View source for Agrawal

{{Short description|A Bania community in the Indian subcontinent}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Agrawal
| image            = Maharja Agrasena.jpeg
| caption          = [[Agrasen|Maharaja Agrasen]], the legendary king who was the forefather of Agrawals
| regions          = [[India]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Bangladesh]]
| langs            = [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Haryanvi]], [[Hindi]], [[Rajasthani languages|Rajasthani]]
| rels             = Majority: [[Vaishnava]] [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], [[Sikhism]] <br> Minority: [[Islam]], [[Christianity]]<ref name="Harrison2015">{{cite book |last1=Harrison |first1=Selig S. |title=India: The Most Dangerous Decades |date=8 December 2015 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-1-4008-7780-5 |page=115 |language=English |quote=Some subsects of the Oswals and Agarwals were converted to Jainism in the 16th century.}}</ref><ref name="SikandKatju1994"/>
}}
'''Agrawal''' ('''Agarwal''', '''Agerwal''', '''Agrawala''', '''Agarwala''', '''Agarwalla''', '''Aggarwal''', '''Agarawal''''', '''''Agarawala''''', or '''Aggrawal''') is a [[Bania (caste)|Bania]] caste.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Aakar |date=2015-02-06 |title=A history of the Agarwals |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/TYwWWYXGX3L72a1psxhe3N/A-history-of-the-Agarwals.html |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=mint |language=en}}</ref> The Banias of northern [[India]] are a cluster of several communities, of which the Agrawal Banias, Maheshwari Banias, Oswal Banias, Khatri Banias and Porwal Banias are a part.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 February 2015 |title=A history of the Agarwal's |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/TYwWWYXGX3L72a1psxhe3N/A-history-of-the-Agarwals.html}}</ref> 

They are found throughout [[North India|northern India]], mainly in the states of [[Rajasthan, India|Rajasthan]], [[Haryana, India|Haryana]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Chandigarh]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Uttarakhand]], [[Delhi NCR|Delhi]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Gujarat]], [[Maharashtra]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]]. They are also found in the Pakistani provinces of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and [[Sindh]], though at the time of the [[partition of India]], most of them migrated across the newly created border to independent India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Babu Lal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJQrAAAAIAAJ |title=Trade and Commerce in Rajasthan During the 18th Century |page=88|date=1987 |publisher=Jaipur Publishing House |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Das2012">{{cite book |last1=Das |first1=Sibir Ranjan |title=Resilience and Identity in Urban India: Anthropology of Barmer and Tehri |date=2012 |publisher=[[Anthropological Survey of India]] |isbn=978-81-922974-9-1 |page=107 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Gulzar Ahmed Chaudhry|date=4 June 2014|title=Nagar Mahal – from Agarwals to Sukheras|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1110497 |work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|location=Pakistan}}</ref> Most Agrawals follow [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] [[Hinduism]] or [[Jainism]], while a minority adhere to Islam or Christianity.<ref name="Harrison2015"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Goh |first=Robbie B. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LyJLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 |title=Protestant Christianity in the Indian Diaspora: Abjected Identities, Evangelical Relations, and Pentecostal Visions |date=2018-02-08 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-1-4384-6944-7 |language=en|quote=Agarwal recounts how the news of his own conversion was greeted by his grandmother in Punjab...}}</ref><ref name="SikandKatju1994">{{cite journal |last1=Sikand |first1=Yoginder |last2=Katju |first2=Manjari |title=Mass Conversions to Hinduism among Indian Muslims |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |date=20 August 1994 |volume=29 |issue=34 |pages=2214–2219 |language=en}}</ref> 

The Agrawal are the descendants of [[Maharaja Agrasen]], a [[Kshatriya]] king of the [[Agroha Mound|Agroha Kingdom]].<ref name="Jodhka2023">{{cite book |last1=Jodhka |first1=Surinder S. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Caste |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-889671-5 |page=393 |language=en}}</ref> He is claimed to have been one of the descendants of the Hindu deity [[Rama|Shri Ram]]. Their prime goddess was the goddess Lakshmi Mahalaxmi, who has given boon to the king and his descendants to be prosperous always by her and consort God Vishnu's kindness. Agrasen himself adopted the [[Vaishya]] tradition of Hinduism.<ref name="Jodhka2023"/> 

The Agrawal are [[Suryavamsha]] and belong to the [[Raghuvamsha]] house.

