Sati Bhan devi ji (Bhande ji) | Rajpurohit Encyclopedia Profile

Sati Bhan De Kanwar Ji (also called Bhan De Kanwar or Bhan De Ji) was a young girl of the Rajpurohit community, belonging to the family of Rajguru Dwarkadas Ji of village Basni, near Osian. She was only 11 years old when she attained sat (satihood).

Her engagement was fixed at Barabas, Osian — according to records, possibly with a youth named Dharmanand.

During Samvat 1725 (1668 CE), the jagir of Osian with its sixteen villages was under the descendants of Raj Shri Sahasmal Ji, son of Maharawal Maldev Ji of Jodhpur. Sahasmal Ji was also the father-in-law of Maharaja Sur Singh Ji.

From this lineage came Keshavdas Ji, whose son Rughnath Ji held the jagir at the time of this incident.

It was during Rughnath Ji’s tenure that a practice called “Jamar” became significant. Jamar was a form of ritual protest, often performed by Brahmins, Rajpurohits, or Charans, when they felt a grave injustice had been committed by a jagirdar. By sacrificing their own lives, they held rulers morally accountable.

According to inscriptions (devli lekh), Bhan De Kanwar’s fiancé (possibly Dharmanand) performed jamar in protest against the injustice of the jagirdar.

Hearing of this, the young Rajgurani Bhan De Kanwar Ji followed the path of sat — choosing to immolate herself even though her marriage had not yet taken place. This act of devotion and defiance was considered extraordinary, as she chose to unite with her fiancé in death, upholding the values of honor and protest against oppression.

Before entering the fire, she is said to have pronounced a curse upon the jagirdars, which according to local belief, led to a decline in their lineage and eventually to the confiscation of their jagir.

• A chhatri (cenotaph) was constructed in her memory near the gate of the famous Sachiyay Mata Temple at Osian, on the right side.

• During the jagirdari period, 2 bighas of land were formally endowed to her shrine through a tamrapatra (copperplate grant).

• According to inscriptions, the chhatri was commissioned by Thakur Rughnath Ji himself. Fields were also attached for service to the shrine, though it is said these were not accepted at the time.

The inscription related to Sati Bhan De Kanwar Ji records:

१-श्री समत १७३५ व

२- र्षे मती भादवा सुदी २

३- वार सुकर प्रोहत धरमै

४- द अमजी सुत नं गल

५-घत नै भण दे सत हुई

६- राजगुरु दवारका दा

७- स री बेटी बरसे ११ सत

८- हुई भाटी रुघनाथ

९-केसवदसत उपर

१०- षेत वावड वल छ

११-टी दवण तंलकषद पा

१२-वे कोही नहीं

1. Samvat 1735

2. Bhadwa Sudi 2, on a Friday

3. Rajpurohit Dharmay (possibly Dharmanand)

4. Rajgurani Bhan De, aged 11, performed sat

5. Daughter of Rajguru Dwarkadas Ji of Basni

6. During the time of Rughnath Ji, son of Keshavdas Ji Bhati

7. Cenotaph and lands were sanctioned thereafter