Koshta

Koshta people believe that they are the descendants of Markandeya Rishi,[3] or Rajhans, the king of Devagiri (Berar), who was given the title koshti ('man of virtues') in the year 1111 A.D. It is believed that after this episode, Koshta took jobs as soldiers in different princely states, such as in the armies of the Peshwas, Bundelkhand, Rani Lakshmibai and Tipu Sultan. The Koshtas (Koshti) are Kshatriyas and they claim descent from the mythological Suryavansh (Solar) dynasty via Kusha, who was one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita. The community identify themselves as belonging to Vaishnav sect.

The Koshti language is a distinct Indo-Aryan language with words derived from Sanskrit in either their tatsama or tadbhava form.[4] Koshti also contains words borrowed from languages like Marathi, Khari-boli, Bundeli, Chhattisgarhi and variants of Hindi.[3][5][6]

The Koshta traditionally worked as royal weavers, although industrialisation and the introduction of power looms beginning in the late 1800s heavily impacted the traditional handloom community.[7] The majority of Koshta today are employed in cotton and silk mills of both the public and private sectors. As the time has passed they have started small scale businesses and others have taken up jobs in various sectors.[8]