Yadav: Encyclopedia - Yadav

Yadav

Yadavs, known by various other names including Gopes, Gaurs, Yadavas, Ahirs ,Kurubas, Abhirs, Surabhirs, Suras, Surasena, Souryasaini, Ghosals,Rawals, Bhatis, Goudas, Pradhans, Rauts, and Yaduvanshis, are among five most ancient Aryan races of Bharata. They mostly follow Hindu religion, and are currently located in different parts of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Yadav - Mythology

According to Hindu mythology, Yadavas are descendants from Yadu, one of the five Aryan clans mentioned in the Rig Veda. Prominenet among the ancient Yadavas include:

• Vasudeva, father of Krishna
• Krishna
• Kunti, sister of Vasudeva and mother of Pandavas and Karna
• Kamsa, a tyrannical king of Mathura, who was killed by Krishna
• Ugrasen, father of Kamsa

The legend further states that Jarasandh, Kamsa’s father-in-law, and king of Magadha attacked Yadavas to avenge the killing of Kamsa. Yadavas had to shift there capital from Mathura (central India) to Dwaraka (on the western coast of India) on the Arabian Sea.

Yadav - Manusmriti on Ahirs

ABHIRA, AHIRA. A cowherd; according to Manu the offspring of a Brahman by a woman of the Ambashtha or medical tribe. A people located in the north of India along the Indus. There has been a good deal of misapprehension respecting this people. Hindu writers have described them as living in the north and in the west, the quarter varying according to the locality of the writer, and translators have mixed them up with a neighbouring people, the Sudras, sometimes called Suras, with whom they are generally associated, and have called them Surabhiras. Their modern representatives are the Ahirs. It has been suggested that the country or city of the Abhiras is the Ophir of the Bible.

Yadav - Introduction

Gope means mystique stemming from Lord Shiva (Also called Gopeshwar)and emulated in Bhagwad Gita,Yaduvanshis are descendants of ancient Yadavs .Ahirs or Abhirs who came to india as Scythian invaders(Avar Group of Sakas)were actually yadavas of Dwarka who returned back their home after a gap as is evident from ancient language they spoke (Abhiri close to Hebrew or ancient Sanskrit)http://www.viewzone.com/matlock.html .A recent research has shown Jews are linked to yadvas. Kshatriya religion was propounded by Lord Krishna and no reference is found before him we only find rajnya as the term alternatively used for it(BhaGwad gita is emaciated form of hidden knowledge-Gope-which has its root in Lord Shiva) .Later on many kshatriya were made based on the philosophy of this religion as revealed in Bhagwat gita.

Yadav - General profile

Yadavas are the single largest community in India, estimated to be constituting more than 11% of the Indian population - in terms of sheer numbers this translates to 110 million people, prompting some people to state that Yadavas are not merely a community but a "nation" in themselves. Through numerous political parties, such as the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular) and Tamil Makkal Desam (Tamil Nadu), this caste wields considerable political clout, especially in the governments of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, Bihar,Madhya Pradesh.

Yadavs, in certain parts of India, are classified by the respective governments amongst Other Backward Classes, or OBCs. This classification, stems from their general economic and educational condition. The Yadavas are linked to Krishna and several ruling families, such as the ancient kings of Prayag, the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Nandas, the Wodeyars of Mysore and more recently that of Rao Tularam of Haryana, one of the leading lights of the First War of Independence (1857) in India.

Yadav - Major Yadav clans

• Major Yadav clans of current age include Krishnauth (claiming direct lineage from Lord Krishna), Manjrauth (believed to be linked to Jarasandh), and Gaur (also called Goriya, and mentioned in the Mahabharatha)

• Ahirs (variously called including Ahira and Abhir) are divided into three major clans, namely, Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi, and Gwalvanshi.

Yadav - Scythian origin

Magasthenese,a greek scholar ,during the time of Chandragupta maurya writes-souryasainis worshipping shepherd God Heracles(he didn't write Krishna).Great resemblance of Krishna with Heracles or Hercules(Greek God)and population of yadus among afghan-pathanas claiming descendency from jadon,and Youdi tribe of ancient israel.These facts only helps us conclude how these yadus arised from ancient greece took route through afghanistan and finally settled in India.Bhagwad Gita it is mentioned as Krishna saying-I am born from water(resembling with heracles statements-I am water current).Further Krishna's feud with Indra-the Aryan King is recorded in Puranas in which it is alleged Krishna lifted Govardhana a mountain to save lives of people from Indra's ire.Indra used to fight with non-aryans for water is recorded in Rigveda .It is further substantiated that Indra released water captivated by vrittika -the demon,wchich nowadays is thought to be a Dam built over river.Similar situation can be seen in this case too.Krishna might have rose the water level of reservoir in govardhana which has been misinterpreted as lifting the mountain itself,and hence invited the wrath of these aryans.There had been many Krishna is endorsed by Bhagwad Gita in which Krishna says -I take birth in all ages to establish Dharma-it is rather admission of the fact that there had been many Krishna in past,so not to be confused by time period between his many deeds.Further about varna system he says-I have divided mankind into four varnas based on their work(and not origin-something heard of for the first time in hindu scripture) and he elaborates how.This shows how Yadvas got assimilated into hindu society (they practised intra-racial caste system).Had they been of Aryan stock Krishna would not have said so.

Yadav - Famous Yadavs

• Krishna
• Sri Krishna deva raya (King of Vijayanagar)
• Bhati Vikramarka
• Rao Tula Ram (1857 freedom fighter)
• Veera Pandya Katta Bomman,
• Jija Bhai( mother of Shivaji)
• Rao Balbir Singh(King of haryana)
• The Wodayars of Karnataka.
• Yadavas of Deogiri now Daulatabad.
• Mulayam Singh Yadav, UP politician
• Laloo Prasad Yadav, Bihar politician
• Anand Yadav, Marathi writer
• Rajendra Yadav, Hindi novelist

• Raghuvir Yadav
• Rajpal Yadav
• B P Mandal,(author:Mandal commission)
• Babulal Gaur( C.M, Madhya Pradesh)
• Swami Ramdev (Yoga Teacher)
• Yogendra Yadav (Well-known psephologist, political scientist and T.V. commentator)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Yadav", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki