Monday, August 17, 2009
History of Mathura's Mathur Chaturvedi.
Mathura
Mathura is home to the Krishna Janamabhumi temple (birthplace of Lord Krishna).
Chaturvedis claim their presence in Mathura from the very foundation of the ancient city. As proof they point to the Mathura museum, where if you look at the sacrificial pillar (yupa) from the time of Raja Huviska (2nd Century AD) , upon which are inscribed the following words:
“In the 24th year of Vashishka on the 30th day of this month of summer, Dronal, son of Rudral, a Bharadvaj Mathur Samvedi Brahman, after making a twelve-night sacrifice, placed this sacrificial pillar here. “
Chaturvedis claim that Dronal, the mathur brahman mentioned in the inscription was their ancestor, and the sacrificial pillar is the material proof of their ancestry that grounds them in the soil of Mathura itself.
Jamuna
Chaturvedis further believe that they are “jamuna putras” or children of Goddess Jamuna. Jamuna is, among other things, one source of their livelihood, as well as of their constantly renewed purity from daily lustrations in her holy waters.
Sat Yug
Chaturvedis also find a mention in the following tale in Ramayana:
A local story about the rein of demon king Lavanasur goes thus : “ Madhu’s son was Lavanasur. He fought with the Chaturvedis because when his father died, he asked them to come and do shraddha for his father. But they refused as at that time Durvasa muni asked them for food, and they began serving him food. In anger at being left unattended, Lavanasur started attacking them. Seven Chaturvedis fled to Ayodhya and asked Lord Rama for help. He sent his younger brother Shatrughna who came to help the Chaturvedis, rid the land of demons and founded the city of Mathura. “
Dwapar Yug
In the dwapara yug, Krishna was born in Mathura but raised in dwaraka by foster parents. Krishna came to Mathura as a young biy to slay the demons of his uncle King Kansa. Chaturvedis claim that their ancestors assisted Krishna in purging Mathura of the tyranny of its demons (Kansa).
Kans Vadh ka Mela
In remembrance of this occasion, even to this day, every 10th day of the Kartik month (early November), there is an annual Kans Vadh ka Mela, a victory parade through the Chhatta bazaar section of the city. This is essentially a Chaturvedi festival in its entirety. It is an interesting ritual. A colourful putla of Kans , made out of decorated paper and garments over about a 2 stories high frame of cane is constructed. This is brought to Kansa Tila (a Chaturvedi hilltop garden, bagicha) in the evening, where 2 chosen young men dressed as Krishna and brother Balram approach the mountain, mounted on an elephant. At an appointed moment, Kans’s head is decapitated, impaled upon a staff, body destroyed and remains tossed over the hill. The victory procession begins across Chhatta Bazaar. Carrying aloft Kansa’s impaled head, as well as other symbolic loot from his castle, Chaturvedis gleefully dance around the hapless head and sing the following victory song (translation):
Ram was brave among Krishna and Baldev’s friends.
To madhupuri(Mathura) marched slayers of Kansa
And trembled with fear his relatives in the castle
Parading to thunder of lathi and dust-storm swirls
They hoist aloft the impotent mustache.
Incense and sandalwood perfume the walls
And fresh, green cowdung purifies courtyard floors,
Friends embrace and chant auspicious songs
Under victory canopy bedecked with elephant pearl and banana
Chajju dances with the looted bed.
Then before they come to Vishram Griha on jamuna’s banks, they halt at Kans Khar, where they lower kans’s head to the ground and pulverize it into confetti. Then they march to Vishram ghat, where Krishna and Balram, resting on the lap of a Chaturvedi elder, are fed and worshipped. Then they bath in the waters of Jamuna to purify themselves of the sin of having killed a human being.
The Kans ka vadh ceremony is a celebration as much as a performative narrative wherein the participants stand for their ancestor’s participation in the original events. It’s also a reminder to the non-Chaturvedi audience of the dominant presence of the clan, to be dealt with with caution, if not outright fear. It is this fear that keeps the yadavas at bay, who have tried to usurp the celebrations from the Chaturvedis.
