Religion in Rajasthan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rajasthanis are predominantly
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 ...
,
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and
Jains 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 ...
. However, regardless of their religious segments, Muslim, Hindu and Jain Rajasthanis mingle with each other socially. Most Rajasthani Hindus are ''
vaishnavas Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
'', however, ''
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...
'' and her avatars are equally worshiped throughout Rajasthan.
Oswals The Oswal (sometimes spelled Oshwal or Osval) are a Jain community with origins in the Marwar region of Rajasthan and Tharparkar district in Sindh. They claim to be of Rajput descent. References

{{Social groups of Maharashtra Indian castes S ...
are predominantly Jains but small section of vaishnava Oswals are also found.


Background


Hindus

All castes are followers of various Hindu sects and equally revere every Hindu devr. ''Jats'' are mostly Hindus and follow Vedic religion.
Meenas Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
of Rajasthan till date strongly follow
Vedic culture upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
which usually includes worship of '' Bhainroon'' (Shiva) and ''Krishna'' as well as ''Durga''. The ''Rajputs'' generally worship the Vedic gods Sun, Shiva, Vishnu and
Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...
(goddess ''Durga'').Govt of Rajasthan
The
Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tra ...
s (Gujars or Gujjars) worship the Vedic gods of Sun god, God
Devnarayan Devnarayan is a folk deity from Rajasthan, India. he is worshipped mostly in Rajasthan and north-western Madhya Pradesh. According to tradition, he was born to Sri Savai Bhoj and Sadu mata on the seventh day of the bright half (''shukla saptami' ...
,
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
,
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
and goddess
Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...
. Historically, The Gurjars were Sun-worshipers and are described as devoted to the feet of the Sun-god.
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
''Bhakti'' movement by Mahānubhavis and Varkaripanthis of Maharashtra who mainly followed Vaishnavism had immense influence on the development of ''Rajasthani Bhakti'' movement.
Meerabai Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Rathore ...
(''मीराबाई'') was an important figure during 'Rajasthani Bhakti'' movement.''


Muslims

Rajasthani
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
are predominantly Sunni Muslims. They are mainly Khan, Meo, Syed, Mirasi,
Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
,
Qaimkhani Kayamkhani or Kaimkhani (also spelled kayam Khani and Kaim Khani) is a Muslim community of India who were notable for ruling the Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu region in Rajasthan from the 1300s to the 1700s. History They are said to be descended from Cha ...
, Neelgar, Manganiar, Muslim Rangrez, Bohra, Merat, Sheikh, Qureishi, Ansaari, Qazi, Sindhi-Sipahi, Rath and
Pathans Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
. With the introduction of Islam, some communities converted to Islam, though pre-Islamic community identity and some pre-Islamic socio-ritual elements have persisted. Rajasthani Muslim communities, after their conversion, continued to follow pre-conversion practices (Rajasthani rituals and customs) which is not the case in other parts of the country. This exhibits the strong cultural identity of Rajasthani people as opposed to religious identity.


Other religions

Some other religions are also prevalent such as
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, Parsi religion etc. Over time, there has been an increase in the number of followers of Sikh religion. Though
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
emerged as a dominating religion during 321-184 BC in ''Mauryan Empire'', it had no influence in Rajasthan for the fact that Mauryan Empire had minimal impact on Rajasthan and its culture. Although, today
Jainism 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 bein ...
is not that prevalent in Rajasthan but historically the Rajasthan and Gujarat areas were strong centres of Jainism in India,Jainism: the world of conquerors, Volume 1 By Natubhai Shah, p 68 and the state is rich in
Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings gen ...
s, large numbers of which are still maintained by Jain organizations.


General statistics


See also

*
Rajasthani Muslims The term Rajasthani Muslims is usually used to signify Muslims from the state of Rajasthan in the north-western part of India and speak Hindi, Urdu and Sindhi languages. Indian Muslims like all other Muslims practice the basic tenets of Isla ...
*
Jainism in Rajasthan Rajasthan, a state in western India, has had a close historical connection with Jainism. Southwestern Rajasthan was the main centre for Svetambara Jainism. Major Digambara centres are in the northern and eastern parts of Rajasthan. Central an ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajasthan, Religion in Religion in India by state or union territory