Kulin Kayastha
Encyclopedia
Kulin Kayasthas are a sub-caste of the Kayastha
caste in Bengal
, India. They are also known as the Kulina Kayasthas.
The Kayasthas are regarded in Bengal, along with the Brahmins
, as being the "highest Hindu castes" that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society". They are subdivided into numerous clans in that region, of which the Kulin are a high-ranking example.
servants, his purpose being to provide education for the Brahmins already in the area whom he thought to be ignorant. The tradition continues by saying that these incomers settled and each became the founder of a clan. In the case of the five Shudra servants, each clan was of the Kayastha caste.
The five Brahmin clans
were each designated as Kulina ("superior") in order to differentiate them from the more established local Brahmins. Four of the Kayastha clans were similarly designated. The fifth was refused the status because they would not accept that they were servants, as was the ritual rank of Shudra, and instead proclaimed themselves to be superior even to the Brahmins. While this fifth clan remained in Bengal and became the Datta
(or Dutt) Kayasthas, one of the four which were granted the Kulina nomenclature - the Uhas - later moved to the east of the region, leaving three clans to become the main Kulin Kayastha communities: the Bose
s, the Mitras and the Choses.
Similarly, the Kulin castes generally ignored the British who came into the area and eventually took it over. The British were non-Hindu and so they, like the Muslims before them, were unable to satisfy the Kulin need for roles befitting their ritual status. Other Hindu communities, however, did co-operate with the British and by the early years of the nineteenth century some had become substantial landowners and wealthy people as a consequence. These non-Kulin communities also were the first to take steps towards Westernisation, in part because they realised that alignment with Western ideas would provide a route by which they could advance their social status, and that was something which could never occur under the Hindu ritual system as they would always be ranked lower than the Kulins.
Kayastha
Kayastha or Kayasth or Kayeth is a caste or community of Hindus originating in India. Kayastha means "scribe" in Sanskrit, and has traditionally denoted members of the writer caste....
caste in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, India. They are also known as the Kulina Kayasthas.
The Kayasthas are regarded in Bengal, along with the Brahmins
Bengali Brahmins
The Bengali Brahmins are those Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Bangladesh...
, as being the "highest Hindu castes" that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society". They are subdivided into numerous clans in that region, of which the Kulin are a high-ranking example.
Origin
The caste system in Bengal developed differently from that in neighbouring areas of North India because of the influence of Buddhist rulers in the region at various times up until the eleventh century BCE, at which time the Pala dynasty declined. It is traditionally believed that at this point a Hindu king brought in five Brahmins and their five ShudraShudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
servants, his purpose being to provide education for the Brahmins already in the area whom he thought to be ignorant. The tradition continues by saying that these incomers settled and each became the founder of a clan. In the case of the five Shudra servants, each clan was of the Kayastha caste.
The five Brahmin clans
Kulin Brahmin
Kulin Brahmin is the highest strata of upper caste Brahmins in India's caste system. This term is more generally used to refer to upper caste "twice-born" Brahmins in nineteenth century Bengal considered themselves to be more knowledgeable as regards the scriptures as compared to other Brahmins.The...
were each designated as Kulina ("superior") in order to differentiate them from the more established local Brahmins. Four of the Kayastha clans were similarly designated. The fifth was refused the status because they would not accept that they were servants, as was the ritual rank of Shudra, and instead proclaimed themselves to be superior even to the Brahmins. While this fifth clan remained in Bengal and became the Datta
Dutta (surname)
Dutta, also spelled Datta and Dutt , is an Indian family name and surname found amongst Bengali, Punjabi and Assamese Hindus...
(or Dutt) Kayasthas, one of the four which were granted the Kulina nomenclature - the Uhas - later moved to the east of the region, leaving three clans to become the main Kulin Kayastha communities: the Bose
Bose (surname)
Bose or Basu or Boshu is an Indian family name and surname found amongst Bengali Hindus.Boses belong to the Kayastha clan, a sub-caste of Kshatriyas that originated from Kannauj, the capital of India during much of the classical period, and emerged in eastern India during the 11th century AD...
s, the Mitras and the Choses.
History
A period of rule by various Muslim dynasties began in Bengal from the thirteenth century and lasted until 1765, when the British gained control. Many of the population converted to Islam and the lack of a Hindu king as a focal point caused the isolation of those Hindu communities which remained. The Kulin communities suffered particularly badly because their ritual role was to serve a Hindu king via appointments to high state and religious offices, which were denied to them by Muslim rule. Those Hindus, including some Kulins, who did assist, co-operate or mingle with the Muslim rulers were often shunned by the increasingly conservative Hindu community, which was intent on self-preservation and withdrew into its own cultural norms in order to achieve that. Thomas J. Hopkins has said thatSimilarly, the Kulin castes generally ignored the British who came into the area and eventually took it over. The British were non-Hindu and so they, like the Muslims before them, were unable to satisfy the Kulin need for roles befitting their ritual status. Other Hindu communities, however, did co-operate with the British and by the early years of the nineteenth century some had become substantial landowners and wealthy people as a consequence. These non-Kulin communities also were the first to take steps towards Westernisation, in part because they realised that alignment with Western ideas would provide a route by which they could advance their social status, and that was something which could never occur under the Hindu ritual system as they would always be ranked lower than the Kulins.