Friday, September 4, 2009

Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam

Gotra, Som, Budh, Pururaa and Soumaya
Praara,!alpa Sutra, Madhyandina Sha"ha, Shu"la
#ajuredi- Part $
Knowing your Vansha brings you closer to your heritage. I realized
myself much better as most of my queries were aptly answered.
Whenever, I traveled to different countries closer to ours, like Iraq,
Iran, urkey, !yria,"#$, and $gypt my urge to know the roots
became stronger as familiar features sometimes close
resemblances to my relatives, tickled my funny bone. %ow are they
here& 'id our ancestors leave their progeny or we are one of them
left behind in India& !omewhere I have tried to answer myself by
analyzing the origins of (rahmans in India.
#nyway, I can proudly define my personal Visiting card on the
following basis.
). What is your caste& *. What is your clan& +. What is your ,otra&
-. What is your !utra& .. What are your /ravaras 0/arivars1& 2.
What is your Veda& 3. What is your !akha&
hese questions are often asked when you visit a well organized
!outh Indian style 4andir0temple1 in India and call yourself a
(rahman. 5or the benefit of all we can answer these above6thanks
to "ncle 4ahendar7s e8cellent presentation. I wish to elaborate
further on these matters with some more e8planations, so that my
pears and younger generation can all benefit from our small
research. I urge others to equally contribute or correct wherever
my comprehension and grasp of the sub9ect has gone wrong.
:). What is our caste&
#ns. (rahman
:.Who is (rahman& 4anu says;<
=!ince the (rahman sprang from the most e8cellent part, since
he was the first born, and since he possesses the Veda, he is by
right the chief of this whole creation.>< 4anu, I, !+. hey
were held in the highest status of our %indu !ociety.
0as per =Hindu castes & sects1;
!tudying the !hastras a.
eaching the !hastras b.
/erformance of religious rites for the three superior classes. c.
#cceptance of gifts from the three superior classes. d.
Sear%h &his Blo'
(abels
)%tiely parti%ipate (2)
)rran'ed but better than loe
(1)
Bhaiya *i - Pandit madho
ramji (1)
F)M+(# &,---.)/S0).)(+
(2)
First (ahore return isit by a
Mohlajee in 1%tober 2002 (3)
From )ustria (1)
Mer%urial Mohlas (1)
/)!3( .+S+&S 11&# (1)
/-4 )G- &03()
M+S,-(+F&+/G B)*)* P3(S), (1)
1ri'in o5 Mohla name (1)
Personal .isitin' 6ard (3)
,a"shabandhan (2)
,upesh Mohla (1)
3se Personal isitin' %ard (1)
.anshaali (1)
wel%ome note (1)
40)& &1 B(1G )B13& (1)
4omen in .anshali7 (1)
4omen in .anshaali7 (1)
Followers
with Google Friend Connect
Members (18)
Already a member? Sign in
1
More Next Blog Create Blog Sign In
M10()*--S 41,(8
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
1 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
!ome addressed (rahmans as =4ahara9? = hakur? or =4isr? as
stated by /andit @ogendra Aath (hatacharya in =%indu Bastes
C !ects? page 80 wherein he says general name for /an9ab
!araswat (rahmans was =4isr?.
It appears to have been derived from =4ishra>, which is a word
from the !anskrit language meaning >mi8ed, mingled, or
blended>.
>4ishra> or 4isra is also an Indian surname, normally
associated with the (rahman. 4ostly, 4aitreya or 4aitra or
4aitri 0friendship1 or 4ishra, written in devnagri script look
almost identical and both have same meaning. It is one of the
most widespread (rahman surnames in the fertile ,angetic
plain region and in the Indian states of /un9ab, Drissa, (ihar,
"ttar /radesh, 4adhya /radesh, Ea9asthan, #ssam and West
(engal. It is also found in countries such as ,uyana and
rinidad and obago under the anglicized version of 4isir,
where many 4ishras were taken to work on sugar plantations
due to their agricultural prowess and skills in other fields.
