Srivastava (; ), also spelled variously as Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname found among the

Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha, also referred to as North-Indian Kayastha, is a subgroup of Hindus of the Kayastha community that are mainly concentrated in the Hindi Belt of North India. In Hindu texts and traditions, they are described to have de ...

community of upper caste

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India. The Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas were powerful components of the upper-bureaucracy and made highly influential urban elites under Hindu kings.

Origin

Srivastavas are one of the twelve sub-clans of the Chitraguptvanshi Kayasthas that were traditionally involved in record-keeping, administration and military services. They consider themselves as a de facto '' varna'' that arose to keep records of the four ''varnas'' that came before them. Traditions and occupations associated with them, and their belief in the mythical roles assigned to

Chitragupta Chitragupta (, 'rich in secrets' or 'hidden picture') is a Hindu deity who serves as the registrar of the dead. He is assigned with the task of maintaining the records of the actions of human beings in a register called the ''Agrasandhanī''. Upo ...

, their

progenitor In genealogy, a progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; or ''Ahnherr'') is the founder (sometimes one that is legendary) of a family, line of descent, gens, clan, tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines Geschlec ...

, partly support this claim. Most of the recorded history, after the 10th century AD, of this clan is centred around Varanasi and present day eastern

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and central India, as being influential during ancient empires and

Mughal empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

in the Indian subcontinent, earning such titles as

Pandit A pandit (; ; also spelled pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt. or Pdt.) is an individual with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism, particularly the Vedic scriptures, dharma, or Hindu philosophy; in colonial-e ...

, Thakur and

Lala ''LaLa'' is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Hakusensha on the 24th of each month. The magazine's bonus contents are usually calendars for New Year issues, drama CDs, and so on. In a 2006 survey conducted by Oricon, Japanese girls ...

Etymology

The title ''Śrīvāstava'' is the shortened form of ''Śrīvāstavya'' and thus derived directly from 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 ...

root words ''Sri'' (श्री) "God" and ''vas'' (वस्) "to dwell" by adding the primary suffix ''tavyat'' which denotes an agent and causes the lengthening of the radical vowel. While the word Sri is used in Sanskrit as honorific prefix to the names of deities '' and vāstavya'' means "a resident, inhabitant"; thereby the whole meaning "in whom God dwells". Note, however, that a word's meaning is derived from its use in sentence, not from its etymology. According to another explanation, the name "Srivastava" originates from "Srivastu/Suvastu", the former name of the

Swat River The Swat River (, ) is a perennial river in the northern region of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, where it then flows into the Kalam Valley before for ...

, which is said to be the place of origin of this clan.

Notable people with this name

Notable people named Srivastava (or its variations) include: * Alankrita Shrivastava (born 1979), Indian filmmaker * Raju Srivastav (1963–2022), Indian comedian *

Ramesh Srivastava Ramesh McLean Srivastava (born June 26, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Voxtrot, active from 2003 to 2010. After the dissolution of Voxtrot, Srivastava has also rele ...

(born 1983), American singer *

Aditya Srivastava Aditya Srivastava is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films, television and theatre. He is best known for his role as Senior Inspector Abhijeet in India's longest-running television police procedural ''C.I.D. (Indian TV series), C.I.D.'' He ...

(born 1968), Indian actor * Anand & Milind Srivastava, Indian music directors *

Aadesh Shrivastava Aadesh Shrivastava (4 September 1964 – 5 September 2015) was a music composer and playback singer who worked in Indian films. Initially, he had worked as a drummer to music composers including R. D. Burman, Rajesh Roshan before working indepe ...

(1966–2015), Indian music director * Kapil Srivastava, Indian guitarist, music composer, educationist & author *

Aanjjan Srivastav Aanjjan Srivastav (born 2 June 1948) is an Indian film, television and stage actor, associated with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) in Mumbai of which he remained Vice-President for several years. Outside theatre, he is best known as ...

(born 1948), Indian film, television and stage dancer/actor * Ajita Srivastava, Indian singer * Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (1899–1973), Indian historian * Chandrika Prasad Srivastava (1920–2013), Indian diplomat * Chitragupt Shrivastava, Indian music director * Dheer Charan Srivastav (born 1967), Indian actor * Ganesh Prasad Srivastava (1933–2011), physicist, author * Hari Shankar Srivastava (1921–2017), Indian historian * Harish Chandra Srivastava, Indian politician * J. N. Srivastava (1933–2010), Indian mathematician *

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 191? – 5 February 2008) was the creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and leader of the worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways, including as a new ...

(1918–2008, recorded by Allahabad University as "M.C. Shrivastava"), introduced Transcendental Meditation * Mansi Srivastava (born 1990), Indian TV actress * Nikhil Srivastava, Indian mathematician * Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011), founder of Sahaja Yoga * Onkar Nath Srivastava (born 1942), Indian physicist * Paul Shrivastava (born 1952), American academic * Rajendra Srivastava (born 1951), Indian academic * Sanjeev Srivastava, Indian journalist * Shailendra Nath Shrivastava (1936–2006), Indian politician * Tara Rani Srivastava, Indian woman freedom fighter ; Notable Srivastavas who changed their name * Munshi Premchand (1880–1936, born Dhanpat Rai Srivastava), Indian writer *

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

(1884–1963), born as Rajendra Prasad Srivastava, first

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; born Lal Bahadur Srivastava; 2 October 190411 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as Minister ...

(1904–1966), born as Lal Bahadur Srivastava,

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

(born 1942), born as Amitabh Srivastava, Bollywood actor * Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1907–2003), born as Harivansh Rai Srivastava, Indian poet * Natwarlal (1912–2009, born as Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava), Indian con man *

Zamindaar Babu Trilok Nath Zamindaar Babu Trilok Nath (born Trilok Nath Srivastava 1866–1960) was a royal prince from a princely state of British India. He was the princely ruler of Belghat, Northwest Provinces, British India (modern day Uttar Pradesh, India). He was in ...

(1866–1960, born Trilok Nath Srivastava), prince of British India *

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...

(1902–1979, son of Harsu Dayal Srivastava), Indian independence activist, social reformer and political leader * Parichay Das (born Ravindra Nath Srivastava), Indian editor

References

{{reflist Surnames of Indian origin Kayastha People from Swat District