Bhatt

Bhatt (Hindi: भट्ट, Urdu: بھٹ), meaning "priest", is a last name that is common in many ethnicities in India.

Etymology and history

Traditionally, among the Brahmins, Bhatt ("priest" is a Brahmin who has learned all the four Vedas.

Bhat were also known to keep genealogies of Rajput kings. The most common surnames for the Bhat caste are Barot, Brahmbhatt, and Rao. Some famous Bhats include Aryabhatta (ancient Indian astronomer), Bana Bhatt (renowned 7th century Sanskrit scholar), Birbal, Sanjay (from the Mahabharata) Brahmanand Swami and Dr Ishwar Bhat S (The renowned author of many scientific journals)

The earliest reference of Bhat can be found in Chandragupta's empire. In Mudrarakshasa, while describing different divisions in Chandragupta's army, a reference can be found to Bhat-Bala. Here Bala means a division, hence Bhat-Bala would mean a division composed of Bhat.

A predominantly Hindu last name, it is commonly found in the states of Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Uttarakhand. Among the communities in India with this last name are the Havyaka Brahmins, the Goud Saraswat Brahmins, and the Madhva's.

People with surname Bhatt

• Chimanlal Bhatt
• Rashmikant Bhatt
• Satish Bhatt
• Manan Bhatt
• Divyang Bhatt

People with middle name Bhatt

• Gopal Bhatt Gosvami, Bengali Vaishnava figure. The Sat-kriya-sara-dipika says, "om Gopala Bhattaya svaha"

Bhatt-extension surnames

There are many names that have the Bhatt prefix. These surnames include:

• Annambhatt (Tamil Nadu) For example the Sanskrit text Tarka-Samgraha was written by a person of this name.
• Bhatkal
• Bhattachan (Nepal)
• Bhattadiri
• Bhattal
• Bhattanand
• Bhattar (Tamil Nadu). For example Shri Parasara Bhattar in Hinduism preferred to remain on the earth worshipping Ranganatha rather than ascend to Vaikunta just as god Sri Hanuman did.[1][2] In Kashmir there is the surname Bhattara, which might be connected to the surname Bhattarka.
• Bhattarka, Bhattaraka or Bhattara (South India). The kings of many dynasties carried this surname. This surname has also existed as far north as Kashmir and as far west as Gujarat. Vishnukandin king Indrabhattaraka was an Oriya.
• Bhattarya (West India). For example, Mr. Rajiv Bhattarya is a senior chartered engineer on the technical committee for the "Rathi" steel plants.[3]
• Bhattayya (West India). For example, Rupa Bhattayya made land grants for feeding the nuns (yoginis), orphans and ascetics.[4] It is possible that the "ayya" suffix is a corruption of the word Arya as "ayya" can also mean "arya" (noble) in languages such as Pali.
• Bhatti (Punjab)
• Bhattia (Sind and Punjab)
• Bhattacharya (East India, Nepal)
• Bhattacharjee (East India), derived from the English pronunciation of Bhattacharya
• Bhattarai (East India, Nepal)
• Bhattathiri (Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
• Bhattathiripad (Kerala)
• Bhattu
• Brahmbhatt (West India)
• Budhabhatti
• Nagarbhat

Bhatt-extrension places

There are also several places in South Asia with the Bhatt prefix in their names. They are:[5]

• Bhattabåri, Bangladesh
• Bhattabåri, Bangladesh
• Bhattabåri, Bangladesh
• Bhattacharyya Chak, Bangladesh
• Bhattaidhopa, Bangladesh
• Bhattal, Pakistan
• Bhattapratåp, Bangladesh
• Bhattapur, Bangladesh
• Bhattapur, Bangladesh
• Bhattapåra, Bangladesh
• Bhattapåra Sripur, Bangladesh
• Bhatti, Bangladesh
• Bhatti, Pakistan
• Bhatti, Pakistan
• Bhatti, Pakistan
• Bhatti, Pakistan
• Bhatti Bhango, Pakistan
• Bhatti Dhilwån, Pakistan
• Bhatti Gøjar, Pakistan
• Bhatti Metla, Pakistan
• Bhattian, Pakistan
• Bhattian, Pakistan
• Bhattian, Pakistan
• Bhattiana, a region in the present-day Haryana and Punjab
• Bhattiawåla, Pakistan
• Bhattigåm, India
• Bhattika, Pakistan
• Bhattinagar, Pakistan
• Bhattiprolu, India
• Bhattiwåla, Pakistan
• Bhattiån, Pakistan
• Bhattiån, Pakistan
• Bhattiån, Pakistan
• Bhattiånwåla, Pakistan
• Bhattiånwåla, Pakistan
• Bhattiånwåla, Pakistan
• Bhattranwåla, Pakistan
• Bhattu, India
• Bhatturi, Bangladesh
• Bhatt¿wåla, Pakistan
• Bhatt¿wåla, Pakistan
• Bhatt¿ånwåla, Pakistan
• Bhattåchårjya Chak, Bangladesh
• Bhattåchårjyakåndi, Bangladesh
• Bhåtta, Bangladesh
• Bhåtta, Bangladesh
• Bhåttåi Dhoba, Bangladesh

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