!tories say that even (ritishers used to call 4ishra my sir
hence 4isir and 4ishra. he surname is also found in 5i9i and
4auritius, as well as in other Indian diaspora communities. It
is one of the most common surnames among the (rahmans in
India.
It is believed that F4isirF is the original pronunciation and F4ishraF
the anglicized version. he above can be 9ustified from the
following 6 4i!ir if separated reads as 4i !ir or 4y !ir. Ao where I
read any derivation of the name?4isr? with =4I!EI? of $:G/ as I
always believed. >4ishra> is a surname associated with ,autam
,otra 0descent from one of the three great sage ,autam1 (rahman.
%owever it is also found in other gotras like !handilya too. !ome
of the very famous historical personalities of 4ishra were
#A!$A, (#I@" (#WE#.
I may have digressed from the topic but felt like erasing the doubt
about our ancestors being called "Misr".
Q2. What is our Clan? #ns. Punjabi Sarasat !rah"an
5irst we define !araswat (rahman in India and then go on to
understand Who is /un9abi !araswat (rahman&
he (rahmans in India were divided into two ma9or geographical
groups namely ,owd (rahman who lived to the north of the
Vindhyas and 'ravida (rahmans living south of Vindhyas. $ach
group was further divided into . sections.
he five 0/ancha1 ,owda (rahman groups were !araswats,
Kanyakub9as, ,audas, "tkals, and 4aithilas. he five 0pancha1
'ravida (rahman groups were #ndhras, 4aharashtras, 'ravidas or
amils, Karnataka, and Kerala (rahmans.
#he origin o$ Sarasat !rah"ans
Blo' )r%hie
20$9 (1)
20$2 (1)
20$$ (1)
20$0 ()
2009 (!!)
8e%ember (2)
1%tober (")
September (1#)
)tul and Sari"a Mohlajee
with Family
Mohalian 8a Mohalla
First Puja with personal
isitin' %ard o5
Mohla-Pu:::
()01,+ G)&- &1 S3&&),
M)/8+ &1 !360) B3(1
M)( ;13,:::
+n Sear%h o5 6hander
She"har < Bros: Family
boo" s:::
/13,S0+/G &0- M10()*--
B(1G
Sheetla Mata Mandir isit-
(ahore
Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-
Mohla, Somastam Gotra,
So:::
Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-
Mohla, Somastam Gotra,
So:::
Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-
Mohla, Somastam Gotra,
So:::
)u'ust (11)
*uly (1!)
*une (2)
6ontributors
M10()*--6()/
Shiani !:!apuria
*yotsna Mohlajee
jitin
)njali
/a"ul
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
2 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
he e8act origin of the !araswat (rahmans is difficult to ascertain.
Dne theory puts them as #ryan0indo6iranian1 migrants from
Bentral #sia who came to the Indian sub6continent through the
%indu6Kush 4ountains and the Khyber pass to south in about
-HHH6).HH (.B.
4ost of them settled along the
banks of !araswati Eiver. hey
0!araswats1 settled for an
agrarian life. $ducation was of
great importance to the
!araswats, so they taught their
young the !anskrit language and
enlightened themselves from the
Veda0s1. #lthough they spoke
!anskrit in public, their invented
a simplified version of !anskrit
called !rah"ani and spoke
only at home. Dver the years along the !araswati, they established
the concept of Kuladevata or family gods, and began worshipping
them.
%ulde&tas
Aormally !araswats believe in the concept of >/anchayatan> 6
worshipping . gods like form of !hiva, Vishnu, 'urga, !urya and
,anapati.
4any KuldevsIKuldevatas temples situated in ,oa, Karnataka
region are supposedly the most beautiful and grand temples.
hey accepted the ,reat !age !araswat 4uni 0son of Eishi
'adichi1, living on the banks of !araswati as their ,uru. #t the
advice of their ,uru who was pragmatic, they started to feed on
fish from the !araswati Eiver for survival, after a prolonged
famine. hus they became the only fish6eating (rahmans ever
known. he fish eating habit of !araswat (rahmans finds mention
even in Eamanyana. (efore performing Ea9asuya yagna, !hri Eama
asked Jakshmana to invite all the (rahmans for the yagna.
