Patnūlkaras are a Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 community

Community

The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 of weavers from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

. They are generally of Gujarati

Gujarati people

Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...

 origin.

History

The word Patnūlkaran means "silk-thread people". These people are first mentioned as Pattavayaka, the Sanskrit equivalent of Patnulkaran in the Mandasor inscriptions of Kumaragupta belonging to the 5th century AD. They are also mentioned by the same name in the inscriptions of Rani Mangamma of Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...

. However, from the 19th century onwards, they have often preferred to be called "Saurashtra Brahmins".

The Patnūlkaras were originally natives of Mandasor near Gujarat who migrated during the Islamic invasions. First, they migrated to Devagiri, from where they moved to Vijayanagar. When Vijayanagar fell, one branch travelled south and settled in Madurai while another branch moved and settled in the kingdom of Mysore

Kingdom of Mysore

The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...

 where they were known as Patvegars. Hyder Ali

Hyder Ali

Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...

 also settled twenty-five families of Patnūlkaras from Thanjavur, in Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna is a town in Mandya district of the Indian state of Karnataka...

m. In 1901, the Patvegars of Mysore numbered 254.

Classification

The Patnūlkaras claim to be Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

s and wear the sacred thread and they do the rituals that all the brahmins do.

Distribution

Patnūlkaras are mostly concentrated in Madurai. H. A. Stuart writes that there were also large Patnūlkara communities in Tirupathi, Arni

Arni

Arni may refer to:*the Wild Asian Water Buffalo*in Switzerland:**Arni, Aargau, a municipality of the canton of Aargau**Arni, Bern, a municipality of the canton of Bern**Arni, Uri, a settlement above Amsteg, location of the lake Arnisee...

, Vellore

Vellore

Vellore It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar river on the site of Vellore Fort. The city lies between Chennai and Bangalore and the Temple towns of Thiruvannamalai and Tirupati...

, Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur.

Language

The mother tongue of Patnūlkaras is Khatri or Patnūli or Saurashtra

Saurashtra language

Sourashtra or "Sourashtras" or ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ refers to a community of people who had their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is considered as their cultural Headquarters.They have also settled in...

, a dialect of Gujarati but most of them can speak Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 and Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

.

See also

• Bhuiyar
  Bhuiyar
  The Bhuiyar or Bhuyiar are a Hindu caste found in North India, and those in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi have scheduled caste status. They are also known as Bhanyar Julaha; Kabirpanthi and Kori. The traditional occupation of Bhuiyar Caste is weaving...
  
  
• Backward Castes
  Other Backward Class
  The Central Government of India classifies some of its citizens based on their social and economic condition as Scheduled Caste , Scheduled Tribe , and Other Backward Class . The OBC list presented by the commission is dynamic and will change from time to time depending on social, educational and...
  
  
• Brahmin communities