About Mathur Vaishya (Baniya) Community and its History

About Mathur Vaishya (Baniya) Community and its History

MathurVaishya (Hindi: माथुरवैश्य), is a sub-caste of Vaishya, a Hindu caste. They are also referred as Mathuria (Vaishya).


Origins
According to the Hindu theology, Lord Brahma, the Creator, created the four Varnas. Also as per the oldest mention of the varna system in the Purusha sukta of Rigveda 10.90.12,[1] "... his two thighs were the Vaishya, ... born". According to the Indian caste system, Vanika (Sanskrit) or Bania (Hindi) is a trader or merchant belonging to the business class. They are also referred to as Vaish. Yellow color is associated with Vaish. Gupta is the most widely used surname of Vaish, and perhaps symbolizes the highly prosperous period of the pre-6th century A.D. when India occupied half of the world economy


History :

The Mathuria Vaish sub-caste of the Vaish were a part of trading community in Mathura until around 1018 CE. During the ancient period, Mathura was an economic hub, located at the junction of very important caravan routes. Mathura had historical links with Bateshwar, which is also located on the banks of river Yamuna. Bateshwar was founded by the king Śũrasena grandfather of lord Krishna according to legends. River Yamuna flow around Bateshwar in shape of Bel Patra (Aegle marmelos).

According to history, Mahmud Ghaznavi destroyed and plundered the temple city of Thanesar and massacred its inhabitants in 1014 CE. Mahmud Ghaznavi's army brought to Ghazni 20,000 captives, and much wealth. Then, in 1018, when the news of his imminent attack on Mathura broke out, panic spread in the city, causing mass migration from city of Mathura. One group of the business community (approximately 100 families) rushed to escape southwards along the bank of River Yamuna (about 100 km journey) to Bateshwar (and surrounding area Bah, Jarar). These migrants from Mathura came to be known as Mathuria Vaishya (Vaishya, who came from Mathura), who were named as Mathur Vaishya[4] in British census.Mathur Vaish have no connection with the Mathur (including so called Mathur Merchants) sub-caste of Kayastha, as well as Mathuria from other Varna apart from sharing the same ancestral homeland in the Mathura kingdom. Mathuria Vaish used to wear the sacred thread, which is the mark of the Dwija or twice-born.

Since Mathur Vaish were forced by circumstances to leave most of their belongings back home in Mathura, most of them became poor. They could not retrieve their belongings afterwards, as almost the whole city was burned to ashes by the invaders. They restarted their lives with small business opportunities. With the passage of time and broadening of opportunities, they followed other professions along with trading. Some of them moved to nearby village Samugarh (across the river Uttagan), now known as Fatehabad. Over time, the migration range widened to nearby villages Pinahat, IradatNagar and Shamsabad. During early part of British period (1804-1858 CE), Mathur Vaish took further steps in migration and moved beyond the northern bank of Yamuna (Shikohabad, Chandwar Nagar, Sirsaganj) and the southern bank of the Chambal (Ambah, Porsa, Morena) & south-west of ephemeral rivers Parbati / Banganga / Uttagan & Gambhiri / Khari-nadi (Dholpur, Mania)

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Present conditions :

Chandwar Nagar is located on the bank of river Yamuna and is south of current Firozabad city. Mathur Vaishya left Chandwar Nagar (only area of their homeland) where they deserted en masse because of frequents dacoity. With the introduction of railways, Mathur Vaishya also migrated to big cities like Kanpur, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad. Now they are spread all over India and some abroad too.

The Mathur Vaishya population is still well below a million. Firozabad has highest Mathur Vaishya population, followed by Agra. Most of the Mathur Vaishya in Firozabad are associated with the glass bangles business. In Firozabad, Mathur Vaishya are also referred to as Mathuria. Mr. Russel mentions that subcastes are of the usual local or territorial type, as ... Mathuria, and so on. Most of Mathur Vaishya use Gupta as their surname, while others write their Gotra as surname.

The Mathur Vaishya speak Hindi or BrajBhasha, a dialect of Hindi spoken by people who evolved around the banks of Yamuna river. Mathur Vaishya have traditionally been strictly vegetarian and non-alcoholic, though some have changed in the modern times. Mathur Vaishya worship deities Rama, Krishana, Shiva, Hanuman, Durga, Ganesha & Laxmi. Mathur Vaishya used to (even now) make a visit to the Mata KAILA devi temple at Karauli, Rajasthan to obtain blessing of Kuldevi after an auspicious occasion.

Distinct features about Mathur Vaishya, unlike some other Vaishya communities are:

    Mathur Vaishya's initial migration from their home land was invariably to the big cities.
    Mathur Vaishya did not adopt or convert to other religions (including Jainism), despite surrounding areas under severe influence.

    The clan (exogamous division, also known as Gotra in non-Brahamin) nomenclature was derived from trading business of family's head in Mathura.

Aloo (potato) Ka Rasa is an integral part of dinner meal, and cooked at least once a week in Mathuria Vaishya's home (probably exclusively). Aloo Ka Rasa is basically a sour yoghurt-based Indian curry or gravy primarily consisting of a sour yoghurt and water base thickened with boiled potato. Various herbs and spices (turmeric powder, corainder leaves, cumin seed etc.) are added to the 'Rasa' to give it a very distinct flavour.