સીતારામ અને લખમણ વનોમાં વિચરણ કરી રહ્યાં હતાં, એક સમયે તેઓ હાલના તાપી અને વાપી પ્રદેશમાં આવ્યાં .આ વિસ્તારના વનવાસી લોકોએ તેમને હર્ષભેર આવકાર્યા .
વનવાસી લોકો કે જેઓ ભીલ તરીકે ઓળખાતા ,તેમનો નિખાલસ નિ:સ્વાર્થ ” अतिथि देवो भव ની ઉત્તમ ભાવનાથી સૌ બહુ પ્રભાવિત થયાં.
સીતાએ રામને કહ્યું આર્યપુત્ર આ વિસ્તારમાં યજ્ઞ કરવાની મારી ઈચ્છા છે .મારા આ વિચારમાં આપની સંમતિ છે ? રામે સંમતિ દર્શાવી અને યજ્ઞ કરવા માટે જોઈતી સામગ્રી તૈયાર કરી
લક્ષ્મણને બ્રાહ્મણો લઇ આવવા માટે રામે આજ્ઞા કરી .
લક્ષમણ બ્રાહ્મણોને શોધી લાવવા રવાના થયા , આખું વન ફરી વળ્યા પણ લક્ષમણને કોઈ બ્રાહ્મણ મળ્યો નહિ .કેમકે આ વિસ્તારમાં ભીલ સિવાય કોઈ બીજી જાતનો વસવાટ હતોજ નહિ. લક્ષમણ નિરાશ થઈને રામ પાસે આવ્યા .અને રામને વાત કરીકે આ વિસ્તારમાં બ્રાહ્મણ તો શું પણ ક્ષત્રિય ,વૈશ્ય ,કે શુદ્ર પણ નથી .કેવળ ભીલ લોકોનીજ વસ્તી છે . લક્ષમણની વાત સાંભરી રામ થોડા ઉદાસ થઇ ગયા ,અને હવે શું કરવું એવા વિચારે ચડી ગયા .રામનો ઉદાસ ચેહરો જોઈ .સીતાએ રામને પુચ્છ્યું ,પ્રભુ આપ ચિંતાતુર શા માટે છો ?
રામે બ્રાહ્મણો નથી મળતા એ વાત કરી અને વધારામાં કહ્યું કે આ વિસ્તારમાં બ્રાહ્મણોની વસ્તીજ નથી .રામની વાત સાંભળી સીતા બોલ્યાં આર્યપુત્ર આપ સમર્થ છો ભીલને
બ્રાહ્મણ બનાવી શકો છો .સીતાની વાતથી રામ પ્રસન્ન થયા.અને થોડાક ભીલોને કુટુંબ સાથે લઇ આવવા આજ્ઞા કરી .લક્ષમણ તાબડતોબ રવાના થયા ,અને ભીલોને માનભેર લાવીને
રામ સમક્ષ ઉપત્સ્થિત કર્યા રામે ભીલોને તાપી નદીમાં સ્નાન કરી આવવા કહ્યું .ભિલો તૈયાર થઈને આવ્યા, રામે વિધિવત દિક્ષા આપી યજ્ઞોપવીત પહેરાવી અને ભીલોને બ્રાહમણ
બનાવ્યા .આ બ્રાહ્મણો એજ આજના અનાવિલ બ્રાહ્મણો .
આ નવા બનેલા બ્રાહ્મણો અભણ હતા એને વેદ મંત્રો બોલતા કરવા રામે સરસ્વતી દેવીનું આવાહન કર્યું સરસ્વતી દેવી પધાર્યા .એટલે રામે ભીલોને વેદ મંત્રો શીખવવા સરસ્વતી દેવીને વિનતી કરી .સરસ્વતી દેવીએ અગ્નિ દેવની સ્તુતિનો મંત્ર શીખવાડ્યો અને પહેલા જે ભીલ હતા તેઓ વેદમાની અગ્નિ દેવની સ્તુતિ બોલ્યા चत्वारि श्रंगा त्रयो अस्य पादा सप्त हस्ता
અને યજ્ઞ કુંડમાં અગ્નિ દેવે પ્રવેશ કર્યો . બ્રાહ્માનોએ સીતારામને યજમાન તરીકે બેસાડ્યા સીતા અને રામે બ્રાહ્મણોને પ્રણામ કર્યા .બ્રાહ્મણોએ આશીર્વાદ આપ્યા અને યજ્ઞનો શુભારંભ થયો .अग्नाए नमो नाम: स्वाहा:(मोरारजीभाई देसाई अनाविल थे )
મારી ધર્મપત્નીને આ બ્લોગ સમર્પિત છે.
