Rājbhandāri (राजभण्डारी) is a

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...

Chatharīya Srēstha clan residing primarily in

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...

and other parts of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. It is said that the

Malla Malla may refer to: Places ;Bolivia *Malla, Bolivia, a locality * Malla Jawira, a river * Malla Jaqhi, a mountain * Malla Municipality * Malla Qullu, a mountain ;India * Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu *Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the s ...

king

Jayasthiti Malla Jayasthitimalla (or Jayasthiti Malla) ( ne, जयस्थिति मल्ल) was a 14th-century king of Nepal belonging to the Malla dynasty. He is known as the best successor of the whole Malla dynasty. He was of Tirhut origins and had ma ...

appointed treasurers to look after the wealth. The king honored them with the title of “Bhandari”. As time passed, the ''bhandari'' were replaced by the ''Raj-bhandari''. By 17th CE, Rajbhandari was a prominent aristocratic clan serving as courtiers & military chiefs in the Malla courts. Similalrly, Rajbhandaris are appointed as the traditional treasurers, the chief non-Vedic assistant-priests of

Pashupatinath Temple Pashupatinath Temple ( ne, श्री पशुपतिनाथ मन्दिर) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is located in Kathmandu, Nepal. This temple was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1979. This "extensive ...

of Kathmandu and military leaders.Presently, 108 Rajbhandaris perform rituals as assistant priests and chief patrons of the various temples in the Pashupati area. Rajbhandaris are descendants of the

Suryavansha The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...

and

Agnivansha In Indian culture, the Agnivanshi are people who claim descent from Agni, the Vedic god of fire. The Agnivanshi lineage (Agnivansha or Agnikula) is one of the three lineages into which the Rajput clans, the others being the Suryavanshi (descende ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

kings who migrated to the Kathmandu valley during Malla rule, and presently, Rajbhandaris belong to the high-caste Kshatriya (pronounced ''Chathariya'') Newārs, marrying among other clans such as

(मल्ल), Māskay (मास्के),

Joshi Joshi is a surname used by the Brahmin (caste) in India and Nepal. Joshi is also sometimes spelled as Jyoshi. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Jyotishi'' meaning "astrologer" or a person who practices ''jyotisha''. ''Jyotisha'' refers ...

(जोशी), Pradhānanga (प्रधानांग), Pradhān (प्रधान),

Acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a tit ...

/Karmāchārya (आचार्य), Amātya (अमात्य), Vaidhya (वैद्य), etc.Dor Bahadur Bista (People of Nepal) They are considered as “Brahmaputra Kshatri (ब्रह्मपुत्र क्षत्री)” who are required to wear “

Janai ''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...

” (the sacred thread) around their neck. In modern times, the tradition became less strict. Surnames "Bhani (भनी)", "Bhari (भारी)", "Bhariju (भारिजु)", "Talchabhari (ताल्चाभारी)", "Bhandel/Bhadel (भँडेल/भदेल)" are all local variants of "Rajbhandari". Originally, three types of Rajbhandari lived in Nepal according to their “

Gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) 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 fo ...

” (lineage) and the social status * Rajbhandari of Bhadgaon (

Bhaktapur , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...

): Bhāradwaja * Rajbhandari of Kantipur (

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

): Kāsyapa * Rajbhandari of Lalitpattan ( Lalitpur): Kashib

Notable people

Gehendra Bahadur Rajbhandari Gehendra Bahadur Rajbhandari ( ne, गेहेन्द्र बहादुर राजभण्डारी; November 1923 – 23 August 1994) was the most senior Minister (working with responsibility of the Prime Minister) in Nepal from 13 ...

- "Senior Minister", Acting

Prime Minister of Nepal The Prime Minister of Nepal ( ne, नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री) is the head of government of Nepal. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Nepal and the chief adviser to the President of N ...

, 1970-71. *

Phatteman Rajbhandari Phatteman Rajbhandari (November 28, 1936 – September 9, 2013), an iconic voice in Nepali music, was a popular vocalist and musician of Nepal known for prominent songs such as "Marna Baru Garho Hunna", "Banai Khayo Dadelo Ley", "Yesto Pani H ...

- Popular singer, musician *

Kaji Manik Lal Rajbhandari Bada Kaji Manik Lal Rajbhandari (born 1880, date of death unknown) was a Nepalese politician. He served as Minister for Public Works, Communication, Law & Parliamentary Affairs, Health and Local Self Governance in the Advisory Council government fr ...

- Bada Kaji, senior bureaucrat *

Sonie Rajbhandari Sonie Rajbhandari ( ne, सोनिए राजभण्डारी) is a Nepali people, Nepalese model & beauty queen. She was crowned Miss Nepal 2014, Miss Nepal International 2014 on 2 May 2014. Sonie graduated from Kathmandu University, Kat ...

- Miss Nepal International 2014 *

Divya Mani Rajbhandari Dibya Mani Rajbhandari (or Dibyamani Rajbhandari) is a Nepali politician and a member of the House of Representatives of the federal parliament of Nepal. He was elected under the proportional representation system from Nepali Congress filling the ...

- Philanthropist/Politician, member of Parliament of Federal Parliament of Nepal

References

Newar Surnames of Nepalese origin Newari-language surnames {{surname-stub