The Agrawal are also known for their entrepreneurship and business acumen.<ref name="Jodhka2023" /> In modern-day tech and ecommerce companies, they continue to dominate. It was reported in 2013, that for every 100 in funding for e-commerce companies in India, 40 went to firms founded by Agrawals.<ref>{{cite news |first=Harsimran |last=Julka |author2=Radhika P. Nair |date=12 February 2013 |title=Why young Aggarwals dominate India's e-commerce start-ups |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-02-12/news/37059057_1_e-commerce-founder-agrawals |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216065338/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-02-12/news/37059057_1_e-commerce-founder-agrawals |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2013 |work=[[The Economic Times]] | location=Delhi}}</ref>

[[File:Agrasen ki Baoli, New Delhi, India - 20070127.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Agrasen ki Baoli]] in Delhi, which was built by the Agrawal community during the [[Tughlaq dynasty]] in India.<ref>{{cite book |title=Down to Earth: Science and Environment Fortnightly, Volume 16, Issues 16-24 |date=2008 |publisher=Society for Environmental Communications |page=71 |language=en |quote=Resembling Tughlak period architectures, it was probably constructed by the Agrawal community (tracing back to Maharaja Agrasen).}}</ref>]]

==History==
Agrawals are one of the [[Bania (caste)|Bania]] (merchant) communities in India, which includes other mercantile communities like [[Maheshwari]], and [[Oswals]].<ref name="Hanks2003">{{cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |title=Dictionary of American Family Names |date=8 May 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977169-1 |page=xcvi |language=en|quote=The Banias of northern India are really a cluster of several communities, of which the Agarwal Banias, Oswal Banias, and Porwal Banias are mentioned separately in connection with certain surnames.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Harishchandra |first=Bharatendu |title=Agarwalon ki utpatti |date=2020-10-23 |publisher=[[bharatenduHarichandra]] |location=खेमराज श्रीकृष्णदास अध्यक्ष : श्रीवेंकटेश्वर प्रेस, ९१/१०९, खेमराज श्रीकृष्णदास मार्ग, ७ वी खेतवाडी बैंक रोड कार्नर, मुंबई - ४०० ००४. दूरभाष/फैक्स-०२२-२३८५७४५६. खेमराज श्रीकृष्णदास ६६, हडपसर इण्डस्ट्रियल इस्टेट, पुणे - ४११०१३. दूरभाष-०२०-२६८७१०२५, फेक्स -०२०-२६८७४१०७. गंगाविष्णु श्रीकृष्णदास, लक्ष्मी वेंकटेश्वर प्रेस व बुक डिपो श्रीलक्ष्मीवेंकटेश्वर प्रेस बिल्डींग, जूना छापाखाना गली, अहिल्याबाई चौक, कल्याण, बि. ठाणे, महाराष्ट्र - ४२१ ३०१ दूरभाष/फेक्स-०२५१-२२०९०६१. खेमराज श्रीकृष्णदास चौक, वाराणसी (उ.प्र.) २२१ ००१. दूरभाष - ०५४२-२४२००७८. |language=Hindi}}</ref>

In inscriptions and texts, the original home of the Agrawal community is stated as [[Agroha (town)|Agroha]], near [[Hisar, Haryana]].

