The Sarawagi or Saraogi or Sarawgi Jain community, meaning a Jain

Śrāvaka Śrāvaka ( Sanskrit) or Sāvaka (Pali) means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple". This term is used in Buddhism and Jainism. In Jainism, a śrāvaka is any lay Jain so the term śrāvaka has been used for the Jain community itself (for exam ...

, is also known as the Khandelwal. They originated from Khandela, a historical town in northern Rajasthan. The Sarawagi community owes its name to a strong historical association with Jainism. Also technically the term Sarawagi or shravaka is applicable to all Jains, the Khandelwal Jains is the only community that has used it extensively, although the term is sometimes also used by Jain Agrawals in Rajasthan. The Khandelwals have 84 divisions. The legendary origin of these divisions is given in a 17th-century book, "Shravakotpatti Varnanam". It mentions how the ruler Girakhandel of Khandela was planning to sacrifice one thousand Jain monks in a naramedha

yajña In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well a ...

. However, with the assistance of goddess Chakreshvari, muni

Jinasena Acharya Jinasena II (c. 9th century CE) was a monk and scholar in the ''Digambara'' tradition of Jainism. He was patronized by the Rashtrakuta Emperor Amoghavarsha I. He was the author of ''Adipurana'' and '' Mahapurana''.

persuaded the ruler to give up violence. The ruler along with his eighty-three chiefs became Jain Śrāvakas, giving rise to eighty-four

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 ...

Organizations

The Khandelwal Digambar Jain Mahasabha was founded by Lunkaran Pandya of Jhalarapatan and Padam Chand Benara of Agra (both then living in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

) on 28 Feb. 1916 in Bombay. The first convention of the Mahasabha was held in 1920, where the publication of "Khandelwal jain Hitechchhu" was initiated. Several regional branches of the Mahasabha were established; however, they all became inactive around 1932. The Mahasabha has been revived recently, its current office is in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. It has recently several published directories. So far the community count has been done for 1794 towns with 29,944 families and 185,556 individuals. This does not include the city of Jaipur, which is the largest center.

Prominent Khandelwal Jains

* Jivaraj Papriwal (Pratishtas in 1491 AD) *

Pandit Todarmal Pandit Todarmal (1719–1766) was an eminent Indian Jain scholar and writer.History of the Jaipur City By Ashim Kumar Roy He led the creation of ''terapanthi'' community among the ''Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the ...

(1719–1766), author of Moksh Marg Prakashak * Poet Bhudhardas (1700–1765) * Poet Budhjan, 1770-1838 CE Kavivar Budhajan Vyaktitva Evam Krititva, Dr. Mulchand Shastri, Mahavir Granth Academy Jaipur, 1986, p. vii

Agarwal Sarawagis

The term Sarawagi is also used by are Agarwal Sarawagis from Churu as well as other districts of Rajasthan. They are a section of

Agrawal Jain Agrawal Jains are an Indian Jain community who originated from Agroha (town), Agroha near Hisar, Haryana. In Sanskrit inscriptions and texts, the community is termed Agrotakanvaya. Legends According to texts from the Mughal Empire, Mughal peri ...

community.

Notes

References

* {{Social groups of Maharashtra Jain communities Social groups of Rajasthan

Organizations

Prominent Khandelwal Jains

Agarwal Sarawagis

See also

Notes

References