Anthwal

Anthwal is a Gangari Brahmin toponymic surname from Aneth, a village in the Pauri Garhwal District of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. In around 1555 CE, people of Anthwal Clan of Saraswat Brahmin caste settled in a village named Aneth in Barasyun Pargana.

History

Anthwals though now part of the vibrant Garhwali Pandit Community, are originally Saraswat Brahmins of the traditional Pancha-Gauda Division given by Kalhana, the other division being Pancha Dravida.

The progenitor (मूल पुरुष in Garhwali) of this clan as per historians and in the folklore is said to be "Pandit Ram Dev Saraswat", who supposedly migrated from Punjab to Garhwal in around 1555 AD. In some cases Lahore and Jalandhar are also named, and the clan is sometimes also linked to the Jwala-Devi Temple in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. But the common theme in all the stories is the link to Gandhara region, and eventually to Maga Brahmins. Interestingly, all these historic geographic regions have some kind of overlapping with each other.

Like the other Brahmin clans in Garhwal, Anthwals also claim that their ancestors were invited to settle in Garhwal by the then ruling family. With passage of time, the members from this clan migrated to different places in Garhwal, and now in this modern age are spread globally .

Anthwals are the traditional priests and caretakers of Jwalpa Devi Temple, as the present temple was constructed by Late Pandit Shri Dutta Ram Anthwal Sirguro (Anthwals being the landlords of the area).