Nagar Brahmin

Nagars are believed to be one of the oldest of the Hindu Brahmin groups. They are primarily found in Gujarat but have a strong history of migration to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh in the North, Maharashtra and Karnataka further West and into the South, and as far as West Bengal in the East. Many modern day Nagar families are settled outside of India in the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia.

This article is about the social caste. For the moth family, see Brahmaeidae. For similarly spelled words, see Nagar (disambiguation).

Nagar Brahmins
Nagar Brahmins in Western India (c. 1855-1862)
VarnaBrahmin
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesGujarati, Hindi, English
CountryIndia
Populated statesGujarat, Rajasthan
RegionNorth West India
EthnicityIndian

In North India, the Bias Brahmin community includes Nagar Brahmins and two other Brahmin groups from Gujarat: the Audichya Brahmins and the Bardai Brahmins.

Origin

Historians claim the origin of Nagars to be purely Aryan, having come to India from Southern Europe and Central Asia. They migrated through the Hindu Kush to the Kashmir valley and made their way down to Kurukshetra and later to Western India.

It is also believed that before Nagars first came to Gujarat in 404 A.D., they lived in Sindh. Historians assert that Nagar Brahmins originated from Greece, Macedonia, Syria or regions surrounding these places. According to Dr. Somerset Pain, they are of Turkish-Syrian descent. According to Sir Herber Ridley, Nagar Brahmins are Indo-Scythians. Another historian claims that they originated from the ancient Nagar community of Iran.

In Gujarat, the Nagar community laid down its roots in the ancient town of Vadnagar in the Mehsana district of North Gujarat.

As time passed, the city of Vadnagar was invaded on more than one occasion. Invasions led to Nagar families seeking refuge in the adjacent areas of Saurashtra and Rajasthan. After King Vishaldev conquered Gujarat (around A.C.E. 1040), the King of Ajmer established the cities of Vishnagar (formerly Vishalnagar), Chitrod (or Chitakutpati), Prashnipur, Krashnor, and Sathod (or Shatpad). He offered these cities to those Nagar Brahmins who were descendants or an offshoot of the original Nagar inhabitants from Vadnagar.[1]

Nagars predominantly worship Lord Shiva in the form of the deity Shree Hatkeshwar Mahadev.[2]

Nagar Princes

Many Nagar families were chieftains of (minor) princely states, notably in two in Gujarati peninsula Kathiawar's Sorath prant : Kuba State and Vasavad. Many were awarded titles from Rajput and Muslim rulers.

Social Status

Nagars are among the oldest Brahmin communities. They have a strong work ethic and are often leaders, whether politically, intellectually, spiritually or socially.[3] The oldest account of the Nagars is given in the Nagara Khanda, a part of the Skanda Purana[4] a Hindu religious text.

References
  1. "Nagar History FAQ". Nagar Samaj. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  2. "IMPORTANCE OF SHREE HATKESHVAR MAHADEV". www.nagar.org. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  3. Project, Joshua. "Brahmin Nagar in India". joshuaproject.net. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  4. Research in Sociology: Abstracts of M.A. and Ph. D. Dissertations Completed in the Department of Sociology, University of Bombay, Concept Publishing Company, 1989, p. 100
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