Sarawagi


The Sarawagi or Saraogi or Sarawgi Baniya community, meaning a Jain Śrāvaka, is also known as the Khandelwal. They originated from Khandela, a town in northern Rajasthan.
The Khandelwals have 84 divisions. The legendary origin of these divisions is given in a 17th-century book, "Shravakotpatti Varnanam". It mentions how the ruler Girakhandel of Khandela was planning to sacrifice one thousand Jain monks in a naramedha yajña. However, with the assistance of goddess Chakreshvari, muni Jinasena, persuaded the ruler to give up violence. The ruler along with his eighty-three chiefs became Jain Śrāvakas, giving rise to eighty-four gotra.

Organisations

The Khandelwal Digambar Jain Mahasabha was founded by Lunkaran Pandya of Jhalarapatan and Padam Chand Benara of Agra on 28 February 1916 in Bombay, where both were living at the time.

Agarwal Sarawagis

The term Sarawagi is also used by are Agarwal Sarawagis from Churu as well as other districts of Rajasthan. They are a section of Agrawal Jain community.