"Rishabh! Don't ever forget our past!" The old man called to his grandson as he lounged on the couch. "Let me tell you about the time our ancestors built the Adinath Temple. It was the year 961 AD by the time they even finished…" he began. He went on to describe the details of how they built the impressive Jain temple, despite many obstacles. The boy settled himself in to hear the story yet again.
The Porwal (also called Porvad or Porwad) are a community of Banias who, long ago, were great in number and in riches. They built many of the most famous Jain temples. Now other Jain communities are larger and wealthier than the Porwals. They are still a wealthy people, but their numbers have fallen when compared to the other Jain groups around them. Today they number less than four million out of India's more than 1,215,000,000 people.
Far smaller is the number of Christ followers among them. Their Jain beliefs offer them some good moral guidelines regarding the sanctity of life. But without a church or a Bible or any appropriate evangelistic tools, the Porwals remain without knowledge of a Savior who offers not only solid moral teachings about the importance of life, but also the chance to have a personal relationship with the God who created them.
* Scripture Prayers for the Bania Porwal in India.
Pray that the Porwal people will soon get to hear the good news that Jesus Christ died for their sins.
Some information from "The Scheduled Castes" K. S. Singh, ed. Oxford University Press, USA (1994)
Profile Source: Global Prayer Digest |
Global Prayer Digest: 2011-08-18 |
Global Prayer Digest: 2017-09-18 |
People Name General | Bania Porwal |
People Name in Country | Bania Porwal |
Natural Name | Porwal Bania |
Population this Country | 326,000 |
Population all Countries | 328,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 7 |
Alternate Names | Bania Seth; Jangada; Jangada Porwal; Marwadi; Parwar; Ponwar; Porwad; Porwal; Porwal Jain; Porwar; Purwar; बनिया, पोरवाल |
People ID | 19719 |
ROP3 Code | 115172 |
Country | India | |||||||||||||||
Region | Asia, South | |||||||||||||||
Continent | Asia | |||||||||||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | |||||||||||||||
National Bible Society | Website | |||||||||||||||
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | |||||||||||||||
Total States on file | 23 | |||||||||||||||
Largest States (only 15 largest shown) |
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Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | India |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 23 (only 20 largest shown) |
Rajasthan 71,000 | |
Maharashtra 55,000 | |
Gujarat 44,000 | |
Uttar Pradesh 32,000 | |
Madhya Pradesh 26,000 | |
West Bengal 24,000 | |
Andhra Pradesh 17,000 | |
Assam 14,000 | |
Delhi 7,200 | |
Telangana 7,000 | |
Tamil Nadu 4,500 | |
Punjab 4,400 | |
Karnataka 3,700 | |
Chhattisgarh 3,500 | |
Jharkhand 2,900 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Hindi (145,000 speakers) | |||||||||||||||
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||||||||
Total Languages | 30 | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) |
|
Primary Language | Hindi (145,000 speakers) |
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 30 |
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) | |
Gujarati 55,000 | |
Marwari 51,000 | |
Marathi 14,000 | |
Dhundari 12,000 | |
Bengali 8,900 | |
Telugu 7,500 | |
Mewari 5,700 | |
Merwari 3,600 | |
Nimadi 3,400 | |
Bhojpuri 3,200 | |
Kacchi 2,800 | |
Konkani 2,800 | |
Shekhawati 2,800 | |
Bagri 1,400 | |
Assamese 1,400 | |
People Groups | Speaking Hindi |
Primary Language: Hindi
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1806-1962) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1811-1998) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1835-2012) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching (GRN) |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament (FCBH) |
Audio Recordings | Online Scripture (Talking Bibles) |
Audio Recordings | Oral Bible stories in Hindi |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio (Jesus Film Project) |
Film / Video | A Beautiful Hope (EngSub) |
Film / Video | Coconuts |
Film / Video | Creation to Christ |
Film / Video | Father's Love Letter |
Film / Video | Following Jesus (India, JF Project) |
Film / Video | God's Story Video |
Film / Video | Indigitube.tv Video / Animation |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Hindi |
Film / Video | Magdalena (Jesus Film Project) |
Film / Video | My Last Day (Jesus Film Project Anime) |
Film / Video | Rivka (Jesus Film Project) |
Film / Video | Story of Jesus for Children (JF Project) |
Film / Video | The Hope Video |
General | Bible Visuals |
General | Four Spiritual Laws |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
69.52 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
30.48 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Photo Source | Anonymous |
Map Source | People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Profile Source | Global Prayer Digest |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |