Panchal is an artisanal caste of North India. Panchal is a collective term for a variable range of Artisanal Indian caste groups, such as Luhar (Ironsmith), Sunar (goldsmith), and Badhai (carpenters). They are Brahmins and belong to Parusheya Brahmins sect.[1][2] They belong to Vishwakarma sect and are also known as Panchal Brahmin.[3]

They have high societal status and maintain themselves as priests of several temples in the state of Kerala and Telangana. Major temples such as Sri Kalika Durga Parameshwari Temple and Vishwakarma Mandir, Guwahati have Vishwabrahmins or Panchal Brahmin as the main priest. In states such as Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, they also belong to OBC category due to financial restraints faced during colonial times.

According to Louis Dumont, it is derived from the word panch, meaning five, and refers to the five sons of Vishwakarma - Manu, Maya, Thwastha, Shilpi and Vishwajna. They made business communities that have traditionally worked as owners and workers. [4] According to David Mandelbaum they are Brahmins, who descend from Vishwakarma. They are equal amongst themselves and they perceive distinctions between their various occupational groups.[5] In Yajurveda, which is one of the main hindu vedic texts, it is mentioned about pancha rishi gotra of Vishwabrahmins being namely - Brahmarishis - Sānaga, Sanāthana, Ahabhūna, Pratna and Suparna (Krishna Yajurveda Taittiriya Samhita 4.3.3)

The Famous Temple maintained by Panchal Brahmins are -Maa Tripura Sundari Temple, which is in Umrai (Talwara), District-Banswara (Rajasthan). It is a well-known temple in Banswara. Lakhs of devotees daily come to worship in the temple. Another major temple is Sri Kalika Durga Parameshwari Temple, Bengaluru, which has Panchal Brahmin as the main priest and has been maintained as such since several generations.

References

  1. ↑ Reddy, Sudarshan (1935). "THE CASTE SYSTEM, THE COLONIAL JUDICIARY, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR RITUAL STATUS IN 19TH-CENTURY ANDHRA". Indian History Congress Journal.
  2. ↑ Sastry, Niramjana (1923). Viśvakarma Brāhmaṇa Vaṃśāgamamu (in Telugu). Nabu Press. pp. 329–331. ISBN 978-1245682923.
  3. ↑ Thurston, Edgar (1909). "The Castes and Tribes of Southern India". Nature. 84 (2134): 365–367. doi:10.1038/084365a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  4. ↑ Perez, Rosa Maria (2004). Kings and Untouchables: A Study of the Caste System in Western India. Orient Blackswan. p. 80. ISBN 9788180280146.
  5. ↑ Streefkerk, Hein (1985). Industrial Transition in Rural India: Artisans, Traders, and Tribals in South Gujarat. Popular Prakashan. p. 99. ISBN 9780861320677.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.