Gahoi

Gahoi (गहोई in Hindi, from Sanskrit Grihapati गृहपति) is a merchant community in central India. Its main centers are in the Bundelkhand region. [Siddhantacharya Phulachandra Shastri, Parwar Jain Samaj ka Itihas, 1990, Jabalpur ] . Their original center is said to have been at Kharagpur in Bundelkhand region [The Tribes and Castes of the CentralProvinces of India, by R. V. Russell, 1916] .

Gahoi community is basically in south Uttar Pradesh and North Madhya Pradesh. The regions covered are Kanpur, Chhatarpur, Jhansi, Orai, Katni, Chirgaon, Gwalior, Sagar, Jabalpur, Bhind, Morena and Lalitpur. The main occupation of the community is trading.

National poet Dr. Maithili Sharan Gupt (Kankane), who can be said as the face of the community [गौरवशाली इतिहास http://www.gahoijagat.com/history.html] , was from Chirgaon. With his immortal 'Bharat-Bharti', He inspired not only the nation to fight for the freedom struggle but also encouraged the community to participate actively in fight for India's freedom and support Mahatma Gandhi.

Gahoi community actively participates in the community work. They provide scholarships for poor girls. There are many Gahoi Dharamshalas (Places to stay for very nominal charges) in Jhansi, Katni, Gwalior etc.

Gahois are divided into 12 gotras, each gotra is divided into six "all"s [Jwalaprasad Mishra, Jati Bhaskar, 1914, Khmeraj Shrikrishnadas.] . However currently about 169 clans are counted, some of them because of spelling differences [About Us, http://www.gahoi.net/about.html ] They have traditionally interdined with the Parwar Jain community of Bundelkhand, suggesting long social association..

The oldest known Gahoi (Grahapati-anvaya) inscription is of samvat 1011 mentioning Pahilla, who built a Jain temple during the reign of Dhanga at Khajuraho. This temple still stands in Khajuraho [Kasturchand Jain Suman, Bharatiya Digambar Jain Abhilekh aur Tirth Parichay, Madhya-Pradesh: 13 vi shati tak, Delhi, 2001 ] [H.V. Trivedi, "Inscriptions of the Paramaras, Chandellas, Kachchhapaghatas and two minor Dynasties", part 2 of the 3-part Vol III of Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, 1974 (published in 1991). ] .

The Gahoi Vaisya Mahasabha was founded in 1914 [श्री गहोई वैश्य महासभा एवं समाजिक समितियाँ http://www.gahoijagat.com/mahasabha.html] by Nathuram Reja of Narsingpur, who also started a magazine called Gahoi Vaishya.

Origin

There are several theories about the origin of the word Gahoi.
* Grahapati (Pali Gahapati, Prakrit Gahavai, common term used for merchants)
* Guha, Guhyak, Guhya (hidden)
* "Which is left or the residue" [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22010/22010-h/22010-h.htm#d0e4233]
* Gahmoi [Motilal Nagaria Gahoi jati ka sachitra Itishas, 1950 http://gahoimatrimony.com/]
* Gobhuj [ [http://www.gahoi.net/about.html About Us ] ]

Historical mentions

A number of inscriptions mentioning the Grahapatis have been found [Most from Bharatiya Digambar Jain Abhilekh, Kasturchand Jain Suman, 2001] in Bundelkhand region, from Sam. 1058 to Sam. 1288, all of them from the Chandella period:

*Khajuraho: Sam 1058 Kokalla Vaidyanath inscription [Khajuraho, Kanhaiyalal Agrawal, McMilan, 1980.] [http://www.jainworld.com/literature/jainhistory/chapter11.aspJain History, Social - Divisions, Dr. K. C. Jain] , 1205 Shreshthi Trivikram (2), 1215 shresthi Salhe [Also discussed in Trivedi regarding term "Grahpati"]
*Ahar: Sam 1207 Sadhu Udachandra, 1207 Sadhu Divachandra, 1207 Sadhu Matan, 1207 Vaanpure Kochhil Gotre harisena, 1207 Sadhu Ralhana with Paurapata, 1209 Sadhu Matan (2), 1210 Sadhu Kuladhar, 1213 Sadhu Nane, 1213 Kochhil gotra Vanapur ..Sadhu Harishena, 1216 Sahu Mamde, 1213 Vanapure Jahad (descendant of Banpur Sahasrakute temple builder), 1237 Sadhu Deu, ? Sadhu Kuldhar, 1288 with Golapura Sadhu Palhu,
* Panagar (Hoshangabad): 1264 Sadhu Asadkhela,
*Mahoba [Digmbar jain Directory, 1915] : 1114 Sadhu Vudhau, 1209 Sadhu Dalukta
* Horniman Museum [Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol III, Pt III, Inscriptionsof the Parmaras, Chandellas, .., Ed. H.V. Trivedi, 1969] : 1208 Shreshti Mahipati.

Text: In Vardhamana Purana of Navalsah Chanderia, Sam. 1825.

Prominent Gahois

* Kokkala Grahapati, feudatory of Chandella king Dhanga
* Maithili Sharan Gupt(1886-1965), Rashtra Kavi
* Ashish Gupta (Neekhra), S/W Engineer
* Dr. D. P. Gupta , Prominent Botany Professor, Kanpur
* Ravi Raman Gupta (More), S/W Engineer, Bhind (MP)

ee also

* Jain temples of Khajuraho
* Beejamandal
*Parwar
*Golapurva
*Charnagre

References