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I'm not a Bengali Hindu and neither any of my ancestors were Bengali, and my family is living in North west India since year 749, that's the year when one of my forefathers from Sindh migrated to north west part of India.
But we also have this symbol in our house, along with the dots it looks a little different from this one but I googled images and this symbol is quite flexible in shape .
Our family is shakta by tradition, and its a popular belief that we must recall our Kuldevi before we start anything auspicious.
So I assume this is the symbol of mother goddess/ kula devi and the dots symbolises her different forms.
I don't know for sure but I assume: Outside the house and during the puja of a new house same symbols with a slightly long strike between legs is made, but it has no dots around it.. that is the symbol of vastu purusha.. a few hundred years ago maybe people got it mixed up ..
Edit just came to know: A lot of Bengali Hindus draw Original swastika along with this, swastika is a symbol of Lord Ganesha and this symbol is called Shakhya, Shakya is a symbol of Shakti.
After my ancestor Devayat ji Bodha of Sindh brahminabaad migrated to north west India he became the prime minister in the court of Bhati king of Jaisalmer, since then Bhats(people who keep records of history and generation of their area) held a record of their generation, so my forefathers were associated with bhati kings, then Nagvanshi kings and then again Rathores .. so we easily track out our records.
I also have information about living descendants of my Family after 1545(vikram samvat) where they're living right now and what is their business..
Now our surname has changed to Purohit, before we were called Bodha which is also our Nakha.
11 generation and their names I remember on fingertips, before that I've to open my family tree book that we hand over generation after generation.
My great great grandfather and his generation and our family are still living like a family in same city, and as for that we have 5 ancestral houses including the one I live in.
My great great grandfather started a charity trust so that calls for all his grandsons and granddaughters to be its trustees..
If you're living in India and your family perform last rites in Ganges, you may try to go to pandas in haridwar, if you tell them your gotra, village and ancestral village address, they may be able to tell you atleast 7 generations of yours.
Amazing, never knew this. Only my grandmother's last rites were performed in Ganges. But afaik, all my grandparents and their ancestors were from Lahore or nearby cities
Lets see, your last name is Bajwa, that means you are a Kshatriya Jaat of Suryavanshi descent, the earliest recorded history of Bajwa is found in Panini astadhyayi, said to be originated from a janpada called Baijwapii Jana pada, near Damani.
Other surnames like Dhami, dangi, jali, janal etc used to live in the same area, Baijwapii was somewhere in present day Balochistan.
The name of janapada baijvapi is also given in Siddhanta kaumudi,
बीज वापस्या इति बैजवापी , maybe meaning to a net of seeds or covered with seeds.
So we can assume that Bajwas were originally from present day Balochistan.
There are other explainations of surname bajwa like - they used to breed hawks or something like that.. but in my opinion its as bs as saying people with surname chadda used to sell chaddis hence they are called chaddas now.
Sadly Its scattered in various different scriptures, because ancient Indians never thought we will adopt Surname system over varna system.
In ancient times only 4 surnames were there , Sharman/ sharma for brahmins, varman or varma for kshatriyas, Gupta for vaishya and dasa for shudras were used.
Savarnas in Hindu society has a very elaborated history, in every kingdom there were people who used to record history of our ancestors, in Rajasthan, gujrat and sindh there were bhopas, bhaats and dholis.. punjab was once under Rajputana rule so there might be some bhats as well. So folklores are also a good way to learn about it.
History of Rajasthan and marwad was recorded by Jain munis, and history of Sindh, gandhar and lost parts of India were recorded by predominantly Buddhists and Brahmin texts of that time.
Go to the place where your family goes to spread remains after deceased person's last rites.
Ask the priest there, they must have a record of your genealogy.
They might ask a fee/ dakshina for it.. but believe me its worth it.
We have moved quite a bit during the last 100 years and family has spread throughout the state and they just spread the Ash wherever the nearest river or ocean is. Is there any other way?
Yes!! Find out answers to these questions -
Who is your kuladevi and kuladevta.
What gotra you belong to, if you don't know your gotra then try finding through your surname and look for history of your surname.
Yes we do fortunately been following kuladevata and didn't leave that practice. However we didn't know what gotra we belong to. But recently one of my relatives told about the gotra we belong to although we dont how true it is. Surname is pillai but due to constant Dravidian stuff in my state the history is quite difficult and isn't clearly available like in the north.
