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 ...
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 (gur ...
community from the
Mithila region
Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothill ...
of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
that comprises
Tirhut
Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothill ...
Purnia
Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar.
Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is nex ...
,
Munger
Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern ...
,
Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Si ...
Santhal Pargana division
Santhal Pargana division constitutes one of the five district administration units known as the divisions of Jharkhand state in eastern India.
Origin of name
Santhal Pargana derives its name from two words: " Santhal", a major tribe of India ...
s of India and some adjoining districts of Nepal.
They are one of the five
Pancha-Gauda
Pancha Gauda is one of the two major groupings of Brahmins in Hinduism, of which the other is Pancha-Dravida.
In ''Rajatarangini''
According to Kalhana's ''Rajatarangini'' (c. 12th century CE), the Pancha Gauda group includes the following five ...
Brahmin communities.
The main language spoken by Maithil Brahmins is Maithili.
History
Some of the dynastic families of the Mithila region, such as the Oiniwar Dynasty and Khandwal Dynasty (Raj Darbhanga), were Maithil Brahmins and were noted for their patronage of Maithil culture.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Maithil Brahmins became politically significant in Bihar.
Binodanand Jha
Binodanand Jha (17 April 1900 – 1971), also known as Pandit Binodanand Jha was an Indian politician originally from the district of Deoghar, Bihar (Baidyanathdham Deoghar), now in Jharkhand. He was educated at the Central Calcutta College, ( ...
and
Lalit Narayan Mishra
Lalit Narayan Mishra (2 February 1923 – 3 January 1975) was an Indian politician who served as Minister of Railways in the government of India from 1973 to 1975. He was brought into politics by the first Chief Minister of Bihar, Krishna Sinh ...
emerged as prominent political leaders of the community. Under the Chief Ministry of
Jagannath Mishra
Jagannath Mishra (24 June 1937 – 19 August 2019) was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Bihar and as Minister in the Union Cabinet. He was also Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha between 1988 - 1990 and 1994 - 2000. His invo ...
many Maithil Brahmins assumed important political positions in
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
.
Divisions
According to the Vedic ''Samhita'', Maithil Brahmins are divided into the Vajasaneyi(Yajurvedic) and the Chandogya(Samavedic) and each group is strictly
exogamous
Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups ...
. They are also further classified by four main categories, the Srotriyas(Soit), the Yogyas(Bhalmanush), the Painjas and the Jaiwars. They are all expected to be morganatic(anuloma) however these days this is no longer enforced strictly. They are also divided into various Mools or Clan's name. And every mool is further divided into upamool or sub clans. It is similar like garh and goti of Baiga tribe, Graamam and Griham of Nambudiri Brahmins, yek salai of Meitei People and Hala and Mukun of Jurchen People. They have many Aaspad or Surnames like Jha, Mishra, Thakur, Rai, Roy, Choudhary, Pathak, Kunwar, Singh etc.
Religious practices
They are mainly practitioners of
Shaktism
Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, al ...
in various forms, however there are also
Vaishnavites
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and
Shaivites
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
.
Panjis
Panjis Panjis or Panji Prabandh are extensive genealogical records maintained among the Maithil Kayasthas and Maithil Brahmins of the Mithila region similar to the Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar.
Utility
The Panjis have enormous value when arrangi ...
or Panji Prabandh are extensive
genealogical
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
records maintained among Maithil Brahmins similar to the
* {{cite web, last=Brown Heinz, first=Carolyn, title=The Maithil Brahmins: an online ethnography, url=http://www.csuchico.edu/anth/mithila/, publisher=Department of Anthropology,
California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university h ...