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Kaul

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Kaul is a surname found in India and is commonly believed to have originated amongst the people of the Kashmir Valley. People with Kaul surname is now found in various parts of India. Kaul surname are also found in parts of Europe. The name Kaul is also German.

Origins of Kashmiri Kauls

The surname Kaul may have originated from the Sanskrit word Kaula 'Well Born' (from Sanskrit Kula 'Family'). The surname Kaul may have been derived from Mahakaul (The Great Kaul), which is an epithet of Shiva. This has led many scholars to believe that all Shaivas of Kashmir could have been Kauls. This view, however, is not supported by too many scholars. Kaul equates to Kula (clan in English) in Sanskrit. Clan is Klane in Geerman.

Kaul (also spelled as Koul, Kaula) is a well-known surname of Kashmiri Pundits. Kauls belong to the Saraswat Brahmin class (which forms the apex of the Indian caste order) & trace their descent to Lord Dattatreya, the legendary son of the sage Atri & Anusuya.

The exact origin of this surname is not very clear, however, it is widely believed that it has origins in 'Kaula' path of Shaivism.

Position of Kauls in Kashmiri Brahmin Community

The Kashmiri Brahmins are divided into 199 exogamous sections (gotras) the members of which profess to be descended from the Rishi or inspired saint whose name the gotra bears. Among these sub-divisions social preeedence is governed by the spiritual greatness or the inferiority of the respective Rishis, Koul (or Kaul) being considered the highest of all the sub-divisions.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).

General Physical Appearance

The Kauls, like most Kashmiri Brahmin communities are in appearance, closer to the Central Asians than to people of the Gengetic or Indus plains surrounding Kashmir. There is quite often an attempt by some foreign elements and their Indian followers to raise a doubt in the heads of naive people and then the hope is to remove the Aryan past of the Kauls and the rest of India. The neighours of the Kashmiris the Tajiks recently declared themselves an Aryan State quite rightfully. (http://www.payvand.com/news/05/dec/1190.html)

Sharp, long noses, with colored eyes & hair are not uncommon amongst the Kauls and other Kashmiri Brahmins.

Kashmiri Kauls in History

The author of 'Krishnavtar Charit' Saheb Ram Kaul (late 1600s) was a notable scholar in the court of Aurengzeb and was the writer of over a dozen valuable sanskrit papers. Pandit Saheb Ram Kaul, lived during the reign of Maharaja Ranbir singh (1858 to 1885) with explanatory treatises and abstract on the manuscripts of Nilamata Purana and other works.

The first prime minister of free India Jawaharlal Nehru was also a Kaul.

There have been mention in various accounts of Kashmiri people whose parental / surnames were Kaul but were omitted in future generations. An example of this is Jawaharlal Nehru, who writes in his autobiography ..

We were Kashmiris. Over two hundred years ago, early in the eighteenth century, our ancestor came down from that mountain valley to seek fame and fortune in the rich plains below. Those were the days of the decline of the Moghal Empire after the death of Aurungzeb, and Farrukhsiar was the Emperor. Raj Kaul was the name of that ancestor of ours and he had gained eminence as a Sanskrit and Persian scholar in Kashmir. He attracted the notice of Farrukhsiar during the latter's visit to Kashmir, and, probably at the Emperor's instance, the family migrated to Delhi, the imperial capital, about the year 1716. A jagir with a house situated on the banks of a canal had been granted to Raj Kaul, and, from the fact of this residence, 'Nehru' (from nahar, a canal) came to be attached to his name. Kaul had been the family name; this changed to Kaul-Nehru; and, in later years, Kaul dropped out and we became simply Nehrus.

Certain Individuals with the Jailkhani surname can also trace their ancestory to Kauls.

Variants of Kaul Surname

One variant of the surname is Kullu used mostly by Kashmiri Muslims.

Kauls in Germany, London, Ireland & Brazil

Kaul is also a well-known surname in Germany (also spelled as Caudl, Caul and Kauhl),Ireland (also spelled as Cowel) & Brazil. Certain Kaul families have said to exist in Germany since 1348, where a mention of "Henning Kaul" is made. German Kauls consider the roots of their name to be somehow linked to their profession & line of work.

Possible roots of the word Kaul in Europe could be 1. Derived from the German word "kule" meaning pit, cave, grotto or mine. 2. Name might be occupational, associated with the German meaning for "one who operates a small workshop". 3. Dutch word "kaul", meaning monks hood. 4. In other European languages the meaning of the word "kaul" is head or cabbage head.

Kauls in Madhya Pradesh

Kaul is also a tribal community dwelling in Rewa division and Jabalpur district in Madhya Pradesh, India. These people are also known as Kolerian and Mundari tribes. Rohia and Rothail are their sub-castes. As per 1981 census the population of Kauls was 123811.

Kaul tribes have adopted Hindu system of living. They believe in Hindu religion and deities. Their deities are Dulha Dev, Bairam Dev and Bada Dev. They believe in existence of ghosts. They also have faith in Jādu-tonā.

Kaul people are dependent on agriculture for livelihood. Their main occupation is agriculture and animal husbandry.

They have their own Panchayats known as Gohia. They are more politically conscious than other tribes in Madhya Pradesh.[citation needed]

Prominent Kauls and Kaulas

References

1 http://ikashmir.net/names/gotras.html

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