Maurya caste

Maurya (Maury, Moriya, Murao) are an agricultural Hindu community of India and Nepal. The community has strong social ties with other agriculturalist communities, such as the Kachhis and Koeris.

Origin

The Mauryas form a part of a wider community that claims a common descent. This community, known as the Kushwaha, nowadays generally claim descent from Kusha, a son of the mythological Rama, who is considered to be an avatar of Vishnu. This enables their claim to be of the Suryavansh - or Solar - dynasty but it is a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community- the Mauryas, Kachhis, Kachwahas and Koeris - favoured a connection with Shiva and Shakta.[1] Ganga Prasad Gupta claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshipped Hanuman - described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita" - during Kartika, a month in the Hindu lunar calendar.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. pp. 12, 91–92. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  2. ↑ Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6. Retrieved 2012-02-22.