Parwar (Jain)
Encyclopedia
Jainism in Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand, in the heart of India, has been an ancient center of Jainism. It is mostly in modern Madhya Pradesh, but part of it is in Uttar Pradesh.Bundelkhand was known as Dasharna or Jaijakabhukti in ancient times...
, which is largely in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, but also includes Lalitpur
Lalitpur District, Uttar Pradesh
Lalitpur District is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India. Lalitpur district is a part of Jhansi Division. Lalitpur is the main town and administrative headquarters. The district occupies an area of 5,039 km²....
region of Uttar Pradesh. They exclusively follow the Digambar Jain tradition.
A number of Jain scholars have belonged to this community, including Tarana Swami, the founder of Taran Panth
Taran Panth
The Taran Panth or Taranpanthi sect of Digambar Jainism was founded by Taran Svami in Bundelkhand in 1505. Taran Svami is also referred to as Taran Taran, the one who can help the swimmers to the other side, i.e. towards nirvana....
and the Bhattaraka
Bhattaraka
A Bhaṭṭāraka is the head of traditional Jain institutions. They are responsible for training of scholars, maintenance of libraries, managing the endowments, presiding over the installation ceremonies and running of Jain institutions....
s of Chanderi
Chanderi
Chanderi चंदेरी شندرئ is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri,37 km from Lalitpur,55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 45 km from Esagarh It is surrounded by hills southwest of...
. Osho
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
was born in the Samaiya section of this community. Also, Pandit Nathuram Premi
Nathuram Premi
Nathuram Premi was a writer, publisher, poet, editor, linguist and an intellectual giant in the field of Jainism as well as Hindi literature. A budding poet, he wrote under the nom de plume of "Premi". Although belonging to the Digambara sect of Jainism, he adopted a non-sectarian attitude and...
, Dr Hiralal Jain, Dr Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Pandit Phulacandra Shastri, Pandit Hiralal Jain, Pandit Balacandra Shastri, Pandit Jaganmohanlal Shastri, Pandit Devakinandan Nayak and many other illustrious scholars of Jainism were born in the Parwar [also spelt as Paravara] community.
History
A number of inscriptions mentiong the community have been found in the region adjacent to the Betwa river , which flows on the border of MP and UP. In the older inscriptions they are called Paurapatta or Puravada. The oldest inscriptions include those found at Pachrai (1065 CE), AharAhar
Ahar is a city in and the capital of Ahar County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 85,782, in 20,844 families.Ahar is known on the market place for its Ahar rugs...
(1152, 1153), Chanderi
Chanderi
Chanderi चंदेरी شندرئ is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri,37 km from Lalitpur,55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 45 km from Esagarh It is surrounded by hills southwest of...
(VS 1252,13450), Sironj (VS 1299, 1316), Narwar (VS 1319). A long inscription at Deogarh
Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh
Deogarh is a small farming village near the town of Lalitpur in Lalitpur district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located at the border with the former princely state of Gwalior, which is now part of Madhya Pradesh, it is known for its Gupta monuments, located on and near the hill fort on...
of VS 1493 mentions Lakshaman Singhai and his large family, who installed an idol of Lord Shantinath
Shantinath
Shantinath was the sixteenth Jain Tirthankar of the present age . According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Shantinath was born to King Viswasen Raja and Queen Achira Rani at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku clan...
under the supervision of Bhattaraka
Bhattaraka
A Bhaṭṭāraka is the head of traditional Jain institutions. They are responsible for training of scholars, maintenance of libraries, managing the endowments, presiding over the installation ceremonies and running of Jain institutions....
Devendrakirti of Balatkara Gana
Balatkara Gana
Balatkara Gana is an ancient Jain monastic order. It is a section of the Mula Sangh. It is often termed Balatkara Gana Sarasvati Gachchha....
. It is probably the first mention of the Singhai
Singhai
Singhai is a hereditary title awarded in the past to leaders of the Jain Sangha ....
(or Sanghapati
Singhai
Singhai is a hereditary title awarded in the past to leaders of the Jain Sangha ....
) title in the region.
Some authors have proposed a historic connection between the Parwar and the Porwad
Porwad
·Porvad , also called Porwad / Porwal, are an ancient Jain community that originated from southern Rajasthan. In Sanskrit inscriptions it is called Pragvata ....
communities.
Jainism had a continuous presence in this region since antiquity. Jainism was flourishing during the Gupta
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
period at Vidisha
Vidisha
Vidisha is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, located near the state capital Bhopal. Vidishā is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District. The city was also known as Bhilsa during the medieval period.-Geography:...
region. The Durjanpur idols installed during the rule of Ramagupta
Ramagupta
Ramagupta was an emperor of the Gupta dynasty in ancient India. He was the elder son and immediate successor of Samudragupta and succeeded by is younger brother Chandragupta II. Initially, he was known from the traditional narratives only. But later, three inscriptions on Jaina tirthankara images...
date to about 365 AD. The Udaigiri cave Parshvanath inscription mentioning the lineage of Bhadranvaya is dated to 425 AD. The great Shantinath temple at Deogarh was built before 862 CE, suggesting a prosperous Jain community in this region.
