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The Bharadi of India

The Bharadi of India, numbering approximately 393,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Shaivite religious mendicant community of Maharashtra whose name derives from the Marathi word bharad, meaning recitation. They traditionally seek alms by reciting tales of Lord Shiva and serve as priests in Nath temples. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Marathi is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Bharadi

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Marathi (mar)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 393,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049518

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Pray for the Bharadi of India

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Marathi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Marathi Speakers

Media Resources in Marathi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Marathi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1993 Bible League International✓✓
Marathi New India Bible Version✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Marathi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bharadi are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Bharadi:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Bharadi of India

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.
readPsalm 66:4

Pray that the good news of Jesus will advance here and that many will bow down and sing praises to His name.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
readHebrews 10:26

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live with reverence for God and not deliberately keep sinning after they receive the knowledge of the truth.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
read3 John 1:2

Ask God to grant protection and good health — both physical and spiritual — to those He sends cross-culturally to share the gospel.

Bharadi Across Countries (ROP3 - 117735) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BharadiPG049518BharadiIndia393,000Engaged yet UnreachedMarathiHinduism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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