Every year, lakhs of people from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Delhi, Bihar and the southern states, reach Pehowa in Kurukshetra to perform the post-death rituals for family members and offer prayers to their ancestors.
During their visits, they enter their personal details in the ‘bahis’ also known as the Vanshawalis or genealogy registers that are maintained by the purohits at the Saraswati Tirtha in Pehowa and the Sannihit Sarovar in Thanesar.
Visitors can trace their genealogical record by providing details such as their family’s name and place of origin. The purohits who have been maintaining the records of the families for several generations follow their own system of indexing.
The register contains information regarding the family’s surname, place of origin, caste or community, lineage and date and purpose of visit. Each purohit has a number of Yajman families and only they have the details and responsibility for maintaining the Yajman's genealogy registers. The same records are passed from one generation of purohits to the next. New pages are added to the old bahis so that the entire record on one family remains in one register. There are nearly 500 families of purohits who perform rituals with the assistance of their staff.
The tradition dates back several centuries. Pilgrims visiting holy places for rituals such Pind Daan and holy baths on the occasions of Amavasya, Chaitra Chaudas fair and other important religious occasions were accustomed to visit their purohits, who maintained the family's genealogy. Sometimes, people obtained family data from them to stake claims in properties.
Mohit Sharma, a social activist, said “People, after doing the rituals, customarily record their visit, including names of existing family members, in bahis maintained by the family’s purohits. Genealogy registers are one of the world's oldest continuously maintained family record systems. These handwritten registers preserve genealogical information of Hindu families and even royal families of different states who have visited the pilgrimage places.”
Purohit Pawan Sharma (73), stationed at Sannihit Sarovar, said “We have records of more than 400 years. Since a large number of people had come after Partition, they find their family’s roots in Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Sheikhupura and various other locations in Pakistan.”
“The paper is getting fragile over time and the younger generation also experiences difficulties in reading the old handwriting. Besides this, to ensure that the data of generations doesn’t get destroyed in case of any untoward incident, purohits have started digitising their records. It will be easier for the next generation to access and read these records,” he added.
Yogesh Joshi, a student of Pawan Sharma, said “A decline in the number of Yajmans coming to get their records updated is being witnessed over the last few years. We believe that the younger generation lacks time due to which they don’t come for rituals and pilgrimages. The government has been spending a huge budget on the development of tirthas but it should also pay some attention to the purohits who have been silently preserving the faith's culture and heritage, besides maintaining records spanning generations.”
Pandit Gyan Chand Sharma (78) at Saraswati Tirtha, said “Since the papers get fragile with the passage of time, it is important to preserve them. Years ago, efforts were made by a genealogical society in America to digitise the records. They had also got some records, but the majority of the purohits had shown no interest as they were afraid of losing their data. The continuous maintenance over centuries has created an unparalleled repository of genealogical information. Preservation and digitisation of these registers are essential to safeguard this heritage for future generations.”
Similarly, purohit Jai Narayan Sharma, who is also the president of the Brahmin Evam Tirthodhar Sabha, said “These genealogy registers enable families to reconstruct their ancestry across many generations. It has been observed that the younger generations don’t even know the names of their great-grandparents, and when they learn about their names through these Vanshawalis, they get excited, even note down the names of their forefathers and the place of their origin.”
“All efforts are made to keep the records in perfect condition. New pages are added and bindings are made to secure them. Digitisation is the need of the hour and it will be done but it can’t match the charm and excitement of seeing the original records. The government should come forward to provide some financial assistance to purohits, constitute a welfare board and help in preserving the physical records, especially the paper used to maintain them,” added Sharma.