ગુજરાતી પ્રતિભા પરિચય – નવા પરિચય
આતાવાણી 
આતા એક્સ્પર્ટ થઈ ગયા. નવો વિભાગ પણ ઉમેરી દીધો.
હવે ‘અનાવિલ’ શબ્દની વ્યુત્પત્તિ પણ સમજાવી દો.
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આ આપણા ધરમનું છે ; એટલે એને ‘ કન્વર્ઝન’ ના કહેવાય – ખરું ને , આતા ? !!!
મુ.આતા,
વિપુલ દેસાઈના પ્રણામ. અનાવિલ છું અને જે મારી પાસે અંગ્રેજીમાં માહિતી છે તે નીચે મુજબની છે.
Anavil Brahmin(Anavil Samaj)
Anavil Brahmin is one of the sub-caste of Brahmin caste, and they get their name from a village called of Anaval. Anavil Brahmins are from southern Gujarat,and the majority of them are still located in the area, including Valsad District and Surat District in India.
History
The origin of the Anavils is traced to the period of Rama. According to the Skanda Purana, when Rama was returning from Lanka with Sita after killing Ravana, he came to the hermitage of Agastya which was situated in a dense forest on the southern slopes of the Vindhya hills. At a great Rishi’s bidding, Rama decided to perform a solemn act of expiation at Anadisidha, for the slaying of Ravana. But as there were no Brahmanas there (without whom he could not perform the yajna) some Ajachak Brahmanas were summoned from Gangakulgiri in the Himalayas. Rama offered them a handsome dakshina but they would not accept it and insisted that they had merely performed their duty.
Displeased with their refusal, Rama deprived them of the privilege of teaching the Vedas and performing yajnas. Like the Vaisyans, their function in society became agricultural. It is said it was these Brahmanas who became the progenitors of the people of the Bhathela or the Anavala caste, the subdivisions of which are the Naik and the Vashi.
The word “Anavil” The word “Anavil” itself it interesting! It is a combination of two Sanskrit words: UN+AVIL; UN, a prefix, means NOT in Sanskrit and AVIL means “that which is dirty or impure”. The combined word therefore means VERY PURE!. It, therefore, seems that Anavils had a reputation of being a very upright and pure people and, from a historical perspective, that appears to be borne out.
During the early sixteenth century, when the Moguls’ first came to the Surat district as conquerors, the Anavils were soldier farmers by all accounts. Why they were soldiering, besides farming, is not known for sure but one can guess. The word “DESAI” was not is use to describe these people then. In those days, they were popularly known as BHATELLAS rather than just ANAVILS. There are five interpretations for this sobriquet:
1. Bhatella is a combination of two Sanskrit words: (BHAT+EELA). BHAT means a soldier and EELA means earth. The word, therefore, means a soldier-farmer;
2. The word could also be a combination of BHAT+HATHILA. HATHILA means tenacious or obstinate and hence the word would be interpreted as a tenacious or obstinate soldier;
3. The word has also been interpreted as a degenerate or derogative derivative of the word BRASHTILLA which means those brahmins who had lost their purity;
4. The word could have some BHAT meaning RICE + EELA meaning EARTH thus being interpreted as RICE CULTIVATORS. It is also true that they were the very first rice farmers in southern Gujarat, and
5. The word could be a combination of BHAT meaning RIVER DELTA + EELA meaning EARTH and hence being interpreted as a people who farmed or lived in river deltas.
The first interpretation, that of a soldier farmer, appears to be the most likely interpretation because the word is a proper Sanskrit word and Anavils were certainly fighters. Other surnames (family names) that are common to the Anavils confirm this observation-NAIK VASHI and MEHTA- all of which mean professionals in the army or Royal administration. NAYAK means a platoon leader, e.g. GANANAYAK. The Sanskrit word “VASH” means to control and MEHTA was a title given to the prime ministers of the princely states in Saurashtra were called Mehtas. Today, the meaning of the word MEHTA has expanded to include accountants and teachers, possibly because of the heavy concentration on education in the last hundred years since the arrival of British influence and many Mehta families adopted a natural bent towards accounting and teaching which is what they did when they were advisors to the rulers of the princely states in earlier times.
