Jump to content

Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Tags: Reverted Mobile edit Mobile web edit
m Undid revision 1012687595 by Ramdhari Singh (talk)
Line 6: Line 6:
|religions=[[Hinduism]]|image=ศาลหลักเมือง เขตพระนคร กรุงเทพมหานคร (9).jpg|caption=Chitragupta in Bangkok City Pillar Shrine [[Thailand]].|region=[[Hindi Belt]] and [[Nepal]]}}
|religions=[[Hinduism]]|image=ศาลหลักเมือง เขตพระนคร กรุงเทพมหานคร (9).jpg|caption=Chitragupta in Bangkok City Pillar Shrine [[Thailand]].|region=[[Hindi Belt]] and [[Nepal]]}}
'''Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha,''' also referred as '''North Indian Kayastha,''' denotes a subgroup of [[Hindus]] of the [[Kayastha]] community that are mainly concentrated in the [[Hindi Belt]] of [[North India]]. They claim to be Kayastha Brahmins,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lokashasakmahakalchitraguptatathachabrahmakayasthagaudbrahmanaahsanatandharmatrustgorakhpur|title=Loka Shasak Maha Kal Chitragupta Tatha Cha Brahma Kayastha Gaud Brahmana|last=Shukla|first=Indrajit|publisher=Sanatan Dharm Trust|year=2016|location=Gorakhpur}}</ref> which was supported by Brahmin assemblies and Shankaracharya.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19472498.2014.969013?forwardService=showFullText&tokenAccess=sVutedPHyAb8P3Bex9c7&tokenDomain=eprints&doi=10.1080%2F19472498.2014.969013&doi=10.1080%2F19472498.2014.969013&journalCode=rsac20|title=Discourses of caste over the longue durée: Gopīnātha and social classification in India, ca. 1400–1900|last=OHanlon|first=Rosalind|publisher=Oxford University|year=2014|page=102 to 129|quote="On the 18th of October 1779, an assembly of learned Brahman in Banaras despatched a lengthy Sanskrit letter of ..."}}</ref><ref name="MiltonWagle">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/religionsocietyi00isra/page/173/mode/1up|title=Religion and Society in Maharashtra|editor=Milton Israel and N.K.Wagle|publisher=Center for South Asian Studies, University of Toronto, Canada|year= 1987|page=173| quote= The Shankaracharya's letter contains three documents which he produces verbatim, two from Banares Brahmins(1779, 1801)..}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |section-url=https://archive.org/details/ethnographicalno00chanrich/page/n73/mode/1up |title=Ethnographical notes on Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu |last=Gupte |first=TV |year=1904 |page=8 |section=Appendix I.(page 7) Translation of the letter addressed by the Benaras Pandits to the Peshwa Darbar|quote="Kayasthas are said to be of three sorts (kinds)— (1) the Chitragupta Kayasthas (2) Dhalbhaga Gatri Kshatriya Kayasthas and (3) Kayasthas of the mixed blood. The origin of Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas is given in the Puranas. He was born from the body of Brahma while he was contemplating how he should know the good and evil acts of living beings. He was a brilliant person with pen and ink in his hands. He was known as Chitragupta and was placed near the God of death. He was appointed to record the good and evil acts of men. He was a Brahmin possessed of supra sensible knowledge. He was a god sharing the offerings at sacrifices. All the Brahmins offer him oblations of rice before taking their meals. He is called Kayastha because of his origin from the body of Brahma. Many descendants of his bearing different Gotras still exist on this earth. From this it will be seen that Kayastha Brahmins of Karhada and Khandesha are the Brahma-Kayasthas. Now about the origin of Chandraseniya Kshatriya Kayastha.....(last line) In short the will of God is all powerful Sunday, 8th Day of the white half of the Ashvin month of the year 1701(saka)."}}</ref>
'''Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha,''' also referred as '''North Indian Kayastha,''' denotes a subgroup of [[Hindus]] of the [[Kayastha]] community that are mainly concentrated in the [[Hindi Belt]] of [[North India]]. They claim to be Kayastha Brahmins,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lokashasakmahakalchitraguptatathachabrahmakayasthagaudbrahmanaahsanatandharmatrustgorakhpur|title=Loka Shasak Maha Kal Chitragupta Tatha Cha Brahma Kayastha Gaud Brahmana|last=Shukla|first=Indrajit|publisher=Sanatan Dharm Trust|year=2016|location=Gorakhpur}}</ref> which was supported by Brahmin assemblies and Shankaracharya.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19472498.2014.969013?forwardService=showFullText&tokenAccess=sVutedPHyAb8P3Bex9c7&tokenDomain=eprints&doi=10.1080%2F19472498.2014.969013&doi=10.1080%2F19472498.2014.969013&journalCode=rsac20|title=Discourses of caste over the longue durée: Gopīnātha and social classification in India, ca. 1400–1900|last=OHanlon|first=Rosalind|publisher=Oxford University|year=2014|page=102 to 129|quote="On the 18th of October 1779, an assembly of learned Brahman in Banaras despatched a lengthy Sanskrit letter of ..."}}</ref><ref name="MiltonWagle">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/religionsocietyi00isra/page/173/mode/1up|title=Religion and Society in Maharashtra|editor=Milton Israel and N.K.Wagle|publisher=Center for South Asian Studies, University of Toronto, Canada|year= 1987|page=173| quote= The Shankaracharya's letter contains three documents which he produces verbatim, two from Banares Brahmins(1779, 1801)..}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |section-url=https://archive.org/details/ethnographicalno00chanrich/page/n73/mode/1up |title=Ethnographical notes on Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu |last=Gupte |first=TV |year=1904 |page=8 |section=Appendix I.(page 7) Translation of the letter addressed by the Benaras Pandits to the Peshwa Darbar|quote="Kayasthas are said to be of three sorts (kinds)— (1) the Chitragupta Kayasthas (2) Dhalbhaga Gatri Kshatriya Kayasthas and (3) Kayasthas of the mixed blood. The origin of Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas is given in the Puranas. He was born from the body of Brahma while he was contemplating how he should know the good and evil acts of living beings. He was a brilliant person with pen and ink in his hands. He was known as Chitragupta and was placed near the God of death. He was appointed to record the good and evil acts of men. He was a Brahmin possessed of supra sensible knowledge. He was a god sharing the offerings at sacrifices. All the Brahmins offer him oblations of rice before taking their meals. He is called Kayastha because of his origin from the body of Brahma. Many descendants of his bearing different Gotras still exist on this earth. From this it will be seen that Kayastha Brahmins of Karhada and Khandesha are the Brahma-Kayasthas. Now about the origin of Chandraseniya Kshatriya Kayastha.....(last line) In short the will of God is all powerful Sunday, 8th Day of the white half of the Ashvin month of the year 1701(saka)."}}</ref>
They fall in 'ayachak' classification of Brahmins.


