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Srivastava (Template:IPA-hi; Śrīvāstava), also spelled variously as Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname mainly found amongst the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community of upper caste Hindus particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India.

Origin

Srivastavas are one of the twelve sub-clans of the Chitraguptvanshi Kayasthas that were traditionally involved in record-keeping, administration and military services.

They regard themselves as a de-facto varna that arose to keep records of the four varnas that came before them. Traditions and occupations associated with them, and their belief in the mythical roles assigned to Chitragupta, their progenitor, partly support this claim.

Therefore, they worship Chitragupt as their ancestor and main deity, who is also worshipped in association with Yama, as on Yama Dwitiya in North India and in certain ancient isolated regions such Chitral district by the Chitral river in the Swat(Suvastu) region in the north-western Indian subcontinent. The language spoken amongst others are Chitrali and Kalash. Of note is the fact that even in the remaining currently practiced form of ancient Hinduism in the region, certain deities were revered either in one community/tribe or other. Only one was universally revered as the Creator that is the ancient Hindu god Yama Râja called imr'o in Kâmviri. The ancient region had historical and cultural links to the nearby regions of Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and Nooristan. The Srivastu/Suvastu region is also said to be the place of origin of Srivastava clan, later on migrating in waves to Kashmir and the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Their presence is extensively found in recorded history of the Indo-Gangetic plains, after 10th century AD especially in association with the Rajput rulers who considered it a matter of prestige to invite them for administration as a symbol of established kingdom, which also explains their migration chronologically following that of Rajput kingdoms into the plains. Prominence of this clan can be found centred around Varanasi and present day eastern Uttar Pradesh and central India, where they were also called Vastavya Kayastha

...Vastavya family , by the splendid fame of - he who , having at the rising of truth ( first ) whose race the worlds are rendered white even restrained the eight Mâras , ( and then ) attracted to himself the lords over the regions ...

They were influential during Ancient empires and later on Mughal empire in the Indian subcontinent, earning Sanskrit titles Pandit and Thakur in Hindu empires and Persian titles Munshi and Lala in Mughal empire.

Etymology

The title Śrīvāstava is the shortened form of Śrīvāstavya and thus derived directly from the Sanskrit root words Sri (श्री) "God" and vás (वास्) "to dwell" by adding the primary suffix tavyat which denotes an agent and causes the lengthening of the radical vowel. While the word Sri is used in Sanskrit as honorific prefix to the names of deities and vāstavya means "a resident, inhabitant"; thereby the whole meaning "in whom God dwells".

According to another explanation, the name "Srivastava" originates from "Srivastu/Suvastu", the former name of the Swat River, which is said to be the place of origin of this clan.

Notable people with this name

Notable people named Srivastava (or its variations) include:

• Aadesh Shrivastava (1966–2015), Indian music director
• Kapil Srivastava, Indian guitarist, music composer, educationist & author
• Aanjjan Srivastav (born 1948), Indian film, television and stage dancer/actor
• Aditya Shrivastava (born 1968), Indian actor
• Ajita Srivastava, Indian singer
• Alankrita Shrivastava (born 1979), Indian filmmaker
• Anand & Milind Shrivastav, Indian music directors
• Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (1899–1973), Indian historian
• Chandrika Prasad Srivastava (1920–2013), Indian diplomat
• Chitragupta Shrivastava, Indian music director
• Dheer Charan Srivastav (born 1967), Indian actor
• Ganesh Prasad Srivastava (1933–2011), physicist, author
• Hari Shankar Srivastava (1921-2017), Indian historian
• Harish Chandra Srivastava, Indian politician
• J. N. Srivastava (1933–2010), Indian mathematician and formulator of Srivastava code
• Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918–2008, recorded by Allahabad University as "M.C. Shrivastava"), introduced Transcendental Meditation
• Mansi Srivastava (born 1990), Indian TV actress
• Nikhil Srivastava (1991-2020), philanthropist and founder of Kayastha Research Wing.
• Nikhil Srivastava, Indian mathematician
• Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011), founder of Sahaja Yoga
• Onkar Nath Srivastava (born 1942), Indian physicist
• Dr. Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was the first President of India, in office from 1950 to 1962.
• Rajendra Srivastava (born 1951), Indian academic
• Raju Srivastav (born 1963), Indian comedian
• Ramesh Srivastava (born 1983), American singer
• Sanjeev Srivastava, Indian journalist
• Shailendra Nath Shrivastava (1936–2006), Indian politician
• Tara Rani Srivastava, Indian woman freedom fighter

Notable Srivastavas who changed their name

• Amitabh Bachchan (born 1942), born as Amitabh Srivastava, Bollywood actor
• Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1907–2003), born as Harivansh Rai Srivastava, Indian poet
• Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861-1964), founder of Banaras Hindu University
• Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–1966), second Prime Minister of India, son of Sharada Prasad Srivastava
• Zamindaar Babu Trilok Nath (1866–1960, born Trilok Nath Shrivastav), prince of British India
• Parichay Das, writer and editor, born Ravindra Nath Srivastava
• Natwarlal (1912–2009), born Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava, Indian con man
• Jayaprakash Narayan (1902–1979, son of Harsu Dayal Srivastava), Indian independence activist, social reformer and political leader
• Munshi Premchand (1880–1936, born Dhanpat Rai Srivastava), Indian writer