*In Pradumna Charita of [[Samvat (calendar eras)|samvat]] 1411 (1354 AD), the Agrawal poet Sadharu wrote "अग्रवाल की मेरी जात, पुर अग्रोहा महि उतपात" ("My [[jāti]] is Agrawal, and I trace my roots to the city of Agroha).<ref>Dr. Kasturachand Kasliwal, Khandelwal Jain Samaj ka Vrihad Itihas, 1969, p. 49</ref>
* In his Padma Purana<ref>Muni Sabhachandra aur Unaka Padmapurana, Kasturchanda Kasliwal, 1984</ref> of VS 1711 (AD 1654), Muni Sabhachandra writes "अग्रोहे निकट प्रभु ठाढे जोग, करैं वन्दना सब ही लोग|| अग्रवाल श्रावक प्रतिबोध, त्रेपन क्रिया बताई सोध||", (When Lohacharya was near Agroha, he taught the 53 actions to the Agrawal shravakas).
*In a Sanskrit inscription, the Agrawals are referred to as ''Agrotaka'' ("from Agroha"). A 1272 AD inscription states: "सं १३२९ चैत्र वुदी दशम्यां बुधवासरे अद्येह योगिनिपुरे समस्त राजावलि-समलन्कृत ग्यासदीन राज्ये अत्रस्थित अग्रोतक परम श्रावक जिनचरणकमल".<ref>Parmananda Jain Shastri. ''Agrawalon ka Jain sanskriti mein yogadan''. Anekanta Oct. 1966, p. 277-281</ref>

Some of the Agrawals adapted Jainism under the influence of Lohacharya.<ref name="Singh2008">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=K. S. |title=People of India: Bihar |date=2008 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-85579-09-2 |page=46 |language=en |quote=The bulk of the Agrawals belong to Vaishnava sect of Hinduism. ... Agrawals, it is believed, were converted to Jainism by Sri Loha Charyaji between 27 and 77 years of the Vikram era.}}</ref>

===Migration to Delhi===
The Agrawal merchant [[Nattal Sahu]], and the Agrawal poet, [[Vibudh Shridhar]], lived during the reign of [[Tomara dynasty|Tomara]] King Anangapal of Yoginipur (now Mehrauli, near Delhi).<ref>An Early Attestation of the Toponym Ḍhillī, by Richard J. Cohen, Journal of the American Oriental Society,  1989, p. 513-519</ref> Vibudh Shridhar wrote Pasanahacariu in 1132 AD, which includes a historical account of Yoginipur (early [[Delhi]] near [[Mehrauli]]) then.

In 1354, [[Firuz Shah Tughluq]] had started the construction of a new city near Agroha, called ''Hisar-e-Feroza'' ("the fort of Firuz"). Most of the raw material for building the town was brought from Agroha.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010818/windows/slice.htm The story of Hisar]</ref> The town later came to be called [[Hisar, India|Hisar]]. Hisar became a major center of the Agrawal community. Some Agrawals are also said to have moved to the Kotla Firoz Shah fort in Delhi, built by Firuz Shah Tughlaq.

===Migration to Rajput kingdoms===
During the era of [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent|Islamic administrative rule in India]], some Agrawal, as with the [[Sarawagi|Saraogi]], migrated to the [[Bikaner State]].{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} The [[Malkana]] include Muslim Agrawals, who converted from Hinduism to Islam during this time and were given land tracts along the [[Yamuna]] by Afghan rulers.<ref name="SikandKatju1994"/>

In the early 15th century, Agrawals flourished under the [[Tomaras of Gwalior]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Kashtha Sangha Bhattarakas of Gwalior and Agrawal Shravakas, Dr. K. C. Jain, 1963, p. 72</ref>{{full citation needed|date=August 2021}} According to several Sanskrit inscription at the [[Gwalior Fort]] in [[Gwalior District]], several traders (Sanghavi Kamala Simha, Khela Brahmachari, Sandhadhip Namadas etc.) belonging to ''Agrotavansha'' (Agrawal clan) supported the sculptures and carving of idols at the place.<ref>{{cite web
 | url=http://www.webdunia.com/dharm/jain/gopachal/19_gopachal9.htm
 | title=गोपाचल के जिन मन्दिर एवं प्रतिमाएँ
 | publisher=Webdunia.com
 | language=hi
 | access-date=2007-06-02
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041224031241/http://www.webdunia.com/dharm/jain/gopachal/19_gopachal9.htm
 | archive-date=24 December 2004
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref>
Historian K.C. Jain comments:
{{cquote|Golden Age of the Jain Digambar Temple in Gwalior under the Tomara rulers inspired by the [[Kashtha Sangh|Kashtha]] Bhattarakas and their Jaina Agrawal disciples who dominated the Court of father and son viz. Dungar Singh (1425-59)and Kirti Singh (1459–80) with the Poet-Laureate [[Raighu]] as their mouthpiece and spokesman, a centenarian author of as many as thirty books, big and small of which two dozen are reported to be extant today. Verify the advent of the Hisar-Firuza-based Jain Agrawals who functioned as the ministers and treasurers of the ruling family had turned the Rajput State of Gwalior into a Digambara Jain Centre par excellence representing the culture of the Agrawal multi-millionner shravakas as sponsored by them.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>}}