More Association with Krishna
Another reference of Chaturvedi’s association with Krishna is in episode 10:32 from Bhagvata Purana where the story goes:
“Once Lord Krishna’s helpers Subal, Satok, Shridan and others felt very hungry. Lord Krishna sent them to the Mathurs for sustenance, A mathur Brahmin named Angiras was engaged in a ritual but for fear of breaking the vedic rules , he did not give them food even while knowing about the avatara form of Krishna. Only a Chaubey brahaman could do that! After the cowherds returned, Lord Krishna sent them to the Brahman women, who recognised Lord Krishna as a god beyond vedic rules. They brought many things and fed Krishna and his friends. Thus they brought home his blessings. “
It is said that Krishna promised from that day onwards that Chaturvedi women would be renowned for their fair-skinned beauty, as indeed they are today, and that the men will control the pilgrimage to Braj, as indeed they do today as well. It is said that on this day, Krishna bestowed upon the Brahmins the knowledge of all four Vedas and gave them their name – Chaturvedi or Chaubey.
The narrative until this point also hint at another characteristic of Chaubey identity: happy go lucky or mast even in adversity (an emotion claimed as saatvick in moral significance) , and as warriors on behalf of their holy city and its soil. They also are Krishna’s friends and ancient citizens of Mathura.
KalYug
In kalyug, muslim counquerers and invaders started raiding Mathura for its opulent temples and bejewelled Hindu idols (considered abominations). This started with Mahmud of ghazni (997-1030), and continued (albeit a small friendship with Akbar 1556-1605), until it hit its nadir with Auranzeb (1658-1707).
Akbar
There is an interesting tale from Akbar’s reign.
Chaubey’s are said to have started the Jajmani system (individual pilgrims as patrons) only over about 400 years ago. Earlier, money was put in a common dan-patra, and distributed equally to all by a headman. Akbar used to go to Agra from Delhi by boat and used to inquire about the activities of the Chaubey’s but nobody dared go near him and explain. However, one of them Ujgar Chaubey decided to travel by boat and meet Akbar. He told him of the history of the place. He explained the Dan Patr system. Akbar handed him a worthless broken or kanni kauri in his hand before Ujgar departed. When Ujgar cam back to land, he was asked to put Akbar’s donation in the dan-patra. But Ujgar said Akbar was a non-Hindu and the donation was not on the ghats, and decided to retain the same. He did not even reveal what he had earned. This started a quarrel and Ujgar had to flee. Akbar summoned Ujgar and asked him of the fight at the ghats. Ujgar replied, “this is our custom. In my fist is your honour and mine. If I show to the people this kanni kouri they’ll wonder what kind of worthless emperor makes such a donation. And you’d be dishonoured, which as my client, I cannot allow.” Akbar was pleased. He asked Ujgar for his wish. Ujgar asked for priesthood of the four Hindu sects and 52 kingdoms around Mathura. Akbar gave a royal decree in which this was done.
Since then, Chaubeys have had the authority of legal discourse and strategic assertion in their favour over other Brahmans, that continued through generations. The dominance of Braj by the Chaubey clan is a point of bitter acrimony with other Brahaman sects who have numerous funny stories cooked up to discredit the Chaubeys.
The royal pharmaan, is supposed to still exist with the priests of Mathura. The privileged claim as pilgrimage priests to Braj has in later years been ratified by and validated by judges in modern courts of Justice. As the story goes :
When the Muslims entered Mathura, Chaubeys receded to Tila Chuabeyana near Amresh Tila. They would then come only in the mornings and evenings to Vishram Ghat for the pilgrimage rituals. The Sanidhya Brahmans took opportunity and started monopolizing the ghats in the absence of Chaubey presence. When Muslim pressure died out in British times, the pilgrimage donations were divided between sanidhya Brahmans and Chaubeys. The formula for division turned sour and subsequently a case was referred to in the Allahabad high court. The chaubeys won on the basis of the papers and pharmaans as proof and the sanidhya Brahmans were phased out.
