Kayastha

Kayastha
कायस्थ / কায়স্থ

"Calcutta Kayasth", from a 19th Century book
Languages
Hindi, Assamese, Maithili, Urdu, Bengali, Marathi, and Oriya
Religion
Hinduism

Kāyastha or Kayasth (Template:Lang-hi kāyastha, Template:Lang-bn kaeostho) is a community or social group of India. Their tradition states that they are derived from a deity known as Chitragupta, whom they revere as their ancestor. Historically the Kayastha are found in north-central and eastern India, particularly Bengal, and are traditionally a caste of scribes.

Both the origins of the Kayastha (legendary and historical), as well as their position within the Hindu varna caste system, are highly disputed topics.

Varna controversy

Even among the various groups of Kayastha, disparate groups claim different varna. The Chitragupta Kayasthas (Brahma Kayashta or Kayastha Brahman) claim Brahmin status, though this was refuted by other Brahmin groups. Bengali Kayasthas claim their origin from King Bhadrasen and his Kshatriya subjects. Historically Bengali Kayasthas emerged as a sub-caste of Kshatriyas who started looking after administration in newly formed Kingdoms. Some of them even formed their own independent Kingdoms for example the Deva dynasty, Chandra dynasty, Shur dynasty etc. Similarly, the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (Rajanya Kshatriya Kayasthas, from the Haiyaya family) claim Kshatriya through descent from a Kshatriya king.

Origin

Amogst other legends, Kayastha is a mix blood community formed of mix marriages during the Magadha period. A progeny of father of Vaidya community and wife from Brahman community formed in Bengal. In north India a progeny of Sudra mother and Brahman father and in Maharashtra mostly Kshatrya father and Kshatrya mother formed this community.

The Kayastha trace their genealogy from Chitragupta. Per legend, after Brahma had created the four Varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras), Yama (Dharamraj) requested Brahma to help him record the deeds, both good and evil, of men and to administer justice. According to the scriptures, Lord Brahma went into meditation for 11,000 years and when he opened his eyes he saw a man holding a pen and ink-pot in his hands, as well as a sword girdled to his waist. Lord Brahma spoke:

Thou hast been created from my body (kaya); therefore, shall thy progeny be known as the Kayasthas. Thou hast been conceived in my mind (chitra) and in secrecy (gupta); thy name shall also be Chitragupta.

Family tree

Chitragupta married two wives, Nandani and Shobhavati and had twelve divine sons; four from the former and eight from the latter. The twelve sons started the twelve main branches of Kayastha:

• Mathur
• Gaur/Gour
• Bhatnagar
• Saxena
• Ambashtha
• Nigam
• Karn (Karanam)
• Kulshreshtha
• Srivastava (or Shrivastava, Varma)
• Surdhwaja
• Khare
• Asthana

Als

These twelve sub-castes of Kayastha are further divided into sub-divisions known as als. The concept of the all differs from that of the gotra'.

Culture

Marriage practices

Kayasthas practice family exogamy and caste endogamy preferring to marry within specific sub-castes. The individuals of same al (sub-lineage) cannot intermarry, while those of same caste and different als can.

Distinctive worship

Kayasthas worship their ancestor Chitragupta, and follow the distinctive practice of Kalam-Dawaat Pooja, a ritual in which pens, papers and books are worshiped. Both these rituals are performed on the Yama Dwitiya, the day when Chitragupt was created by Bramha and Yamaraj was relieved of his duties to visit his sister Yamuna. On this day, celebrated by many Hindus as Bhai Dooj, the Kayastha celebrate Shri Chitraguptajayanti, the "birthday" of their progenitor.

History

The scholar S. N. Sadasivan notes that there is no mention of the Kayastha in the historical record prior to the writings of the poet and historian Kalhana, in Kashmir in the 12th century AD. Kalhana wrote:

The crab kills its father, and the white ant destroys her mother, but the ungrateful Kayastha when he has become powerful destroys everything. If ever a man of mark raises up to the Kayastha and gives him distinction, the rogue, just as [if he were] a Vetala, slays him without scruple.

