Bhanushali (

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

: ) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

or a

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

. The majority reside in Kutch district of the Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. Some are also found in the

Saurashtra region Saurashtra, also known as Sorath or Kathiawar, is a peninsular region of Gujarat, India, located on the Arabian Sea coast. It covers about a third of Gujarat state, notably 11 districts of Gujarat, including Rajkot District. It was formerly a s ...

and other parts of

History

The Bhanushali are chiefly farmers and traders. Although they claim to be of

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

descent. Jyotindra Jain theorized that the Bhanushalis migrated to Gujarat from Sindh, based on their worship of

Hinglaj Mata Hinglaj Mata ( Hindi: हिंगलाज माता, bal, هنگلاج ماتا, ), also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, ...

. He also believed that the

Lohana Lohana, also referred to as Loharana, Thakkar and Lohrana, are an Indian trading or mercantile '' jāti''. Lohanas claim to be descendants of the Lava, son of Rama, and to descend from the Raghuvanshi dynasty.Lachaier, Pierre. "Cérémonies D'ho ...

s and Bhanushalis shared a common home in Sindh before their migration to Gujarat. Colonial sources noted that the Bhanushalis were subordinate to

Banias Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek g ...

and Bhatias.

Communities

Bhanushalis are at present divided in to two subgroups, according to where they live. The Kutchhi Bhanushali Community (have ancestry in Kutch region) and Halai Bhanushali Community (have ancestry in Halar ( Jamnagar) region).

Occupation

Bhanushalis are mainly involved in agriculture and farming.

Religion

Bhanushalis worship different kuldevis as per their clan names / surnames. They follow Hindu customs and beliefs. They also worship Veer Dada Jashraj and claim, like

s, that he belonged to their community. Bhanushalis chiefly worship

Hinglaj Hinglaj (Devanagari: हिंगलाज, bal, هنگلاج, sd, هنگلاج, ur, ) is an important Hindu pilgrimage place in Balochistan, Pakistan and Kuldevi of many Kshatriya, Charan, Rajpurohits and other Hindu Communities of India ...

, whose main temple,

Hinglaj Mata mandir Hinglaj Mata (Hindi: हिंगलाज माता, bal, هنگلاج ماتا, ), also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, a ...

is in Baluchistan, their ancestral home.

Lohanas

Bhanushalis shared their early home in

Sind Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

with Lohanas and seem to share history. Like

s, Bhanushalis are involved in trading and gained visibility in business. Like Lohanas they worship Dada Jashraj as their kuladevata and Harkor, as Kuldevi. Many Bhanushalis surnames are also found among

community.

Notable people

* Shyamji Krishna Verma, Indian revolutionary fighter of Bhanushali community from Mandvi Kutch * Odhavram, Torch bearer for educating Bhanushali Clan *

Dhvani Bhanushali Dhvani Bhanushali (born 22 March 1998) is an Indian pop singer. Born in Mumbai, she gained popularity with her single '' Vaaste'' in 2019 which has crossed 1.3 billion views on YouTube, making her the youngest Indian pop star to have the f ...

, Indian Singer *

Jay Bhanushali Jay Bhanushali (born 25 December 1984) is an Indian television actor. He is best known for playing Neev Shergill in Ekta Kapoor's show ''Kayamath'' and winning ''Nach Baliye 5''. He also participated in '' Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2'', ''Kaun Jeetega ...

, Indian television actor *

Kishore Bhanushali Kishore Bhanushali is an Indian actor and stand-up comedian notable for his works in Hindi films and television serials. He has a likeness to late Bollywood actor Dev Anand. He had the main lead in many films like '' Hum Hain Khalnayak'', ''Ja ...

, Indian actor and stand-up comedian * Siddharth Bhanushali, Indian Youtuber * Vinod Bhanushali, Founder - Bhanushali Studios Ltd (BSL) & Hitz Music * Bhavin Bhanushali, Indian actor * Dr.Dhaval G Bhanusali, MD

Dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

References

{{Reflist Indian castes Hindu communities Social groups of Gujarat Vaishya community