== History ==
== History ==

Revision as of 21:18, 17 March 2021

Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha
Chitragupta in Bangkok City Pillar Shrine Thailand.
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesHindi
RegionHindi Belt and Nepal
SubdivisionsSrivastava, Mathur, Saxena, Nigam, Kulshreshtha, Bhatnagar, Ambashtha, Asthana, Suryadhwaj, Gaur, Karna, Valmik

Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha, also referred as North Indian Kayastha, denotes a subgroup of Hindus of the Kayastha community that are mainly concentrated in the Hindi Belt of North India. They claim to be Kayastha Brahmins,[1] which was supported by Brahmin assemblies and Shankaracharya.[2][3][4] They fall in 'ayachak' classification of Brahmins.

History

Early North India

The Kayasthas are mentioned as an office (not a caste) as early as the first century C.E.[5][6] As evidenced by literary and epigraphical texts, they emerged in the period between late ancient and early medieval India. Their emergence is explained by modern scholars as a consequence of "growth of state machinery, complication of taxation system and fast-spreading land-grant practice that required professional documenting fixation". Initially, the term Kayastha seems to have referred to an occupational class[7] and not a distinct social group. Gradually, the North Indian branch of Kayasthas consolidated into a distinct caste-like community somewhere around the 11th- 12th centuries CE[8] maintaining Chitragupta - the divine scribe as their grand ancestor. [9]

