Pardhi is a tribe in India. The tribe is found mostly in Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh however small numbers can be found in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. The word Pardhi is derived from the Marathi (state language) word ‘Paradh’ which means hunting and Sanskrit word ‘papardhi’ which means hunting or the game to be hunted. In some parts of India Pardhis are known as Meywarees.
Pardhi tribe is divided in groups like Vaghri Pardhi and Phase Pardhi. These are further divided into subgroups like Pal Pardhi, Gav Pardhi, Takankar, Takari. Widely found surnames among them include Chauhan (Chavan), Rathod, Bhosle etc. They intermixed with Gujarati community and started speaking their language and also started worshipping Khodiyar Mata as their Kuldevi.