Introduction

Pushkarna is one of the Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 communities in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The Pushkarnas primarily hail from Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 (Pakistan)and Persia (Iran) region.

Migration

Most of the Pushkarna Brahmins migrated from erstwhile Bharatvarsh (now theocratic Pakistan) to India. The initial migration began during the Islamic Invasion in 800 AD. Some historians claim this phase began initially with the migration from Pakistan to Jaisalmer, and from there to Phalodi

Phalodi

Phalodi is a city and a municipality in Jodhpur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated between latitude 27°-06 to 27°-09 north and 72°-20 to 72°-23east. It has an average elevation of 303 metres...

, Pokhran

Pokhran

Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.-Geography:Pokhran http://marupradesh.org/ located at...

 and Jodhpur

Jodhpur

Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...

 (in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

). Subsequently Pushkarnas settled in other parts of India. The second phase of migration took place around the partition of India

Partition of India

The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

 in 1947, when most of the families settled in Khairthal

Khairthal

Khairthal is a city and a municipality in Tehsil Kishangarh Bas Alwar district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.It is at the northern end of Aravali ranges.It is has a major industrial importance in Rajasthan because of its connectivity with National capital Delhi.-Demographics: India census,...

 (Alwar). There was a notable migration in 1971, mainly to Barmer

Barmer, Rajasthan

Barmer is the headquarters of the Barmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is a city and a municipality.-Origin of name:...

. There is also evidence of smaller, intermittent migrations between these main movements.

Evidence of migration are commonly found embossed on the traditional utensils around the Sindhi cities such as Thatta

Thatta

Thatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...

 and Hyderabad (Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

, as well as in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

). Many Pushkarna can also trace a common lineage to Sindh.

One theory of migration also suggests that during the Islamic Invasion in Sindh in 800 AD, Pushkarnas went to settle in Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

 and Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

. However, as a sign of respect for the place they came from (like Chhang or Chhat), they used surnames like Chhangani, Chattani, etc. This phase integrated several elements of Central Asian Culture that still can be observed in its remnants like the spices, food preparation etc. The community came back from Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 once the regions they belonged to were stable.

Faith

Smartism

Smartism

Smarta Sampradaya is a liberal or nonsectarian denomination of the Vedic Hindu religion which accept all the major Hindu deities as forms of the one Brahman, in contrast to Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, the other three major Hindu sects, which revere Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti,...

,Shaivism, Vaishnavism and prayers to goddess are common, as isht or primary deity. Hanuman

Hanuman

Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

 Ji and Baba Ramdev are also highly revered.

• Smartism

Prayers to all the gods, and none as the prime deity is commonly practised.

• Shaivism:

There is an enormous faith in Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 in the community. Famous temples are: Mandalnath, Balaknath, Eklingji

Eklingji

Eklingji is a Hindu temple complex in Udaipur District of Rajasthan in western India. Eklingji is believed to be the Ruling deity of Mewar Princely State and the Ruler Maharana rules as his Dewan....

 (situated 22 km from Udaipur

Udaipur

Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...

) etc.

• Vaishnavism:

The adoloscent avatar of Lord Krishna is prayed to in the form of ShinrathJi. The famous ShrinathJi temple is situated in Nathdwara

Nathdwara

Nathdwara is a town in Rajasthan state of western India. It is located in the Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas River in Rajsamand District, 48 kilometers north-east of Udaipur. This town is famous for its temple of Krishna which houses the idol of Shrinathji, a 14th century, 7-year old...

 (48 km from Udaipur

Udaipur

Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...

), Rajasthan. The followers are said to belong to a sect called 'Vallabh Kul'.

• Goddess:

Pushkarna revere the famous Maa Ushtvahini (or the one who rides on a camel) as their Kul Devi. The community also has a deep faith in Dehra Mata (supposedly the idol was brought during the time of their migration from Sindh, and later reinstated here) and Latiyal Mata temple. The goddess Ashapura Mata

Ashapura Mata

Ashapura Mata is one of aspect devi. Her temples are mainly found in Gujarat.In Rajasthan, her temples are in Modran and Nadol.She is considered as kuldevi of Jadeja...

is worshipped as the isht devi and Kul Devi (deity) by some of the Pushkarnas (Vyas of Mewar

Mewar

Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the present-day districts of Pratapgarh, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and some of the part of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The region was for centuries a Rajput kingdom that later...

 and Bissas of Bikaner). Maa Ashapura's temple is situated at Bedwas village (5 km from Udaipur

Udaipur

Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...

 city).

• Shree Hanuman:

Thakur ji in form of Shri Hanuman

Hanuman

Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

 ji has been blessing the pushkarna brahmins for ages. People revere Marutinandan immensely.

Prayers to trinity are quite common as well.
Apart from theses Pushkarnas also pray to Baba Ramdevji of Ramdevra (Pokhran

Pokhran

Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.-Geography:Pokhran http://marupradesh.org/ located at...

), also known as Runicha.

Settlements

Pushkarnas supposedely lived on both sides of Sindhu(Indus) river or Pushkarni river. Hence the community is also referred to as Sindhuvarni brahmins. Spread across the world, Pushkarnas reside primarily in Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

. Pushkarnas are also settled in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab (India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

) and Tharparkar District

Tharparkar District

Tharparkar District is one of twenty three districts of Sindh province in Pakistan. It is headquarters is at Mithi. It has the lowest Human Development Index of all districts in Sindh.-Demography:...

 of Pakistan.
Sizable Pushkarna brahmin populations in Rajasthan are located in Jodhpur

Jodhpur

Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...