Ancient India

Kayastha ministers find mention in Hindu mythology. Prior to the Raghuvanshis, Ayodhya was ruled by Mathur Rulers, progeny of Chitragupta.

The Kayastha who are represented by the "Kayath" or the hereditary caste of the scribes of the present day, formed originally a sub-military class. The Anthropological Survey of India conducted a survey during the British Raj which concluded that the Kayastha community were also influential during the Mauryan period as administrators. Also, many proof have been found that the Hindu Kings used to grant lands to the Kayasthas, a practise enjoyed only by a particular caste.

The Kayastha were one of the most influential caste in Kashmiri politics around 7th century. In these and contemporary Sanskrit literature we come across the Kayasthas being described as kings, financiers and advisers. King Lalitaditya Muktpida was one glorious King of a Kayastha dynasty of Kashmir.

The various scripts used by the Kayastha during most of the Ancient period can only be conjectured, but Brahmi certainly was extensively used and often praised as the scrit of the Vedas given by Bhagvaan Chitragupt himself.

Islamic and Pre-independence India

The Kayastha caste's affinity for learning and socio-economic status, both enabled and dictated that the community develop expertise in the changing administrative policies and official languages, as different empires were established in India. The community learned and adapted terminology to Persian, Turkish, Arabic and later Urdu in Islamic India. Importantly, the community created, maintained and developed empire-wide administrative practices in monetary policy, jurisprudence and taxation.

The script used during this period was majorly Perso-Arabic script.

Notable example include Raja Todar Mal who translated the ‘Bhagwat Purana’ into Persian. Raja Todarmal was one of the `Nav Ratans' of Emperor Akbar who founded and gave proper shape to `Revenue System' during Mughal Empire.

These roles continued into the colonial era, where many Kayasthas were the first to learn English and become civil servants, tax officers, junior administrators, teachers, legal helpers and barristers. During this period, Kayastha community members were more likely (than other communities) to undertake academic training in England and often rose to the highest positions accessible to natives in British India. As a consequence of their relatively large proportion amongst Indian students abroad, and because many hit ceilings of progression because of racial status, community members played pivotal roles in the early political groups that questioned British rule in India.

The script used during this period was Kaithi. The name makes a very clear reference to the creators, the Kaystha are often referred as "Kayath" in Middle Ages. Kayasthas have a unique distinction of having a script - Kaithi - associated with their name. Kaithi (also known earlier as Kayati, Kayathi or Kayasthi), similar to Dev Nagri, was used mainly by Kayasthas in northern India. It has its own Unicode now and was the major contender in the race to become national script but was left behind due to being not known to masses.

Modern India

Many Kayasthas were successful in adapting to post-independence India, becoming civil servants, bureaucrats and lawyers. The community's traditional association with higher education also led to heavy immigration to the west in the 1970s and 1980s as community members sought increased educational and research opportunities. Notable examples include the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the third Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, social and religious reformer Swami Vivekananda, freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose, Beohar Rajendra Simha and film-star Amitabh Bachchan.

Notables

Main article: List of Kayasthas

See also

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Further reading

• Maithili Karna Kayasthak Panjik Sarvekshan by Binod Bihari Verma, A Survey of Panjis of Maithil Karna Kayasthas.
• R V Russel (Superintendent of Ethnography) and Rai Bahadur Hiralal (1916). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India: Volume III. Macmillan and Co. Limited, London.
• Asok Mitra (Indian Civil Service, Superintendent of Census Operations) (1953). The tribes and castes of West Bengal. Superintendent, Govt. Print. West Bengal Govt. Press. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
• Colonial Perceptions of Indian Society and the Emergence of Caste(s) Associations Lucy Carroll, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Feb., 1978), pp. 233–250.