Yadav

Yadav is a traditionally peasant-pastoral community of India and Nepal. Since late 19th century to early 20th century, some backward low-regarded communities like Ahirs, Golas, and Gavalis falsely adopted the ‘Yadav’ surname for their community and started claiming descent from king Yadu and Lord Krishna, calling themselves as Yadavs to raise their low social status, while the ancient Yadavas were totally different from the modern day Yadav caste. It is a mix of several castes that adopted the Yadav surname falsely to raise their social status during late 19th to 20th century.

A picture clicked during an Ahir caste meeting in Gujarat.

This was a part of a movement of social and political resurgence, Sanskritisation under the influence of Arya Samaj where the other backward and lower status castes adopted different surnames to raise their social status. The term "Yadav" is now commonly used as a surname by members of communities such as Ahirs, Golas, and Gavlis. At present people from this community are chiefly engaged in agriculture, military services, and also in cattle herding. In India, they are found in states such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Origin and History

In the Rigveda

The word Yadava (different from the modern day adopted surname ‘Yadav’) is described as "descendants of Yadu". Yadu is one of the five early Indo-Aryan tribes (Panchajana) described in the Rigveda. The Yadu's had a tribal association with the Turvasu tribe, and they often were described together. Yadu partially Indo-Aryan-culture influenced the Indus tribe. By the time of the arrival of the Puru and Bharata tribes, the Yadu-Turvasu had settled in the Punjab, with the Yadu's possibly living along the banks of the Yamuna River.

Mandalas 4 and 5 of the Rigveda describe the Yadavas and Turvasas as a foreign tribe and mention them being brought to India by sea and settled by Indra.

In Rigveda X.62.10, the Turvashas along with them are described as Das-Dasyu and Barbarians ( Mlechchha ). Historian R.P. Chanda speculated that they originally inhabited Western Asia, from where they came to India, settled in the Surashtra or Kathiawar peninsula and then spread to Mathura.

In the Epics and Puranas

A.D. Pusalkar observed that the Ahirs were called Asuras in the Epics and Puranas, which may be due to their mixing with non-Aryans and laxity in following the Aryan religion. In the Mahabharata, they are once called Vratyas and at another place, Krishna talks about his tribe which included eighteen thousand Vratyas.

From the genealogical sections of several major Puranas, it can be inferred that the Yadavas were spread across the Aravalli region, Gujarat, the Narmada Valley, the northern Deccan, and the eastern Gangetic valley. The Mahabharata and the Puranas mention that the a confederation of several clans ruled the Mathura region. The Mahabharata also mentions the migration of ancient Yadavas from Mathura to Dwarka due to pressure from the Paurava rulers of Magadha and possibly the Kauravas.

Shri Ramdhari Singh, M.A. writes in his article titled “History of Andhaka-Vrishni-Sangha” –

“ "The Yadav caste was extremely hard-working and fun-loving. That caste belonged to the cowherds, who lived with their cattlemen in a very fertile and convenient place on the banks of Yamuna. They lived a comfortable life by producing milk, curd, butter and ghee in sufficient quantities." ”

The ancient Yadavas of the Mahabharata period were known as followers of the Vaishnavism, with Shri Krishna as the God they worship: they were all cowherds by profession. However, they participated in the battle of Kurukshetra. The present-day Ahirs are also followers of Vaishnavism.

Relation with Ahir, Gopa & Goala castes

The Ahir, Gopa and Goalas castes in India since the 19th and 20th centuries, have claimed descent from the legendary king Yadu as a part of a movement of social and political resurgence. The Yadav movement has worked to improve the social standing of its constituents through Sanskritisation, adoption of ‘Yadav’ title as a surname by these cowherd communities and their active participation in the armed forces, expansion of economic opportunities to include more prestigious business fields, and active participation in politics. Yadav leaders and intellectuals have often focused and tried to claim descent from Yadu, and from Krishna as an effort of recasting the group narrative to emphasise a martial character.

Scholar M.S. A. Rao claimed that there are evidence for identifying the modern Ahirs (Yadavs) with the ancient Yadavas. Historian P. M. Chandorkar, using both literary and epigraphic sources, has argued that the modern Ahirs and Gavlis – until recently cattle-keepers – should be identified with Abhiras of the classical Sanskrit texts. He also notes that Khandesh, on the margin of the central Indian forests, was earlier known as the land of the Ahirs, and the local Marathi dialect continued to be called Ahirani.

Historian T. Padmaja writes in her book named ‘Temples of Krishna in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamil Nadu’ that Ahirs were known as Ayar in Tamil Nadu, it is believed that the Ayars migrated to Tamil Nadu and established their kingdom. Some copper plate grants and inscriptions mention these Ayars as being of the Yadu lineage.

Claimed mythological characters

Goddess Gayatri

According to the Puranas, Gayatri was a girl who helped Brahma in the sacrifice performed at Pushkar Purāṇa, a Critical Study.

