_Bania, Oswal._--This is perhaps the most important subdivision of the
Banias after the Agarwala. The Oswals numbered nearly 10,000 persons
in the Central Provinces in 1911, being found in considerable numbers
in all the Berar Districts, and also in Nimar, Wardha and Raipur. The
name is derived from the town of Osia or Osnagar in Marwar. According
to one legend of their origin the Raja of Osnagar had no son, and
obtained one through the promise of a Jain ascetic. The people then
drove the ascetic from the town, fearing that the Raja would become a
Jain; but Osadev, the guardian goddess of the place, told the ascetic,
Sri Ratan Suri, to convert the Raja by a miracle. So she took a small
hank (_puni_) of cotton and passed it along the back of the saint,
when it immediately became a snake and bit Jaichand, the son of the
Raja, in the toe, while he was asleep beside his wife. Every means
was tried to save his life, but he died. As his corpse was about
to be burnt, the ascetic sent one of his disciples and stopped the
cremation. Then the Raja came with the body of his son and stood
with hands clasped before the saint. He ordered that it was to be
taken back to the place where the prince had been bitten, and that
the princess was to lie down beside it as before. At midnight the
snake returned and licked the bite, when the prince was restored to
life. Then the Raja, with all his Court and people, became a Jain. He
and his family founded the _gotra_ or section now known as Sri Srimal
or most noble; his servants formed that known as Srimal or excellent,
while the other Rajputs of the town became ordinary Oswals. When the
Brahmans of the place heard of these conversions they asked the saint
how they were to live, as all their clients had become Jains. The
saint directed that they should continue to be the family priests
of the Oswals and be known as Bhojak or 'eaters.' Thus the Oswals,
though Jains, continue to employ Marwari Brahmans as their family
priests. Another version of the story is that the king of Srimali
[157] allowed no one who was not a millionaire to live within his city
walls. In consequence of this a large number of persons left Srimal,
and, settling in Mandovad, called it Osa or the frontier. Among them
were Srimali Banias and also Bhatti, Chauhan, Gahlot, Gaur, Yadava,
and several other clans of Rajputs, and these were the people who
were subsequently converted by the Jain ascetic, Sri Ratan Suri,
and formed into the single caste of Oswal. [158] Finally, Colonel
Tod states that the Oswals are all of pure Rajput descent, of no
single tribe, but chiefly Panwars, Solankis and Bhattis. [159] From
these legends and the fact that their headquarters are in Rajputana,
it may safely be concluded that the Oswal Banias are of Rajput origin.
The large majority of the Oswals are Jain by religion, but a few are
Vaishnava Hindus. Intermarriage between the Hindu and Jain sections is
permitted. Like the Agarwalas, the Oswals are divided into Bisa, Dasa
and Pacha sections or twenties, tens and fives, according to the purity
of their lineage. The Pacha subcaste still permit the remarriage of
widows. The three groups take food together but do not intermarry. In
Bombay, Dasa Oswals intermarry with the Dasa groups of Srimali and
Parwar Banias, [160] and Oswals generally can marry with other good
Bania subcastes so long as both parties are Jains. The Oswals are
divided into eighty-four _gotras_ or exogamous sections for purposes
of marriage, a list of which is given by Mr. Crooke. [161] Most of
these cannot be recognised, but a few of them seem to be titular, as
Lorha a caste which grows hemp, Nunia a salt-refiner, Seth a banker,
Daftari an office-boy, Vaid a physician, Bhandari a cook, and Kukara
a dog. These may indicate a certain amount of admixture of foreign
elements in the caste. As stated from Benares, the exogamous rule
is that a man cannot marry in his own section, and he cannot marry a
girl whose father's or mother's section is the same as that of either
his father or mother. This would bar the marriage of first cousins.
Though Jains the Oswals perform their weddings by walking round the
sacred fire and observe certain Hindu rites, including the worship
of the god Ganpati. [162] They also revere other Hindu deities and
the sun and moon. The dead are burnt, but they do not observe any
impurity after a death nor clean the house. On the day after the
death the mourning family, both men and women, visit Parasnath's
temple, and lay one seer (2 lbs.) of Indian millet before the god,
bow to him and go home. They do not gather the ashes of the dead nor
keep the yearly death-day. Their only observance is that on some
day between the twelfth day after a death and the end of a year,
the caste-people are treated to a dinner of sweetmeats and the dead
'are then forgotten.' [163] The Oswals will take food cooked with
water (_katchi_) only from Brahmans, and that cooked without water
(_pakki_) from Agarwala and Maheshri Banias. In the Central Provinces
the principal deity of the Oswals is the Jain Tirthakar Parasnath,
and they spend large sums in the erection of splendid temples. The
Oswals are the most prominent trading caste in Rajputana; and they
have also frequently held high offices, such as Diwan or minister,
and paymaster in Rajput States. [164]