Over the centuries, the occupational histories of Kayasthas largely revolved around scribal services. However, these scribes did not simply take dictation but acted in the range of capacities better indicated by the term “secretary”. They used their training in law, literature, court language, accounting, litigation and many other areas to fulfil responsibilities in all these venues. As indicated by various epigraphic evidences, they acted in the capacity of a medieval office combining duties of both a secretary of war and a secretary of state (mahāsandhivigrahin).[10][11] Kayasthas were also responsible for writing Indic eulogies, known as prashastis for Hindu kings prior to Turkic invasions of North India.[12]

Apparently, the emergence of Kayasthas challenged the monopoly of Brahmins on intellectual occupations.[13][14]

According to Romila Thapar, Kayastha were a "powerful component of the upper bureaucracy and.... (though ranked lower than Brahmins) were on occasions highly respected as royal biographers and composers of lengthy inscriptions" and "inviting Kayasthas as professional scribes was (another) indicator of an established kingdom" in the early North India.[15] She also notes that "as recipients of office and holders of grants of land, brahmanas, kayasthas, and sreshtins (wealthy merchants) were moving into a cultural circle which attempted to diffuse a Sanskritic culture but not invariably with impressive results." [16]

According to Chitrarekha Gupta, Kayasthas were "highly educated and patronized art and culture" but at the same time "tax-paying common people were much suspicious of the Kayasthas because deceit lurked both in their tongues as well as in their documents". [17] Indeed, Kayasthas had earned some reputation for being deceitful and thus became a target of many works of medieval Indian satire. For example, Kshemendra's 11th century work Narmamālā narrates the adventures of an "ambitious, greedy and ignorant" Kayastha who manages to become a minister and as a result ruined the whole country.[18] Kshemendra argues in his work that Kayasthas' invention of a separate script was a method to defraud people so that good kings even though knowing their Kayasthas to be "eager to kill, robbers of others' property, rogues and demons" had to befriend them in order to balance the treasury. [19]

According to K. Leonard, "Kayasthas are an example of the social mobility of a caste through association with a ruler, rather than through Sanskrtization (emulation of Brahmin culture) or through military conquest (like Rajputs)". [20] By the early-medieval era, various branches of Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas had become highly influential in the administration of contemporary kingdoms and started asserting their identities.[21][22] The epigraphic sources reveal that some of these Kayastha families even had the status of being feudatories (thakkura); some had earned the title of Pandita for their extensive learning while others being financially sound commissioned construction of Hindu temples.[23][24][25] The author of the 11th century Sanskrit work Udayasundarī Kathā, Soḍḍhala describes himself as a Kayastha and at the same time claims to be Kshatriya. He claims to be Vālabha-Kayastha as he hailed from Vallabhi.[26] The earliest epigraphic mention of Chitragupta having any connection with the Kayasthas also appears around the same period from a royal charter (dated 1115 AD) of Govindachandra of Kannauj written by a Vāstavya-Kayastha Thakkura (i.e. Srivastava branch of Kayastha) named Jalhaṇa.[27] Similar epigraphic records mention Māthuranvaya-Kayastha (Mathur) and Naigama-Kayastha (Nigam) holding important administrative positions under the Chahamana and Paramara dynasties.[28][29][30]

Kayastha chiefs descended from North Indian Kayasthas ruled over vast swathes of land in Andhra country, and they are recorded in Andhra history dating back to the 13th century CE.[31][32]

Indo-Islamic Era

The rise of Timuri political power after the sixteenth century had the effect of opening new, albeit subordinate, roles for Kayasthas.[33] The North-Indian Kayasthas were some of the first groups to learn Persian regularly even before it became the court language.[34] Kayasthas were a major demographic block in maktabs (equivalent of primary school) where they acquired skills of copying and writing, which were necessary for working in various Mughal departments.[35] Thus, Kayasthas became conversant with and literate in wider Perso-Arabic fiscal lexicon[36] and started to fulfil requirements of the Mughal administration as qanungos (registrars) and patwaris (accountants).[37] Kayasthas, according to Irfan Habib, were the "second layer" of revenue management in Mughal India, dealing with rudiments of revenue collection, land records, and paper management, where their basic Persian literacy and copying skills were put to use. [38]