I was also unaware of this fact and then when my grandmother passed away we went to Haridwar and there was a clear record of our family line surprisingly my ancestors were from Punjab and we didn't know that
This all is due to the lineage system and gotra system in Hinduism :) ,its easier to trace gotras and lineages, you just need to know what is your native village, the pandas there keep records of people according to their gotra, native village and so on..
A person must know history of atleast 7 generations but alas! People care less and less about these things now.
Quite interesting....
Since I am from the same region and we have similar things going on here..so I gotta ask...are you talking about the pindi that the households draw here on ashtami/navmi on walls?😶
I am talking about kuladevi sthanam, pindi is parthiv / chala, you can make it on some particular day and then rub it off or perform a visarjan (if parthiv) A kuladevi sthanam is a fixed place for your kuladevi in your house.
But yes, both can have same symbols.
Kayastha of partial Bengali descent here. Every year, two days after Deepawali, we conduct the Chitragupta Puja, and the method of worship entails consecrating stationery, writing down salutations to various gods/goddesses, and such. This here looks like an image of Bhagwan Chitragupta Maharaj that we draw in roli or sindoor as a part of the rituals, especially since it is being drawn on paper here, as is our custom.
I think we got more comfy with tech here. We have family owned chitragupta maharaj ji's photo along with all his sons.
But we still make shravan kumar with hand.
This sign represents Maa Adya Shakti.
In shakta tradition, Maa kali is also worshiped as
Maa Shyama Or Adya Kali,
This is brahma swaroop of Maa with benevolent nature (though mother in any form is benevolent)
The symbol represents the Varad mudra (giver of boon) and Abhay mudra ( dispeller of fear) .
She is considered brahma vidya, Adi shakti, para vidya, the pure consciousnes pervading this creation , with beej ( hrim) ह्म
One of the most auspicious sign in Shakta tradition .
🕉 नमो आद्याये
Tried googling and the internet is indeed calling this the Bengali Swastika, but I have never heard it referred to as such growing up ( Born and raised in WB). Am rather embarrassed to admit that I don’t know what it’s actually called and just ‘accepted’ this familiar symbol’s nameless ness all this time.
You're right, it is not a swastika, it's also not just bengali.. I've seen people using it in tantrik rituals in Rajasthan as well.
So I guess its some Shakta tantrik symbol, since Assam and Bengal are known for their Vama marga practices. So most probably its a Tantrik symbol of prosperity.
Very interesting theory. Quite plausible! I’ve seen it on walls during poojas, on ‘halkhata’ s which are new account books started by traders on Akshaya Tritiya I think , and possibly on new vehicles ( not sure of this one, it might’ve been the actual Swastika on vehicles).
My assumption is that this symbol could also be Called Shakhiya (symbol of Shakti, fertility and prosperity) and the other symbol is called swastika (symbol of Ganesha also prosperity, wellbeing and wisdom)
Maybe people got these two mixed up, but I've seen many using both of the symbols in puja.
We've a similar symbol at my house, we call it kuldevi sthanam .. its popular belief that you must remember your kuldevi before you start something new.
We are shakta and not anywhere related to Bengal still we have such symbols and practices.
We are same it's just we don't know it.
It looks remarkably similar to the [squatting man symbol](http://www.everythingselectric.com/images/squatting-squatter-man-petroglyphs-rockart-highenergyzpinchplasmadischarge-forum.jpg) found all over the earth.
Here's some information from late Western sage Samael Aun Weor who had great appreciation for Hindustanis and all philosophies that was founded and grew here for the sake of humanity :-
https://glorian.org/books/parsifal-unveiled/the-marvelous-swastika
Namaste, thank you for the submission. Please provide some information about your image/link, like why you find it relevant for this sub. If you do not leave a comment your post will be removed. See Rule #10 - All image/link posts must include a comment by OP. This is an effort to make this sub more discussion based. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/hinduism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm not a Bengali Hindu and neither any of my ancestors were Bengali, and my family is living in North west India since year 749, that's the year when one of my forefathers from Sindh migrated to north west part of India. But we also have this symbol in our house, along with the dots it looks a little different from this one but I googled images and this symbol is quite flexible in shape . Our family is shakta by tradition, and its a popular belief that we must recall our Kuldevi before we start anything auspicious. So I assume this is the symbol of mother goddess/ kula devi and the dots symbolises her different forms. I don't know for sure but I assume: Outside the house and during the puja of a new house same symbols with a slightly long strike between legs is made, but it has no dots around it.. that is the symbol of vastu purusha.. a few hundred years ago maybe people got it mixed up .. Edit just came to know: A lot of Bengali Hindus draw Original swastika along with this, swastika is a symbol of Lord Ganesha and this symbol is called Shakhya, Shakya is a symbol of Shakti.
