Bahun (), also known as Hill Brahmins, are a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

among the

Khas Khas peoples or Khas Tribes, (; ) popularly known as Khashiya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, in what is now the South Asian country of Nepal, as well as the Indian stat ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. They are a sub-caste of the

Kanyakubja Brahmin Kanyakubja Brahmins are an endogamous Brahmin community mainly found in northern India. They are classified as one of the Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities. Kanyakubja Brahmins emerged as the highest ranking subcaste of Brahmins and are known ...

while their origins are from

Kannauj Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Ut ...

and the Himalayan belt of South Asia. According to the

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working in cooperation with the 58 municipalities and the 3,915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the m ...

, Bahun is the second most populous group after

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...

. According to 1854 ''Muluki Ain'', the first Nepalese civil code, Bahuns were regarded as caste among sacred thread bearers (

Tagadhari ''Tagadhari'' () are members of a Nepalis, Nepalese Hindu group that is perceived as historically having a high socio-religious status in society. Tagadhari are identified by a ''sacred thread'' (Janai) around the torso, which is used for ritual ...

) and twice-born Hindus.

Origin

Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the

Khas community Khas peoples or Khas Tribes, (; ) popularly known as Khashiya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, in what is now the South Asian country of Nepal, as well as the Indian stat ...

together

s. Possibly due to political power of the Khasa Malla kingdom, Khas Brahmins and Khas Kshatriyas had high social status in the present-day western Nepal. Bahuns, regarded as upper class Khas group together with

s, were associated mostly with the Gorkha Kingdom and its expansion. There appears to be general agreement in historical records and family genealogy that Hill Brahmins (both Purbia and Kumai Bahuns) migrated from the Gangetic Plains to the western Himalayas then from there to the eastern Himalayas including Nepal. Nepali historians have claimed that Hill Brahmins entered the Himalayan region from

. According to Acharya Bamsavali, Bahuns have migrated from Kanyakubja to Jumla in Nepal.

Demography

According to the

, Bahuns (referred as Hill-Brahmin) are the second most populous group after Khas Chhetri with 12.2% of Nepal's population (or 3,226,903 people). Bahun are the second largest

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

group in Nepal with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns). Bahuns are the largest group in 15 districts in Nepal:

Jhapa Jhapa District (; ) is a district of Koshi Province in eastern Nepal named after a Rajbanshi Surjapuri language word "Jhapa", meaning "to cover" (verb). The 2021 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the district at 994,090. The total a ...

, Morang,

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

Chitwan Chitwan District (, , ) is one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers , and in 2011 had a popul ...

Nawalparasi Nawalparasi District (, ), part of which belongs to Gandaki Province and part to Lumbini Province, was one of the 75 districts of Nepal before being divided into Parasi District and Nawalpur District in 2015. The district, with Parasi as its ...

Rupandehi Rupandehi District (; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011, the population of Rupandehi was 880,196. Etymol ...

, Kaski,

Syangja Syangja District (; ) is a part of Gandaki Province, and is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. Its headquarter is Putalibazar with a diverse population including Brahmin, Magar, Chhetri, Dalit and Gurung communities. Syangja is home ...

, Parbat,

Gulmi Gulmi District (), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Tamghas as its headquarters, covers an area of , had a population of 296,654 in 2001, 280,160 in 2011 and 268,597 in 2016. Introd ...

and

Arghakhanchi Arghakhanchi ( ) is one of the districts of Lumbini Province in Nepal. The district headquarter is Sandhikharka. The district covers an area of and has a population (2011) of 197,632. Its neighboring districts are Palpa District, Palpa in the ea ...

. Among these, Bahuns in Parbat (35.7%),

(32.8%),

Dhading Dhading Besi () is the headquarters of the Dhading District of Nepal. The town is located within Nilkantha Municipality which is one of the two municipalities of the district. It is also the administrative center of Nilkantha Municipality. The ...

(30.9%),

(28.6%), Kaski (27.8%) and

(25.2%) consist more than 25% of the district population.

has largest Bahun population with 410,126 people (23.5%). Bahuns have the highest

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

representation with 39.2% of Nepal's bureaucracy while having only 12.1% of Nepal's total population. The civil service representation to population ratio is 3.2 times for Bahuns which is fourth in Nepal. Khas Chhetris represent 1.6 times in civil services to their percentage of population, which is the highest in Nepal. As per the

Public Service Commission Public Service Commission may refer to: * Public utilities commission ** Alabama Public Service Commission ** Public Service Commission (Indiana) ** Public Service Commission of Utah ** Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ** Public Utilities Com ...