Vallabhacharya (Pushti Marg)
Another interesting story is that of the Chaubey association with saint Vallabhacharya. It begins with the saints arrival in Braj for a pilgrimage, but without a guide, he was unsuccessful in doing so. The saint then asked Jamunaji what he should do to have success. He was told to have a guru from the Chaubeys and get their blessings. After that, Vallabhacharya got blessings from Ujgar and was successful in his pilgrimage. Until this day, followers of Vallabhacharya (Pushti Marg) come to Ujgar’s descendants for blessings to begin pilgrimage.
Controversies
The Mathur Mandali in 1964 categorised Chaturvedis in the first and highest category among all Brahmans. There is controversy to this classification of Chaubeys, since they were classified as the third and last category of all Brahmans in the 1901 census of British India, which was widely contested at the time.
Auranzeb's Tyrrany and The Split
The Chaubey parivar, alas, has its own controversies. This is the so called Karua-Mitha divide in the community. These are names summarizing contesting narratives of identity, which are flet deeply, and contested bitterly because their significance involves honour.
Karue Meethe
The Karua (Bitter) is a trope for courage, bravery and truth while as the Mitha(Sweet) is a trope for cowardice, evasiveness and duplicity.
During the centuries of various Muslim invasions and atrocities in Mathura there were different migrations of Chaubeys to nearby villages, cities and states. Chabeys who refused to pay taxes for keeping their faith, rebelled against the tyranny of Auranzeb and fled to nearby hamlets in groups. From the Mathura chaubeys’ point of view, those who remained in the city are the true Karuas because they tasted the bitter fruit of persecution and fought for the preservation of their religion and its holy relics. They talk as though all who left Mathura under threat of Muslim persecution are Mitha who fled like cowards, Diluted their pure blood by intermarriages with other communities, and even took up polluting habits like smoking etc. Most Mitha Chaubeys date the Mitha’s flight to the reign of Auranzeb.
But, ask those who are referred to as Mithas by the Mathura Chaubeys, and it’s clear that this is an attempt to jumble nomenclature to regain some lost honour. As per the immigrant’s viewpoint:
“The immigrants are the Karuas, since karua means to speak straightforward the truth. In the time of Auranzeb, and the Chaubey rebel against his tyranny and jazia, some of his soldiers came and took some of our women during a marriage. Some of the chaubey men resisted and killed the soldiers. After this they were forced to flee Mathura. They did not want to become slaves to the muslims and to be affected by their teachings. They settled in the villages of Madhya Pradesh along the Chambal valley. Even today, we celebrate the victory over Mughals by marking a symbolic chalk figure on the ground (symbolising slain muslims), over which the celebratory dinner is held. Some other Chaubeys though, chose to make peace with Auranzeb, by accepting to pay Jazia tax”. The Chaubeys who stayed back in Mathura and chose to accept slavery of Islam in the name of jaziya are traditionally called Gulmata, or those who stayed in Mathura and converted to Islam, at least openly if not in their hearts. For this they were outcasted for centuries before being accepted back to the fold. Marriage relations were broken off. The immigrations resulted in a number of different subcommunities of Chaturvedis being established, all of whom intermarry within each other, but other than the socially ostracised Mithas . Morever, these Mathura Chaubeys seem to have been made grave diggers in Auranzebs rule, and continue to live in an area called Gol Para, burial ground for Mughal muslims.
Many immigrant chaturvedis became prosperous village agriculturists, and others became highly educated and well placed throughout North India. Some of them became Kulins, a name the Mathura chuabeys ascribe to all immigrants, particularly those with western style educations. “Kulin” means of noble ancestry, or educated , and is used in juxtaposition to the “Panda”, or pilgrimage priests. The immigrant Kulins have a common dislike of the profession of ritual mediator to God, the Pandas. The Pandas appear daily at vishram ghat and sunning the prilgrims for alms, and badgering them to use their ritual services. Or they go to the Mathura railway station and in search of old clients or gather new ones. This dependence on alms, and the modern description of a greedy pusillanimous Panda is demeaning to Kulins and most hate the profession, thereby creating more rift between the Kadwe and Mithe.