By the eighteenth century, Kayasthas' control of the qanungo position had essentially become hereditary.[39]

Some Kayasthas were elevated to high ranking positions, such as Raghunath Ray Kayastha (d. 1664)—the Mughal Empire's "acting wazir" and finance minister, whom Emperor Aurangzeb regarded as the greatest administrator he had ever met, and Chandar Bhan Brahman referred to as the "frontispiece in the book of the men of the pen of Hindustan". Raghunath had not only backed Aurangzeb in his attempt to secure the throne during the Mughal war of succession, but he had also fought against princes Dara Shukoh and Shah Shuja later on.[40] Emperor Akbar's finance minister, Raja Todar Mal (born in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh), is often referred to as a Kayastha or Khatri.[41] In fact, it was under Akbar's reign and Todar Mal's encouragement that most Kayasthas learnt Persian and were appointed as qanungos.[42]

As their participation in Indo-Persian cultural forms grew, so did their interactions with Muslims, and the Kayasthas gradually became loosely integrated into an Indo-Muslim governing community. [43] The North Indian Kayasthas, in contrast to CKPs and Bengali Kayasthas, became known for adopting an Indo-Muslim lifestyle, which was reflected in their attire, mannerism, and a common affinity for sharab (wine) with Muslim aristocracy.[44] To navigate the Indo-Muslim circle of service and literacy, many adopted Perso-Arabic pennames. [43]

Table 1. Some Perso-Arabic pennames and titles adopted by North Indian Kayasthas
Name Meaning
Raizada Son of a king (Rais), or boss
Malik Chief
Bakshi Paymaster
Inamdar The rewarded one
Qanungo Of the law/custom/registrar
Daftri Office-person
Daulatzada Son of authority
Umid Hope
Gulab Rosewater
Daulat Wealth
Fateh Victory
Farhad Happiness

The ulama, Muslim aristocracy, and Persian poets, on the other hand, looked down on Kayasthas for wielding influence, labelling them "disloyal, cruel, cheats, and extortionists". According to Ayesha Jalal, unless it was a full-fledged conversion some Muslims kept Hindus ‘at a figurative and literal arm’s length’. One Muslim commentator noted that the Hindu pensman who spoke Persian was a ‘neo-Muslim, but still retained [sic] the smell of kufr [infidelity] and discord in his heart'. [45] The Muslim reformer Shah Waliullah once complained that ‘all [of India’s] accountants and clerks [are] Hindus…they control [sic] the country’s wealth’. Kayasthas had to try and convince Muslims that they did not represent infidelity in Islam, as ulama claimed.[46]

Many Kayasthas actually left their sacred thread (suta) at home when Emperor Aurangzeb made it illegal to wear it at court.[47]

Kaithi Script

Kaithi Script (left side bottom most line) on the Coins of Sher Shah Suri

Kaithi is a historical Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of Northern India. It was the most widely used script of North India west of Bengal. The script derives its name from the word Kayastha.[48] Documents in Kaithi are traceable to at least the 16th century. The script was widely used during the Mughal period. During the British Raj, the script was recognised as the official script of the law courts in some provinces. John Nesfield in Oudh, George Campbell of Inverneill in Bihar and a committee in Bengal all advocated for the use of Kaithi script in education.[49]

Etymology

According to Merriam-Webster, the word Kāyastha is probably formed from the Sanskrit kāya (body), and the suffix -stha (standing, being in).[50] The suffix vanshi is derived from the Sanskrit word vansh (वंश) which translates to belonging to a particular family dynasty.[51] According to Brahmanical literature, Chitragupta had two wives- Shobhavati, who was daughter of a Brahmin Susharma, and Nandini, who was daughter of a Kshatriya Shradhadev Manu, respectively and the descendants of their 12 sons form the 12 sub-groups of this community.[52][53]

