Kayastha

Kayastha
कायस्थ / কায়স্থ

"Calcutta Kayastha", from a 19th century book
Languages
Hindi, Assamese, Maithili, Urdu, Bengali and Oriya
Religion
Hinduism

Kayastha or Kayasth (Hindi: कायस्थ) is a caste or community of Hindus originating in India. Kayastha means 'scribe' in Sanskrit, and has traditionally denoted members of the writer caste.

According to the Hindu scriptures known as the Puranas, Kayasthas are descended from King Chitragupta, a deity tasked by Lord Brahma with recording the deeds of humanity, upholding the rule of law and judging whether human beings go to heaven or hell based on their actions on Earth. Kayasthas are generally regarded as a class of Kshatriyas, although their exact origins and varna designation remain a subject of debate.

Varna status

Kayasthas belonging to disparate regions and ethnic groups within India claim different varna. They have been referred to as a "twice born" caste "whose claims to Kshatriya status need not be caviled at", a caste "between Brahmin and Khatris", "superior Shudras", Sat-Shudras or "higher Shudras", a "clean Shudra caste" and a "mixed caste".

In Bengal, Kayasthas, alongside Brahmins, are regarded as the "highest Hindu castes" that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society".

In Maharashtra, the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (Rajanya Kshatriya Kayasthas, from the Haiyaya family) claim Kshatriya status through descent from a Kshatriya king.

Chitragupta Kayasthas (Brahma Kayashtas or Kayastha Brahmins) claim Brahmin status, though this has been challenged by other Brahmin groups.

Origins

After Brahma had created the four varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras), [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama], the lord of death, requested Brahma to help him record the deeds, both good and evil, of men and to administer justice. 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.

Lord Brahma then enjoined the newly-named Chitragupta to dispense justice and punish those who violated dharma (law).

Chitragupta had 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 sub-castes of Kayastha:

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

History

Ancient India

During ancient times, Ayodhya is said to have once been ruled by Mathur Kayasthas, whose descendants held the office of dewan for several years.

According to Kalhana's history of Kashmir, known as Rajatarangini, Kayasthas were tax-collectors and financiers under several kings. King Lalitaditya Muktapida, who ruled Kashmir in middle of the 8th century AD, was a Kayastha emperor of the Karkota Dynasty.

In Bengal, during the reign of the Gupta Empire beginning in the 4th century AD, when systematic and large-scale colonization by Aryan Kayasthas and Brahmins first took place, Kayasthas were brought over by the Guptas to help manage the affairs of state. Prior to the 13th century AD during the rule of Hindu kings, Kayasthas dominated public service and had a near-monopoly on appointments to government positions.

Islamic and British India

The Kayastha'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. With the establishment of Islam in India, the community learned and adapted to Persian, Turkish, Arabic and later Urdu. Importantly, the community created, maintained and developed empire-wide administrative practices in monetary policy, jurisprudence and taxation.

One of the most notable Kayasthas of the period was Raja Todar Mal, Emperor Akbar's finance minister and one of the court's nine Navaratnas, who is credited with establishing the Mughal revenue system. He also translated the Bhagwat Purana into Persian.

Government service roles continued into the British 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, Kayasthas were more likely than members of other communities to undertake academic training in England and often rose to the highest positions accessible to Indians. 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.

In Bengal, Kayasthas attained very high administrative positions under Mughal rule, serving as governors, prime ministers and treasury officials. During the subsequent British Raj, Kayasthas continued to proliferate in public administration, qualifying for the highest executive and judicial offices open to Indians.

As a result of their exalted status amongst Muslim sultans, many Bengali Kayasthas ended up as zamindars and jagirdars. According to Abu al-Fazl, most of the Hindu zamindars in Bengal were Kayasthas.

Bengali Kayasthas also took the place occupied by merchants castes in other parts of India and directly profited from business contacts with the British. In 1911, for example, Kayasthas and Brahmins owned 40% of all the Indian-owned mills, mines and factories in Bengal.

Free India

In the post-independence era, Kayasthas have achieved great success in various fields, including the arts, academia, law and politics. The community's traditional association with higher education has also led to heavy immigration to the West since the the 1970s, as community members have sought increased economic and advancement opportunities.

Notables

Notable Kayasthas include the spiritual leader and social reformer Swami Vivekananda (born Narendranath Dutta), revolutionary freedom fighter "Netaji" Subhash Chandra Bose, preeminent physicist and biologist Jagadish Chandra Bose, the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, the third Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri, film star Amitabh Bachchan (whose father was a Kayastha and whose mother was born a Sikh) and award-winning author Arundhati Roy.

See also:

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.