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{{Short description|A Bania community in the Indian subcontinent}}
{{Short description|Bania community in the Indian subcontinent}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Agrawal
| group            = Agrawal
| image            = Maharja Agrasena.jpeg
| image            = Maharja Agrasena.jpeg
| caption          = [[Agrasen|Maharaja Agrasen]], the legendary king from whom Agrawals claim descent
| caption          = [[Agrasen|Maharaja Agrasen]], the legendary king who was the forefather of Agrawals
| regions          = India, Pakistan
| regions          = [[India]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Bangladesh]]
| langs            = [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Hariyanvi]]  
| langs            = [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Haryanvi]], [[Hindi]], [[Rajasthani languages|Rajasthani]]
| rels            = Majority: [[Vaishnava]] [[Hinduism]]<br> Minority: [[Jainism]], [[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"/>
| rels            = Majority: [[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''' ([[anglicised]] as '''Agarwal''', '''Agerwal''', '''Agrawala''', '''Agarwala''', '''Agarwalla''', '''Aggarwal''', '''Agarawal''', '''Agarawala''') is a [[Bania (caste)|Bania]] community found throughout northern, central and western India, mainly in the states of [[Rajasthan, India|Rajasthan]], [[Haryana, India|Haryana]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Chandigarh]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Uttarakhand]], [[Delhi NCR|Delhi]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Gujarat]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref name="Hanks2003"/><ref>https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/TYwWWYXGX3L72a1psxhe3N/A-history-of-the-Agarwals.html</ref> Members of the Agarwal community were also found in what are now 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&redir_esc=y |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]]}}</ref> Most Agarwals follow the [[Vaishnava]] denomination of [[Hinduism]], though some have converted to [[Jainism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goh |first=Robbie B. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LyJLDwAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&pg=PA33#v=onepage&q&f=false |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> Agrawals are divided into eighteen exogamous clans (gotras).{{cn|date=August 2021}} Many members of this community use their caste name Agarwal as their surname, while others use that of their gotras.{{cn|date=August 2021}}
'''Agrawal''' ('''Agarwal''', '''Agerwal''', '''Agrawala''', '''Agarwala''', '''Agarwalla''', '''Aggarwal''', '''Agarawal''', '''Agarawala''', or '''Aggrawal''') is a [[Bania (caste)|Bania]] [[Vaishya]] caste. The Banias of northern [[India]] are a cluster of several communities.<ref name=AakarPatel>{{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>


Members of the Agrawal community are known for their business skills and have for many years been influential and prosperous in India.{{cn|date=August 2021}} Even 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 an Agrawal.<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 |work=[[The Economic Times]] | location=Delhi}}</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|Madhya Pradesh]], [[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>  


==Legend==
The Agrawal are the descendants of Maharaja [[Agrasen]] (b. 4250 or 3082 BCE), 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]]. Their primary goddess was [[Lakshmi]] Mahalaxmi, who  blessed the king and his descendants to be prosperous always by her and her consort God [[Vishnu]]'s kindness. Maharaja Agrasen himself adopted the [[Vaishya]] tradition of Hinduism.<ref name="Jodhka2023"/>
[[File:Agrasen ki Baoli, New Delhi, India - 20070127.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Agrasen ki Baoli]] in Delhi, which was built by the Agarwal 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>]]
 
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 e-commerce companies, they continue to dominate. It was reported in 2013, that for every 100 rupees 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>]]


The Agrawals claim descent from king [[Agrasen]] of the [[Hindu mythology|mythological]] [[Suryavansha|Solar Dynasty]].<ref name="Mittalp675">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrh4tY3v2A4C&pg=PA675 |title=History of Ancient India: From 4250 BC to 637 AD |first=J. P. |last=Mittal |page=675 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers |year=2006 |isbn=978-81-269-0616-1}}</ref>
List of Surnames of Agarwal community along with Gotra: https://www.allindiaagarwal.com/gotra.php/
==History==
==History==
Agrawals are a part of the larger [[Bania (caste)|Bania]] community, which includes other mercantile communities, such as the [[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>
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 ''[[Rama in Jainism|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>Richard J. Cohen. "An Early Attestation of the Toponym Ḍhillī". ''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 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}


