Kaul (also spelled Koul; ) is a Kashmiri surname that is used by the

Kashmiri Pandit The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the In ...

community in India., ''...looms rose to 24,000 by 1813. Despite the religious oppression that many hindus were subjected , they were however, useful to the Afghans because of their administrative experience. Kashmiri Pandits were not prevented into entering into government service & there were some families whose names consistently appear in public service - the Dhars, Kauls, Tikkus & Saprus.'' The word ''Koul'', meaning ''well born'', is derived from ''Kula'', the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

term for family or clan.

Origins

There are several theories regarding the origins of Kaul as a surname.

Koul from Mahakoul

One says that it is associated with the word ''Mahakaul'' (), an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

for

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. ''Shiva'' followers were thus called '' Kauḷa''. Koul therefore means a devotee of Shiva.

Koul/Kaul from Shakta worship

Another states that since the Saraswat Brahmins of Kashmira were believers in

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

and Shakta, the peak of Shaivism in Kashmir around the 9th–12th century gave rise to use of the name. This has led many scholars to believe that almost all

Kashmiri Pandits The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha-Gauda, Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located w ...

were Kauls/Kouls and they were later subdivided into different nicknames, then with the passage of time these nicknames became surnames. In recent years the use of the nicknames is being progressively discarded and the surname ''Kaul/Koul'' is being adopted by almost all such people. The word ''Kaul/Koul'' is associated with being an '' Aghoreshwar'' (). The '' Sādhakas'' () of the ''

Tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...

'', associated with ''

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

'' worship, are believed to reach the top of the spiritual ladder, and thus become a ''Kaul/Koul''.

Notable people with Kaul surname

* Anita Kaul (1954–2016),

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...

officer * Bansi Kaul (born 1949), Indian writer and theatre director * Bharat Kaul, Bengali actor * Brij Mohan Kaul (1912–1972), commanded the Indian forces in the

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

* Ekta Kaul (born 1987), Indian television actress * Hari Kishan Kaul (1869–1942), Kashmiri politician and author * Josh Kaul (born 1980), 45th Attorney General of Wisconsin * Kailas Nath Kaul (1905–1983), Indian botanist and agricultural scientist, brother of Kamala * Kamala Kaul Nehru (1899–1936), Indian freedom fighter and wife of first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru * Kanchi Kaul (born 1982), Indian TV actress and model * Krishna Kaul (born 1989), Indian rapper, known as KR$NA, and formerly as Prozpekt * Mahendra Kaul (1922–2018), British BBC broadcaster and television presenter * Manav Kaul (born 1986), Indian theatre director, playwright, actor and film-maker * Mani Kaul (1944–2011), Indian film director * Manohar Kaul (1925–1999), Indian painter * Matthias Kaul (1949–2020), German musician * Niklas Kaul (born 1998), German athlete specializing in the decathlon * P. K. Kaul (1929–2007), ambassador of India to the United States (1986–1989) * Raj Kaul, Nehru family patriarch * Robert H. Kaul (1911–2000), Associate Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court * Sheila Kaul (1915–2015), Indian politician, cabinet minister * Siddarth Kaul (born 1990), Indian cricketer, medium pace bowler * S. K. Kaul (born 1934), Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Chief of Air Staff (India) (1993–1995) * Sanjay Kaul (born 1962), Indian businessman and founder of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies* Sanjay Kishan Kaul (born 1958), Judge, Supreme Court of India and former lawyer * Triloki Nath Kaul (1913–2000), Indian diplomat, Indian Foreign Secretary (1967–1972) * V. N. Kaul (born 1943), Indian civil servant, Comptroller and Auditor General (2002–2008)

Notable people with Koul surname

* Anil Koul (born 1972), Indian pharmacologist * Omkar Nath Koul (1941–2018), Indian linguist * Scaachi Koul (born 1991), Canadian journalist and writer * Shadi Lal Koul (1954–2020), Kashmiri actor

References