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26-459: The Madala Panji was traditionally written on a year-to-year basis on Vijaya-Dashami day. The Karanas (official history writers of Puri, a caste of Odisha, involved in keeping the chronicle. This ritual is cited as a proof that the tradition of keeping this chronicle began with Odia king Anantavarman Chodaganga Dev (1078–1150) himself. There are some, like Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab , Dr.Nilakantha Dash and Dr. Krushna Chandra Panigrahi who hold that

52-578: A dominant role in politics. Such is their prominence in politics that many members from the Karan community have been elected as the Chief Ministers of Odisha , hence they are also dubbed as the political caste of Odisha. Role in temple administration Deula Karana and Tadhau Karana sub divisions of Karanas are the key servitors in the Jagannath Temple of Puri. They alongwith other key servitors manage

78-585: A new new class of writers. However the Karanas crystallized into a distinct caste only in the 10th or 11th century AD owning to social mobility. Any mention of the term prior to that period simply denotes its functional aspect rather than a caste affiliation. Medieval Period Karanas alongwith Brahmins feature in the 10th century inscriptions of Odisha and are represented as heads of the local population. Such depiction denotes their high social rank. Karanas enjoyed high status in medieval period and married within

104-500: A powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A dewan was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan ). Diwans belonged to the elite families in the history of Mughal and post-Mughal India and held high posts within the government. The word is Persian in origin and was loaned into Arabic. The original meaning was "bundle (of written sheets)", hence "book", especially "book of accounts," and hence "office of accounts," "custom house," "council chamber". The meaning of

130-430: A province. Later, when most vassal states gained various degrees of self-determination , the finance — and/or chief minister and leader of many princely states (especially Muslim , but also many Hindu , including Baroda , Hyderabad , Mysore , Kochi , Travancore — referred to as Dalawa until 1811) became known as a dewan . Exceptionally, a ruler was himself titled Dewan or a loftier variation, notably: As

156-569: A title used in various Early Modern Indian states, Diwan denoted the highest officials in the court after the king; the suffix -ji is added as a mark of respect in India. In the major Maratha states of Baroda (ruled by the Gaekwad), Gwalior (ruled by Scindias or Shinde), Indore (ruled by Holkar), and Nagpur ( ruled by Bhonsle, but not from the Chhatrapati Shivaji family ), the highest officer after

182-811: The Chief Minister of the Hindu Cooch State in the Bengal region . Diwan also became a surname of high-caste Hindus or Sikhs in the Punjab region . There is also a community with the surname Diwan found in Chhattisgarh , near the Bilaspur and Janjgir-Champa regions. This is a Brahmin-Rajput community descendant from Deo Brahmin-Rajputs who migrated from Purvanchal in Uttar Pradesh . The males in this community take

208-534: The borrowed word "dewan" is the standard word for council, as in the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (or Indonesia's Council of People's Representatives) and Dewan Undangan Negeri ( State Legislative Assembly of Malaysia ), Dewan Rakyat ( House of Representatives of Malaysia ), and Dewan Negara ( Senate of Malaysia ). During the effective rule of Mughal India , the Dewan served as the chief revenue officer of

234-723: The Kadatas and Chakadas taken together will be about a cartload." Madala Panji language is Odia and was recorded in Odia and Telugu script, preserved in the Manuscript Library in Madras, which speaks about the story regarding image of Neela Madhava or Lord Jagannath of Udra desa, as Odisha was known in Middle Ages. It seems to have re-written during 16th century when the King of Khurda had newly installed

260-490: The Panji dates from the reign of Ramachandra Deva I who re-established the worship of Lord Jagannatha after Kalapahad said to have destroyed it. The arguments are complex, but it is likely that much of the early record was indeed lost in the period that followed Kala Pahad and was rewritten in a fashion that mixed legend with history. According to the tradition, Anantavarman Chodaganga created 24 families of Karanas to preserve

286-700: The administration of temple. Deula Karana and Tadhau Karana servitors are also the representatives of the Raja of Puri and assist him in performing the temple rituals associated with Lord Jagannath. Some titles associated with the Karan caste includes: Patnaik , Mohanty , Choudhury , Das , Ray , Mohapatra , Samantaray , Routray , Chhotray, Kanungo, Bakshi , Bohidar, Srikarana, Dandapata, Das Mahapatra, Pruseth, Mahasenapati, Srichandan, Harichandan, Bebarta, Mangaraj, Samantasinghar, Badajena , Behera etc. Dewan Dewan (also known as diwan , sometimes spelled devan or divan ) designated

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312-612: The administration of the ruling dynasties of Odisha, a general named Srikarana Mahananda Senapati of the Karan caste was the army general and governor of Anangabhima 3 of Eastern Ganga dynasty. Srikarana Mahananda Senapati was the Senadhyakshawara of the Kingdom or Commander in chief. Another official named Srikarana Pattanaik Viswanatha Mahasenapati was the army general and governor of Narsimha Deva 4 of Eastern Ganga Dynasty, he governed four Dandapatas or Rajyas of Eastern Ganga Dynasty , he

338-638: The council or Cabinet of the state. In the Ottoman Empire , it consisted of the usually (except in the Sultan 's presence) presiding Grand Vizier and other viziers , and occasionally the Janissary Ağa. In 19th-century Romania , the Ad hoc Divan was a body which played a role in the country's development towards independence from Ottoman rule. In Javanese and related languages (such as Malay and Indonesian ),

