Singhvi Gotra

What “Gotra” means for the Oswal Jain

Oswal Jain families call their clan names gotra; these are not Vedic rishi gotras, and the gotra is the exogamous unit. Singhvi began as a title, so some lists treat it as a gotra in its own right and others as a branch under an older gotra.

Name and Origin

The word comes from the Sanskrit sanghapati, leader of a sangha. The Indian Epigraphical Glossary, as quoted on Wisdom Library, defines saṅghavī as the leader of a group of Jain pilgrims who bears the expenses of everyone travelling with him, and links it to the Jain family name Singhi. Among Śvetāmbara Jains the title was given for conducting a mass pilgrimage to the major tirthas; among Digambara Jains it was given for building a temple and installing its images (Wikipedia's Singhai article, which draws on Parvar community histories). The chapter on social divisions in the Jainworld history of Jainism names Saṅghavī with Sāha and Chaudharī as titles that became gotra names, and records a Saṅghavī Tukada of the Kataria gotra building a shrine at Jirapalli in 1426. That example shows the title being held by men of other gotras. No source I found gives one origin for the Oswal Singhvi gotra.

Historical Journey

Hoernle, writing in the Indian Antiquary in 1890, lists Singwi among the Oswal gotras of Marwar, with Bhandari, Mohnot, Mehta and Lodha, and says men of these gotras held very high offices in the state of Marwar. A later example is Fateh Raj Singhvi, whom the Asian Art Museum's catalogue entry for a painting of c. 1820 to 1840 names as chief minister to Maharaja Man Singh of Jodhpur after 1815. The oswals.net page on the Bafna gotra lists Sanghvi among that gotra's sub-gotras and records the title still being awarded in the 20th century: Danmal Patwa of Kota was called Sanghvi after leading a pilgrimage sangh to Shatrunjaya in Vikram 1982. Historians date the formation of Oswal gotras generally to between the 8th and 13th centuries, with territorial and title-based gotras mostly later (Jainworld history, Dr K. C. Jain and team). A Singhvi family whose ancestor earned the title belongs to whatever gotra he held before it.

How the Gotra Is Kept

As with other Oswal gotras the Singhvi name is exogamous in marriage, and families have different gachchha affiliations. No kuldevi common to all Singhvi families could be documented: the sources I found do not tie one goddess to the name, and a family that took the title later keeps the kuldevi of its older gotra. Families should ask their elders which gotra and kuldevi they held before the title.

Presence Across Regions

Notable Personalities

Stories and Legends