References

1. Srivastava, Vinay Kumar (September 2016). "Speaking of Caste: Merit of the Principle of Segmentation". Sociological Bulletin. 65 (3): 317–338. doi:10.1177/0038022920160302. ISSN 0038-0229.
2. "Caste and the Power Elite in Allahabad". Economic and Political Weekly. 50 (6): 7–8. 2015-06-05.
3. Shibu Thomas (Dec 19, 2009). "woman: HC to decide woman's caste abuse case against husband | Mumbai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
4. "Kayasth". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 28 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
5. Lucy Carroll (1977). "Caste, Community and Caste(s) Association: A Note on the Organization of the Kayastha Conference and the Definition of a Kayastha Community". Contributions to Asian studies, Volume 10. Brill Archive. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-04926-0.
6. Hayden J. Bellenoit (17 February 2017). The Formation of the Colonial State in India: Scribes, Paper and Taxes, 1760–1860. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-134-49429-3.
7. Sinha, Gopal Sharan; Sinha, Ramesh Chandra (1967). "Exploration in Caste Stereotypes". Social Forces. 46 (1): 42–47. doi:10.2307/2575319. ISSN 0037-7732 – via JSTOR. The Kayastha were not included in the original four divisions of Hindu society, viz.,Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Sudra, but they claim to be one of the most important functionary and ancient castes of Hindu society. Traditions and occupations associated with the Kayastha partly support this contention....The Kayasthas' strong belief in the story of the causation of Shri Chitragupta Maharaj and mythical roles assigned to Him at least corroborate the above contention.
8. Davidson, Ronald M. (2005). Tibetan renaissance : Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan culture. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 178–180. ISBN 978-0-231-50889-6. OCLC 808346313. This North Indian branch regards itself as really a fifth varna, different from the creator Brahma's mouth (Brahmans), his arms (Kshatriyas), his thighs (Vaishyas) or his feet (Sudras), North Indian Kayasthas maintain that they were formed from the body of the creator and therefore are grounded (stha) in Brahma's body (kaya)
9. Leonard, Karen (2006). Wolpert, Stanley (ed.). Encyclopedia of India. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 22. ISBN 0-684-31349-9. OCLC 60856154. The most common Kayastha myth of origin avoided this problem of varna classification by cleverly postulating the creation of a fifth varna, the Kayasthas, to keep records concerning the other four. Brahma, they say, after creating the four varnas, created the first Kayastha, pen and inkpot in hand.
10. Guillard, J.M. (1974). Seul chez les Kalash. Carrefour des Lettres.
11. Bezhan, Frud (19 April 2017). "Pakistan's Forgotten Pagans Get Their Due". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 11 July 2017. About half of the Kalash practice a form of ancient Hinduism infused with old pagan and animist beliefs.
12. Barrington, Nicholas; Kendrick, Joseph T.; Schlagintweit, Reinhard (2006). A Passage to Nuristan: Exploring the Mysterious Afghan Hinterland. I.B. Tauris. p. 111. ISBN 978-1845111755. Prominent sites include Hadda, near Jalalabad, but Buddhism never seems to have penetrated the remote valleys of Nuristan, where the people continued to practise an early form of polytheistic Hinduism.
13. Weiss, Mitch; Maurer, Kevin (2012). No Way Out: A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan. Berkley Caliber. p. 299. ISBN 978-0425253403. Up until the late nineteenth century, many Nuristanis practised a primitive form of Hinduism. It was the last area in Afghanistan to convert to Islam—and the conversion was accomplished by the sword
14. http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/KalashaReligion.pdf
15. Jamil, Kashif (19 August 2019). "Uchal — a festival of shepherds and farmers of the Kalash tribe". Daily Times. p. English. Retrieved 23 January 2020. Some of their deities who are worshiped in Kalash tribe are similar to the Hindu god and goddess like Mahadev in Hinduism is called Mahandeo in Kalash tribe. ... All the tribal also visit the Mahandeo for worship and pray. After that they reach to the gree (dancing place).
16. West, Barbara A. (2010). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 357. ISBN 978-1438119137. The Kalasha are a unique people living in just three valleys near Chitral, Pakistan, the capital of North-West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan. Unlike their neighbors in the Hindu Kush Mountains on both the Afghani and Pakistani sides of the border the Kalasha have not converted to Islam. During the mid-20th century a few Kalasha villages in Pakistan were forcibly converted to this dominant religion, but the people fought the conversion and once official pressure was removed the vast majority continued to practice their own religion. Their religion is a form of Hinduism that recognizes many gods and spirits and has been related to the religion of the ancient Greeks... given their Indo-Aryan language, ... the religion of the Kalasha is much more closely aligned to the Hinduism of their Indian neighbors that to the religion of Alexander the Great and his armies.
17. Ghai, Rajat (17 February 2014). "Save the Kalash!". Business Standard India.
18. Stein, Aurel (1900). Kalhana's Rajatarangini Vol 1.
19. Stein, Aurel (1900). Kalhanas Rajatarangini,vol.2.
20. S. S. Shashi, ed. (1996). Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: Volume 100. Anmol. p. 117. ISBN 978-81-7041-859-7.
21. Thapar, Romila (2013). The Past Before Us : Historical traditions of early north India. Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp. 525, 539, 565. ISBN 978-0-674-72651-2. OCLC 859536567.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
22. Sinha, Bindeshwari Prasad (2003). Kayasthas in making of modern Bihar. Impression Publication. p. 13. Banaras plate of Govinchandra refers to Vastavya Kayastha.
23. Keilhorn, Franz (1969). Kleine Schriften, Part 1. Indic Philology. Vastavya family , by the splendid fame of - he who , having at the rising of truth ( first ) whose race the worlds are rendered white even restrained the eight Mâras , ( and then ) attracted to himself the lords over the regions ...
24. Kumar, Saurabh (2015). "Rural Society and Rural Economy in the Ganga Valley during the Gahadavalas". Social Scientist. 43 (5/6): 29–45. ISSN 0970-0293. JSTOR 24642345 – via JSTOR. One thing is clear that by this time, kayasthas had come to acquire prominent places in the court and officialdom and some were financially well-off to commission the construction of temples, while others were well-versed in the requisite fields of Vedic lore to earn the title of pandita ...
25. Gupta, Chitrarekha (1996). The Kāyasthas: a study in the formation and early history of a caste. K.P. Bagchi & Co. p. 117. ISBN 9788170741565. This love and respect for knowledge were nothing special with the line of Jajuka. Rather, these were general features of the characters of the Sri-Vastavyas
26. SHAH, K.K. (1993). "Self Legitimation and Social Primacy: A Case Study of Some Kayastha Inscriptions From Central India". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 54: 860–861. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44143088. Vastavya, therefore, will have to be taken as a sub-caste a few members of which rose to very high positions in the administrative hierarchy of the Chandella kingdom. Two families from this branch of the Kayasthas have left three inscriptions for us containing an account of the mythical origin as also genealogical tree in order to establish their high Brahminic credentials...It is also noteworthy that both Jajuka and Maheshvara have remarkable military achievements to their credit which could put them on par with the Kshatriyas.
27. Dikshit, R. K. (1976). The Candellas of Jejākabhukti. Abhinav Publications. pp. 71, 173–175, 190. ISBN 978-81-7017-046-4.
28. Mitra, Sisir Kumar (1977). The Early Rulers of Khajuraho (Second Revised ed.). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 180. ISBN 978-81-208-1997-9.
29. Mazumdar, Bhakat Prasad (1960). Socio-economic History of Northern India: (1030 - 1194 A.D.). Mukhopadhyay. p. 100. Three inscriptions written by these Vastavya Kayasthas for the Gahadavala kings Govindachandra and Jayachandra and also the Sahet Mahet inscription dated 1276 VS/1219-29 A.D....Nana's ancestors were inhabitants of Kausamyapura or Kosam in the Allahabad district originally.
30. Sinha, Bindeshwari Prasad (2003). Kayasthas in making of modern Bihar. Impression Publication. p. 13. Banaras plate of Govinchandra refers to Vastavya Kayastha.
31. Mazumdar, Bhakat Prasad (1960). "Castes and Professions". Socio-economic History of Northern India: (1030 - 1194 A.D.). Mukhopadhyay. pp. 101–103. Members of Vastavya community rose to very high positions. They enjoyed the feudatory status of Thakkura under the Gahadavala Kings under Govindachandra and Jayachandra, and the Chandela King Bhojavarman...It is possible that because of their services, the king raised them to a higher status...His brothers, Jaundhara and Maladhara were valiant warriors...The history of these two families show that the Vastavyas could become valiant soldiers.
32. Niyogi, Roma (1959). The History of the Gāhaḍavāla Dynasty. Oriental Book Agency. p. 212. It also contains a statue of Vastavya-Kayastha Thakkura Sri-Ranapala (in a soldier's outfit) who appears to have built...
33. Bose, Mainak Kumar (1988). Late classical India. A. Mukherjee & Co.
34. Cunningham, Sir Alexander (1873). Report for the Year 1871-72. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing.
35. Apte, Vaman Shivaram (1957–59). Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary. Prasad Prakashan. p. 1575. The word श्री is often used as an honorific prefix to the names of deities and eminent persons; श्रीकृष्णः, श्रीरामः, श्रिवाल्मीकिः, श्रीजयदेवः; also celebrated works, generally of a sacred character; श्रीभागवत, श्रीरामायण)&c.; it is also used as an auspicious sign at the commencement of letters, manuscripts &c
36. Bhāratīya Vidyā. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1987.
37. S. S. Shashi, ed. (1996). Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: Volume 100. Anmol. p. 117. ISBN 978-81-7041-859-7.

• Surnames
• Indian surnames
• Kayastha
• People from Swat District