According to Mahavamsa
Mahavamsa
The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...
, Devi, the wife of Maurya Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
was a daughter of a merchant of Vidisha
Vidisha
Vidisha is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, located near the state capital Bhopal. Vidishā is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District. The city was also known as Bhilsa during the medieval period.-Geography:...
, whose son Mahinda
Mahinda
Mahinda was a Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka. He was the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka.- Historical Sources :...
took Buddhism to Srilanka. It is likely that the Parwar community is a continuation of the ancient merchant community of the region.
Organization
The Parwars are divided into 12 gotraGotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
s, each gotra is further divided into 12 shakhas (mura)s. Traditionally 4 of the shakas of the grandparents of the boy, and four of the shakhas of the grandparents of the girl were required to be distinct for a marriage to take place. Thus the Parwars were sometimes termed ashta-shaha.
There were once several social divisions among the Parwars, which are no longer significant.
Some Parwars follow Taran Panth
Taran Panth
The Taran Panth or Taranpanthi sect of Digambar Jainism was founded by Taran Svami in Bundelkhand in 1505. Taran Svami is also referred to as Taran Taran, the one who can help the swimmers to the other side, i.e. towards nirvana....
and are called Samaiya, because Taran Swami based his teachings on Samayasara
Samayasara
' is a famous Jain text by Acharya Kundakunda.Its ten chapters discuss the nature of jiva , its attachment to karmas and moksha....
of Acharya Kundakunda.
Parwar Sabha was founded in 1917 at Ramtek, after the Bundelkhandiya Jain Sabha broke into community groups. In the 1924 convention, it was proposed that only four shakahs be considered for marriage, but the proposal was defeated. A newsletter Parwar Bandhu was published during 1929-1944.
A "Parwar Directory" was published in 1924 which included population data, according to which the Parwar population then was 48,074. The community resided in 1438 towns and villages with largest population in Sagar, Jhansi
Jhansi
Jhansi Hindi:झाँसी, , Marathi: झाशी, is a historical city of India. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi District and Jhansi Division. The original walled city grew up around its stone fort, which crowns a neighboring rock. This district is on the bank of river Betwa.The National...
, Jabalpur and Damoh
Damoh
Damoh is a city in the Sagar Division of northeast Madhya Pradesh in India, east of state capital Bhopal and in north by Tikamgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Damoh District.-Geography:...
districts. The largest number are in Lalitpur
Lalitpur, India
Lalitpur is a city and a municipal board in Lalitpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is also district headquarters of Lalitpur district.-Demographics:...
(1122 in 1924), Mungawali (481), Khaniadhana (320), Pachhar (Ashoknagar Isagarh), Mandawara (304), Sivni (358), Sagar (595), Bamora (374), Khurai
Khurai
Khurai ) is a city in Sagar District and a municipality in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is located on the north east region of Madhya Pradesh.-Geography:...
(503), Bina
Bina
Bina may refer to:* Binə, Baku, Azerbaijan* Binə, Khojavend, Azerbaijan* Bíňa, Slovakia* Bina Etawa, India* Bina Railway Colony, India...
-Itawa (358), Pindarai (Mandla 314) and Jabalpur (1058). This puts the majority of the major centers within a 50 mile radius from Deogarh
Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh
Deogarh is a small farming village near the town of Lalitpur in Lalitpur district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located at the border with the former princely state of Gwalior, which is now part of Madhya Pradesh, it is known for its Gupta monuments, located on and near the hill fort on...
(see
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=24.55,78.25&ie=UTF8&z=9&ll=24.549622,78.250122&spn=1.931091,2.051697&om=1,
Map) along the Betwa river in early 20th century.
The main concentration of the Parwars is still in these towns, however many of them have moved to major industrial cities further away such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. A few Parwar families now migrated to Americas.
Distinguished Paravāra Jains
- BhattarakaBhattarakaA Bhaṭṭāraka is the head of traditional Jain institutions. They are responsible for training of scholars, maintenance of libraries, managing the endowments, presiding over the installation ceremonies and running of Jain institutions....
Devendrakirti, founder of ChanderiChanderiChanderi चंदेरी شندرئ is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri,37 km from Lalitpur,55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 45 km from Esagarh It is surrounded by hills southwest of...
and Gandhar/Rander seat. - SinghaiSinghaiSinghai is a hereditary title awarded in the past to leaders of the Jain Sangha ....