===Migration to Eastern India===

Later, during the Mughal rule, and during the [[British East India Company]] administration, some Agrawals migrated to [[Bihar]] and [[Calcutta]], who became the major component of the [[Marwaris]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Anne |last=Hardgrove |title=Community and Public Culture: The Marwaris in Calcutta, c. 1897–1997 |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-23112-216-0}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2021}}

== Gotras ==

Agrawals belong to various [[gotra]]s, traditionally said to be seventeen and a half in number. According to [[Bharatendu Harishchandra]]'s ''Agrawalon ki Utpatti'' (1871), [[Agrasen]] - the legendary progenitor of the community - performed 17 sacrifices and left the eighteenth incomplete, resulting in this number. [[Bharatendu Harishchandra|Bharatendu]] also mentions that Agrasen had 17 queens and a junior queen, but does not mention any connection between the number of gotras and the number of queens, or describe how the sacrifices led to the formation of the gotras.{{sfn|Lawrence A. Babb|2004|pp=201-202}} Another popular legend claims that a boy and girl from the Goyan gotra married each other by mistake, which led to the formation of a new "half" gotra. Another popular belief that since Maharaj Agrasen has 17 son and one daughter so where his daughter was married the gotra of daughter in laws were adopted as half gotra in Agrawals, thus 17.5 gotra.{{sfn|M. S. Gore|1990|p=69}}

Historically, there has been no unanimity regarding number and names of these seventeen and a half gotras, and there are regional differences between the list of gotras. The Akhil Bhartiya Agrawal Sammelan, a major organization of Agrawals, has created a standardized list of gotras, which was adopted as an official list by a vote at the organization's 1983 convention.{{sfn|Lawrence A. Babb|2004|pp=193-194}} Because the classification of any particular gotra as "half" is considered insulting, the Sammelan provides a list of following 18 gotras:{{sfn|Lawrence A. Babb|2004|p=192}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
# [[Bansal]]
# [[Goyal]]
# [[Kuchchal|Kuchhal]]
# [[Kansal]]
# Bindal
# [[Jindal]]
# [[Mittal (surname)|Mittal]]
# Tingal
# Tayal
# [[Garg (surname)|Garg]]
# Bhandal
# Nangal
# Mangal
# Airan
# Madhukul
# Goyan/Gangal
# Singhal/Singhala/Singla
}}

The existence of all the gotras mentioned in the list is controversial, and the list does not include several existing clans such as Kotrivala, Pasari, Mudgal, Tibreval, and Singhal.{{sfn|Lawrence A. Babb|2004|p=193}}{{request quotation|date=December 2022}}

==Notable Agrawals==
{{main |List of Agrawals}}

== See also ==
* [[Agrawal Jain]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author=Lawrence A. Babb |title=Alchemies of Violence: Myths of Identity and the Life of Trade in Western India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74tUY0le33UC&pg=PA200 |year=2004 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-0-7619-3223-9 }}
* {{cite book |author=M. S. Gore |author-link=Madhav Sadashiv Gore |title=Urbanization and Family Change |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GpLeY2_oT8kC&pg=PA69 |year=1990 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |isbn=978-0-86132-262-6 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Authority control}}{{Social groups of Rajasthan}}{{Social groups of Maharashtra}}

[[Category:Agrawal| ]]
[[Category:Bania communities]]
[[Category:Social groups of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]
[[Category:Social groups of Delhi]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindu origin]]
[[Category:People from Hisar district]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindustani origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Aggarwal]]