364-425: The early British Raj. In French India , one of its constituent colonies, Yanaon , had Zamindar and Diwan . They were active in its local and municipal administration during French rule. The Zamindar of Yanam was given a 4-gun salute by French counterparts. The document dated Bikram Samvat 1833 Bhadra Vadi 3 Roj 6 (i.e. Friday 2 August 1776), shows that Vamsharaj Pande and Swaroop Singh Karki had carried

390-586: The highest literacy caste-wise and are highly prosperous. Today they are a politically dominant community and have reigned over the politics of Odisha for 50 years. Karanas in Odisha are divided into various divisions, out of these divisions Kshatriya Karanas are considered superior to other divisions of Karanas. They are classified as Vratyas. Karanas used to observe rituals like Sati and Upanayana in their community. The frequent admission of land grants to princes, Brahmins and various officials gave rise to

416-511: The images after destruction made by Kalapahad , the notorious general of the Sultan of Bengal. Notable Odia writer and Padma Shri awardee Artaballabha Mohanty has published the only available print record of Madala Panji. Karan (caste) The Karan or Karana is a community of writers found in the state of Odisha in India . The post of Karana used to be a professional designation that

442-586: The king was called the Diwan. One of the examples – Shrimant Diwan/Rao Bahadur Atmaram Kulkarni, was the Diwan (Prime Minister) of Maratha Jamkhandi State . In the 19th century, the British Parliament established in British India a supreme court for revenue matters (non-criminal matters) named the " Sudder Dewanny Adawlut ", which applied Hindu law. Dewan, Diwan, Divan, or Deo was the hereditary title borne by

468-471: The royal families of Odisha . The head of a Karana family was known as Samanta while his wife was known as Samantani. Some Karanas also received land grants and held feudatory status in medieval Odisha. They appear to be an important community in Eastern Ganga dynasty as they held high positions in the government such as the post of army general, prime minister and accountant. Karanas were associated with

494-535: The royal households. An example of this can be found in the Arasavali copper plate of the Eastern Ganga monarch Vajrahasta III. They occupied high positions under the feudatory kings of Odisha, most of them were appointed as Dewans in the princely states of Odisha. Karanas find mention in Bhauma-Kara records and are represented as Sadhyadhikarana or Chief Judicial Officer of a district. Similarly Srikarana featured in

520-461: The temple inscription is said to have been the accountant general of Anangabhima Deva III of Eastern Ganga dynasty . A Kosthakarana was a top administrative officer of Narsimha Deva 4 of Eastern Ganga Dynasty . Terms like Deula Karana represented the rank of Temple administrator. Samanta Karanas were the aristrocratic families of Karanas from Odisha, the word Samanta was also used by the kings of Odisha, thus it can be said Karanas were associated with

546-566: The temple records. Of these, five were entrusted with the writing and preservation of the Madala Panji . They are: In subsequent stage, due to the bulky size of Madala Panji, its content covering different dimensions related to temple management, it was divided into four parts: There are also five different categories of Panjis. No one has seen them all. Besides the Madala, there were other Karans who wrote regional chronicles, known as Chakadas. "All

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572-864: The title Dhar (e.g., Mohan Dhar Diwan, a high-ranked member of Vishwa Hindu Parishad ). They had a fight with the royal family of Ratanpur, defeated the king, and started ruling the Ratanpur estate. After the Battle of Buxar , when Bengal was annexed by the East India Company in 1764, the Mughal Emperor granted the Company the Diwani (the right to collect revenue) in Bengal and Bihar in 1765. The term Diwani thus referred to British (fiscal) suzerainty over parts of India during

598-665: The word, divan "long, cushioned seat" is due to such seats having been found along the walls in Middle Eastern council chambers. It is a common surname among Sikhs in Punjab. The word first appears under the Caliphate of Omar I (A.D. 634–644). As the Caliphate state became more complicated, the term was extended over all the government bureaus. The divan of the Sublime Porte was

624-494: Was Raja SriKaran Niladri Bhagirath Barman Patnaik. He was the minister of the Raja of Puri, who conferred on him the title of Raja and gave him Athgarh for his service. Modern Period In British colonial era, Karanas owned most Zamindaris in Odisha and were extremely rich. They also received large amounts of land grants in Khurda administration of Khurda Kingdom. In recent post-Independence era India, they have also played

650-572: Was also the Puro Srikarana of the Kingdom or Prime Minister. Another general named Srikarana Suru Senapati under the reign of Anangabhima Dev 2 is said to have donated lands to the Jagannath Temple of Puri as evidenced from inscriptions. Ramananda Ray was the governor of the southern territories in Gajapati Empire , he was also a minister of Gajapati Prataparudra Deva , Ramananda Raya belonged to Karan community. The founder of Athgarh State

676-488: Was occupied by literate peoples. They held Karanam posts in some parts of Andhra Pradesh , where they speak Odia and played a similar role in Odisha to that of the Kayasthas of West Bengal and Bihar . In the social hierarchy of Odisha they rank next to Brahmins . They exclusively served the ruling powers as their ministers, advisors, governors, military commanders, accountants, record keepers and diwans. They have

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