The Rai Bhat are a Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

  caste

Caste

Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...

 found in North India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

. They are also known as Dasaundhi, Bandiji, Barna, Barwa, Bhargava, Bhatela, Maharaj, Raja and Raoji. The community have been the heredity bards and genealogists of many castes 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 community are one of the two sub-divisions of the larger Bhat

Bhat

Bhat meaning a priest or scribe in Sanskrit, is a surname common in most parts of Nepal. A predominantly Hindu last name, it is found most commonly in the states of coastal areas of Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh, is a...

 community, the other being the Brahm Bhat

Brahm Bhat

The Brahm Bhat are a Hindu caste, found in North India. They are also known as Baram Bhatt, Biram Bhatt, or just Bhatt. The Brahm Bhatt are one of the two sub-divisions of the Bhat ethnic group, the other sub-division being that of Rai Bhats....

.

History and origin

The etymology of the word Rai Bhat means the great Bhat, as Rai means great in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

. The Rai Bhat claims descent from Kavi Rishi, a human son of the god Brahma

Brahma

Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

. The Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 sages Sutra Rishi, Sanjay Bhatt and Arya Bhatt are said to belong to this community. They claim to be Brahmin

Brahmin

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

 by caste.Rai bhat is Bhatt Brahmin which found in North India.

They are said to have come from Bharatpur

Bharatpur, India

Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...

 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...

 in the 16th Century. The community is divided into 750 gotra

Gotra

In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...

s, some of which are named after saints, others are territorial divisions. They use Sharma as a surname.

Present circumstances

The community were historically tribal bards and genealogists. They were also employed in singing of traditional songs during the performance of Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 puja. The community is now mainly made of small peasant farmers, traders and government servants.
The Rai Bhat have a traditional caste council, which deals with disputes with in the community. They are also have an all India caste association, the All India Bhatt Association, with its headquarters in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

.
The Rai Bhat are orthodox Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

, with the goddess Saraswati

Saraswati

In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

being their clan deity. They also perform at puja and Satyanaryan katha at their clients house.