_Bishnoi._ [383]--A Hindu sect which has now developed into a
caste. The sect was founded in the Punjab, and the Bishnois are
immigrants from northern India. In the Central Provinces they
numbered about 1100 persons in 1911, nearly all of whom belonged
to the Hoshangabad District. The best description of the sect is
contained in Mr. Wilson's _Sirsa Settlement Report_ (quoted in Sir
E. Maclagan's _Census Report of the Punjab_ for 1891), from which the
following details are taken: "The name Bishnoi means a worshipper of
Vishnu. The founder of the sect was a Panwar Rajput named Jhambaji,
who was born in a village of Bikaner State in A.D. 1451. His father
had hitherto remained childless, and being greatly oppressed by this
misfortune had been promised a son by a Muhammadan Fakir. After nine
months Jhambaji was born and showed his miraculous origin in various
ways, such as producing sweets from nothing for the delectation
of his companions. Until he was thirty-four years old he spoke no
word and was employed in tending his father's cattle. At this time
a Brahman was sent for to get him to speak, and on confessing his
failure, Jhambaji showed his power by lighting a lamp with a snap
of his fingers and spoke his first word. He adopted the life of a
teacher and went to reside on a sandhill some thirty miles south of
Bikaner. In 1485 a fearful famine desolated the country, and Jhambaji
gained an enormous number of disciples by providing food for all
who would declare their belief in him. He is said to have died on
his sandhill at the good old age of eighty-four, and to have been
buried at a spot about a mile distant from it. A further account
says that his body remained suspended for six months in the bier
without decomposing. His name Jhambaji was a contraction of Achambha
(The Wonder), with the honorific suffix _ji_.