Kanyakubja Brahmin
Regions with significant populations
Uttar Pradesh • Madhya Pradesh • West Bengal • Chhattisgarh • Jharkhand • Bihar • Assam • Tripura
Languages
Hindi • Kannauji • Awadhi • Bhojpuri • Bengali[1] • other Indo-Aryan languages
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Saraswat Brahmins • Gauda Brahmins • Maithil Brahmins • Bengali Brahmins • Utkala Brahmins

Kanyakubja Brahmins are an endogamous[2] Brahmin community mainly found in northern India. They are classified as one of the Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities native to the north of the Vindhyas.[3][need quotation to verify]

Origins

The majority of the interviewees assert that the designation of the caste originates from the city of Kannauj, emphasizing that this name signifies a geographical association. The etymology of this caste is solely preserved through oral traditions, mythical narratives, and proverbial accounts. One narrative pertains to the characters Kushanabha and Brihamadatta, while another centers around Lord Ramchandra and two siblings (disputed), Kanya and Kubja.[4]

Social status

In Uttar Pradesh, they are considered the highest class of Brahmins.[5]

Notable people

Suryakant Tripathi, Indian poet & novelist

References

  1. ^ Sengupta, Nitish K. (2001). History of the Bengali-Speaking People. UBS Publishers' Distributors. p. 25. ISBN 81-7476-355-4.
  2. ^ Suhasini Bhatnagar and Suraksha Agrawal (2016). "Surname Endogamy among the Brahmin of India". Current Sociology. 50 (6): 853–861. doi:10.1177/0011392102050006005. S2CID 145181320.
  3. ^ Upinder Singh (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. Pearson Education India. p. 575. ISBN 9788131711200.
  4. ^ Khare, R. S. (1960). "The Kānya-Kubja Brahmins and Their Caste Organization". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 16 (3): 348–367. ISSN 0038-4801.
  5. ^ Angela S. Burger (2022). Uttar Pradesh : General Background Opposition in a Dominant Party System A Study of the Jan Sangh, the Praja Socialist Party, and the Socialist Party in Uttar Pradesh, India. University of California Press. p. 27. ISBN 9780520365568.
  6. ^ a b Journal of the Society for Study of State Governments. 1972. p. 131.
  7. ^ Mehrotra, Arvind Krishna (12 December 2006). Last Bungalow: Writings on Allahabad. Penguin Books Limited. p. 197. ISBN 978-93-5214-094-7.
  8. ^ Singh, N. K (31 May 1996). "Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A private person with strong dislikes and few close friends". India Today. Retrieved 13 October 2023.


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