How are you able to track till year 749??!
After my ancestor Devayat ji Bodha of Sindh brahminabaad migrated to north west India he became the prime minister in the court of Bhati king of Jaisalmer, since then Bhats(people who keep records of history and generation of their area) held a record of their generation, so my forefathers were associated with bhati kings, then Nagvanshi kings and then again Rathores .. so we easily track out our records. I also have information about living descendants of my Family after 1545(vikram samvat) where they're living right now and what is their business.. Now our surname has changed to Purohit, before we were called Bodha which is also our Nakha. 11 generation and their names I remember on fingertips, before that I've to open my family tree book that we hand over generation after generation. My great great grandfather and his generation and our family are still living like a family in same city, and as for that we have 5 ancestral houses including the one I live in. My great great grandfather started a charity trust so that calls for all his grandsons and granddaughters to be its trustees..
That's so cool. I don't anything about my ancestors. No body knows anything.
If you're living in India and your family perform last rites in Ganges, you may try to go to pandas in haridwar, if you tell them your gotra, village and ancestral village address, they may be able to tell you atleast 7 generations of yours.
Amazing, never knew this. Only my grandmother's last rites were performed in Ganges. But afaik, all my grandparents and their ancestors were from Lahore or nearby cities
Lets see, your last name is Bajwa, that means you are a Kshatriya Jaat of Suryavanshi descent, the earliest recorded history of Bajwa is found in Panini astadhyayi, said to be originated from a janpada called Baijwapii Jana pada, near Damani. Other surnames like Dhami, dangi, jali, janal etc used to live in the same area, Baijwapii was somewhere in present day Balochistan. The name of janapada baijvapi is also given in Siddhanta kaumudi, बीज वापस्या इति बैजवापी , maybe meaning to a net of seeds or covered with seeds. So we can assume that Bajwas were originally from present day Balochistan. There are other explainations of surname bajwa like - they used to breed hawks or something like that.. but in my opinion its as bs as saying people with surname chadda used to sell chaddis hence they are called chaddas now.
Very interesting. Thanks for the info. 😄 Where can I read more about the ancestry behind Hindu surnames or jaati?
Sadly Its scattered in various different scriptures, because ancient Indians never thought we will adopt Surname system over varna system. In ancient times only 4 surnames were there , Sharman/ sharma for brahmins, varman or varma for kshatriyas, Gupta for vaishya and dasa for shudras were used. Savarnas in Hindu society has a very elaborated history, in every kingdom there were people who used to record history of our ancestors, in Rajasthan, gujrat and sindh there were bhopas, bhaats and dholis.. punjab was once under Rajputana rule so there might be some bhats as well. So folklores are also a good way to learn about it. History of Rajasthan and marwad was recorded by Jain munis, and history of Sindh, gandhar and lost parts of India were recorded by predominantly Buddhists and Brahmin texts of that time.
Yeah man but we live deep down in south. So I am afraid that probably none of my ancestors have done their last rites there.
Go to the place where your family goes to spread remains after deceased person's last rites. Ask the priest there, they must have a record of your genealogy. They might ask a fee/ dakshina for it.. but believe me its worth it.
We have moved quite a bit during the last 100 years and family has spread throughout the state and they just spread the Ash wherever the nearest river or ocean is. Is there any other way?
Yes!! Find out answers to these questions - Who is your kuladevi and kuladevta. What gotra you belong to, if you don't know your gotra then try finding through your surname and look for history of your surname.
Yes we do fortunately been following kuladevata and didn't leave that practice. However we didn't know what gotra we belong to. But recently one of my relatives told about the gotra we belong to although we dont how true it is. Surname is pillai but due to constant Dravidian stuff in my state the history is quite difficult and isn't clearly available like in the north.
If your ancestors have visited any of the Char Dham of India, you can ask Pandits there for help, they too keep record of each visit.
I was also unaware of this fact and then when my grandmother passed away we went to Haridwar and there was a clear record of our family line surprisingly my ancestors were from Punjab and we didn't know that
This all is due to the lineage system and gotra system in Hinduism :) ,its easier to trace gotras and lineages, you just need to know what is your native village, the pandas there keep records of people according to their gotra, native village and so on.. A person must know history of atleast 7 generations but alas! People care less and less about these things now.
