Agrasen was a legendary Indian king (
Maharaja) of
Agroha, a city of traders. The
Agrawal and
Agrahari
communities claim descent from him. He is credited with the
establishment of a kingdom of traders in North India named Agroha, and
is known for his compassion in refusing to slaughter animals in
yajnas.
The Government of India issued a postage stamp in honour of Maharaja Agresen in 1976.
Agrasen divided his kingdom among his 18 children, resulting in eighteen
Agrawal gotras. Often, the number of gotras is stated to be seventeen.
[5] Another version suggests that Agrasen proceeded to conduct 18
mahayajnas
("Great yajnas"). During one such yajna, Agrasen noticed that a horse
that had been brought to be sacrificed was trying hard to get away from
the sacrificial altar. Seeing this Maharaj Agrasen was filled with
compassion for the animal. The idea of
ahimsa
(non-violence) grabbed his mind. Therefore, he put a brake to his
eighteenth yajna, announcing that no sacrifices will be made in his
kingdom in name of yajnas. Thus, the eighteenth yajna wasn't completed
and Agrasen had performed seventeen and a half yajnas. The gods appeared
before him and blessed him with seventeen and a half gotras.
[9]
In the later part of his life, Agrasen nominated his eldest son Vibhu to the throne and took up the
Vanaprastha ashram.
Gradually, the city of Agroha declined and was finally destroyed in a
huge fire. The residents of Agroha i.e. the Agrawals moved out of Agroha
and spread in other parts of India.
It is believed that King Agrasen married Madhavi, daughter of King
Kumud of Nagaloka (Snake Kingdom). Thus Agrawals are the progeny of
Madhavi and that is why they worship Nagas (snakes) and consider them to
be their maternal uncles.
Following are the seventeen and a half gotras of Agrawals:
Agrawals are basically a commercial community or
Vaishyas.
They are one of the most respectable and enterprising of mercantile
tribes. Two of Emperor Akbar’s famous ministers are said to have been
Agrawals, viz,
Todarmal who introduced an assessment of land, and Madhushah, who introduced ‘Madhushahi’ pice.
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