Oswal

The Oswal (sometimes spelled Oshwal or Osval) are a Jain merchant community with origins in Osian, a town in the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India. According to research by Colonel James Tod, Osavālas are purely of Rajput origins and they belong to not one, but several different Rajput tribes. The Osavālas origin legend has multiple aspects, all of which include a fierce, meat-eating goddess who becomes pacified by a Jain ascetic, involving the conversion of a king to Jainism. In modern times, there are barely any Osavālas living in Osiyān, but they still regard the Mahavira temple and Sachiya Mata Temple as their "mother temples". They reside in Rajasthan, Malwa, Gujarat, and Kutch.

They were formerly also found in the Tharparkar district of Sindh (pre-partition), in present-day Pakistan. The Oswal community is traditionally associated with both the Śvetāmbara and Digambara sects of Jainism. While the majority of Oswals follow Śvetāmbara practices, certain subgroups, such as the Bardias, were influenced by the Digambara monk "Acharya Nemichandra Suri" and have maintained the Digambara tradition over generations.. This demonstrates the historical diversity of religious practices within the Oswal community.

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