Compared to other Patidar subcastes such as the Kadavas, they had greater wealth and control of positions in commerce, education, and producer cooperatives.
[1][2] Leva Patels originated from the Katha Vistar Taluka Bhachau Jillo Kutch-Bhuj Gujarat, Kheda district of Gujarat as Shudra.
However, these legends are of dubious reliability, and are an example of the invention of tradition.
[5] The most popular of these traditions is that Levas descend from Lava, son of the deity Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana.
[6][7] The Levas claim that their name derives from Lava; however, it actually is a corruption of Reva, the local name for the Narmada River.