Bishnoi: An Eco-Theological Movement: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

The Bishnoi community is distributed in several North Indian states, but it is most densely located in Western Rajasthan, where their
founder Guru JambheΩvara was born. The name Bishnoi means the people of the twenty-nine rules (Bish and Noi, literally twenty and nine). This community is also called the Prahlådapanthi community based on their reverence for Prahlåda, the mythical son of the demon king Hira∫yakaΩyapu who in the Hindu Pura∫as had invoked the Narasiµha incarnation of Vishnu. Some Hindi authors such as Hiralal Maheshwari have referred to this community as Vishnoi, the followers of Vishnu. This latter name suggests the Hinduization on this (and several other communities) after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.1 However, Bishnois themselves insist that the word Bishnoi is based on the Rajasthani words for twenty (Bish) and nine (Noi) representing the twenty-nine rules given by their guru2 and for this reason they did not approve “Vishnoi” as a replacement for Bishnoi as was done by Maheshwari. 1975 Nagaur District
Gazetteer also mentions the connection between the twenty-nine rules and the term “Bishnoi,” although the statements of JambheΩvara themselves.