Mohyal Community of India: Know about the ethnic group who were descendants of Dronacharya!

• Mohyal community people were primarily Brahmins who left their priestly duties to serve as warriors
• In undivided Punjab, they were known as the Jatt-Brahmans
• Mohyal community members even though believed to be Brahmins, they never took ritualism of Brahminism

Mohyal Community, the noble set of people; the ones who descended from Dronacharya, the initiator of the Pandava into the art of war, are our highlight for today. Each tribe feels proud of their lineage but the Mohyal clan has something additional to feel proud of- these militant sets of people were primarily Brahmins. Yes, you heard that right! They left their priestly duties to serve as warriors. If this fact doesn't raise your curiosity in your mind, then don't worry we have more in the store!

Mohyal community members even though are believed to be Brahmins never took ritualism of Brahminism. In undivided Punjab, they were known as the Jatt-Brahmans or meat eaters. Feeding your sparked interest, here are 5 facts about the community that will enrich your knowledge about one of India's endogamous ethnic group that produced some famous soldiers.

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I. The 7 castes of Mohyals:

The Mujhaal Brahmins of Punjab were divided into 7 sub-castes. Here's the list of the sub-castes, the Mohyals were divided into along with their gotras:

• Bali- Parashar: The title of Raizada was used by Balis and occasionally by Vaids.

• Mohan- Kashyap: They were known for their songs, dances and boat races at their festivals which resembled Mohenjo-Daro's festival.

• Vaid- Dhanvantri: Interestingly, Alexander the Great, when tried to invade India back in 326 BC was challenged by a Vaid, whose name was King Porus.

• Bhimwal– Kaushal: The Bhimwals comprise of just 3.5 percent of the total Mohyal population. It is believed that Bam Dev was the real forefather of the Bhimwal sect. Though it is not a proved fact and there are groups of people still claiming that the patriarch saint of this clan was Rishi Kausalya, hence the name of their gotra, Kaushal.

• Lau- Vasishtha: They are one of the seven lineages and known for their marital tradition.

• Datt- Bharadwaja: Datts are the descendants of Rishi Bharadwaj and that's where they derive their gotra name from.

• Chhibber- Bhargav: While Bhimwals were the least in number, Chibbers stole all the spotlight. Their gotra name is derived from their celestial forefather Rishi Bhrigu.

II. Courtesy Titles:

There were few titles that were bestowed upon some Mohyals due to their bravery and loyalty. Some of those titles are used as surnames even today. Examples: 'Bakshi', 'Chaudhri' ,'Dewan', 'Mehta' and 'Raizada'. As some of these titles are used by both Mohyal and non-Mohyal communities, communities usually mention their surname with the caste name to denote their Mohyal identity.

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III. Warriors

After India's independence, Mohyals fought with China and Pakistan. Mohyals had a large army and also won most of the gallantry awards.

IV. Location

The main area of a Mohyals habitat was northern India. The 7 castes lived close together either in parts of West Punjab or Jammu & Kashmir where the families shared balconies of their home and pieces of land together.

V. Matrimony

A person belonging to Mohyal community celebrates the birth of his son with great festivity and usually the marriage takes place within the 7 sub-clans.

– by Karishma Vanjani of NewsGram. Twitter: @BladesnBoots

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