ORIGINS OF NAGARS ============= Nagars are believed to be one of the oldest of the Brahmin groups found primarily in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Malwa and in states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar even as far as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh in the north, West Bengal in east and Karnataka in south. There are several theories regarding the origin of the Nagars. They all connect them with the Nags in one way or another, although they have no historical foundation. Later discoveries by historians throw light on their origin. Among these, three distinct pravaradhyay relating ancestry and Pravaras of these Brahmins discovered by Late Vallabhji Haridat Acharya, provide authentic information regarding the origin of Nagar Brahmins. One amongst these gives a list of 13 Sharmans used by the Nagar Brahmins 700 years ago. They are Datta, Gupta, Nand, Ghosh, Sharman, Das, Varman, Nagadatta, Trat, Bhut, Mitra, Dev and Bhav. This is further supported by the fact that three of these Sharmans - Mitra, Trat and Datta, are also found among the names of Brahmin grantees in the copper-plate grants of Valabhi Kings, who ruled North Gujarat during 509-766 AD. This also shows that the Nagars first appear in Gujarat during the reign of the Valabhi Kings in the 6th century AD. There is no doubt about the fact that these Sharmans are clan indicators, which are even now used by the Nagars during religious ceremonies. It may further be noted that out of these 13 Sharmans, at least 10 are found among the family names of the Bengali Kayasthas.[1] Eminent historian D. R. Bhandarkar was the first to point out that the surnames used by the Nagar Brahmins in the recent past are amongst the surnames of Brahmins in whose favour the Kings made grants, as found in early inscriptions between the 6th and 8th centuries AD.[2] Dr. Bhandarkar has shown that the Sapadalaksha Brahmins were the same as the Nagar Brahmins, who were undoubtedly of Alpine origin. Alpine Aryans are believed to have entered India as part of Aryan immigration during the third millennium BC. It has been suggested that the Nagar Brahmins along with the present-day Bengali Kayasthas are amongst the purest forms of this type; they were originally the Brahmin priests of the Alpines, as evident from several early inscriptions, and that probably explains their comparative pure state till now.[3] Among the early written sources, Nagars are also mentioned in the Skanda Purana, which contains some 81,000 slokas, or hymns.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 05:13:20 +0000
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