Krishnaut or Kishnaut Ahir[1][2] is a clan of the Yadav (Ahir) caste found in Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal.[3][4][5] The term Krishnaut which to them denotes their descent from Lord Krishna.[6]
With landholdings in the Northern and Central parts of India, a small segment of the community had taken over land in the newly reclaimed portion of Eastern Bihar (Purnea and Saharsa) to become big landowners.[7]
The Krishnaut subcaste of Yadav's a name which to them denotes their claimed descent from Lord Krishna.[8][9] Earlier they had seven section (mul), of which the first four claim their migration from Braj region and the other three are said to be the remaining descendants of the Abhira-Gupta Dynasty of Nepal.
In Bihar, Nepal and Jharkhand there were many rulers and zamindars belonging to Ahir (Yadav) caste.[10] The Ahir zamindars were predominantly found in northern and eastern parts of Bihar. Most of them belonged to Krishnaut and Majhraut clans of Ahir.[11][12]
Krishnaut people worship Bir Kuar, Bakhtaur Baba as their deity. They sing Lorikayan in Bihar.[17][18][19] Krishnaut Yadavs never sell milk, ghee, or butter and to a large extent, they became cultivators.[citation needed]
Krishnaut numerically exceed other sub-caste in the diara land of Patna, Saran and Vaishali district of Bihar.[20]
The titles generally used by Krishnaut and other sub-caste of Ahirs in Bihar are Yadav, Raut, Gope, Ray/Rai/Roy, Mandal, Prasad, pratap, Singh, Thakur, etc.[21][22][23]