References

  1. ^ Shukla, Indrajit (2016). Loka Shasak Maha Kal Chitragupta Tatha Cha Brahma Kayastha Gaud Brahmana. Gorakhpur: Sanatan Dharm Trust.
  2. ^ OHanlon, Rosalind (2014). Discourses of caste over the longue durée: Gopīnātha and social classification in India, ca. 1400–1900. Oxford University. p. 102 to 129. On the 18th of October 1779, an assembly of learned Brahman in Banaras despatched a lengthy Sanskrit letter of ...
  3. ^ Milton Israel and N.K.Wagle, ed. (1987). Religion and Society in Maharashtra. Center for South Asian Studies, University of Toronto, Canada. p. 173. The Shankaracharya's letter contains three documents which he produces verbatim, two from Banares Brahmins(1779, 1801)..
  4. ^ Gupte, TV (1904). "Appendix I.(page 7) Translation of the letter addressed by the Benaras Pandits to the Peshwa Darbar". Ethnographical notes on Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu. p. 8. Kayasthas are said to be of three sorts (kinds)— (1) the Chitragupta Kayasthas (2) Dhalbhaga Gatri Kshatriya Kayasthas and (3) Kayasthas of the mixed blood. The origin of Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas is given in the Puranas. He was born from the body of Brahma while he was contemplating how he should know the good and evil acts of living beings. He was a brilliant person with pen and ink in his hands. He was known as Chitragupta and was placed near the God of death. He was appointed to record the good and evil acts of men. He was a Brahmin possessed of supra sensible knowledge. He was a god sharing the offerings at sacrifices. All the Brahmins offer him oblations of rice before taking their meals. He is called Kayastha because of his origin from the body of Brahma. Many descendants of his bearing different Gotras still exist on this earth. From this it will be seen that Kayastha Brahmins of Karhada and Khandesha are the Brahma-Kayasthas. Now about the origin of Chandraseniya Kshatriya Kayastha.....(last line) In short the will of God is all powerful Sunday, 8th Day of the white half of the Ashvin month of the year 1701(saka).
  5. ^ Davidson, Ronald M (2005). Tibetan renaissance : Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan culture. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-231-50889-6. OCLC 808346313.
  6. ^ Visvanathan, Meera (2014). "From the "lekhaka" to the Kāyastha: Scribes in Early Historic Court and Society (200 BCE-200 CE)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 75: 37. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44158358.
  7. ^ Das, Sukla (1980). Socio-economic Life of Northern India. Abhinav Publications. p. 64. ISBN 9788170171164. Thus during the Gupta Period, the Kayasthas meant a scribal profession rather than separate caste
  8. ^ SHAH, K.K. (1993). "SELF LEGITIMATION AND SOCIAL PRIMACY: A Case Study of Some Kayastha Inscriptions From Central India". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 54: 859. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44143088 – via JSTOR. By the 11th-12th centuries AD it appears various subcastes of the Kayasthas and consolidated because from contemporary inscriptions we learn of epithets such as Mathura, Saksena, Naigama Katariya qualifying their Kayastha identity in various parts of northern India.
  9. ^ Vanina, Eugenia (2012). Medieval Indian mindscapes : space, time, society, man. New Delhi: Primus Books. p. 178. ISBN 978-93-80607-19-1. OCLC 794922930. Initially, these term referred only to the appointment of men from various castes, mainly Brahmans, into the Kayastha post. Gradually, the Kayasthas emerged as a caste-like...
    This group as demontrated by epigraphical....that required professional documenting fixation.
  10. ^ Davidson, Ronald M. (2005). Tibetan renaissance : Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan culture. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-231-50889-6. OCLC 808346313.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. ^ Carroll, Lucy (February 1978). "Colonial Perceptions of Indian Society and the Emergence of Caste(s) Associations". The Journal of Asian Studies. 37 (2): 233–250. doi:10.2307/2054164. JSTOR 2054164.