Goddess Durga

According to Chanda, a primitive form of Durga, was the result of "the syncretism of a mountain-goddess worshiped by the inhabitants of the Himalaya and Vindhya" as a war-goddess of the Abhir. In the Virata Parva Stuti and the Vishnu text, the goddess is called Mahamaya or Yoga Nidra of Vishnu. These indicate his Abhir or Gop origin. Durga then transformed into Kali as the incarnation of all-destructive time and this idea was built on the foundation of Vedic religion, Mythology and Philosophy.

Goddess Radha

As a martial race

Mythology

The Narayani sena (army) that Lord Krishna gave to Duryodhana to fight in the Mahabharata is believed to consist of Abhiras. Abhira warriors were also present in the Samsaptaks. According to some claims, Abhiras are mentioned as in the Mahabharata and were a very important part of the Chakravyuh created by Dronacharya, who allowed only Brahmins and Kshatriyas in his army.

Modernly

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Brave_Ahir.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Rezang_La_Memorial.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0_rezangla_place.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Veer_ahir_ajit_hai_abhit_hai.jpg

The Britishers classified the Ahirs as a martial castes and recruited them into the army. The British government then formed four companies of Ahirs, two of which were in the 95th Russell Infantry. The velour and sacrifice of Ahir soldiers at the Rezang La front of the Ahir Company of the 13th Kumaon Regiment lead by Major Captain Shaitan Singh Bhati during the 1962 Sino-Indian war is still greatly admired in India and in memory of their bravery, the battle site memorial was named as "Ahir Dham".

