Chaturvedi

Distribution

The origin of Chaturvedis goes back to Mathura (a holy land of Lord Krishna). The Land/Bhumi Of Chaturvedis and have their majority amongst Chaturvedis. Chaturvedi families have continued to reside in cities in North India namely Mathura, Agra, Auraiya, Etawah and Mainpuri and nearby villages like Naubari, Nigra, Basantpur, Malakpur, Shahbda, Mihauli, Chirhuli, Sariyapur, Chanderpur, Bateshwar, Pinhat, Holipura, Tarsokhar, Kamtari, Sikandarpur, Pharauli etc. In the 17th century when Mughal emperor Aurangzeb attacked Chaturvedi families in the above mentioned villages it resulted in the division of Mathur (originating in Mathura) Chaturvedis into two categories, Meethey (sweet) and Kadwe (bitter) Chaubey/ Chaturvedi.

Meethey choubey belong to the group of people who negotiated peace with the Muslim invaders and Kadwe choubeys belong to the group who did not negotiate with the Muslim rulers and chose to fight for their homeland by engaging in guerrilla warfare with the invaders and therefore called Kadwe (bitter). Kadwe Chaubeys are mainly found in Kamtari, Naubri, Nigra, Basantpur, Shahbda, Chirhuli, Malakpur village of Auraiya, the 'plastic city'.

There's a tale related to the village Naubari in which most of the Chaubey communities forefathers are said to have been the most fierce warriors and it is believed that they used to engrave their enemies in the neighbouring lake after killing them.

Other than these two major categories, there are other surnames of Chaturvedis also including Birbal, Badaluwe, Paimanga, Kuleen, etc. Kuleen is another name for the Kadwe Chaturvedis.

A Chaturvedi Brahmin family indicates that the title bearer's forefathers were proficient in all of the four Vedas (including the vedic branch one is born into). This was considered a significant achievement and an elevated social status. Legend has it that it takes 16 human lives for one to master the four vedas, the holy books of unlimited knowledge. If one were to master all the vedas in one human life, that was indeed a super human achievement and therefore the title Chaturvedi.

Chaturvedis are considered to have inhabited areas in the vicinity of the modern city of Mathura for thousands of years. Their presence is mentioned in the Vishnu Puran, Varah Puran amongst other holy Vedic books of the Hindus. Chaturvedis are considered to have been in Mathura when Buddha visited the city. They were there when Alexander attacked Northern India. Their origin is said to be derived directly from the Hindu God of creation - Brahma.

Chaturvedi's Dharma was "Smriti" and they were considered to be proficient in transferring the knowledge of vedas from one peedhi (generation) to another aurally.

Mathur Chaturvedis continue to have their roots in Mathura and remain bound together through the Mathur Chaturvedi Mahasabha and usually they have get-togethers that consist of Chaturvedis living in a particular city. Chaturvedi Sabhas (meetings) of Kanpur and other cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh are famous for the large number of gatherings. Annual Mathur Chaturvedi Mahasbaha (a very large gathering) is held every year in Delhi and prominent Chaturvedis from all over India and other eminent personalities are invited to such meetings.

Language

Like other people of the region (Mathura, Agra, etc.), Chaturvedi's dialect of Hindi is best described as Braj Bhasha, and the area termed BrajBhumi. This group of people who are descendants of a priestly class have also been some times called 'Mathura ke Pande' (Priests of Mathura).

Practices

Till today, there continue to be many Chaturvedis who are experts in the four Vedas. The title which was once earned for literary proficiency turned into an endogamous social community during the colonial rule. While the Brahmin social traditions are preserved, Vedic knowledge is mostly lost and the current generation Chaturvedis are rarely found following their ancestral academic pursuit.

Chaturvedis believe the purity of their blood starting from Vedic periods has continued through specific diet and careful marriage arrangement. This, they believe, is the main reason that has conserved the Mathur Chaturvedi culture around Mathura and adjoining areas. Being Brahmin, Chaturvedis are strict Vegetarians and usually neither smoke nor drink alcoholic substances. Chaturvedis are known for their unique traditions (inter-community marriages, child thread ceremonies, etc.). The strict followers of Chaturvedi traditions do not even consume garlic or onions in their daily meals.

Prominent Personalities

Birbal, a prominent figure in Mughal Emperor Akbar's court, was a Chaubey too. He remains by far the best known early Chaturvedi personalities hailing to this group. Birbal is considered to be the wisest personality in Mughal emperor Akbar's court. Another eminent figure from the community was the great Hindi poet Bihari Lal govind Brijanand Chaturvedi.

Sir Laxmi Pati Misra, who served at the highest echelons of the central government during the British rule was a graduate of the famous Engineering Institute based at Roorkee. His grandson, Gaurav Misra, a Tennis player, represented India (junior Tennis) bringing glory to the nation, along with the Amritraj brothers (Vijay and Anand) at the Asian Games in Bangkok 1966.

Another great personality Makhanlal Chaturvedi would give writing a new dimension during his time, he was amongst one of the well known Chaturvedis and continues to remain so till date.

Kanhaiya Lal (originally from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh) was a talented and well regarded character actor in the Hindi movies during 1940-1960's. Unfortunately, he was typecast for certain roles, thereby limiting his work.

Ashwini Chaturvedi (Holipura/Kanpur) played a key role in the development of Cricket in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1960s as one of its most successful batsman, at a time when the talent pool in this game was dominated by players from other regions of the country.

One of the recent stars of the chaturvedi community is Juhi Chaturvedi the story writer of the Hindi film "Vicky Donor",which was a big hit at the box-office, and received three national awards. Juhi herself received the Filmfare award for the Best Story in 2012.

Abhishek Chaubey (born 30 March 1977, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh) is an Indian film director, writer and screenwriter. He directed the 2010 film, Ishqiya.

Late Shri Amarnath Chaturvedi aka Bhaiye Baba (from Mainpuri Uttar Pradesh) was a landlord. When Gandhiji started satyagrah andolan he has contributed to his fullest. He not only donated all the gold jwellery to Gandhiji but also burnt all the Non Khadi clothes of all his family members. He participated in freedom fighting and also went Jail while participating in "Swatantrata Aandolan". He also donated the land for a Library in Mainpuri which is known as "Mathur Chaturvedi Pustkalaya".