  12. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (January 2017). "The Formation of the Colonial State in India". Routledge Studies in South Asian History (1 ed.): 220. doi:10.4324/9780203762011. ISBN 9780203762011 – via Routledge - Taylor and Francis group.
  13. ^ Vanina, Eugenia (2012). Medieval Indian mindscapes : space, time, society, man. New Delhi: Primus Books. p. 178. ISBN 978-93-80607-19-1. OCLC 794922930. The monopoly of Brahmanas on intellectual occupations began, since early medieval period, to be challenged by the scribal community of kayasthas....
  14. ^ Thapar, Romila (2013). The Past Before Us : historical traditions of early north India. Cambridge, Massachusetts. ISBN 978-0-674-72651-2. OCLC 859536567. The imprint of Brahmanical learning influenced other contenders for the status of intellectuals. Foremost among these were the Kāyasthas. Even as a functional group, they had come to be associated with extensive learning.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ^ Thapar, Romila (2013). The Past Before Us : Historical traditions of early north India. Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp. 525, 539, 565. ISBN 978-0-674-72651-2. OCLC 859536567.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ Thapar, Romila (2013). The Past Before Us : Historical traditions of early north India. Cambridge, Massachusetts. p. 578. ISBN 978-0-674-72651-2. OCLC 859536567.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ^ Davidson, Ronald M (2008). Tibetan renaissance : Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan culture. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 179–180. ISBN 978-81-208-3278-7. OCLC 319585768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  18. ^ Vanina, Eugenia (2012). Medieval Indian mindscapes : space, time, society, man. New Delhi: Primus Books. p. 179. ISBN 978-93-80607-19-1. OCLC 794922930.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  19. ^ Davidson, Ronald M (2008). Tibetan renaissance : Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan culture. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 179–180. ISBN 978-81-208-3278-7. OCLC 319585768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  20. ^ Kolenda, Pauline M. (1980). "Social History of an Indian Caste: The Kayasths of Hyderabad. Karen I. Leonard". American Anthropologist. 82 (1): 218. doi:10.1525/aa.1980.82.1.02a00990. ISSN 1548-1433.
  21. ^ Thapar, Romila (2013). The Past Before Us : Historical traditions of early north India. Cambridge, Massachusetts. p. 575. ISBN 978-0-674-72651-2. OCLC 859536567. Their ambiguous caste status in Brahmanical social codes may have encouraged them when acquiring office to insist on recording their origins and history as an assertion of identity. This may have been partly conditioned by the many branches of the kayastha caste that had become powerful in the administration of contemporary kingdoms.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  22. ^ SHAH, K.K. (1993). "SELF LEGITIMATION AND SOCIAL PRIMACY: A Case Study of Some Kayastha Inscriptions From Central India". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 54: 859. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44143088 – via JSTOR. By the 11th-12th centuries AD it appears various subcastes of the Kayasthas and consolidated because from contemporary inscriptions we learn of epithets such as Mathura, Saksena, Naigama Katariya qualifying their Kayastha identity in various parts of northern India.
  23. ^ Kumar, Saurabh (2015). "Rural Society and Rural Economy in the Ganga Valley during the Gahadavalas". Social Scientist. 43 (5/6): 29–45. ISSN 0970-0293. JSTOR 24642345 – via JSTOR. One thing is clear that by this time, kayasthas had come to acquire prominent places in the court and officialdom and some were financially well-off to commission the construction of temples, while others were well-versed in the requisite fields of Vedic lore to earn the title of pandita for themselves. In our study, the epigraphic sources do not indicate the oppressive nature of kayastha officials.

