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Kosta (also spelt as Kosti) are a
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 ...
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
found in the Indian
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
,
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
,
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...
and
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
.


Origin

Koshta (Koshti) are Dewangans who are into Kosa silk business where they manufacture silk saree all across Chhattisgarh region. Koshta claim to be descendants of
Markandeya Markandeya () is a rishi (sage) featured in Hindu literature. He is the son of the sage Mrikanda and his wife, Manasvini. The Markandeya Purana (one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas in Hinduism), attributed to the sage, comprises a dialogue ...
Rishi.Encyclopaedia Indica, Volume 2 by Tushar Dewangan, p. 639 Subdivisions - The main origin of dewangan is from Raigarh Chhattisgarh where they started manufacturing silk saree as per legacy knowledge from Markandey Rishi. After successful trading to different cities of Chhattisgarh they started trading to other states as well like it's neighbor Maharashtra, Madhyapradesh, uttarpradesh, odisha etc. and later all across India started Silk business and some of them converted into Koshta(Dewangan), Somewhere they known as Koshti. The caste have several subdivisions of different types. The Lad Koshtis come from Gujarat, the Gadhewal from Garha or Jubbulpore, Umred Koshtis are Cultivators, Tailor and Potter, the Deshkar and Maratha from the Maratha country, while the Dewangan probably take their name from the old town of that name on the Wardha river. The Patwis are dyers, and colour the silk thread which the weavers use to border their cotton cloth. It is usually dyed red with lac. They also make braid and sew silk thread on ornaments like the separate Patwa caste. And the Onkule are the offspring of illegitimate unions. In Berar there is a separate subcaste named Hatghar, which may be a branch of the Dhangar or shepherd caste. Berar also has a group known as Jain Koshtis, who may formerly have professed the Jain religion, but are now strict Sivites. The Salewars are said to be divided into the Sutsale or thread-weavers, the Padmasale or those who originally wove the lotus flower and the Sagunsale, a group of illegitimate descent. The above names show that the caste is of mixed origin, containing a large Telugu element, while a body of the primitive Halbas has been incorporated into it. Many of the Maratha Koshtis are probably Kunbis(Cultivators) who have taken up weaving. The caste has also a number of exogamous divisions of the usual type which serve to prevent the marriage of near relatives.The Tribes And Castes Of The Central Provinces Of India Vol. III, 1916, page 582,


Language

The Koshti language is a distinct
Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east of the Indus river in Ba ...
with words derived from Sanskrit in either their ''tatsama'' or ''tadbhava'' form.Vishveshvaranand Indological journal, Volumes 2-3, pp. 43–48 Koshti also contains words borrowed from languages like
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
, Khari-boli,
Bundeli Bundeli (Devanagari: बुन्देली/बुंदेली) or Bundelkhandi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Bundelkhand region of central India. It belongs to the Central Indo-Aryan languages and is part of the Western Hindi s ...
,
Chhattisgarhi Chhattisgarhi () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by approximately 16.25 million people from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in India. It is the official language of Chhattisgarh. It is grouped within the Eastern Hindi lan ...
and variants of
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
.Encyclopaedia Indica, Volume 2 by J.S. Sharma, p. 639The Indo-Aryan Languages By Colin P. Masica, p. 435Census of India, 1961: Andhra Pradesh, pp. 189–200


Occupation

The majority of Koshta today are Darji, Potter and Cultivators and some of them have started employment other than their main occupation like in cotton and silk mills of both the public and private sectors. They have also begun to work in bidi making, brass cutlery and utensil manufacturing, tile and brick making and construction work.Handloom industry in Madhya Pradesh by K.R. Nanekar, p. 13


References

{{Social groups of Maharashtra Indian castes Weaving communities of South Asia Social groups of Bihar Social groups of Gujarat Social groups of Karnataka Social groups of Madhya Pradesh Social groups of Maharashtra Social groups of Tamil Nadu Social groups of Uttar Pradesh