Criticisms
Due to their dominance of spiritual discourse in Braj Bhumi, non-Chaubey Brahmans, Sanidhya Brahamans, and Yadavs have many stories in an attempt to discredit the Chaturvedi clan. Ludicrous as they may sound, Some of them are :
That the chaubeys are really Lodhi muslims who came as grave diggers with Akbar. Their children began to show pilgrims around, and slowly took over that profession and became hindus.
They came as slaves to Babur from Chuaba , Afghanistan. Some of them are still called Gulamte, a plural of ghulam or slave.
There is a part of Chuaba Para known as Taj Pura, which only muslims occupied, They were grave diggers to Akbar, and moved in.
There was a war at Vishram ghat about 150 years ago where the Chabeys won and took the bahis of clients with them
Chaubeys are not real Brahmans because they were not included in the categories of five northern and five southern castes recognised by Shankaracharya( ~728-820 AD). {Brahmans of Mathura and magadh were specifically excluded by the Shankaracharya because he had identified these castes for penance since they had diluted their purity by being inflenced by bhuddism}
References
Ref : Liberally referenced from Prof Yogesh Atal's "Emerging Social Science concerns"
Mathura is home to the Krishna Janamabhumi temple (birthplace of Lord Krishna).
Chaturvedis claim their presence in Mathura from the very foundation of the ancient city. As proof they point to the Mathura museum, where if you look at the sacrificial pillar (yupa) from the time of Raja Huviska (2nd Century AD) , upon which are inscribed the following words:
“In the 24th year of Vashishka on the 30th day of this month of summer, Dronal, son of Rudral, a Bharadvaj Mathur Samvedi Brahman, after making a twelve-night sacrifice, placed this sacrificial pillar here. “
Chaturvedis claim that Dronal, the mathur brahman mentioned in the inscription was their ancestor, and the sacrificial pillar is the material proof of their ancestry that grounds them in the soil of Mathura itself.
Jamuna
Chaturvedis further believe that they are “jamuna putras” or children of Goddess Jamuna. Jamuna is, among other things, one source of their livelihood, as well as of their constantly renewed purity from daily lustrations in her holy waters.
Sat Yug
Chaturvedis also find a mention in the following tale in Ramayana:
A local story about the rein of demon king Lavanasur goes thus : “ Madhu’s son was Lavanasur. He fought with the Chaturvedis because when his father died, he asked them to come and do shraddha for his father. But they refused as at that time Durvasa muni asked them for food, and they began serving him food. In anger at being left unattended, Lavanasur started attacking them. Seven Chaturvedis fled to Ayodhya and asked Lord Rama for help. He sent his younger brother Shatrughna who came to help the Chaturvedis, rid the land of demons and founded the city of Mathura. “
Dwapar Yug
In the dwapara yug, Krishna was born in Mathura but raised in dwaraka by foster parents. Krishna came to Mathura as a young biy to slay the demons of his uncle King Kansa. Chaturvedis claim that their ancestors assisted Krishna in purging Mathura of the tyranny of its demons (Kansa).
Kans Vadh ka Mela
In remembrance of this occasion, even to this day, every 10th day of the Kartik month (early November), there is an annual Kans Vadh ka Mela, a victory parade through the Chhatta bazaar section of the city. This is essentially a Chaturvedi festival in its entirety. It is an interesting ritual. A colourful putla of Kans , made out of decorated paper and garments over about a 2 stories high frame of cane is constructed. This is brought to Kansa Tila (a Chaturvedi hilltop garden, bagicha) in the evening, where 2 chosen young men dressed as Krishna and brother Balram approach the mountain, mounted on an elephant. At an appointed moment, Kans’s head is decapitated, impaled upon a staff, body destroyed and remains tossed over the hill. The victory procession begins across Chhatta Bazaar. Carrying aloft Kansa’s impaled head, as well as other symbolic loot from his castle, Chaturvedis gleefully dance around the hapless head and sing the following victory song (translation):
Ram was brave among Krishna and Baldev’s friends.
To madhupuri(Mathura) marched slayers of Kansa
And trembled with fear his relatives in the castle
Parading to thunder of lathi and dust-storm swirls
They hoist aloft the impotent mustache.