Taking the 1962 population census, the Anavils formed roughly 5% of Surat district’s population. Assuming a density of 700 people per square mile, the Anavil population can be approximated as 200,000. Assuming that half as many now live in foreign lands and other large urban centers in India, the total can be estimated to be about 300,000. [2]
Subdivisions
Anvil word is combination of two words; UN & Avil. UN means not and Avil means dirty or impure in Sanskrit. So two word together means ‘Not Impure’ thus very pure.
Anavils are further divided into four different surname groups
Desai is an administrative title and surname [1] derived from the Vedic Sanskrit words “desh sai”, which mean “land lord”, or lord of the land. It may be possible that ancient Persian trade links associated with the west coast of India may have influenced the name. Mostly found in Gujarat.
Much later, during the Muslim Mughal rule and also the British, Desais were revenue collectors who looked after a region or area on the ruler’s behalf and in return would get ten percent share of revenue. Historically, the feudal lords of Western Indian regions of punjab and the Konkan regions of the middle east and Goa were honoured with the title ‘Desai’.
Desais are mostly a part of the brahmin caste and Baniya ( Vanik ) caste. Desais-brahmins are from Gujarat who live in US are mostly from Vapi to Tapi area. There are many Desais in the African countries,USA, UK, and Australia usually known for being wealthy.In the Konkan region, the titular Desai surname is attache to another family name or the name of the village, e.g. Sawant Desai (primarily of Sawantwadi), Rane Sardesai, Raut Desai, Naik Desai.
Another instance where ‘Desai’ is predominantly used is northern part of Gujarat/Pakistan.In this area, Rabari caste uses this surname.
Mehta is Punjabi Khatri surname meaning ‘praised’ or ‘great’ from Sanskrit mahita, which comes from mah- ‘to praise or magnify’, commonly found in the Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat and in Bihar (known as Kushwaha or Koeri). In Gujarati it has also come to mean ‘teacher’ and ‘accountant’, probably because teachers and accountants were respectfully so addressed in Gujarat. Many Jains have also adopted “Mehta,” like “Jain,” as their last names. In Pakistan, Punjab, and Rajasthan, mehta was a title that stood for ‘head of the village’ or ‘landlord’. Mehtas in Kumaon of Uttarakhand are Kumauni Rajputs (princes). and some mehtas from dangot community shifted to places of punjab now known as haryana.
I Give Thee My Daughter
Klaas W. van der Veen
This book is a report on caste at 159 put forward as an urgent object of investigation the hypergamy prevailing among the Anavil Brahmans of South Gujarat. The Anavil Brahmans are grhastha Brahmans which means they cannot perform priestly functions. Traditionally they are landowners. Within the endogamous unit, the jati, may be distinguished two groups of unequal social status, the Desai or descendants of tax- farmers and the non-Desai. This differentiation into a rich Desai group and a relatively poor non-Desai group led to a heterogamous marriage system in the Anavil Brahman caste. Members of the non-Desai group strive to marry their daughters to Desai men, who, in return, insist upon large dowries.
The origin of the Anavils is traced to the period of Rama. According to the Skanda Purana, when Rama was returning from Lanka with Sita after killing Ravana, he came to the hermitage of Agastya which was situated in a dense forest on the southern slopes of the Vindhya hills. At a great Rishi’s bidding, Rama decided to perform a solemn act of expiation at Anadisidha, for the slaying of Ravana. But as there were no Brahmanas there (without whom he could not perform the yajna) some Ajachak Brahmanas were summoned from Gangakulgiri in the Himalayas. Rama offered them a handsome dakshina but they would not accept it and insisted that they had merely performed their duty.
Displeased with their refusal, Rama deprived them of the privilege of teaching the Vedas and performing yajnas. Like the Vaisyans, their function in society became agricultural. It is said it was these Brahmanas who became the progenitors of the people of the Bhathela or the Anavala caste, the subdivisions of which are the Naik and the Vashi.
The word “Anavil” The word “Anavil” itself it interesting! It is a combination of two Sanskrit words: UN+AVIL; UN, a prefix, means NOT in Sanskrit and AVIL means “that which is dirty or impure”. The combined word therefore means VERY PURE!. It, therefore, seems that Anavils had a reputation of being a very upright and pure people and, from a historical perspective, that appears to be borne out.