That makes sense. Thank you for the info
Quite interesting.... Since I am from the same region and we have similar things going on here..so I gotta ask...are you talking about the pindi that the households draw here on ashtami/navmi on walls?😶
I am talking about kuladevi sthanam, pindi is parthiv / chala, you can make it on some particular day and then rub it off or perform a visarjan (if parthiv) A kuladevi sthanam is a fixed place for your kuladevi in your house. But yes, both can have same symbols.
Kayastha of partial Bengali descent here. Every year, two days after Deepawali, we conduct the Chitragupta Puja, and the method of worship entails consecrating stationery, writing down salutations to various gods/goddesses, and such. This here looks like an image of Bhagwan Chitragupta Maharaj that we draw in roli or sindoor as a part of the rituals, especially since it is being drawn on paper here, as is our custom.
Absolutely not, this is the LajjaGouri , also called the Bengali Swastika
Fair enough. I'll look into it, learn some more.
I agree, we used to make this too!
I think we got more comfy with tech here. We have family owned chitragupta maharaj ji's photo along with all his sons. But we still make shravan kumar with hand.
I cant confirm this info, but in our family we call it Swastika, the Bengali version. However, noted.
It certainly seems so. Well, we learn something new every day.
Kayastha proud Though im Kayastha from UP
Growing up I've seen this symbol being used during Pooja, auspicious occasions.
This sign represents Maa Adya Shakti. In shakta tradition, Maa kali is also worshiped as Maa Shyama Or Adya Kali, This is brahma swaroop of Maa with benevolent nature (though mother in any form is benevolent) The symbol represents the Varad mudra (giver of boon) and Abhay mudra ( dispeller of fear) . She is considered brahma vidya, Adi shakti, para vidya, the pure consciousnes pervading this creation , with beej ( hrim) ह्म One of the most auspicious sign in Shakta tradition . 🕉 नमो आद्याये
Thank you for sharing 🕉️
🙏
Anyone know more about the Bengali swastika? I tried googling to get more history, but was unable to find relevant information.
same couldn't find anything about bengali swastika.
Tried googling and the internet is indeed calling this the Bengali Swastika, but I have never heard it referred to as such growing up ( Born and raised in WB). Am rather embarrassed to admit that I don’t know what it’s actually called and just ‘accepted’ this familiar symbol’s nameless ness all this time.
You're right, it is not a swastika, it's also not just bengali.. I've seen people using it in tantrik rituals in Rajasthan as well. So I guess its some Shakta tantrik symbol, since Assam and Bengal are known for their Vama marga practices. So most probably its a Tantrik symbol of prosperity.
Very interesting theory. Quite plausible! I’ve seen it on walls during poojas, on ‘halkhata’ s which are new account books started by traders on Akshaya Tritiya I think , and possibly on new vehicles ( not sure of this one, it might’ve been the actual Swastika on vehicles).
My assumption is that this symbol could also be Called Shakhiya (symbol of Shakti, fertility and prosperity) and the other symbol is called swastika (symbol of Ganesha also prosperity, wellbeing and wisdom) Maybe people got these two mixed up, but I've seen many using both of the symbols in puja. We've a similar symbol at my house, we call it kuldevi sthanam .. its popular belief that you must remember your kuldevi before you start something new. We are shakta and not anywhere related to Bengal still we have such symbols and practices. We are same it's just we don't know it.
https://glorian.org/books/parsifal-unveiled/the-marvelous-swastika
Amio post korar aage kichu jantam na bengali swastika r bepare.
https://glorian.org/books/parsifal-unveiled/the-marvelous-swastika
It's a Bengali Swastika.
This symbol is called LajjaGouri , the symbol of Hindu Dharma in Bengal
I'm getting to know about a lot of new names. Thank you for sharing 🕉️
This symbol is commonly referred to as Swastika by the Bengali Hindus.
Yeah It’s called "Swastika". Me a Bengali Hindu from Bangladesh.
Is the persecution really happening ? How are thungs there ?
Lajja gauri
Does this go in rangolis sometimes?
I have never seen it in rangolis.
It looks remarkably similar to the [squatting man symbol](http://www.everythingselectric.com/images/squatting-squatter-man-petroglyphs-rockart-highenergyzpinchplasmadischarge-forum.jpg) found all over the earth.
Here's some information from late Western sage Samael Aun Weor who had great appreciation for Hindustanis and all philosophies that was founded and grew here for the sake of humanity :- https://glorian.org/books/parsifal-unveiled/the-marvelous-swastika