also known as Menaria, Menaria Samaj is a

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 ...

inhabiting the Indian state of

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 ...

, originated in the districts of

Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...

, Bhilwara and Rajsamand. Menaria is one of the subcaste of

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

community, They engaged in all kind of priestly work and also acquire a large amount of farming land and descent farmers, from the region and is often referred to as 52 Kheda Brahmin (Kheda means village).

History

The Menaria community is found in places such as Cheerwa (Udaipur) Vallabhnagar (Udaipur), Girva (Udaipur),

, Pratapgarh, Kapasan, Badi Sadri, Doongla, Varni, Neemach and

Mandsaur Mandsaur is a city and a municipality in Mandsaur district located on Border of Mewar and Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers ...

and Indore district. The largest villages of Menaria's are Menar, Rundera, Kharsan, Panerion Ki Madri, Chorwadi, Gawardi, Nilod, Mahuda, Suwaniya, Chokdi, Vana, Batherda khurd (joshi). The famous village of Menaria Samaj is Batheda khurd which have ancient temple of Maa Kalika. Most people of Batherda khurd (Menaria Samaj) work and are settled abroad in the US, Europe or the UAE, etc. The biggest village of Menaria Samaj are Menar, and Rundera started a project named Hariyalo Rundera & Hariyalo Menar. In that project people of villages started planting trees. A village which is away from Menar Region name gawardi started a mission named Project Green Gawardi. In that mission the youth of the village planted trees among the whole village. This was a great initiative appreciated by the whole Menaria Samaj.

Menariya during the Mughal era

After a treaty was signed between the Mewar and the Mughals, many armed stations were established across Mewar State. Maharana Amarsingh was the king then. After the attack at Uthala Fort by Mughals, villagers of Menar, taking inspiration from the incident, took up arms and defeated the Mughals. The day fell on Jamra Beej (the second day after

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

) which is celebrated till today by the locals to cherish the valour and heroism of their ancestors. Villagers get together at Omkareshwar square and fireworks and guns are fired, sweets are distributed.

Notable people

Ashok Menaria Ashok Menaria (born 29 October 1990) is an Indian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and slow left arm orthodox bowler who plays for Rajasthan. He played for the Rajasthan Royals from 2011 to 2013. Menaria began his competitive cricketing ...

(born 29 October 1991) is an Indian cricketer from the

district.

References

{{Reflist, 30em2 *S, Monika (11 June 2017)
"Congratulations Arpit Menaria , 22nd position in JEE(Advanced)2017"
''Udaipur Times''.
"Court Judge Count Report: State Rajasthan: District Chittorgarh"
Indian castes Social groups of Rajasthan Hindu surnames Indian surnames