Jaitly

'Jaitly or Jaitley or Jetley or jaitely is a surname from India and its surrounding regions. This is a Saraswat Brahmin surname and is part of 'Panjatias' (five subcastes). Panch Jāti (The five families) or "Panjatias" are Jaitely, Jhingan, Kumaria, Mohla & Trikha. Jaitelys are originally from Baramulla region of Jammu and Kashmir but are now found in Amritsar, Lahore, Rawalpindi and other areas of erstwhile west Punjab and some in jammu region, but now are spread all over northern India. Mostly the gotra of Jaitly is Vatsa, in the lineage (pravaras) of the sage Brahmarishi Bhrigu. Like the kashmiri pandits and other Saraswat Brahmins they were the original composers of Vedas and due to the extinction of the saraswati river they migrated to different areas some in Punjab region some to the low hills of the Pir Panjal Range .

There are several ways of spelling the name, including Jaiteley, Jaitli, and Jetli.

The early 20th century book by H. A. Rose, "A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province" summarized the variety of families and tribes of Vedic origin at the time. The Jaitly, or Jetley family is one of the five families that constitute the "Panjatias". The late 19th Century book by Jogendra N. Bhattacharya, "Hindu Castes and Sects" also gives the historical details of this Brahmin family.

The "Panjatias" are the highest order of Brahmins in the Punjab. The other families being: Mohle, Jhingan, Trikha and Kumaria. The "Panjatias" were also known as the purohits (chief Brahmins and royal courtiers) of the Dhaighar Khatris and have had very close relations with the Khatris of the Punjab for many millennia. Rose points out the story of Parashurama destroying the Kshatriyas of the world, when a pregnant woman of the caste took refuge with a Saraswat. When the child was born, the Saraswat invested the knowledge of the Vedas in him. The boy married 18 Kshatriya girls and his sons took the names of the various rishis and founded the lineage of the Khatris. It was this that led to the foundation, supposedly, of the Saraswats being the purohits of the ancient Khatris. Kulguru of Jaitley's were Baba Mahat.

Notable people

Jaitley

• Arun Jaitley (Indian politician; India)

Jaitly

• Celina Jaitly (Bollywood Actress; India)

Jetley

• Ranjit Lal Jetley, Maj-General
• Rajan Jetley, CEO of Air India and India Tourism Development Corporation