PÃÂá¹Âi is a surname used in India, found often in the state of Odisha (formerly Orissa). The surname PÃÂá¹Âi is widely used in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and a large part of eastern and central India. This surname is used by Brahmins whose root is claimed to be traced to Ujjain of Madhya Pradesh and to the period of Kalidasa.
There are two stories of how this surname (or caste name) came about. The first one says the great grammar pundit PÃÂá¹Âini is the ancestor of PÃÂá¹Âis, and the other story is that a king of Kalinga conferred the title PÃÂá¹Âi to Brahmins who could easily memorize all of the Vedas.
Pani reached their zenith and were revered as ministers in the period of king Vikramaditya (1st century AD).
Pani migrated to Orissa in the 12th century AD after king Jajati Keshari invited them for a yajna that was held to honour Shiva.
Pani families in Purulia district have been Zamindars (in Chakradharpur, Puri, Barabazar.
Some PÃÂá¹Âis migrated inland to the tribal areas of Jharkhand and settled during the Mughal period (17th century). (The migrants' descendants still identify themselves as residents of Orissa.) There are a few PÃÂá¹Âis from this migratory group in Jhargram in west bengal and in western Odisha.
Notable people with the surname include: