Kabiraj (Bengali: কবিরাজ, romanized: Kobiraj ; Assamese: কবিৰাজ; Odia: କବିରାଜ; Magahi: कबिराज; Nepali: कविराज) is an occupational title found in persons of Eastern Indian subcontinent. In olden days people traditionally practising Ayurveda were generally called kabi/kobi in eastern India.
Many of them were attached to royal courts to treat kings and the royal family. As such they were given the title of Kabirāj/Kobirāj ("King Kabi", compare Rāj Vaidya used elsewhere). The descendants of such persons started using "Kabiraj" as a surname. This surname is often found in persons originating from Bangladesh and Indian States of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Orissa, which are in the same cultural region of the subcontinent and shares common linguistic origins.
See also
References
- Mohanty, P. K. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Primitive Tribes in India. Vol. 1. Kalpaz Publications. p. 225. ISBN 9788178351780.
- Māhāta, Paśupati Prasāda (2000). Sanskritization Vs Nirbakization. Sujan Publications. p. 103. ISBN 978-81-85549-29-3.