    Like the contemporary brahmanas and ksatriyas, some kayasthas and karanikas enjoyed the status of thakkura.
  24. ^ Mazumdar, Bhakat Prasad (1960). "Castes and Professions". Socio-economic History of Northern India: (1030 - 1194 A.D.). Mukhopadhyay. pp. 103–104. Another sub-caste of the Kayasthas was the Mathur-anvaya Kayasthas, who probably...as a feudal vassal, with the title of Thakkura, the name of one Udayasiha is mentioned in the...
  25. ^ Mazumdar, Bhakat Prasad (1960). "Castes and Professions". Socio-economic History of Northern India: (1030 - 1194 A.D.). Mukhopadhyay. pp. 101–103. Members of Vastavya community rose to very high positions. They enjoyed the feudatory status of Thakkura under the Gahadavala Kings under Govindachandra and Jayachandra, and the Chandela King Bhojavarman...
  26. ^ Ghosh, Jogendra Chandra; Ghosh, Jogesh Chandra (1931). "Gleanings from the Udayasundarī-Kathā". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 13 (3/4): 198, 201. ISSN 0378-1143. JSTOR 41688244 – via JSTOR. They spread themselves to metropolitan towns for the triumph of the Kshatriyas and as supporters of the creeper of royal prosperity. They came to be known as Vãlabha Kãyasthas as they hailed from Valabh. (198)
    Soddhala calls himself a Käyastha and at the same time claims to be a Ksatriya. There can be no doubt as to his claim to the Ksatriyahood, as his book containing the...(201)
  27. ^ Ghosh, Jogendra Chandra; Ghosh, Jogesh Chandra (1931). "Gleanings from the Udayasundarī-Kathā". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 13 (3/4): 202. ISSN 0378-1143. JSTOR 41688244 – via JSTOR.
  28. ^ Asopa, Jai Narayan (1990). A Socio-political and Economic Study, Northern India. Prateeksha Publications. p. 318. Similarly, the Mathuranvaya and Vallabyha wrote the charters of the Chahamana and Paramara Kings.
  29. ^ SHARMA, KRISHNA GOPAL (1991). "Light on Social Set-Up and Social Life from the Early Jaina Inscriptions from Rajasthan (Upto 1200 A.d.): Summary". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 52: 199–200. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44142598 – via JSTOR. Our inscriptions mention Kayasthas as a separate caste, though they are seen associated with their hereditary profession. Two families of the Kayasthas emerge prominently, the family of the Naigamas and the Valabha family. One Kayastha is shown as holding the coveted position of a Sandhivigrahi.
  30. ^ Mazumdar, Bhakat Prasad (1960). "Castes and Professions". Socio-economic History of Northern India: (1030 - 1194 A.D.). Mukhopadhyay. pp. 103–104. Another sub-caste of the Kayasthas was the Mathuranvaya Kayasthas, who probably...as a feudal vassal, with the title of Thakkura, the name of one Udayasiha is mentioned in the...
  31. ^ Devi, Yashoda M. The History Of Andhra Country 1000 A D 1500 A D. pp. 401–419. CHAPTER 19. THE KAYASTHAS. The Kayasthas as defacto independent rulers
  32. ^ Government, Andhra Pradesh (1960). The History Of Andhra Pradesh Government Archaeological Series. p. 103. the Kayastha chiefs of the Kakatiyās had dislodged the Pandyan occupation of this area.
  33. ^ BELLENOIT, HAYDEN (2014). "Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen, c. 1750–1850". Modern Asian Studies. 48 (4): 878. ISSN 0026-749X.
  34. ^ BELLENOIT, HAYDEN (2014). "Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen, c. 1750–1850". Modern Asian Studies. 48 (4): 879. ISSN 0026-749X – via JSTOR. With the expansion of Mughal power into north, east and central India, Kayasthas were some of the first groups to learn Persian more regularly; some had been loosely exposed to it under the Delhi Sultanates. In Bulandshahr and the Punjab, for example, Kayasthas started learning Persian before the formal establishment of Mughal power, whilst in Meerut they were amongst the very first Hindus to learn the new language of India's conquerors.
  35. ^ BELLENOIT, HAYDEN (2014). "Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen, c. 1750–1850". Modern Asian Studies. 48 (4): 882. ISSN 0026-749X.
  36. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (2017). "Revenue administration and scribal skills in late Mughal India, c. 1650-1750". The Formation of the Colonial State in India: Scribes, Paper and Taxes, 1760-1860. Routledge. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-134-49436-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  37. ^ BELLENOIT, HAYDEN (2014). "Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen, c. 1750–1850". Modern Asian Studies. 48 (4): 872. ISSN 0026-749X – via JSTOR. It also examines the Kayastha pensmen who became an exponentially significant component of an Indo-Muslim revenue administration. They assisted the extension of Mughal revenue collection capabilities as qanungos (registrars) and patwaris (accountants).
  38. ^ BELLENOIT, HAYDEN (2014). "Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen, c. 1750–1850". Modern Asian Studies. 48 (4): 884. ISSN 0026-749X.
