Gavli

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Sub caste of Yadav in Maharashtra

title: "Gavli" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["herding-castes", "indian-castes"] description: "Sub caste of Yadav in Maharashtra" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavli" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Sub caste of Yadav in Maharashtra ::

Gavli (also spelled as Gawli or Gavali) (Marathi: गवळी) is a Hindu caste in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. They are a part of the Yadav community.

Etymology

The name Gavli may have been derived from a Sanskrit word meaning cow.

History

Origin

Some authorities have suggested that Ahirs (today Yadavs) migrated to Maharashtra from Punjab and Sindh in early historic times. Other researchers have hypothesized that these people have inhabited Maharashtra for the last 5,000 to 10,000 years.

Gavli are distributed all over Maharashtra. Although a has classified Gawlis as sub-caste of many different castes Ahir Gawli (sub-caste of famous Yadav caste of North India) whereas Hanbar Gawli, Singaji Gawli and Lingayat Gawli are different from Yadav-Ahir Gawli. Along with Maratha and Kunbis, Ahir Gawlis are considered one of the allied castes of Maratha caste and have been included in the Maratha Regiment in the past.

Relationship with Deccan Yadavas

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Daulatabad_Fort_Geography.jpg" caption="The hill of Devagiri, the capital of Yadavas"] ::

The Seuna Yadava dynasty, which ruled present-day Maharashtra and north Karnataka, arose out of the valorous deeds of Dridhaprahara, founder of the dynasty, who protected cattle. According to the traditional sources, Devagiri, the capital of Seuna Yadavas, was founded by a king who was a Golla/Gavli. The idea that the Seunas were a Gavli dynasty survives to this day in folk traditions of the Nashik-Khandesh area, where they are traditionally called "Gavli Kings". During the reign of Seuna Yadavas and their rival Hoysala Yadavas, the temple of Vitthal at Pandharpur, under their purview, grew from a small pastoral deity site to a major temple complex.

References

Bibliography

  • {{cite book|last=Feldhaus|first=Anne|author-link=Anne Feldhaus|editor-last=Sontheimer|editor-first=Gunther-Dietz|title=Pastoral Deities in Western India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvaEQgAACAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195055009}}

References

  1. Malhotra, K. C.. (March 1982). "Ecology of a pastoral caste: Gavli Dhangars of peninsular India". Human Ecology.
  2. Mehta, B. H.. (1994). "Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands". Concept Publishing Company.
  3. Saraswati, Baidyanath. (1998). "The Cultural Dimension of Ecology". Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
  4. Tribes, Karnataka (India) Legislature Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled. "Report". Karnataka Legislature Secretariat..
  5. Commission, Third Karnataka Backward Classes. (1990). "The Justice-journey of the Karnataka Backward Classes". Government of Karnataka.
  6. (1975). "Karnataka State Gazetteer: Shimoga". Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press.
  7. General, India Office of the Registrar. (1962). "Census of India, 1961". Manager of Publications.
  8. (1976). "Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Buldhana". Director of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State, 1976.
  9. (1998). "India's Communities". Oxford University Press.
  10. Ghurye, Govind Sadashiv. (1969). "Caste and Race in India". Popular Prakashan.
  11. Pearl, Raymond. (1993). "Human Biology". Wayne State University Press.
  12. (2001). "The Marginalization of a Dalit Martial Race in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Western India.". The Journal of Asian Studies.
  13. (1976). "German Scholars on India: Contributions to Indian Studies". Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office.

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