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Agroha,
the original center of Agarwals
Agarwals (also Agarwal or Aggarwal or Agrawalla) are a large and influential
bania (merchant) community in India. The Agarwal population is about four
million.
Agroha, the original center of Agarwals. The name Aggarwal is derived from
Agroha (Sanskrit Agrotaka), the original center of the Agarwals, which is near
Hisar in Haryana. From the Hisar region, Aggarwal descendants have migrated
mostly to Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Western Uttar Pradesh, but they can also
be found in other parts of India. Those living in Shekhawati region in Rajasthan
are generally called Marwari.
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Origin of Agarwal Dynasty
According to Mahalaksmi Vrat Katha, Emperor Agrasen was a Kshatriya and a
Suryavanshi (lineage from the Sun) born during the last stages of Dwapar Yuga.
The young Prince Agrasen was an icon of non-violence, messenger of peace,an
embodiment of Sacrifice, Compassion, Non-Violence, Peace, Prosperity and a True
Socialist. and well known for his compassion.Hindu mythology says that the King
of Gods, Indra wanted to marry Queen Madhavi, the wife of Agrasen and waged a
long war. Eventually Narada negotiated peace between them. Emperor Agrasen was
born to King Ballabh of Pratapnagar. He was the eldest son. According to the
Mahalakshmi Vrath, the age then was the last stages of Dvaapar Yug. According to
current calendar the birth of Maharaj Agrasen took place about 5185 years ago.
King Ballabh was a Suryavamshi ( lineage from the Sun). Even when he was very
young, Prince Agrasen was very well known for his compassion. He never
discriminated against anyone and the subjects were very pleased with the way he
conducted himself.
When Agrasen became a young man, he attended the Swyamvara of the daughter of
the King Nagaraj, Princess Madhavi . Many kings from around the world attended
including Indra, the King of the Devas. In the swayamvara, Princess Madhavi
selected Prince Agrasen, by putting the garland on him. This marriage caused a
coming together of two different family cultures, Prince Agrasen was a
Suryavanshi and Princess Madhavi was a Naagavanshi. Indra, the King of the Devas
had been smitten by the beauty of Princess Madhavi and had planned to get
married to her. However, now that he had been unable to marry her, he became
very jealous and angry with Agrasen. To get revenge against Agrasen, Indra - as
he was also the Lord of Rain, made sure that Pratap Nagar did not receive any
rainfall. As a result, a frightening famine struck the Pratap Nagar kingdom.
Emperor Agrasen then waged war against Indra, and because he had dharma on his
side, his army vanquished Indra's forces and put them to flight. Faced with this
situation, Indra approached Narada ( the celestial sage) for mediation between
him and Emperor Agrasen. Narada, then mediated a peace between them.Agrasen
started a severe penance to propitiate Lord Shiva in the city of Kashi. Pleased
with the penance of Agrasen, Lord Shiva appeared and advised him to propitiate
Goddess Mahalakshmi. Maharaj Agrasen again started meditating on Goddess
Mahalakshmi, who appeared before him. Goddess Mahalakshmi then blessed Agrasen
and suggested that he take up the Vaishya tradition of business for the sake of
prosperity of his people. She then asked him to found a new kingdom and promised
that she would bless his descendants with prosperity. So he gave up his
Kshatriya tradition.
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Birth Of Agroha city
With the blessings of Goddess Mahalakhmi King Agrasen started out with the Queen
to travel all over India and select a place for a new kingdom. During his
travels, at one place he found a few tiger cubs and wolfs cubs playing together.
To King Agrasen and Queen Madhavi, this was an auspicious indication that the
area was Veerabhoomi (land of the brave) and they decided to found their new
kingdom at that location named Agroha.