===Migration to Rajput kingdoms===
===Migration to Rajput kingdoms===
During the era of [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent|Islamic administrative rule in India]], some Agarwal, as with the [[Sarawagi|Saraogi]], migrated to the [[Bikaner State]].{{cn|date=August 2021}} The [[Malkana]] include Muslim Agarwals, who converted from Hinduism to Islam during this time and were given land tracts along the [[Yamuna]] by Afghan rulers.<ref name="SikandKatju1994"/>
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 (sweet maker) flourished as a Halwai trader community, under the [[Tomaras of Gwalior]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Kashtha Sangha Bhattarakas of Gwalior and Agrawal Shravakas, Dr. K. C. Jain</ref>{{fcn|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
In the early 15th century, Agrawals flourished under the [[Tomaras of Gwalior]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Dr. K. C. Jain (1963). ''Kashtha Sangha Bhattarakas of Gwalior and Agrawal Shravakas'', p. 72</ref>{{full citation needed|date=August 2021}} According to several Sanskrit inscriptions 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
| url=http://www.webdunia.com/dharm/jain/gopachal/19_gopachal9.htm
  | title=गोपाचल के जिन मन्दिर एवं प्रतिमाएँ
  | title=गोपाचल के जिन मन्दिर एवं प्रतिमाएँ
  | publisher=Webdunia.com
  | publisher=Webdunia.com
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  | url-status=dead
  | url-status=dead
  }}</ref>
  }}</ref>
Historian K.C. Jain comments:
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"/>}}
{{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===
===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>{{pn|date=August 2021}}
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 had 17 sons and one daughter, so when 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]]
# [[Goel (disambiguation)#Goyal|Goyal]]
# [[Kuchchal|Kuchhal]]
# [[Kansal]]
# Bindal
# [[Jindal]]
# [[Mittal (surname)|Mittal]]
# Tingal
# Tayal
# [[Garg (surname)|Garg]]
# 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==
==Notable Agrawals==
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* [[Agrawal Jain]]
* [[Agrawal Jain]]


== References ==
==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}
{{Notelist}}
 
'''Citations'''
=== Bibliography ===
{{Reflist|2}}
{{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}}
{{Authority control}}{{Social groups of Rajasthan}}{{Social groups of Maharashtra}}


[[Category:Agrawal| ]]
[[Category:Agrawal| ]]
[[Category:Bania communities]]
[[Category:Bania communities]]
[[Category:Indian surnames]]
[[Category:Social groups of Rajasthan]]
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[[Category:Social groups of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Hindu surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindu origin]]
[[Category:People from Hisar district]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindustani origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Aggarwal]]

Latest revision as of 09:22, 27 October 2025

Agrawal
Maharaja Agrasen, the legendary king who was the forefather of Agrawals
Regions with significant populations
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
Languages
Punjabi, Haryanvi, Hindi, Rajasthani
Religion
Majority: Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism
Minority: Islam, Christianity[1][2]

Agrawal (Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal, Agarawala, or Aggrawal) is a Bania Vaishya caste. The Banias of northern India are a cluster of several communities.[3]

They are found throughout northern India, mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. They are also found in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh, though at the time of the partition of India, most of them migrated across the newly created border to independent India.[4][5][6] Most Agrawals follow Vaishnava Hinduism or Jainism, while a minority adhere to Islam or Christianity.[1][7][2]

The Agrawal are the descendants of Maharaja Agrasen (b. 4250 or 3082 BCE), a Kshatriya king of the Agroha Kingdom.[8] He is claimed to have been one of the descendants of the Hindu deity Rama. Their primary goddess was Lakshmi Mahalaxmi, who blessed the king and his descendants to be prosperous always by her and her consort God Vishnu's kindness. Maharaja Agrasen himself adopted the Vaishya tradition of Hinduism.[8]

The Agrawal are Suryavamsha and belong to the Raghuvamsha house.

The Agrawal are also known for their entrepreneurship and business acumen.[8] In modern-day tech and e-commerce companies, they continue to dominate. It was reported in 2013, that for every 100 rupees in funding for e-commerce companies in India, 40 went to firms founded by Agrawals.[9]

Agrasen Ki Baoli in Delhi, which was built by the Agrawal community during the Tughlaq dynasty in India.[10]

History[edit | edit source]

Agrawals are one of the Bania (merchant) communities in India, which includes other mercantile communities like Maheshwari, and Oswals.[11][12]

In inscriptions and texts, the original home of the Agrawal community is stated as Agroha, near Hisar, Haryana.

  • In Pradumna Charita of 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).[13]
  • In his Padma Purana[14] 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".[15]

Some of the Agrawals adapted Jainism under the influence of Lohacharya.[16]

Migration to Delhi[edit | edit source]

The Agrawal merchant Nattal Sahu and the Agrawal poet Vibudh Shridhar lived during the reign of Tomara King Anangapal of Yoginipur (now Mehrauli, near Delhi).[17] Vibudh Shridhar wrote Pasanahacariu in 1132 AD, which includes a historical account of Yoginipur 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.[18] The town later came to be called 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.[citation needed]

Migration to Rajput kingdoms[edit | edit source]

During the era of Islamic administrative rule in India, some Agrawal, as with the Saraogi, migrated to the Bikaner State.[citation needed] 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.[2]