References

  1. ↑ Banerjee, Supurna; Ghosh, Nandini (2018-09-17). Caste and Gender in Contemporary India: Power, Privilege and Politics. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-78395-1.
  2. ↑ Michelutti, Lucia (2008). The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-46732-2.
  3. ↑ Michelutti, Lucia (2008). The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-46732-2.
  4. ↑ Michelutti, Lucia (2002). Sons of Krishna: The politics of Yadav community formation in a north Indian town (doctoral thesis). London School of Economics and Political Science.
  5. ↑ Gupta, Dipankar (2004-11-08). Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy?. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-81-321-0345-5.
  6. ↑ Kashyap, Anirban (1996). The Scheduled Castes in India. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-212-0511-5.
  7. ↑ People of India: Uttar Pradesh. Anthropological Survey of India. 2005. ISBN 978-81-7304-114-3.
  8. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
  9. ↑ journals.openedition.org https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3886. Retrieved 2026-07-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ Gooptu, Nandini (2001-07-05). The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44366-1.
  11. ↑ The term 'Yadav' covers many castes which initially had different names: Ahir in the Hindi belt, Punjab and Gujarat, Gavli in Maha-rashtra, Gola in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka etc. Their traditional common function, all over India, was that of herdsmen, cowherds and milksellers., Christophe Jaffrelot (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-81-7824-080-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst & Company. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
  13. ↑ Berti, Daniela; Jaoul, Nicolas; Kanungo, Pralay (2020-11-29). Cultural Entrenchment of Hindutva: Local Mediations and Forms of Convergence. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-08368-2.
  14. ↑ Yadava, S. D. S. (2006). Followers of Krishna: Yadavas of India. Lancer Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7062-216-1.
  15. ↑ Jamison, Stephanie; Brereton, Joel (2014). The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780199370184.
  16. ↑ Witzel, Michael (2001). "Autochthonous Aryans?: The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts" (PDF). Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies. 7: 7.
  17. ↑ Erdosy, George; Witzel, Michael (1995). Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics. De Gruyter. p. 204.
  18. ↑ Erdosy & Witzel 1995, p. 262.
  19. ↑ Jamison & Brereton 2014, p. 605, 695.
  20. ↑ Erdosy & Witzel 1995, p. 222, 262.
  21. ↑ Jamison & Brereton 2014, p. 829.
  22. ↑ Erdosy & Witzel 1995, p. 237.
  23. ↑ Erdosy & Witzel 1995, p. 235.
  24. ↑ Erdosy & Witzel 1995, p. 239.
  25. ↑ Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1978). Reflections on the Tantras. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 19. ISBN 978-81-208-0691-7. In the Rigveda, x.62.10, the Yadus and Turvaśas are called dāsas or barbarians. From these evidences R.P. Chanda infers that the Yadus were of homo-Alpinus origin, settled originally in Western Asia, from where they came to India, settled in Surāştra or Kathiawad Peninsula and then spread to Mathura.
  26. ↑ Roy, Janmajit (2002). Theory of Avatāra and Divinity of Chaitanya. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-81-269-0169-2. A.D. Pusalkar observes that the Yadava branches are called Asuras in the epics and purāṇas on account of their considerable mixture with the non-Aryans and the resultant looseness in the observance of the Aryan Dharma. It is important to note that even in the Mahabharata, Krsna is called the sanghamukhya. Bimanbehari Majumdar points out that at one place in the Mahābhārata the Yadavas are called Vrātyas and at another place, Krņa speaks of his tribe consisting of eighteen thousand Vrātas. He is inclined to accept Bloomfield's interpretation of the term Vrātya as meaning Samghātmaka.
  27. ↑ Thapar, Romila (1978, reprint 1996). Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations, New Delhi: Orient Longman, ISBN 978-81-250-0808-8, pp.216-7
  28. ↑ Sircar, D. C. (2008). Studies in the Religious Life of Ancient and Medieval India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 16. ISBN 978-81-208-2790-5.
  29. ↑ Dalal, Roshen (2014-04-18). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
  30. ↑ Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972) "Political History of Ancient India", Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp. 127-8
  31. ↑ Shivpujan Singh Kushwah. Are Ahirs, Gujars and Jats foreigners? (In this book, it has been proved with many historical evidences that Ahirs, Gujars and Jats are not foreigners but are descendants of Aryans. They are Kshatriyas of the lunar dynasty.] Author: Shivpujan Singh Kushwah Shivpujansinh Kushwah.
  32. ↑ Shashi, Shyam Singh (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition. Anmol Publications, 1994. p. 76. ISBN 9788170418368. The Yadavas of the Mahabharata period were known to be the followers of Vaisnavism, of which Krsna was the leader: they were gopas (cowherd) by profession Ksatriyas, participating in the battle of Kurukshetra. The present Ahirs are also followers of Vaisnavism.
  33. ↑ Contributions to Indian Sociology. Mouton. 2001.
  34. ↑ Bayly, Susan (2001-02-22). Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-79842-6.
  35. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
  36. ↑ Rao, M. S. A. (1987). Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India. Manohar. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-8364-2133-0. Besides this mythical origin of the Yadavas, semi-historical and historical evidence exists* for equating the Ahirs with the Yadavas. It is argued that the term Ahir comes from Abhira (Bhandarkar, 1911:16), who were once found in different parts of India, and who in several places wielded political power. The Abhiras are equated with Ahirs, Gopas and Gollas, and all of them are considered Yadavas.
  37. ↑ Robert Vane Russell. pt. II. Descriptive articles on the principal castes and tribes of the Central Provinces. Macmillan and Company, limited. pp. 19–.
  38. ↑ Enthoven, Reginald Edward (1990). The Tribes and Castes of Bombay. Asian Educational Services. p. 25. ISBN 978-81-206-0630-2. Again, many ancient remains in the Khándesh district are popularly believed to belong to the period of the Gauli Ráj. From the Archæological point of view, they are to be ascribed to the time of the Yádavas of Devagiri. It is, therefore, not unlikely that, according to popular belief, these Yádavas were Abhiras. This receives some support from the fact that Yaduvanshis even now are one of the most important sub-divisions of the Ahirs.
  39. ↑ Arya, Sharda (1988). Religion and Philosophy of the Padma-purāṇa (in Aragonese). Nag Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7081-190-9.
  40. ↑ Wadia, Sophia (1969). The Aryan Path. Theosophy Company (India), Limited.
  41. ↑ Aiyar, Indira S. (1997). Durga As Mahisasuramardini. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-212-0510-8.
  42. ↑ McDaniel, June (2004-08-05). Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in the West Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534713-5.
  43. ↑ Varma, Pavan K. (2009-07-01). The Book of Krishna (in one). Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-306763-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  44. ↑ Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Káthiáwar (in in). Government Central Press. 1884. Radha or Radhika who was the daughter of Vrashabhánu, an Ahir chief of Varsána, a village near Gokul.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  45. ↑ Das, R. K. (1990). Temples of Vrindaban. Sandeep Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-85067-47-6.
  46. ↑ commission, Great Britain Indian statutory (1930). Report of the Indian Statutory Commission ... H. M. Stationery Office. The Narayani Army which the Krishna organized and which made him so powerful that his friendship was eagerly sought by the greatest kings of his time, is described in the Mahabharata as being all of the Ahir caste.
  47. ↑ Rajputana Classes: 1921. Government Monotype Press. 1922. In the Mahabharat it is mentioned that the Narayani army which Sri Krishna organized was composed of Ahirs.
  48. ↑ Pandey, Braj Kumar (1996). Sociology and Economics of Casteism in India: A Study of Bihar. Pragati Publications, 1996. p. 78. ISBN 9788173070365. The Narayani Army which he organised, and which made him so powerful that his friendship was eagerly sought by the greatest kings of his time, is described in the Mahabharat as being all of the Abhira caste.
  49. ↑ Aggarwal, Ramnarayan (1981). Braj Ka Raas Rangmanch (in Hindi). National Publishing House. The Narayani Army which Lord Krishna gave to Duryodhana to fight in the Mahabharata was of Abhiras only. Brave Abhira warriors were also present in the Samsaptaks. The Ahirs played a key role in Drona's golden formation.
  50. ↑ Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  51. ↑ M. S. A. Rao (1 May 1979). Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India. Macmillan. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  52. ↑ Guruswamy, Mohan (20 November 2012). "Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La". The Hindu. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  53. ↑ "'Nobody believed we had killed so many Chinese at Rezang La. Our commander called me crazy and warned that I could be court-martialled'". The Indian Express. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-07-13.