Jakshmana invited everybody, e8cept ,aud !araswat (rahmans.
When asked, Jakshmana e8plained that he observed ,aud
!araswat (rahmans eat the middle portion of a fish, separate the
head and tail from the fish, and then using vedic mantras re9oined
the head and tail. he fish would live again. !hri Eama was
impressed. !ince the (rahmans were not killing the fish, he felt
that no sin was commited. !hri Eama instructed Jakshmana to
invite !araswat (rahmans to the Ea9asuya Gagna.
his settlement was in the land between the !araswati,
'rishadvati0many stones1and lavanavati rivers forming a channel
till #rabian sea. Kurukshetra was a plain land that lied south of
dolly lall
MahenderShyama
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
3 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
saraswati and north of 'rishadwati Eivers. In 4anu !mriti 4anu
*.)3 it has special mention =hat land created by the ,ods, which
lies between the two divine rivers !araswati and 'rishadwati,
the0sages1 call (E#%4#V#E#? he 'rashadvati river has often
been identified with Bhautang river. he Bhautang Eiver is a
seasonal river in the state of %aryana. Eigveda mentions about
!araswati in many of its verses. he one that is pertinent here is as
follows; ambe tame devi tame nadi tame Saraswati.
Which means that =Gou are the ,oddess, Gou are the river,
!araswati?. oday ,anga holds the same status. In fact Eigveda is
full of references for !araswati and hardly mentions ,anga once.
#he 'igrations
!ome calamity struck !araswat 'esh and !araswati began to dry
out to become non6e8istent by )HHH (B. !araswats had no choice
but to pack up and move. his period of history saw many
civilizations abandoning their settlements. he migration
happened not overnight but spread over centuries. he !araswats
migrated in three directions 6 mostly followed the river routes and
migrated to the !outh6West 0!ind1, Aorth 0Kashmir1, $ast 0(ihar1.
'igration to South and West
he migrations to south and west followed the course of the Eiver
!araswati, went up to 'waraka and by ship they sailed to ,oa. 5or
their stay in 'waraka, these settlements have been referred to as
Sarasat #irthas in 4ahabharata. 5rom ,oa they spread to
entire Konkan, Karnataka and Kerala region.
'igration to (orth and )ast
he second route of migration was from /un9ab into Kashmir.
hey were haunted by 4uslim rulers for centuries until some
prominent Kashmiris appealed to the !ikh Bhief Ean9it !ingh for
help and he succeeded in getting rid of the #fghans. he %ash"iri
!araswats were 'evi worshippers.
hose who migrated to Kashmir called themselves as Kashmiri
/andits, !ind6!ind !araswats, Kutch6Kutchi !araswats, /un9ab6
/un9ab !araswats, Ea9asthan6Ea9asthan !araswats and ,omantak6
,owda !araswats.
'igration to !ihar
he !araswats who moved !outh $ast were mainly from the
!araswat 'esh and they followed the ,anges and reached
rihotrapura or modern irhut in upper (ihar. his was in
-HH6+.H (B. he ma9or settlements were in Kanyakub9a 0Kanpur
area1, 4agadha and 4ithila.
Sarasats o$ Punjab*
he !araswat is essentially the (rahman of the /un9ab, 9ust as the
Khatri is distinctively a /un9abi caste. Writes 4r %.#.Eose in his
+, glossar- o$ the tribes and castes o$ the Punjab and
(orth West .rontier Pro&ince /0//.
he !araswat, as a body, minister to all the %indu castes,? possibly
even to those which are unclean and so stand outside the pale of
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
4 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
%induism?. hey were liberal in their outlook. = %e 0!araswat
(rahmin1 is said to be less grasping and quarrelsome than ,aur,
and he is certainly much less rigid in his observance of caste rules,
eating and smoking with most of the stricter %indu castes such as
(anyas, Khatris, !uds, and Kayasths. %e eats flesh in the %ills and
perhaps in some parts of the plains also? says !ir 'enzil Ibbetson
in his report of the /an9ab Bensus of )KK) =he Eaces castes C
tribes of the /eople of /an9ab?.