  39. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (2017). The formation of the colonial state in India: scribes, paper and taxes, 1760-1860. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3. OCLC 973222959. Kayasthas, as we have seen, had positioned themselves as indispensable paper managers for the Mughals, most acutely under Emperor Aurangzeb, by 1700. We can discern a few trends in their patterns of employment. For one, Kayasthas' dominance of the qanungo position had largely become hereditary by the eighteenth century. Most Kayastha qanungos were appointed 'in the time of Akbar'.
  40. ^ Kinra, Rajeev (2015). Writing Self, Writing Empire. University of California Press. pp. 53, 82. doi:10.1525/luminos.3. ISBN 978-0-520-96168-5. Later in life, Aurangzeb wrote fondly of Raja Raghunath in letters to others,praising the raja's abilities and even quoting his sage advice on how to appoint good administrators.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  41. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (2017). The formation of the colonial state in India: scribes, paper and taxes, 1760-1860. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3. OCLC 973222959. The joust over whether Akbar's eagle-eyed financial reformer, Todar Mal ('that paragon of Hindu wazirs) was either a Kayastha or Khattri....
  42. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (2017). The formation of the colonial state in India: scribes, paper and taxes, 1760-1860. pp. 40, 57. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3. OCLC 973222959. It was really after Emperor Akbar, and perhaps due to the influence of Raja Todar Mal, that Kayasthas became more heavily invested as subordinate stakeholders in the Mughal revenue administration.... Many Kayasthas learnt the Persian language from their Iranian tutors under Akbar's and Todar Mal's encouragement.
  43. ^ a b BELLENOIT, HAYDEN (2014). "Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen, c. 1750–1850". Modern Asian Studies. 48 (4): 886. ISSN 0026-749X.
  44. ^ BELLENOIT, HAYDEN (2014). "Between qanungos and clerks: the cultural and service worlds of Hindustan's pensmen, c. 1750–1850". Modern Asian Studies. 48 (4): 880. ISSN 0026-749X – via JSTOR. Yet Kayastha lifestyles could also vary regionally. Bengali Kayasthas were far more 'Brahmanical in their lifestyles and customs with regard to diet, whereas Bihari and Awadhi Kayasthas took on much more of an Indo-Muslim dress, mannerisms and a shared affinity for sharab with the scions of Muslim nobility.
  45. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (2017). "The pensmen and scribal communities of Hindustan". The formation of the colonial state in India : scribes, paper and taxes, 1760-1860. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3. OCLC 973222959.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  46. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (2017). "The pensmen and scribal communities of Hindustan". The formation of the colonial state in India : scribes, paper and taxes, 1760-1860. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3. OCLC 973222959.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  47. ^ Bellenoit, Hayden J. (2017). The formation of the colonial state in India: scribes, paper and taxes, 1760-1860. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3. OCLC 973222959.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  48. ^ Grierson, George A. 1899. A Handbook to the Kaithi Character. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.
  49. ^ Rai, Alok (2007). Hindi Nationalism (Reprint ed.). London: Sangam Books. p. 51. ISBN 978-81-250-1979-4.
  50. ^ "Kayastha". Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  51. ^ "vaMza". Spokensanskrit.org.
  52. ^ Rajnī Kānt Śāstrī (1949). Hindū jati kā utthān aur patan. Kitab Mahal. अब चित्रगुप्त के विवाह संबंध की वार्ता सुनिए। इनकी दो स्त्रियां थीं-(१)सुशर्मा ब्राह्मण की कन्या शुभावती (ब्राह्मणी) जिसके आठ पुत्र हुए श्रौर (२)श्राद्धदेव मनु की पुत्री नन्दिनी (चत्रिया) जिसके चार पुत्र हुए।
  53. ^ Hayden J. Bellenoit (17 February 2017). The Formation of the Colonial State in India: Scribes, Paper and Taxes, 1760–1860. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3. The north Indian Kayasthas are divided into 12 subgroups, reflecting King Chitragupta's marriage to Devi Nandini and Devi Shobhavati

Bibliography

  1. Sinha, Ranjit K. (2014). The Kayastha Caste of India: Antiquity, Tradition and Modernity. Patna, Bihar: Indo books. ISBN 9789350741139.
  2. Prasad, K.; LLC, Books (2018). The Kayastha Ethnology, an Enquiry Into the Origin of the Chitraguptavansi and Chandrasenavansi Kayasthas. Creative Media Partners. pp. 34–69, 75–78. ISBN 9780343919894.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chitraguptavanshi_Kayastha&oldid=1012706045"