Incense and sandalwood perfume the walls
And fresh, green cowdung purifies courtyard floors,
Friends embrace and chant auspicious songs
Under victory canopy bedecked with elephant pearl and banana
Chajju dances with the looted bed.
Then before they come to Vishram Griha on jamuna’s banks, they halt at Kans Khar, where they lower kans’s head to the ground and pulverize it into confetti. Then they march to Vishram ghat, where Krishna and Balram, resting on the lap of a Chaturvedi elder, are fed and worshipped. Then they bath in the waters of Jamuna to purify themselves of the sin of having killed a human being.
The Kans ka vadh ceremony is a celebration as much as a performative narrative wherein the participants stand for their ancestor’s participation in the original events. It’s also a reminder to the non-Chaturvedi audience of the dominant presence of the clan, to be dealt with with caution, if not outright fear. It is this fear that keeps the yadavas at bay, who have tried to usurp the celebrations from the Chaturvedis.
More Association with Krishna
Another reference of Chaturvedi’s association with Krishna is in episode 10:32 from Bhagvata Purana where the story goes:
“Once Lord Krishna’s helpers Subal, Satok, Shridan and others felt very hungry. Lord Krishna sent them to the Mathurs for sustenance, A mathur Brahmin named Angiras was engaged in a ritual but for fear of breaking the vedic rules , he did not give them food even while knowing about the avatara form of Krishna. Only a Chaubey brahaman could do that! After the cowherds returned, Lord Krishna sent them to the Brahman women, who recognised Lord Krishna as a god beyond vedic rules. They brought many things and fed Krishna and his friends. Thus they brought home his blessings. “
It is said that Krishna promised from that day onwards that Chaturvedi women would be renowned for their fair-skinned beauty, as indeed they are today, and that the men will control the pilgrimage to Braj, as indeed they do today as well. It is said that on this day, Krishna bestowed upon the Brahmins the knowledge of all four Vedas and gave them their name – Chaturvedi or Chaubey.
The narrative until this point also hint at another characteristic of Chaubey identity: happy go lucky or mast even in adversity (an emotion claimed as saatvick in moral significance) , and as warriors on behalf of their holy city and its soil. They also are Krishna’s friends and ancient citizens of Mathura.
KalYug
In kalyug, muslim counquerers and invaders started raiding Mathura for its opulent temples and bejewelled Hindu idols (considered abominations). This started with Mahmud of ghazni (997-1030), and continued (albeit a small friendship with Akbar 1556-1605), until it hit its nadir with Auranzeb (1658-1707).
Akbar
There is an interesting tale from Akbar’s reign.
Chaubey’s are said to have started the Jajmani system (individual pilgrims as patrons) only over about 400 years ago. Earlier, money was put in a common dan-patra, and distributed equally to all by a headman. Akbar used to go to Agra from Delhi by boat and used to inquire about the activities of the Chaubey’s but nobody dared go near him and explain. However, one of them Ujgar Chaubey decided to travel by boat and meet Akbar. He told him of the history of the place. He explained the Dan Patr system. Akbar handed him a worthless broken or kanni kauri in his hand before Ujgar departed. When Ujgar cam back to land, he was asked to put Akbar’s donation in the dan-patra. But Ujgar said Akbar was a non-Hindu and the donation was not on the ghats, and decided to retain the same. He did not even reveal what he had earned. This started a quarrel and Ujgar had to flee. Akbar summoned Ujgar and asked him of the fight at the ghats. Ujgar replied, “this is our custom. In my fist is your honour and mine. If I show to the people this kanni kouri they’ll wonder what kind of worthless emperor makes such a donation. And you’d be dishonoured, which as my client, I cannot allow.” Akbar was pleased. He asked Ujgar for his wish. Ujgar asked for priesthood of the four Hindu sects and 52 kingdoms around Mathura. Akbar gave a royal decree in which this was done.
Since then, Chaubeys have had the authority of legal discourse and strategic assertion in their favour over other Brahmans, that continued through generations. The dominance of Braj by the Chaubey clan is a point of bitter acrimony with other Brahaman sects who have numerous funny stories cooked up to discredit the Chaubeys.
