How Saurashtra Families Write a Marriage Biodata

A Saurashtra marriage biodata is a Gujarati lagna biodata with the gaam (village) and taluka near the top, the samaj with its sub-group, the kuldevi, the family's farmland or business, and the usual birth, education, job and family lines. Many Kathiyawadi families now live in Surat or Ahmedabad, but the biodata still names the village in Amreli, Rajkot or Bhavnagar district, because that is how the samaj places them.

The format is mostly in Gujarati. English is common for families in Surat's diamond trade with relatives in Antwerp, or with sons in the US and Canada.

Lines a Saurashtra Biodata Carries

Land in Saurashtra is often counted in vigha, and the size of a vigha is not the same everywhere. If the other family is outside Gujarat, add the acres from your land papers in brackets.

Gaam First, Even in Surat

A large number of Saurashtra families, Leuva and Kadva Patels especially, moved to Surat over the last few decades to work in diamond cutting and polishing, and many now own units there. Areas like Varachha and Katargam are full of families from Amreli, Bhavnagar and Rajkot districts.

Those families still look for a match within their samaj and often within a known circle of villages. So the gaam and taluka go high up on the biodata, and the Surat area comes after it. "Gaam: a village in Babra taluka, Amreli. Present: Katargam, Surat" says it all.

Samaj and Kuldevi

The samaj line rarely says just "Patel". It says Leuva or Kadva. Among Leuva Patels, Khodiyar Maa is widely revered, and the Khodaldham temple at Kagvad near Jetpur is a big gathering place. Kadva Patel families often have Umiya Mataji as their kuldevi.

Ahir, Karadia Rajput, Koli, Mer, Charan, Lohana and Brahmin families each have their own kuldevi and sub-group lines. Write them the way your elders do. Our Patel biodata guide has more wording for Leuva and Kadva families.

Farming, Diamonds and the Job Line

Saurashtra biodatas often describe work in two places: farming in the gaam and a business or job in the city. Write both honestly. "Father: farming, 20 vigha, village near Gondal. Brother: diamond unit, Surat" tells the other family how the household lives.

For the boy's own job, write the work, the place and since when: "Diamond assorting, own unit with brother, Surat, since 2016". For a salaried job, write the company type and city. Families in Saurashtra are frank about money, but write income only if your family is comfortable sharing it.

Gujarati or English?

Gujarati is the usual choice in Rajkot, Amreli, Junagadh and the villages. Many Surat families use Gujarati too. English suits NRI matches and families outside Gujarat.

On a Gujarati biodata from our maker, the labels print in Gujarati: Caste / Community as જ્ઞાતિ / સમાજ, Native Place as મૂળ વતન, Gotra as ગોત્ર, Nakshatra as નક્ષત્ર. Kathiyawadi words like vigha can stay as they are in the details.

The Top of the Biodata

Saurashtra is home to Dwarka and Somnath, and to big Swaminarayan centres like Gadhada and Junagadh. So ॥ જય શ્રી કૃષ્ણ ॥, ॥ જય સ્વામિનારાયણ ॥ and ॥ જય માતાજી ॥ are all common top lines, along with ॥ શ્રી ગણેશાય નમઃ ॥. All four are in our Gujarati list.

Families devoted to Khodiyar Maa often write ॥ જય ખોડિયાર માં ॥. Use Write My Own for that, or for your kuldevi's name.

How Biodatas Are Shared in Saurashtra

Samaj organisations run parichay melas (introduction meets) in Rajkot and Surat, and many hold samuh lagna, mass weddings where dozens of couples from one samaj marry on the same day. Families who plan to marry in a samuh lagna often meet through the same samaj network.

WhatsApp groups, by samaj and by village, carry most biodatas now. Relatives in Surat and the gaam pass them along within hours. Keep the PDF to one page, and write the area and village, not the flat or house number.

A Filled Sample

The details below are made up for this page.

Look at "Manubhai" inside the full name. Saurashtra families, like most Gujarati families, often write the father's first name as the middle name.

Making It in Our Maker

Choose Gujarati or English. Diet, Current City and Maternal Uncle are under Add More Details. Add Kuldevi, Mosal or Farmland with Add Your Own Field, typed in Gujarati if you like.

Rashi and nakshatra fill in from the birth details for families who match the janmakshar. Our Gujarat biodata guide covers lines common across Gujarat, and you can start the biodata here.