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{{short description|Indian religious sect or community}}
{{Other uses|Bishnoi (surname)}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox caste
| caste_name = Bishnoi
| image = Vishnois At Khejarli Environment Fair.jpg
| caption = Bishnois performing [[Homa (ritual)|haven]] with [[kopra]] and [[ghee]] at ''Khejarli Environment Fair''.
| caste_name_in_local = Jambeshwarpanthi
| region = [[Western India]]
| state = [[Rajasthan]]
| populated_states = Major: [[Rajasthan]] Minor: [[Haryana]] [[Punjab]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]]
| languages = [[Marwari language|Marwari]]
| religions = Bishnoism
| varna =
| guru = [[Guru Jambeshwar]]
| country = India
| mantra = "''Vishnu Vishnu Tu Bhaj Re Prani''"
|classification=According to the community a separate religion according to the Constitution of India a sect and community.|population=900,000 Bishnois who practice a separate faith and another 40,000 who practice a schism.|color=Red}}

'''Bishnoi''' (also known as '''Jambeshwarpanthi''') is a sect found in the [[Thar Desert|Western Thar Desert]] and northern states of India. They follow a set of 29 principles/commandments given by [[Guru Jambheshwar|Guru Jambeshwar]] (1451-1536).<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.nativeplanet.org/indigenous/cultures/india/bishnoi/bishnoi.shtml
| title = The Desert Dwellers of Rajasthan – bishnoi and Bhil people
| access-date = 19 Mar 2016
| date = 2004
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191216023016/https://www.nativeplanet.org/indigenous/cultures/india/bishnoi/bishnoi.shtml
| archive-date = 16 December 2019
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> They are not a [[Caste system in India|caste]] but a sect of Hinduism. As of 2019, there are an estimated 960,000 followers of Bishnoi residing in [[North India|north]] and [[central India]].<ref name=bisjat3>Akash Kapur, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/world/asia/08iht-letter.html A Hindu Sect Devoted to the Environment], New York Times, 8 Oct 2010.</ref> Shree Guru Jambeshwar founded the sect at Samrathal Dhora in 1485 and his teachings, comprising 120 [[shabad (hymn)|shabad]]s, are known as ''Shabadwani''. He preached for the next 51 years, travelling across India. The preaching of Guru Jambhoji inspires his followers as well as the environmental protectors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=When Amrita Devi and 362 Bishnois sacrificed their lives for the Khejri tree|url=https://www.sahapedia.org/when-amrita-devi-and-362-bishnois-sacrificed-their-lives-khejri-tree|access-date=2021-06-01|website=Sahapedia|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Devi|first=Parnashree|date=2012-10-13|title=Bishnoi Community : The Ecologist|url=https://www.traveldiaryparnashree.com/2012/10/bishnoi-community-ecologist.html|access-date=2021-06-01|website=My Travel Diary|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Background==
===Etymology===

Guru Jambeshwar gave his followers 29 precepts, bis means 20 in the local dialect and noi means nine in the local dialect, which became the "Bis+Noi" name for the Religion.<ref name=bisjat3/> In local dialect, it is often said, “{{transl|hi|Untees dharma ki akhadi, hirday dhario joye, Jambheji kirpa kari, naam bishnoi hoye}}” which means those who will follow these twenty-nine principles by heart, Guru Jambhoji will bless them and they will be a Bishnoi.[http://theviewspaper.net/nature-conservation-is-my-religion/]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://theviewspaper.net/nature-conservation-is-my-religion/|title=Nature Conservation is my Religion|last=Mehra|first=Satya Prakash|website=The Viewspaper}}</ref>

===History===
Bishnoi Religion was founded by Shree Guru Jambeshwar (1451-1536), also known as Jambhoji. Some people have used the term ''Vishnoi'', meaning ''followers of Vishan, the all mighty one god, while most'' refer to themselves as ''Bishnoi''. Shree Guru Jambeshwar himself did not refer to ''Vishnoi'' but does mention Vishan. Adherents are also known as ''Jambeshwarpanthi'' because of their devotion to their Guru; Jambeshwar.<ref name="jain52">{{cite book |title=Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and Sustainability |first=Pankaj |last=Jain |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-40940-591-7 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/?id=VYcGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |page=52}}</ref>

Shree Guru Jambeshwar announced a set of 29 tenets.<ref name="jain52"/> These were contained in a document called ''Shabadwani'', written in the [[Devanagari|Nagri script]], which consists of 120 shabads. Of his 29 tenets, ten are directed towards personal hygiene and maintaining good basic health, seven for healthy social behaviour, and four tenets to the worship of God. Eight tenets have been prescribed to preserve bio-diversity - although most adherents are unaware of that, or such things as [[global warming]], as a concept<ref name="jain52"/> - and encourage good [[animal husbandry]]. These include a ban on killing animals and felling green trees, and providing protection to all life forms. The community is also directed to see that the firewood they use is devoid of small insects. Wearing blue clothes is prohibited because the dye for colouring them is obtained by cutting a large quantity of shrubs.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} Most of the followers of this religion are from Jat caste.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Menon|first=Gangadharan|date=2012-07-03|title=The Land of The Bishnois - Where Conservation Of Wildlife Is A Religion!|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/5621/the-land-of-the-bishnois-where-conservation-of-wildlife-is-a-religion/|access-date=2021-06-01|website=The Better India|language=en-US}}</ref>

