th this and
will not work to get more. Another saying is, 'The Panka felt brave
and thought he would go to war; but he set out to fight a frog and was
beaten'; and another, 'Every man tells one lie a day; but the Ahir
tells sixteen, the Chamar twenty, and the lies of the Panka cannot
be counted.' Such gibes, however, do not really mean much. Owing to
the abstinence of the Pankas from flesh and liquor they rank above
the Gandas and other impure castes. In Bilaspur they are generally
held to be quiet and industrious. [368] In Chhattisgarh the Pankas
are considered above the average in intelligence and sometimes act
as spokesmen for the village people and as advisers to zamindars and
village proprietors. Some of them become religious mendicants and
act as _gurus_ or preceptors to Kabirpanthis. [369]

Panwar Rajput

List of Paragraphs

1. _Historical notice. The Agnikula clans and the slaughter of
the Kshatriyas by Parasurama_.
2. _The legend of Parasurama_.
3. _The Panwar dynasty of Dhar and Ujjain_.
4. _Diffusion of the Panwars over India_.
5. _The Nagpur Panwars_.
6. _Subdivisions_.
7. _Marriage customs_.
8. _Widow-marriage_.
9. _Religion_.
10. _Worship of the spirits of those dying a violent death_.
11. _Funeral rites_.
12. _Caste discipline_.
13. _Social customs_.

1. Historical notice. The Agnikula clans and the slaughter of the
Kshatriyas by Parasurama

_Panwar_, [370] _Puar_, _Ponwar_, _Pramara Rajput_.--The Panwar or
Pramara is one of the most ancient and famous of the Rajput clans. It
was the first of the four Agnikulas, who were created from the fire-pit
on the summit of Mount Abu after the Kshatriyas had been exterminated
by Parasurama the Brahman. "The fire-fountain was lustrated with
the waters of the Ganges; [371] expiatory rites were performed,
and after a protracted debate among the gods it was resolved that
Indra should initiate the work of recreation. Having formed an image
of _duba_ grass he sprinkled it with the water of life and threw it
into the fire-fountain. Thence on pronouncing the _sajivan mantra_
(incantation to give life) a figure slowly emerged from the flame,
bearing in the right hand a mace and exclaiming, '_Mar, Mar!_' (Slay,
slay). He was called Pramar; and Abu, Dhar, and Ujjain were assigned
to him as a territory."

The four clans known as Agnikula, or born from the fire-pit,
were the Panwar, the Chau