, Brahmins (33.3%) and Chhetris (20.01%) were two largest caste group to obtain governmental jobs in F.Y. 2017-18 even though 45% governmental seats are reserved for women, indigenous and ethnic minorities, Madhesis, dalits, people with disability and those from the backward regions. Similarly, in the fiscal 2018–19, Bahuns (24.87%) and Chhetris (9.63%) maintained 35% of their proportion in civil service as per Public Service Commission.

Geographic distribution

According to the

2021 Nepal census The 2021 Nepal Census was the twelfth nationwide census of Nepal conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The census was originally scheduled from 8 June to 22 June 2021, but was postponed to November 2021 due to a surge in COVID-19 case ...

, 3,292,373 people (11.29%) of the population of Nepal are Bahun (Hill Brahmins). The frequency of Bahun (Hill Brahmins) by province was as follows: *

Gandaki Province Gandaki Province ( ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southw ...

(21.5%) *

Bagmati Province Bagmati Province (, ''Bāgmatī pradēśa'') is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. Bagmati is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. It is bordered ...

(18.3%) *

Sudurpashchim Province Sudurpashchim Province () is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces established by the Constitution of Nepal, new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September 2015. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, ...

(13.0%) *

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province in western Nepal. The country's Provinces of Nepal, third largest province in terms of area as well as List of Nepalese provinces by population, population, Lumbini is home to the World Herita ...

(12.5%) *

Koshi Province Koshi Province () is an autonomous Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. It covers an area of , about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its cap ...

(12.1%) *

Karnali Province Karnali Province () is one of the seven federal provinces of Nepal formed by the new constitution, which was adopted on 20 September 2015. The total area of the province is , making it the largest province in Nepal with 18.97% of the country's ...

(8.3%) *

Madhesh Province Madhesh Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal in the Terai region with an area of covering about 6.5% of the country's total area. It has a population of 6,126,288 as per the 2021 Nepal census, making it Nepal's most densely po ...

(2.3%) The frequency of Bahun (Hill Brahmins) was higher than national average (12.2%) in the following districts: * Parbat (35.8%) *

(32.8%) *

(30.9%) *

(28.7%) * Kaski (27.9%) *

(23.8%) * Nawalpur (23.8%) *

(23.7%) * Kavrepalanchok (21.5%) *

(21.3%) *

Baglung Baglung is a Municipalities of Nepal, municipality in Gandaki Province, in western Nepal, west of Kathmandu. It is the administrative headquarters of Baglung District. Baglung serves as the major center for business, finance, education, servic ...

(19.5%) * Nuwakot (19.0%) * Baitadi (18.6%) * Palpa (17.5%) * Kalikot (17.1%) *

Darchula Khalanga is a town and the district headquarters of the Darchula District in the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal. It is part of the Mahakali Municipality in the Mahakali Zone. The town is located on the bank of Mahakali River and the border w ...

(16.7%) * Kanchanpur (16.0%) *

(15.9%) * Dadeldhura (15.8%) *

Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...

(15.2%) * Rasuwa (15.2%) *

(15.0%) *

Bhaktapur Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located abou ...

(14.2%) *

Makwanpur Makwanpur District (; ), in Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The city of Hetauda serves as the district headquarters and also as the provincial headquart ...

(14.1%) * Ilam (13.9%) *

Terhathum Tehrathum District ( ), is one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal and one of the 14 districts of Koshi Province Demographics In 2021, Terhathum district had a population of 88,731. Tehrathum had a literacy rate of 81.9% and a sex ratio of 10 ...

(13.3%) * Morang (13.1%) * Lalitpur (13.0%) *

Lamjung Lamjung District ( ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Besisahar as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 167,724. lies in the mid-hills of Nepal spa ...

(12.8%) *

Kailali Kailali District (), a part of Sudurpashchim Province in Terai plain, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhangadhi as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population of 911,155 (2021 census) and (775,709 in ...

(12.4%)

Notable people

Academics

* Surya Subedi, legal academic

Artists

* Ragini Upadhyaya, fine artist and lyricist

Athletes

Cricketers

* Basanta Regmi * Kanishka Chaugai *

Sandeep Lamichhane Sandeep Lamichhane (, ; born 2 August 2000) is a Nepalese International cricketer, former captain of the Nepal national cricket team. A right-arm leg spin bowler, Lamichhane has played for Twenty20 franchise sides around the world, including ...

Kushal Bhurtel Kushal Bhurtel (, born 22 January 1997) is a Nepalese cricketer. He made his T20I debut against the Netherlands on 17 April 2021 and his ODI debut against Papua New Guinea on 7 September 2021. In November 2019, he was named in Nepal's squad f ...

