Kayastha Caste: Origin, Sub-Castes And Marriage Rituals

Kayastha Caste: Origin, Sub-Castes And Marriage Rituals

The Hindu varna system identifies the Kayastha caste as a major caste that exists throughout India. However, it is a homogeneous caste, with a wide range of sub-castes and gotras. These people offer education from the very beginning, so they are considered a literacy and educated community. These people are employed in jobs related to administration, writing, accounting, and governance due to their proficiency in education.

Because of this quality, Kayasthas have been called the brain and consciousness of the Hindu society. It is also believed that the Kayastha traces its origin from Chitragupta who was entrusted with the task of recording the good and bad deeds of mankind.

Kayastha Caste: Origin, History, Sub-Castes And Marriage Rituals:- Below are the details of each and everything:

History

Though it is difficult to tell the origin of the Kayastha caste, they are mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures. It is also believed that they may have originated in North India and slowly migrated to other parts of the country.

Under Mughal rule, Kayasthas played an important role as sub-divisive revenue collectors and administrators. Not only this, Kayasthas, while maintaining caste customs, carried ahead their culture by contributing in the field of clerical and administrative civil service during the British rule. After independence, Kayastha continued to advance their society by moving ahead in education, law, governance and culture.

Sub castes

Information about major sub castes of this caste is given below.

  1. Srivastava: Srivastava are the largest subcaste, concentrated mostly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
  2. Saxena: Saxena are especially concentrated in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi and they are also found all over India.
  3. Mathur: It is mainly found in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
  4. Khatri: A large number of Khatri Kayasthas are found in Punjab and Haryana.
  5. Karan: Karan’s sub-caste predominantly exists in Rajasthan and Gujarat and actively participates in the race for progress.

Gotras

There are many different gotras of Kayasthas some of the most common gotras include: Sandilya, Kautilya, Garga and Kashyap. These people use these gotras in marriage rituals which helps in maintaining the purity of the caste.

Marriage Rituals

The marriage rituals of this caste vary depending upon the region and sub-caste. But all Kayashtas follow some common rituals.

Their first ritual is Lagaan during which the bride and groom garland each other. Kayastha people begin the Haldi ceremony within a few days, and they bathe the bride and groom with turmeric paste.
After the Haldi ceremony, the family takes the bride and groom to the mandap and begins the wedding ceremony with Ganesh puja. After seven rounds, the Kayastha bride’s father performs Kanyadaan and hands over the groom to the groom. In the end, the bride’s new Kayastha family sends her away and she begins integrating into it.

We hope you have learned everything about the Kayastha caste. If it is a matter of marriage then these people perform it with customs and conventions. But nowadays, due to lack of differentiation, these people are also doing love or arranged marriages with the help of online portals in their own or other communities. Be it love marriage or arranged marriage, Kayastha manglik matrimony service of maritalsindia is making an important contribution in it.