Singhal Gotra
सिंघल
At a glance
- Founding Rishi
- Singhal
- Veda
- Yajurveda
- Pravara
- Agrasena · Singhal
Related Gotras
Common surnames
About
One of the 18 Gotras of the Agrawal community, traced to the eighteen sons (or eighteen yajnas) of Maharaja Agrasena of Agroha. Singhal (also Singla) is associated with Rishi Shandilya in Agrawal lists; Singla is the usual Punjabi form. Agrawal gotras are clan divisions within one community rather than Vedic rishi lineages, so marriage within the same gotra is avoided, as with Brahmin gotras.
Founding Rishi
Pravara Lineage
The Pravara is the line of illustrious ancestral rishis recited in ritual, from the first ancestor down:
Regional Spread
The Singhal Gotra is predominantly found in:
Etymology
Singhal is the Hindi form of a gotra that Risley writes Singhal and Sherring Sinhal; Singla and Singal are Punjabi and modern spellings. Crooke's Sanskrit table has Saingala in the same place. The Hindi account of the sacrifices names the sage Shandilya as priest of the sixth, and the site has a page on Shandilya. Some community lists name other sages. The meaning of the clan name itself is not given in the sources found.
Historical Journey
In the Hindi account of Agrasena's eighteen sacrifices, which cites the Shri Agrawal Samaj, the sixth was led by the sage Shandilya, and the gotra named for it is Singhal. Risley and Sherring both list Singhal (Sinhal) as the sixth gotra, as does Crooke's Sanskrit table with Saingala, so this is one of the entries on which the three older lists agree. Crooke's table puts Saingala under the Samaveda (Kauthuma school, Gobhila sutra), whereas the page gives the Yajurveda for the whole group. Wikipedia's article on the surname notes that Singhal is also a gotra among the Baranwal community. The Akhil Bhartiya Agrawal Sammelan fixed the list of eighteen gotras by vote in 1983. The Agroha mound in Hisar district shows occupation from about the 3rd or 4th century BCE to the 13th or 14th century CE, with coins inscribed Agrodaka. The Wikipedia account says Muhammad of Ghor destroyed the town in 1194, and Ibbetson (1883) says the Aggarwals spread across Hindustan after Shihab-ud-din Ghori took Agroha in 1195. Agrawals are Vaishnava and Jain, and the two groups share the gotras and intermarry (Jainology; Ibbetson notes that many Delhi Aggarwals are Jain), so a family of this gotra may be of either faith.
Migration & Diaspora
From Agroha, Singhal families moved with the Agrawal trading diaspora into Delhi, Rajasthan (Shekhawati and Marwar), western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, and in the 18th to 20th centuries to Kolkata, Mumbai and the rest of India as Marwari and Agrawal merchants.
Presence Across Regions
Haryana
Agrawal Vaishya
The Agroha homeland.
Delhi & NCR
Agrawal Vaishya
Large urban presence in trade and the professions.
Rajasthan
Agrawal / Marwari
Shekhawati and Marwar trading towns.
Notable Personalities
Maharaja Agrasena
Legendary
Founder of Agroha and of the eighteen Agrawal gotras.
Stories & Legends
The eighteen yajnas
In the Agrawal story, Agrasena performed eighteen yajnas and stopped the animal sacrifice at the last one, turning to non-violence. Each yajna was led by a rishi and gave one gotra its name; Singhal is one of them.
The sixth sacrifice and Shandilya
In the Hindi account of the sacrifices, Agrasena's sixth yajna was led by Shandilya, and the gotra that took its name from that sacrifice is Singhal. Risley and Sherring also place Singhal sixth in their lists. Other community lists give a different sage, so the pairing with Shandilya is one tradition among several.
Ritual Significance
In sankalpa, Singhal families name their gotra as Singhal. Agrawal families avoid marriage within the same gotra, and many also avoid the gotras of the mother's family.