In the early 15th century, Agrawals flourished under the Tomaras of Gwalior.[19][full citation needed] According to several Sanskrit inscriptions 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.[20] Historian K. C. Jain comments:

Golden Age of the Jain Digambar Temple in Gwalior under the Tomara rulers inspired by the 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.[19]

Migration to Eastern India[edit | edit source]

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.[21][page needed]

Gotras[edit | edit source]

Agrawals belong to various gotras, 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 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.[22] 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 had 17 sons and one daughter, so when his daughter was married the gotra of daughter-in-laws were adopted as half gotra in Agrawals, thus 17.5 gotra.[23]

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.[24] Because the classification of any particular gotra as "half" is considered insulting, the Sammelan provides a list of following 18 gotras:[25]

  1. Bansal
  2. Goyal
  3. Kuchhal
  4. Kansal
  5. Bindal
  6. Jindal
  7. Mittal
  8. Tingal
  9. Tayal
  10. Garg
  11. Nangal
  12. Mangal
  13. Airan
  14. Madhukul
  15. Goyan/Gangal
  16. 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.[26][need quotation to verify]

Notable Agrawals[edit | edit source]

Main article: List of Agrawals

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harrison, Selig S. (8 December 2015). India: The Most Dangerous Decades. Princeton University Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4008-7780-5. Some subsects of the Oswals and Agarwals were converted to Jainism in the 16th century.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sikand, Yoginder; Katju, Manjari (20 August 1994). "Mass Conversions to Hinduism among Indian Muslims". Economic and Political Weekly. 29 (34): 2214–2219.
  3. ↑ Patel, Aakar (6 February 2015). "A history of the Agarwals". mint. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. ↑ Gupta, Babu Lal (1987). Trade and Commerce in Rajasthan During the 18th Century. Jaipur Publishing House. p. 88.
  5. ↑ Das, Sibir Ranjan (2012). Resilience and Identity in Urban India: Anthropology of Barmer and Tehri. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 107. ISBN 978-81-922974-9-1.
  6. ↑ Gulzar Ahmed Chaudhry (4 June 2014). "Nagar Mahal – from Agarwals to Sukheras". Dawn. Pakistan.
  7. ↑ Goh, Robbie B. H. (8 February 2018). Protestant Christianity in the Indian Diaspora: Abjected Identities, Evangelical Relations, and Pentecostal Visions. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-6944-7. Agarwal recounts how the news of his own conversion was greeted by his grandmother in Punjab...
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Jodhka, Surinder S. (2023). The Oxford Handbook of Caste. Oxford University Press. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-19-889671-5.
  9. ↑ Julka, Harsimran; Radhika P. Nair (12 February 2013). "Why young Aggarwals dominate India's e-commerce start-ups". The Economic Times. Delhi. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013.
  10. ↑ Down to Earth: Science and Environment Fortnightly, Volume 16, Issues 16-24. Society for Environmental Communications. 2008. p. 71. Resembling Tughlak period architectures, it was probably constructed by the Agrawal community (tracing back to Maharaja Agrasen).
  11. ↑ Hanks, Patrick (8 May 2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. p. xcvi. ISBN 978-0-19-977169-1. 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.
  12. ↑ Harishchandra, Bharatendu (23 October 2020). Agarwalon ki utpatti (in Hindi). 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.: bharatenduHarichandra.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  13. ↑ Dr. Kasturachand Kasliwal, Khandelwal Jain Samaj ka Vrihad Itihas, 1969, p. 49
  14. ↑ Muni Sabhachandra aur Unaka Padmapurana, Kasturchanda Kasliwal, 1984
  15. ↑ Parmananda Jain Shastri. Agrawalon ka Jain sanskriti mein yogadan. Anekanta Oct. 1966, p. 277-281
  16. ↑ Singh, K. S. (2008). People of India: Bihar. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 46. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2. 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.
  17. ↑ Richard J. Cohen. "An Early Attestation of the Toponym Ḍhillī". Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1989, p. 513-519
  18. ↑ The story of Hisar
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Dr. K. C. Jain (1963). Kashtha Sangha Bhattarakas of Gwalior and Agrawal Shravakas, p. 72
  20. ↑ "गोपाचल के जिन मन्दिर एवं प्रतिमाएँ" (in हिन्दी). Webdunia.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
  21. ↑ Hardgrove, Anne (2004). Community and Public Culture: The Marwaris in Calcutta, c. 1897–1997. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-23112-216-0.
  22. ↑ Lawrence A. Babb 2004, pp. 201-202.
  23. ↑ M. S. Gore 1990, p. 69.
  24. ↑ Lawrence A. Babb 2004, pp. 193-194.
  25. ↑ Lawrence A. Babb 2004, p. 192.
  26. ↑ Lawrence A. Babb 2004, p. 193.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

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