Agroha became prosperous as agriculture and trade flourished.Maharaj Agrasen,
performed many Yagnas (sacrifice) for the prosperity of his people. In those
days, performing a yagna was a symbol of prosperity. During one such yagna,
Maharaj Agrasen noticed that a horse that had been brought to be sacrificed was
trying hard to get away from the sacrificial altar. Seeing this Maharaj Agrasen
was filled with pity and then thought as to what prosperity can be achieved by
sacrificing mute animals. The idea of Ahimsa grabbed Maharaj Agrasen's mind. The
King then discussed it with his ministers.
The ministers then said if Maharaj Agrasen turned towards ahimsa, the
neighbouring kingdoms might consider it a sign of weakness and feel brave enough
to attack Agroha. At this, Maharaj Agrasen mentioned that putting an end to
violence and injustice does not mean weakness. He then proclaimed that there
should be no violence and killing of animals in his kingdom.Maharaj Agrasen
proceeded to conduct 18 Maha Yagnas. He then divided his kingdom among his 18
children and established the 18 gotras after the guru's of each of his children.
These same 18 gotras today are like the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavadgita,
even though they are different from each other, they are still related to each
other to form the whole. Under this arrangement, Agroha prospered very well and
flourished. In the latter part of his life, Maharaj Agrasen nominated his eldest
son Vibhu to the throne and took up the Vanaprasth Ashram.
The prosperity of Agroha, caused heartburn in many of the neighbouring kings and
they frequently attacked it. Because of these aggressions, Agroha had to face
numerous problems. In due course, the strength of Agroha was sapped. A huge fire
engulfed the city of Agroha. Because of the fire, the citizens of the city fled
and dispersed into various areas of Bharat. Today, these same people are known
as Aggarwals and still have the same 18 gotras that was given to them from their
gurus and carry on the fame of Maharaj Agrasen. As per Maharaj Agrasen's
guidance the Aggarwals are in the forefront of social service.
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Chronological
History
Early history
The town of Agroha flourished through Maurya, Kushana, Yaudheya, and
Tomara period. Agrawal merchant Nattal Sahu and the first Agrawal poet Vibudh
Shridhar lived during the rule of Tomar Anangapal of Yoginipur.
Muslim period
Agroha survived when Hansi was conquered by Turks in the 10th century,
but was overrun by Ghori. In 1354, Feroze Shah founded Hisar near Agroha, and
Hisar became a main center of the Agrawals. A Bhattaraka institution based in
Hisar had branches in Gwalior and Delhi. During the rule of the Sultans, some of
the Agrawals were able to obtain permission to build temples etc. In early 15th
century Agrawals flourished under the Tomars of Gwalior. Many of them became
very wealthy and supported carving of idols, and composition of literature.
During the Mughal rule, a few Agrawals were able to secure influential positions
in the Mughal court. In 1712, Lala Ratan Chand, originator of Rajvanshi section,
was executed because of his involvement in the power struggle.
British period
Late during the Mughal rule, and during the British East India Company
administration, the Agrawals migration to Bihar and Calcutta began, who became
the major component of the Marwaris.
During the British rule, Agrawals became involved in Swadeshi movements and
established major houses like Dalmia-Jain, Bajaj, Singhania etc. Lala Lajpat Rai
was one of the prominent Agrawals to sacrifice his life for freedom struggle.
Bharatendu Harishchandra was responsible for establishing Hindi as India's
national language, and wrote the first history of the Aggarwal community.
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Agrawals today
Some of the richest Indians, like Lakshmi Mittal of Mittal steel, Subhash
Chandra of Zee TV, Sunil Mittal of Bharti Telecom, Naresh Goyal (Jet Airways),
Sajjan Jindal (Jindal Iron & Steel Company Ltd), Ashok Aggarwal and Kuldeep
Aggarwal of RJS Group, Ltd., are Agarwals. Agarwals are known to be strict
vegetarians and strongly identify with Indian culture and Hindi language.
Gotras
The names associated with these original Clans/Gotras (and variations thereof)
are the surnames of the Agarwal community today: Mittal, Bansal, Singhal, Jindal,
Kansal, Airan, Tingal, Bindal, Garg, Goyal, Goyan, Mangal, Dharan,
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