Other
Spellings: Kayastha or Kayasth
Gotra: All Kayasthas belong to Kashyap Gotra.
Sub-Castes: Kayasthas are divided into following 12 sub
castes - Ambastha, Asthana, Balmik, Bhatnagar, Gour, Karan,
Kulshreshta, Mathur, Nigam, Saxena, Srivastava and Suryadhwaja
Religion: Hindu
Varna: In most of North India, Kayastha are regarded as
Vaishya
Chief Deity: Maharaj Chitragupta
Language: Hindi
Regional Spread: Mainly northern and eastern part of India
Traditional Occupation: Traditional occupation of Kayasthas
was white-collar activity, clerks, bookkeepers and scribers for the
ruling authority and the like. Today, Kayasthas are making their
mark in all fields.
Population: 5-7 million (approx.)
Founder: Lord Brahma, according to mythology
Time of Origin: It is considered to be a fairly ancient
caste. References of Kayasthas can be found in the later Puranas and
Samhitas. Their geographical distribution from Bengal to Punjab also
proves that Kayasthas originated long time ago.
Food Habits: Prefer Non-Vegetarian food
Marriage Preference: In present times, Inter-Caste marriages
are very common in Kayasthas
Famous Personalities: Kayastha have contributed in various
fields:
- Politicians: Dr.
Rajendra Prasad, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jyoti
Basu
- Freedom Fighters: Bipin
Chandra Pal, Subhash Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Khudiram
Bose, Sri Aurobindo, Rashbehari Bose and Lala Hardayal
- Poet/Author: Premchand,
Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ramkumar Verma, Mahadevi Varma,
Vrindavanlal Verma, Bhagwati Charan Verma, Bimal Mitra,
Premendra Mitra, Raghupati Sahai 'Firaq' Gorakhpuri and
Dhirendra Verma
- Acotors/Singer:
Amitabh
Bachchan,
Shatrughan
Sinha, Utpal Dutt, Nutan, Tanuja, Motilal,
Nandita
Das, TV personality Shekhar Suman and singers
Mukesh, Manna Dey and Sonu Nigam.
- Scientist: Shanti
Swaroop Bhatnagar, Jagadis Chandra Bose, Satyendra Nath Bose,
Ashesh Prosade Mitra, Mriganka Sur, Ashoka Jahnavi-Prasad, Sisir
Kumar Mitra
History and Origin: According to Hindu mythology, Lord
Bramha - the Creator created 16 sons from various parts of his own
body. Shree Chitraguptjee was his 17th creation, which he created
from his mind and soul. Hence, Chitraguptjee is considered to be
divine incarnation in human form. He is called 'Kayastha' since he
is believed to be the only creation of Lord Bramha, created in
entirety ('Kaya' means body and 'stha' means encompassing the whole)
from the Lord's body unlike the other 16 sons who were created only
from some specific parts of Lord Brahma. Some historians say, Shree
Chitraguptjee, and hence the Kayasthas, were accorded a dual caste
status, namely Kshatritya (the warrior class) and Brahmin (the
learned).
According to popular legend, Chitragupta is employed by Yamaraj,
the God of Death, to maintain records about every human in
Mrityulok, or the mortal world. Hence Kayastha became caste of
scribes. Some scholars however say, Chitragupta decided that his
lineage would wield the pen (quill) as its weapon rather than the
sword.
Kayasthas are subdivided into 12 main sub-castes that are believed
to have originated from the 12 sons of Maharaj Chitragupta and his
two wives.
