Example of a panji genealogical record kept by Maithili Kayasthas and Brahmins of the Mithila region of northern India

Panjis or Panji Prabandh are extensive

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

records maintained among the Maithili Kayasthas and Maithili Brahmins of the

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

region similar to the

Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar Genealogy registers of families, maintained by Brahmin Pandits, known locally as ''Pandas'', who work as professional genealogists, at Haridwar in Uttarakhand, India, have been a subject of study for many years.

History

It is said that the Panji system was not in use until the second decade of the 14th century CE. Those days people sporadically had lineage introductions. Therefore, marriage decisions in the tradition of Maithil Vivah were based on the remembrance or names of ancestors and

Gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

, etc. According to ''Panjikar'' ''Vidyanand Jha'' alias ''Mohanji'', the Panji system came into existence after a dispute in 1326 AD over the marriage of a minister of the King Harisimha Deva, to the sister of a distant relative. After that the King Harisimha Deva decided to make a genealogy of every person in

so that such a situation does not arise. On the orders of the Maharaja, the ''Vishwachakra Sammelan'' was held at Jamsam of Pandaul in

Madhubani district Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India, and is a part of Darbhanga division. Its administrative headquarters are located in Madhubani. The district has an area of and has a population of 4,487,379 (as of 20 ...

. The Panji System was introduced in 1327 AD by the King Harisimha Deva of Karnat Dynasty in Mithila. It was the system of registration of

records of the family. The ''Panjikar'' (registrar) was responsible for collecting information about the genealogies of the people in the area and registering it in the register (Panji). It was helpful in identifying the clan or

of a particular family for marriage purpose. The information recorded in the Panjis are ''Vamsha - Vriksha'' ( genealogical family tree ), ''Biji Purush'' (earliest known ancestor), '' mool'' (village of origin of the earliest ancestor), '' shakhas'' (village of the diversification of the descendants of the ancestor) and ''Gotra'', etc. The first ''Panjikar'' was ''Gunakar Jha''.

Panjikar

During the Darbhanga Raj period, there was a 10 years course of study at the court of Darbhanga Raj to become a ''Panjikar''. A candidate who wished to become a ''Panjikar'', had to enrolled in the course. Then the candidate had to appear in the '' Dhaut Pariksha''. After successfully passing the examination of ''Dhaut Pariksha'', the candidate was given the status of a ''Panjikar'' or registrar. It is said that after the end of Darbhanga Raj, the Dhaut Pariksha also ended and after that the selection process of the ''Panjikar'' become hereditary.

Utility

The Panjis have enormous value when arranging marriages, as they ensure that incestuous relationships do not occur, delineating the last 07 generations from the paternal side and 06 generations from the maternal side of the prospective bride and groom. When it is proved that there has been no relationship for seven generations, the ''Panjikar'' (registrar) grants the marriage. The horoscopes of the couples are also matched based on the '' Janmpatri'' (birth chart) and horoscope. This process of registration for the marriage of a couples is popularly called as ''Siddhanta'' in

Sabha Gachhi

The king

Harisimhadeva Harisimhadeva (also called Hari Singh Deva) was a King of the Karnat dynasty who ruled the Mithila (region), Mithila region of modern-day parts of North Bihar in India and South Nepal. He reigned from 1304 to 1325. He was the last king of the Karn ...

approved fourteen major locations for organising conferences of marriage alliances in Maithil Brahmins at fourteen different locations in Mithila region. They are Saurath, Khanagadi, Partapur, Sheohar, Govindpur, Fattepur, Sajhaul, Sukhasana, Akhdari, Hemnagar, Balua, Baruali, Samsaul, and Sasaula. The Maithil Kayasthas and Maithil Brahmin delegates assembled in a conference to deliberate upon new marriage alliances duly checked with the respective at these places. Among these Sabha Gachhis, the Sabha Gachhi near the outskirts of Madhubani city called as Saurath is considered as the oldest and the most popular. The conference itself was called Saurath Sabha. Similarly the Sabha Gachhi of Sasaula village near the city of Sitamarhi is also very popular and is still live. The Sabha Gachhi of Sasaula village is known as Sasaula Sabha Gachhi

Current status

Due to progressive loss of Panjis, Panjikars taking up modern professions and increasing cosmopolitan behaviour, the practice of fixation of marriage by consulting Panjis is dying. There have been cases reported of sale of Panjis to foreign agencie

The recent Saurath sabhas are all but deserte

Increasingly, people are looking forward to more modern methods of match making like internet, rather than centuries old palm leaves.

Digitisation of Panjis

Since in the modern era Saurath Sabha is losing the preferences for wedding negotiations place and the next generation of the families of the ''Panjikars'' are also not interested in the profession of Panjikars and they are shifting towards other jobs, there was threat to lose the handwritten

records forever. It is said that

Mithila region Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal, is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothil ...

has more than four lakhs manuscripts of the genealogical records of the Maithil Brahmins and Karan Kayasthas. Therefore, in 2017, the

National Mission for Manuscripts National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

initiated a mission for the digitisation of the handwritten manuscripts of the Panjis at Saurath Sabha in Mithila region. According to the National Mission for Manuscripts, the officers are facing many difficulties while convincing for digitisation of the handwritten genealogical records.{{Cite news , title=Centuries old genealogical records of Bihar’s Mithila region to be digitised , url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/centuries-old-genealogical-records-of-bihar-s-mithila-region-to-be-digitised/story-ulAf4ZohQ8xtsVCToTFPvM.html , work=

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

Books on Panji System

* Maithili Karna Kayasthak Panjik Sarvekshan, by Binod Bihari Verma *Maithil Brāhamano ki Pañji Vyavasthā (Hindi), by Pt Ramānāth Jhā, published by Granthālaya, Darbhangā. *Genome Mapping- 450 AD to 2009 AD- Mithilak Panji Prabandh, by

Gajendra Thakur Gajendra Thakur (born 1971) is an Indian author. He writes in the Maithili language, a language spoken in Northern Bihar (of India) and South-Eastern Nepal. He is an author, lexicographer, historian (of Mithila- ancient Videha and of ''Maithili ...

, published by Shruti Publication, 2009 Delhi ISBN No.978-81-907729-6-9 *Panji System in Maithil Karna Kayastha: A Sociological Evaluation, y: Dr. Binod Kumar Karna.

References

External links

Bihar government site about Mithila including PanjikarsTimes Of India article on Brahmins PanjisJSTOR article on the usage of Panjis on Mithila and BengalTimes of India article on Saurath Sabha in MadhubaniKinship ritual and visual imagery in Mithila
Culture of Mithila Family registers Social history of India Indian genealogy History of Mithila