%e further gives the figure of otal (rahmin population in /an9ab
as -.*HHH appro8 and !araswat (rahmin in Jahore were stated to
be L,L3H only. %ighest number of !araswats were 60in the year
)KK)16 in /atiala followed by Kangra ,#mritsar, !ialkot, @allandar in
that order. /eshawar had very less !araswats who had migrated
there for the fear of 4usalmans in /an9ab.
he leading principle of /an9abi (rahmin was that the status of
each section depends on the status of the caste to which it
ministers. In accordance with this principle, 'r 1ose classi$ied
thus; <
Sub2group i. < (rahmans of (rahmans, called !hukla.
Sub2group ii. < 6(ahmans of the Khatris <
). /anz9ati *. Bhhe69ati +. #sht6bans
-.(un9ahi7s ..Khokharan 2. !arin
Sub2group iii. < (rahmans of #roras. Sub2group i&. <
(rahmans of @ats.
Sub2group &. < (rahmans of inferior castes, e.g., the Bhamarwa.
hereafter we have a comple8 classification beyond the scope of
our discussion. $nough to surmise that we are /un9abi !araswat
(rahmans part of /anch9ati that served Khatris.
wo popular and well known panch9ati7s were;
,allia *. 4allia +.Kapuria -. (haturia 0.. (agga1 #nd 1.
). @aitliM *. @hingonN +. KumariaO -. rikhaP ../aumbu0 4ohla1
#he Sarsut3Sarasat4 !rah"ans o$ the %hatris. < he
connection of the Khatri
with the !araswat (rahman caste is peculiarly close. Dne tradition
of its
origin avers that when /arasu Eama was e8terminating the
Kshatriyas
a pregnant woman of the caste took refuge with a
!araswat0!arsut1. his story has already been given in my posting
dated #ug K,*HHL = 4ohla7s from KD 4D%J# in 4ultan?
%er child, a son, married )K Kshatriya girls and his sons took the
names of the various rishis and thus founded the gotras of the
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
5 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
Kshatris, which are the same as those of the (rahmans.
hese /un9abi !araswat (rahmans were the purohits of the
'haighar Khatris. his group 0/anch9ati1 is also known as
/achhdda or F western.F
he last6named gotra0Pau"bu4 was, however, replaced by the
'ohlas in appro5. 200 -ears $ro" no6 because one of its
/aumbu member was discourteous to his daughter6in6lawFs people.
N @hingan is said to be derived from @hinga or @han9h, a bell,
because the sound of a bell
was heard at its eponymFs 0mythical character1 birth. his ,otra is
supposed to be only *H generations old.
It has three sub6sections, ,autam, #thu and Aathu. 5urther,
AathuFs descendants are sub6divided into the less known
sub6divisions of Bhamnapati and Kanwlapati. he @hingans ,otra
(hardwa9 Q heir /arivar as (hrigu,(har9an and (hardwa9, their
!hakha as 4adhun9an and the Eig Veda their Veda. #t 'ipalpur at
the house of an ancestor, (aba Bhha99il, they hold a fair in 4agh, at
which the Bhila, @hand, @aneo and other rites are performed.
AathuFs descendants all wear a =nath? in the nose.
P rikhaFs ,otra is /arashar and it is sub6divided into the
/alwarda, #ura and 'wi9a
sub6 sections.
Mhe @etli ,otra is Vatsa, and its sub6 sections are Vialepotra,
Bhandipotra, and Eupe6potra< all eponymous. he two former are
replaced by %athila and %arnpotra, according to another account.
he 4ihrotra Khatris make them offerings on the )*th of the light
half of each lunar month.
O he Kumaria ,otra is also Vatsa and they too have three
sub6sections.
Nhe 4ohlas ,otra !omastam , audits sub6sections are 'alwali,
!hiv6Aandi and ,7ashi.