Footballers

Swimmers

Other athletes

* Shyam Dhakal, alpine skier

Entertainment

Actors/Filmmakers

* Nabin k. Bhattarai * Neeta Dhungana * Aryan Sigdel * Arunima Lamsal * Jeevan Luitel * Sitaram Kattel(dhurmus) * Kunjana Ghimire(suntali) * Anup Baral * Jeetu Nepal *

Kedar Ghimire Kedar Prasad Ghimire (; born 13 April 1976) is a Nepalese comedian, actor, scriptwriter, and film producer known for his work in the Nepali entertainment industry. He is widely famous and commonly known as ''Magne Budo'' from his hit TV Nepali si ...

* Keki Adhikari * Nisha Adhikari * Bijay Baral * Raj Ballav Koirala * Khagendra Lamichhane * Marishka Pokharel * Sunil Pokharel * Usha Poudel * Deepika Prasain * Hari Prasad Rimal * Aanchal Sharma * Anna Sharma * Pooza Sharma * Reecha Sharma * Mithila Sharma * Barsha Siwakoti * Hari Bansha Acharya * Dayaram Dahal * Subash Gajurel *

Tulsi Ghimire Tulsi Ghimire (born 15 July 1951) is a Nepalese film director, screenwriter, film editor, cameraman, actor and lyricist known for his works in Cinema of Nepal, Nepali films. Regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Nepali cinema, he is kno ...

Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepali people, Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil. Born to the politically prominent Koirala family, she is the daughter of ...

* Deepa Shree Niraula

Singers

* Tika Bhandari * Ram Prasad Khanal * Pramod Kharel *

Nabin K Bhattarai Nabin K Bhattarai (; born March 14, 1974) is a Nepali singer, songwriter, and composer known for his work in Nepalese music industry. Education Nabin Bhattarai studied at Budhanilkantha School Budhanilkantha School, often referred to as BNKS ...

Bhakta Raj Acharya Bhakta Raj Acharya (; 2 October 1942 – 26 February 2024), commonly referred to as ''Bhajan Shiromani'', was a Nepali singer and music-composer, widely known as one of the greatest singers of all time in Nepal. He was born in Kurule Tenupa Dha ...

Sugam Pokharel Sugam Pokharel ( Nepali:सुगम पाेखरेल) is a Nepalese singer, music composer, songwriter, and radio jockey known for his contribution towards Nepali pop music. His first solo recording, ''Mero Sansaar'' (2001), became a top s ...

* Bednidhi Poudel *

Pranil L Timalsena Pranil L Timalsena (Nepali: प्रनिल तिमल्सिना) is a Nepali singer and rapper. Girish-Pranil He started his musical career with Girish Khatiwada (NepHop) as the duo "GP-GirishPranil" in the 1990s. Their first song wa ...

Other entertainers

* Atul Gautam,

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

player * Hom Nath Upadhyaya,

player

Entrepreneurs

Humanitarians

* Durga Ghimire, founder of ABC Nepal, an anti-sex trafficking organisation *

Jagadish Ghimire Jagdish Ghimire (10 April 1946 – 31 October 2013) was a Nepalese writer, political analyst and development worker. Early life He had a master's degree in sociology from Patna University, India and a post-graduate diploma in population studi ...

, political analyst, founder of Tamakoshi Sewa Samiti community development organisation *

Anuradha Koirala Anuradha Koirala (born Anuradha Gurung on 14 April 1949) is a social activist and the founder of Maiti Nepal, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of slavery, sex trafficking. She was appointed as 1st Governor of Bagmati Provi ...

, founder of Maiti Nepal, which supports victims of sex trafficking

Mountaineers

Politicians

* Madhav Prasad Devkota * Ravi Lamichhane * Chabilal Upadhyaya * Ranga Nath Poudyal *

Krishna Prasad Koirala Krishna Prasad Koirala () was a Nepali politician, activist and social worker. He was the founder of the prominent Koirala family. Three of his sons became prime ministers of Nepal. He was a Hill Brahmin living in exile in Bihar. He had fiv ...

and

Koirala family Koirala family ( Nepali: कोइराला परिवार) is one of the most prominent political families of Nepal. The Koirala family are Khas Bahuns (Hill Brahmins) and were original inhabitants of Dumja village in the Sindhuli di ...

* Matrika Prasad Koirala * Tanka Prasad Acharya *

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), better known as B. P. Koirala (), was a Nepali revolutionary, political leader, and writer. He was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959 to 1960. He led the Nepali Congress ...