Lakshmana, who installed Lord Shantinatha at DevgarhDeogarh, Uttar PradeshDeogarh is a small farming village near the town of Lalitpur in Lalitpur district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located at the border with the former princely state of Gwalior, which is now part of Madhya Pradesh, it is known for its Gupta monuments, located on and near the hill fort on...
in 1436. - Tarana Swami (1448-) (founder of Taran PanthTaran PanthThe Taran Panth or Taranpanthi sect of Digambar Jainism was founded by Taran Svami in Bundelkhand in 1505. Taran Svami is also referred to as Taran Taran, the one who can help the swimmers to the other side, i.e. towards nirvana....
- Manju Chaudhary Maratha EmpireMaratha EmpireThe Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
administrator of CuttackCuttackCuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
, OrissaOrissaOrissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, 1720-1785. - Seth Mathuradas Taraiya of LalitpurLalitpur, IndiaLalitpur is a city and a municipal board in Lalitpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is also district headquarters of Lalitpur district.-Demographics:...
1872-1918 - Pandit Nathuram PremiNathuram PremiNathuram Premi was a writer, publisher, poet, editor, linguist and an intellectual giant in the field of Jainism as well as Hindi literature. A budding poet, he wrote under the nom de plume of "Premi". Although belonging to the Digambara sect of Jainism, he adopted a non-sectarian attitude and...
, Historian, publisher and editor (26 November, 1881 - 30 January, 1960) - Dr Hiralal Jain, Sanskritist and Jain Scholar best remembered for his work on the SatkhandāgamaSatkhandagamaSatkhandāgama , literally the "Scripture in Six Parts", is the foremost and oldest Digambara Jain sacred text. According to Digambara tradition, the original canonical scriptures of the Jains were totally lost within a few centuries of Nirvana of Lord Mahavira...
- Dr Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Jain Scholar and Nyaya specialist, best remembered for his editing of the Nyayakumudacandra, Akalankagranthatraya, Prameyakamalamartanda and his original work, Jaina Darsana.
- Pandit Phulacandra Shastri, Traditional Jain Scholar, best remembered for his work on the Satkhandāgama and the Kasāyapāhuda
- Pandit Hiralal Shastri (Sadumal), Traditional Jain Scholar, Prakritist and Nyaya specialist, remembered for his Hindi tr. of the Kasāyapāhuda mula patha along with the Curni by YativrsabhaYativrsabhaYativrsabha, also known as Jadivasaha, was a mathematician, and he was a Jain. He is believed to have lived during the 6th century, probably during 500-570. He lived and worked between period of two great Indian mathematicians, Aryabhata and Brahmagupta...
. - Pandit Balachandra ShastriBalachandra ShastriPandit Balachandra Siddhanta-Shastri was a scholar and linguist who bridged classical and modern scholarship in Jainism during the mid-20th century.-Life:...
, Traditional Jain Scholar, best remembered for his work on the Satkhandāgama and the Kasāyapāhuda - Osho RajneeshOsho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(1931-1990) - Swami Satyabhakta, Nagpur, philosopher, founder of Satya Samaj (1899-1998)
- Pandit Jaganmohanlal Shastri, Traditional Jain Scholar
- Seth Jineshvaradas Taraiya (1918-1998) of LalitpurLalitpur, IndiaLalitpur is a city and a municipal board in Lalitpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is also district headquarters of Lalitpur district.-Demographics:...
, philanthropist; Hon. Magistrate of LalitpurLalitpur, IndiaLalitpur is a city and a municipal board in Lalitpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is also district headquarters of Lalitpur district.-Demographics:...
; best remembered for his renovation of the DeogarhDeogarhDeogarh may refer to:* Debagarh, Orissa, also known as Debagarh, a city in Debagarh District, India* Deoghar, Jharkhand, also known as Deogharh, a city in India, home to the Vaidyanath temple...
Tirthakshetra - Dr Duli Chandra Jain, Prof of Physics at CUNY, New York; founder of the Jain Study Circle and Publisher and Editor of the Jain Study Circular.
See also
- ChanderiChanderiChanderi चंदेरी شندرئ is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri,37 km from Lalitpur,55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 45 km from Esagarh It is surrounded by hills southwest of...
- Balatkara GanaBalatkara GanaBalatkara Gana is an ancient Jain monastic order. It is a section of the Mula Sangh. It is often termed Balatkara Gana Sarasvati Gachchha....
- Jainism in BundelkhandJainism in BundelkhandBundelkhand, in the heart of India, has been an ancient center of Jainism. It is mostly in modern Madhya Pradesh, but part of it is in Uttar Pradesh.Bundelkhand was known as Dasharna or Jaijakabhukti in ancient times...
- GolapurvaGolapurvaGolapurva is an ancient Jain community from the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.-History:...
- GahoiGahoiGahoi is a merchant community in central India. The traditional population centre has been the Bundelkhand region, with their origin claimed to be at Kharagpur....