%ere #kashi has interesting story.It is a place in #runachal
/radesh called #kashi ,anga associated with Kalika /uran . It is
said that Jord !hiva was roaming around with dead body of !ati, to
detach him, Jord Vishnu cut her body into several pieces through
his !udarshan Bhakra and one piece fell on earth where #kashi
,anga falls in West !iang 'istrict of #runachal /radesh, a great
/ilgrimage centre.
Interestingly I came across 4ohle7s from "/ and now found
similar sounding !urnames in Karnataka such as 4ahale which is
also pronounced as 4allya0famous Vi9ay 4allya who for sure is
,oud !araswat1. #lso I found similar caste as 4DJID in
Karnataka. 5urther research is needed.
'rawn and inspired from +, glossar- o$ the tribes and castes
o$ the Punjab and (orth West .rontier Pro&ince /0//. !-
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
6 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
'r H.,.1ose Pages /282/29
$osted by M10()*--6()/ at $=>0 PM
%abels& Personal .isitin' 6ard
'(MM)*+,&
MahenderShyama September >, 2009 at 9=9> )M
-ear ./aya0
)1cellent piece of research on religious0
historical0geographical0 and contemporary literatures and
personal e1periences in search of our roots.
I hope other in the family are inspired to seek links to our
roots and share 2ith us.
3eep up the good 2ork4
Mahender uncle
,eply
0imanshu *anuary 2, 20$0 at 9=$9 PM
sir ur 2ork and research is very5very e1cellent.pls let me
kno2 2ho is my kuldevi. i am /hingans brahmin originaly
from multan.my grandfather is pt.sh.6ulabrai
/hingan(sharma)and he 2as migrated in 17!.to india.
8imanshu ,harma.
)5mail I-& guru###!gmail.com
,eply
ban"u00? )pril 2$, 20$0 at 9=9> PM
9onderful0Inspiring and research of great kno2ledge
2hich is highly admireable. I haven:t found any
";8.+<=I." so far in my life any2here in the 2orld. I 2as
born in the city of .mritsar in $an/ab0 India and have
travelled many countries in the 2orld but still didn:t find
anybody named ";8.+<=I." so far. 9ould certainly
appreciate the help to find other ;8.+<=I.:s.
,atish ;haturia (,harma)
email& stophunger>hotmail.com
,eply
M10()*--6()/ )pril 24, 20$0 at 2=4? PM
-ear Mr ,atish ;haturia
9ell at least 2e are lucky to find one ;haturia in
you.9elcome to Mohla/ee ;log. I 2ould re?uest one of our
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
7 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
,eplies
,eply
elders Mr @.M.3apuria father of Ms.,hivani to help us
locate another ;haturia as he happens to be from the
same $anch/ati of Mallia0;agga0 3alia0 ;haturia and
3apuria.Maybe 2e all are lucky to add some more names.
9ait untill then.
;est regards0
./aya ,harma(Mohla/ee)
,eply
ban"u00? *uly $0, 20$9 at ?=$9 )M
-ear ./aya Ai0
I 2as /ust researching google and found your
reply. $lease contact me at
sbhturia>hotmail.com
+hanks0
,atish ,harma ;haturia
saurabh May $2, 20$0 at $=22 PM
+han1 sir for providing such a 2onderfull information about
Aaitly and other pan/atis.
9e are Aaitly originally from .mritsar settled in -elhi no2
my maternal relative are +rikha.
once again than1 for this
2ith regards
,.<=.;8 A.I+%B
saurabh/aitly>gmail.com
saurabh/aitly>yahoo.com
,eply
Madhoo &apare /oember $0, 20$9 at $$=$4 PM
9ho are ,harma0bhalla in $un/abiCI mean 2hts their sub
casteC
Madhoo>live.in
,eply
MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
8 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM
/ewer Post 1lder Post
Comment as:
Publish

%I*3, +( +8I, $(,+
6reate a (in"
0ome
,ubscribe to& Post 6omments @)tomA

MOHLAJEES WORLD: Punjabi Saraswat Brahman-Mohla, Somastam ... http://mohlajee-clan.blogspot.in/2009/09/punjabi-saraswat-brahman-m...
9 of 9 6/2/2014 7:46 AM