* Girija Prasad Koirala *

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai Krishna Prasad Bhattarai ( Nepali: कृष्णप्रसाद भट्टराई; 13 December 19244 March 2011) also known as Kishunji was a Nepalese political leader. He was one of the main leaders involved in transitioning Nepal from ...

Man Mohan Adhikari Man Mohan Adhikari (Magi) (; 9 June 1920 – 26 April 1999) was the 31st Prime Minister of Nepal from 1994 to 1995, representing the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). He was the first communist Prime Minister in Nepal and ...

KP Sharma Oli Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (; born 22 February 1952), commonly known as K. P. Sharma Oli or simply K. P. Oli (English pronunciation: , ), is a Nepalese politician who is serving as the prime minister of Nepal since 15 July 2024. Chairman of the ...

* Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) *

Madhav Kumar Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal (, ; born 6 March 1953), is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served as prime minister from 25 May 2009 to 6 February 2011. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister along with the charges o ...

Baburam Bhattarai Baburam Bhattarai (, ; born 18 June 1954), also known by his nom de guerre Laaldhwoj, is a Nepalese politician, architect and former Prime Minister of Nepal, Prime Minister who presently serves as leader of the Nepal Socialist Party. Bhattarai ...

Scientists

* Bodhraj Acharya, biochemist * Lujendra Ojha, planetary scientist

Writers

* Khagendra Sangraula

Poets

Bhanubhakta Acharya Bhanubhakta Acharya () (1814—1868 CE) (1871—1925 Bikram Sambat, BS) was a Nepali writer, poet, and translator. He is widely regarded as the oldest poet in the Nepali language, for which he was conferred with the title of "Aadikabi": literally ...

* Geeta Tripathee * Gopal Prasad Rimal * Ishwar Ballav Bhattarai *

* Krishnahari Baral * Kshetra Pratap Adhikary *

Laxmi Prasad Devkota Laxmi Prasad Devkota () (1909-1959) was a Nepalis, Nepalese poet, playwright, novelist, and politician. Honored with the title of Mahakabi () in Nepali literature, he was known as a poet with a golden heart, and is considered one of the most fam ...

* Lekh Nath Paudel * Mahananda Sapkota *

Motiram Bhatta Motiram Bhatta (; 1866–1896) (1923–1953 BS) was a Nepalese poet, singer, essayist, publisher, literary critic and biographer. He is considered the first biographer and literary critic of Nepali literature and is credited for starting the fir ...

Suman Pokhrel Suman Pokhrel (; born 21 September 1967) is a Nepali people, Nepali poet, lyricist, playwright, translator and artist. Universities in Nepal and India have included his poetry in their syllabi. Pokhrel is the only writer to have received the SAA ...

Journalists

* Kanak Mani Dixit * Narayan Wagle *

Naresh Bhattarai Naresh Bhattarai () (born 26 February), is a media personality, Chairman of Jay hos Media, Senior Radio Journalist, TV program producer, presenter from 1996 and popular lyricist with more than 300 songs recorded. Also, recognized script writer, ...

* Prashant Aryal *

Rabi Lamichhane Rabi Lamichhane (; is a Nepalese politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal. He has also been serving as the president of the Rastriya Swatantra Party since 2022. An ex-journalist, Lamichhane became a member of ...

Rabindra Mishra Rabindra Mishra () is a Nepalis, Nepali philanthropist, ex-journalist, writer, poet, and politician. Currently, Mishra is the Senior Vice-chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, after having resigned as a general member of Bibeksheel Sajha Party ...

Sudheer Sharma Sudheer Sharma () is a Nepalese writer and journalist. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Nepal's largest-selling daily Kantipur Kantipur (; ) was a medieval kingdom in the Malla confederacy of Nepal, centered in the Kathmandu Valley. The name o ...

* Vijay Kumar Pandey

Playwrights

* Abhi Subedi * Krishna Dharabasi * Bhim Nidhi Tiwari * Gopal Prasad Rimal * Guru Prasad Mainali * Khagendra Lamichhane *

Prose writers

* Abhi Subedi * Amar Neupane * Arbind Rimal * Samrat Upadhyay * Sanu Sharma

Other notables

* Bhawana Ghimire, CEO of

Cricket Association of Nepal Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is the official Sport governing body, governing body of cricket in Nepal national cricket team, Nepal. Its headquarters are situated in Mulpani, Kathmandu, Mulpani, Kathmandu District, Kathmandu. It is Nepal' ...

from 2014 to 2016

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Brahmin communities Brahmin communities of Nepal Khas people Brahmins Brahmin communities Gurkhas Ethnic groups in Nepal Ethnic groups in South Asia Hindu ethnic groups Hindu communities