During the early sixteenth century, when the Moguls’ first came to the Surat district as conquerors, the Anavils were soldier farmers by all accounts. Why they were soldiering, besides farming, is not known for sure but one can guess. The word “DESAI” was not is use to describe these people then. In those days, they were popularly known as BHATELLAS rather than just ANAVILS. There are five interpretations for this sobriquet:
1. Bhatella is a combination of two Sanskrit words: (BHAT+EELA). BHAT means a soldier and EELA means earth. The word, therefore, means a soldier-farmer;
2. The word could also be a combination of BHAT+HATHILA. HATHILA means tenacious or obstinate and hence the word would be interpreted as a tenacious or obstinate soldier;
3. The word has also been interpreted as a degenerate or derogative derivative of the word BRASHTILLA which means those brahmins who had lost their purity;
4. The word could have some BHAT meaning RICE + EELA meaning EARTH thus being interpreted as RICE CULTIVATORS. It is also true that they were the very first rice farmers in southern Gujarat, and
5. The word could be a combination of BHAT meaning RIVER DELTA + EELA meaning EARTH and hence being interpreted as a people who farmed or lived in river deltas.
The first interpretation, that of a soldier farmer, appears to be the most likely interpretation because the word is a proper Sanskrit word and Anavils were certainly fighters. Other surnames (family names) that are common to the Anavils confirm this observation-NAIK VASHI and MEHTA- all of which mean professionals in the army or Royal administration. NAYAK means a platoon leader, e.g. GANANAYAK. The Sanskrit word “VASH” means to control and MEHTA was a title given to the prime ministers of the princely states in Saurashtra were called Mehtas. Today, the meaning of the word MEHTA has expanded to include accountants and teachers, possibly because of the heavy concentration on education in the last hundred years since the arrival of British influence and many Mehta families adopted a natural bent towards accounting and teaching which is what they did when they were advisors to the rulers of the princely states in earlier times.
Taking the 1962 population census, the Anavils formed roughly 5% of Surat district’s population. Assuming a density of 700 people per square mile, the Anavil population can be approximated as 200,000. Assuming that half as many now live in foreign lands and other large urban centers in India, the total can be estimated to be about 300,000. [2]
Subdivisions
Anvil word is combination of two words; UN & Avil. UN means not and Avil means dirty or impure in Sanskrit. So two word together means ‘Not Impure’ thus very pure.
Anavils are further divided into four different surname groups
Desai is an administrative title and surname [1] derived from the Vedic Sanskrit words “desh sai”, which mean “land lord”, or lord of the land. It may be possible that ancient Persian trade links associated with the west coast of India may have influenced the name. Mostly found in Gujarat.
Much later, during the Muslim Mughal rule and also the British, Desais were revenue collectors who looked after a region or area on the ruler’s behalf and in return would get ten percent share of revenue. Historically, the feudal lords of Western Indian regions of punjab and the Konkan regions of the middle east and Goa were honoured with the title ‘Desai’.
Desais are mostly a part of the brahmin caste and Baniya ( Vanik ) caste. Desais-brahmins are from Gujarat who live in US are mostly from Vapi to Tapi area. There are many Desais in the African countries,USA, UK, and Australia usually known for being wealthy.In the Konkan region, the titular Desai surname is attache to another family name or the name of the village, e.g. Sawant Desai (primarily of Sawantwadi), Rane Sardesai, Raut Desai, Naik Desai.
Another instance where ‘Desai’ is predominantly used is northern part of Gujarat/Pakistan.In this area, Rabari caste uses this surname.
Mehta is Punjabi Khatri surname meaning ‘praised’ or ‘great’ from Sanskrit mahita, which comes from mah- ‘to praise or magnify’, commonly found in the Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat and in Bihar (known as Kushwaha or Koeri). In Gujarati it has also come to mean ‘teacher’ and ‘accountant’, probably because teachers and accountants were respectfully so addressed in Gujarat. Many Jains have also adopted “Mehta,” like “Jain,” as their last names. In Pakistan, Punjab, and Rajasthan, mehta was a title that stood for ‘head of the village’ or ‘landlord’. Mehtas in Kumaon of Uttarakhand are Kumauni Rajputs (princes). and some mehtas from dangot community shifted to places of punjab now known as haryana.
I Give Thee My Daughter
Klaas W. van der Veen
This book is a report on caste at 159 put forward as an urgent object of investigation the hypergamy prevailing among the Anavil Brahmans of South Gujarat. The Anavil Brahmans are grhastha Brahmans which means they cannot perform priestly functions. Traditionally they are landowners. Within the endogamous unit, the jati, may be distinguished two groups of unequal social status, the Desai or descendants of tax- farmers and the non-Desai. This differentiation into a rich Desai group and a relatively poor non-Desai group led to a heterogamous marriage system in the Anavil Brahman caste. Members of the non-Desai group strive to marry their daughters to Desai men, who, in return, insist upon large dowries.
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