, Bikaner, Khairthal

Khairthal

Khairthal is a city and a municipality in Tehsil Kishangarh Bas Alwar district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.It is at the northern end of Aravali ranges.It is has a major industrial importance in Rajasthan because of its connectivity with National capital Delhi.-Demographics: India census,...

 (Alwar), Jaipur

Jaipur

Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 and Barmer

Barmer, Rajasthan

Barmer is the headquarters of the Barmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is a city and a municipality.-Origin of name:...

. Some other cities in Rajasthan (Udaipur

Udaipur

Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...

, Kishangarh, Jaisalmer), and in Gujarat (Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...

, Gandhidham

Gandhidham

Gandhidham is a city and a municipality in the Kachchh District of Gujarat state of India. The town was created in the early 1950s for the resettlement of the refugees from Sindh of Pakistan in the aftermath of the partition of India....

, Vadodara

Vadodara

Vadodara formerly known as Baroda is the third most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat . It is one of the four cities with the population of over 1 million...

) also have large Pushkarna populations. Small communities are also located in Dubai, the USA and Sharjah.

Culture

• Language:

The languages spoken by Pushkarnas are primarily offshot of the root language Dhatki or Dhati. Local languages like Marwari

Marwari

Marwari may refer to:* Marwar, a region in Rajasthan, India* Marwari language, a language of the Marwar region* Marwaris, people from the Marwar region* Muslim Marwaris, Muslim people from the Marwar region living in Karachi Pakistan...

, Gujarati

Gujarati language

Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

, Sindhi

Sindhi language

Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...

, Mewari and Punjabi

Punjabi language

Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...

 are also spoken by brahmins living in communities where these languages are spoken. Interestingly, some of words in the vocabulary originate from Saraiki.

• Food and Drinks:

Alcohol is generally not a part of Pushkarna life. Some of the famous Pushkarna dishes are heero,(seera), ker-komatiya, hongri, (sangri), gatta, (gatte), lawasi, ker dakhon ro haag, haldi ro haag, dal-bati-churma, gulaab and kheech.

Most Pushkarnas are strictly vegetarian. Use of onions, garlic and carrots is prohibited in traditional Pushkarna families (and is largely practiced).

• Music and Dance:

Various folk lores praising the bravery and intellect of the clan are sung across both sides of border, in India and Pakistan.

• Family & Practices:

The orthodox families follow a purdah

Purdah

Purdah or pardeh is the practice of concealing women from men. According to one definition:This takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes, and the requirement for women to cover their bodies and conceal their form....

 system for females in front of elder brothers in law and fathers in law. This is largely regarded as an expression of deep respect. The family structure is patriarchal, with ample participation from females. Forefather worship (Pitra Puja) is practiced by Pushkarna Brahmins.

• Marriages:

The marriages are generally quite flamboyant. The characteristic of having 4 pheras (a practice close to Vedic Religion) during marriage, unlike 7 is unique. There is also great zeal for community marriages, especially in Bikaner. Large numbers of marriages are held on a particular day in the sawa

Sawa

Sawa may refer to:*The Sawa peoples of CameroonLocations*Sawa, Nepal*The Sawa Defence Training Centre of Eritrea*Sawa, Lesser Poland Voivodeship Arts*SAWA, Japanese techno-pop singer*Devon Sawa, Canadian actor...

, every 4 years. Hence this is sometimes also known as marriage olympics. However, due to the unavailability of an effective platform for Pushkarnas to identify and contact different members of the community, the different lingusitic subgroups within the larger Pushkarna brahmin community across the world often marry outside the Pushkarna brahmin community.

• Hathai

Hathai is a unique concept where in, males discuss their day to day activities, as well as other vital and non-vital forms of conversations. It's associated with an elevated sitting place, generally near the bustling parts/roads of the city. Hathai is an important cultural cornerstone in the walled cities of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer etc.
Literal Connotation is negative in local languages with references such as " Aa kai hathai jamai ho ate ?" ( Why this whiling of time by the group ?) ( Source : Marwari )

Common Surnames (Gotra)

• Acharya
• Ballani(Shandilya)(Purohit)
• Bissa
• Bhatt
• Bohra
• Bora
• Chanda
• Chhangani(Kapil, Kapilash)
• Chhattani
• Derasari
• Gajja
• Gandriya
• Gopa
• Harsh
• Joshi
  Joshi
  Joshi is a family name common in India and Nepal. Whereas the Joshi's of India are of Brahmin origin, the Joshi's of Nepal are either Newars or Khas-Brahmin...
  
  (Chandwani Joshi: Shandilya)
• Kalla
• Kewalya
• Kiradu
• Lodha
• Lohara
• Malani
• Mattar
• Mutha
• Ojha
• Paniya
• Purohit(Shandilya)
• Pushkarna
• Ramdeo
• Ranga
• Thanvi
• Upadhyay
• Vasu
• Vora
• Vyas(Bharadwaj)