Kala (name)

Kala is both a given name and a surname. People with the surname Kala belong to a Garhwali brahmin community. Kala Brahmins have two ancestral villages, Sumari and Languri. Sumari is better known of the two. Their Kul Devi is Gaura/Gaurja Devi. Some Kalas also worship Lord Krishna as their Kul Devta.

Given name

Surname

History of Kala Brahmins

The history of Kalas is debatable. Most believe that Kalas were brahmins from Gujurat or Maharashtra who settled in Garhwal while on a pilgrimage trip to Badrinath. However some historians also suggest that Kalas migrated from Kali Kumaon, however details are scarce. Some Kuninda era coins found in Sumari and Languri have suggested that Kala Brahmins have been in Garhwal for quite a long time unlike most other Garhwali Brahmins. It is possible that they were Kul Purohits of the Kunindas.

Narbali (Sacrifice of men) -

A historical event took place in the 17th century. This event is famous as a folk tale in the village of Sumari.


Folk Tale -

Kala Brahmins never paid taxes because they were considered great keepers of knowledge, hence they were exempted from paying taxes. Anyways Kala Brahmins barely earned enough money to pay taxes because their village was self - sustaining, like most other villages in the Himalayas.

After the death of King Ajay Pal, his son came in power. King Ajay Pal had made his Prime Minister Surendra Chandra Kala, who belonged to Sumari. This made other courtiers jealous and they tried to used the inexperienced new King to defame the Kala community. They convinced the King to impose taxes on the village of Sumari, the village of the Kala community. The people of Sumari protested and refused to pay taxes as they declared that this was an insult to knowledge, and that they didn't have enough money to pay taxes. The king, furious that he had been disobeyed declared that one man per day would be sacrificed from the village of Sumari. This terrified the whole village of Sumari, and they were almost bent on paying taxes till a young boy now popularly known as Panthya Dada inspired the villagers with speeches and declared that the innocent villagers of Sumari should not pay taxes to a tyrannical king. His elder brother though, afraid of the Narbali ordered his brother to go stay in his Grandmother's village for a few days. With Panthya Dada gone, the villagers paid taxes lest they would be sacrificed. This went on, and one day Panthya Dada was grazing his cattle when he lied under a tree and took a nap. In his short sleep, he saw a dream where the Kul Devi of Kalas, Gaura Devi ordered him to go back to Sumari and stop the king from imposing taxes on the poor villagers. Panthya Dada did so, but the villagers were very hesitant. So the next day he prayed to Gaura Devi in a temple and then jumped in the sacrificial fire. This act surprised and confused the King, who called his Jyotish and asked him the reason why Panthya Dada committed suicide. The Jyotish said that the Kingdom of Garhwal was cursed with the sin of Brahamhatya(The sin of killing a brahmin). When the King asked how was it possible to remove this sin, the Jyotish said that he must conduct a yagya each year in Sumari to give respect to Panthya Dada. The King did so, and visited Sumari each year to conduct the yagya.

Why Kala brahmins do not perform ritual activities(Folk tale)-

It is said that once the King of Garhwal had conquered various territories and was overjoyed on his success. To celebrate his victory, he held a grand durbar, and invited brahmins from all over Garhwal. One of these Brahmins were a Kala pundit. When all the Brahmins arrived in Srinagar(Then capital of Garhwal), the king distributed coins among them and they accepted with open hands. The Kala pundit felt that this was an insult of knowledge, and refused to take any money. That day he pledged that Kala Brahmins will not indulge in ritual activities for others.


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