Rājbhandāri (राजभण्डारी) is a Newar Chatharīya Srēstha clan residing primarily in Kathmandu Valley and other parts of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. 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 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 "extensi ...

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 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 ...

/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” (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 - "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 ...

, 1970-71. * Phatteman Rajbhandari - Popular singer, musician * Kaji Manik Lal Rajbhandari - Bada Kaji, senior bureaucrat * Sonie Rajbhandari - Miss Nepal International 2014 * Divya Mani Rajbhandari - Philanthropist/Politician, member of Parliament of Federal Parliament of Nepal

References

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