Bhanushali


Bhanushali is a Hindu agrarian community of Vaishya Varna. The majority reside in Gujarat and some parts of Maharashtra in India.

History

The Bhanushali are chiefly worrier, farmers and traders. It is called that they are descendent of sun because 'bhanu' in Sanskrit means sun. Jyotindra Jain theorized that the Bhanushalis migrated to Gujarat from Sindh, based on their worship of Hinglaj Mata. He also believed that the Lohanas and Bhansalis shared a common home in Sindh before their migration to Gujarat.

Communities

Bhanushalis are at present divided in to two subgroups, according to where they live. The kutchhi Bhanushali Community and Halai Bhanushali Community.

Occupation

Bhanushalis are mainly involved in worriers, business, agriculture, and farming.

Religion

Bhanushalis worship different kuldevis as per their clan names / surnames. They follow Hindu customs and beliefs. They also worship Veer Dada Jashraj and claim, like Lohanas, that he belonged to their community. Bhanushalis chiefly worship Hinglaj, whose main temple is in Baluchistan, Sind, their ancestral home.

Lohanas

Bhanushalis shared their early home in Sind with Lohanas and seem to share history. Like Lohanas, Bhanushalis are involved in trading and gained visibility in business. Like Lohanas they worship Dada Jashraj as their kuladevata and Harkor, as Kuldevi. Many Bhanushalis surnames are also found among Lohana community.