==29 rules or principles==
The 29 principles of Bishnoi community are as follows:{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
# Observe a 30-day state of ritual impurity after child's birth and keep mother and child away from household activities.
# Observe a five-day segregation from households activities such as cooking food, serving water, etc. while a woman is in her menses.
# Bathe daily in the morning before sunrise.
# Obey the ideal rules of life: Modesty, patience, or satisfactions, cleanliness.
# Pray twice every day (morning and evening).
# Eulogise God (Vishnu), Vishan, in the evening ([[Aarti]])
# Perform [[Yajna]] ([[Homa (ritual)|Havan]]) with the feelings of welfare devotion and love.
# Use filtered water, milk, and cleaned firewood or use cooking fuel after removing living organisms around it.
# Speak pure words in all sincerity.
# Practice forgiveness and kindness from the heart.
# Be merciful with sincerity.
# Do not steal nor harbor any intention to do it.
# Do not condemn or criticize.
# Do not lie.
# Do not indulge in dispute/debate or conflicts.
# Fast on [[Amavasya]].
# Worship and recite Lord Vishnu in adoration.
# Be merciful to all living beings and love them.
# Do not cut green trees, save the environment.
# Keep away from Crush lust, anger, greed, and attachment. Use one's strength for right cause and fight for righteous till last breathe. This will take one to the heaven while living or after death.
# Cook one's own food and keep it pure from all surroundings.
# Provide shelters for abandoned animals to avoid them from being slaughtered in abattoirs.
# Do not sterilize bulls.
# Do not use or trade [[opium]].
# Do not smoke or use [[tobacco]] or its products.
# Do not take [[bhang]] or [[hemp]].
# Do not drink alcohol/liquor.
# Do not eat meat, always remain purely vegetarian.
# Do not use violet-blue color extracted from the indigo plant.

==Places of pilgrimage==

The Bishnoi have various temples, of which they consider the most holy to be that in the village of [[Mukam, Rajasthan|Mukam]] in [[Nokha, Bikaner|Nokha]] [[tehsil]], [[Bikaner district]], Rajasthan. It is there where the Major Bishnoi Temple is.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and Sustainability |first=Pankaj |last=Jain |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-40940-591-7 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/?id=VYcGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |page=53}}</ref><ref name="Archived copy">{{cite web |url=http://www.rajasthan.gov.in/StateProfile/RajasthanTourism/Pages/Major-Attractions.aspx |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-07-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806050818/http://www.rajasthan.gov.in/StateProfile/RajasthanTourism/Pages/Major-Attractions.aspx |archive-date=6 August 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>

==Khejarli massacre==
{{Main|Khejarli massacre}}

The Bishnoi narrate the story of Amrita Devi, a member of the religion who inspired as many as 363 other Bishnois to go to their deaths in protest of the cutting down of [[Prosopis cineraria|Khejri trees]] on 12 September 1730. The [[maharajah|Maharaja]] of [[Jodhpur]], [[Abhai Singh of Marwar|Abhay Singh]], requiring wood for the construction of a new palace, sent soldiers to cut trees in the village of [[Khejarli]], which was called Jehnad at that time. Noticing their actions, Amrita Devi hugged a tree in an attempt to stop them. Her family then adopted the same strategy, as did other local people when the news spread. She told the soldiers that she considered their actions to be an insult to her faith and that she was prepared to die to save the trees. The soldiers did indeed kill her and others until Abhay Singh was informed of what was going on and intervened to stop the massacre.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and Sustainability |first=Pankaj |last=Jain |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-40940-591-7 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/?id=VYcGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 |page=51}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/forestry/bisnoi.htm|title=The Bishnois|website=edugreen.teri.res.in|access-date=2017-08-20}}</ref>

Some of the 363 Bishnois, who were killed protecting the trees, were buried in Khejarli, where a simple grave with four pillars was erected. Every year, in September, i.e., ''Shukla Dashmi'' of ''Bhadrapad'' (Hindi month) the Bishnois assemble there to commemorate the sacrifice made by their people to preserve their faith and religion.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/bishnoi-villagers-sacrifice-lives-save-trees-1730 |title=Global Nonviolent Action Database |access-date=2017-04-22}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Chipko movement]]
*[[Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology|Guru Jambeshwar University of Science and Technology]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category|Bishnoi people}}
*{{cite web |url=http://devasthan.rajasthan.gov.in/images/Bikaner/Jambhoji.htm |title=Temple Profile: Mandir Shri Jambho J |access-date=2014-07-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919102844/http://devasthan.rajasthan.gov.in/images/Bikaner/Jambhoji.htm |archive-date=19 September 2014 |df=dmy |publisher=Government of Rajasthan}}
*{{cite book |title=Jambhoji: Messiah of the Thar Desert |first=M. S. |last=Chandla |publisher=Aurva Publications |year=1998 |url=https://bishnoisamaj.com}}
*{{cite book |title=The Bishnois: Wildlife Protection - An Article of Faith |first=M. S. |last=Chandla |publisher=Aurva Publications |year=2001 |url=http://thebishnois.com/view.html?file=25.pdf}}
* Jain, Pankaj (2011). ''Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and Sustainability''.

[[Category:Social groups of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Indian surnames]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh]]

Bishnoi - Revision history

Jeep Safari: enhanced article per sources and fixed typos per standard format

>15: Rollback edit(s) by 27.7.200.52 (talk): Vandalism (RW 16.1)