The royal pharmaan, is supposed to still exist with the priests of Mathura. The privileged claim as pilgrimage priests to Braj has in later years been ratified by and validated by judges in modern courts of Justice. As the story goes :
When the Muslims entered Mathura, Chaubeys receded to Tila Chuabeyana near Amresh Tila. They would then come only in the mornings and evenings to Vishram Ghat for the pilgrimage rituals. The Sanidhya Brahmans took opportunity and started monopolizing the ghats in the absence of Chaubey presence. When Muslim pressure died out in British times, the pilgrimage donations were divided between sanidhya Brahmans and Chaubeys. The formula for division turned sour and subsequently a case was referred to in the Allahabad high court. The chaubeys won on the basis of the papers and pharmaans as proof and the sanidhya Brahmans were phased out.
Vallabhacharya (Pushti Marg)
Another interesting story is that of the Chaubey association with saint Vallabhacharya. It begins with the saints arrival in Braj for a pilgrimage, but without a guide, he was unsuccessful in doing so. The saint then asked Jamunaji what he should do to have success. He was told to have a guru from the Chaubeys and get their blessings. After that, Vallabhacharya got blessings from Ujgar and was successful in his pilgrimage. Until this day, followers of Vallabhacharya (Pushti Marg) come to Ujgar’s descendants for blessings to begin pilgrimage.
Controversies
The Mathur Mandali in 1964 categorised Chaturvedis in the first and highest category among all Brahmans. There is controversy to this classification of Chaubeys, since they were classified as the third and last category of all Brahmans in the 1901 census of British India, which was widely contested at the time.
Auranzeb's Tyrrany and The Split
The Chaubey parivar, alas, has its own controversies. This is the so called Karua-Mitha divide in the community. These are names summarizing contesting narratives of identity, which are flet deeply, and contested bitterly because their significance involves honour.
Karue Meethe
The Karua (Bitter) is a trope for courage, bravery and truth while as the Mitha(Sweet) is a trope for cowardice, evasiveness and duplicity.
During the centuries of various Muslim invasions and atrocities in Mathura there were different migrations of Chaubeys to nearby villages, cities and states. Chabeys who refused to pay taxes for keeping their faith, rebelled against the tyranny of Auranzeb and fled to nearby hamlets in groups. From the Mathura chaubeys’ point of view, those who remained in the city are the true Karuas because they tasted the bitter fruit of persecution and fought for the preservation of their religion and its holy relics. They talk as though all who left Mathura under threat of Muslim persecution are Mitha who fled like cowards, Diluted their pure blood by intermarriages with other communities, and even took up polluting habits like smoking etc. Most Mitha Chaubeys date the Mitha’s flight to the reign of Auranzeb.
But, ask those who are referred to as Mithas by the Mathura Chaubeys, and it’s clear that this is an attempt to jumble nomenclature to regain some lost honour. As per the immigrant’s viewpoint:
“The immigrants are the Karuas, since karua means to speak straightforward the truth. In the time of Auranzeb, and the Chaubey rebel against his tyranny and jazia, some of his soldiers came and took some of our women during a marriage. Some of the chaubey men resisted and killed the soldiers. After this they were forced to flee Mathura. They did not want to become slaves to the muslims and to be affected by their teachings. They settled in the villages of Madhya Pradesh along the Chambal valley. Even today, we celebrate the victory over Mughals by marking a symbolic chalk figure on the ground (symbolising slain muslims), over which the celebratory dinner is held. Some other Chaubeys though, chose to make peace with Auranzeb, by accepting to pay Jazia tax”. The Chaubeys who stayed back in Mathura and chose to accept slavery of Islam in the name of jaziya are traditionally called Gulmata, or those who stayed in Mathura and converted to Islam, at least openly if not in their hearts. For this they were outcasted for centuries before being accepted back to the fold. Marriage relations were broken off. The immigrations resulted in a number of different subcommunities of Chaturvedis being established, all of whom intermarry within each other, but other than the socially ostracised Mithas . Morever, these Mathura Chaubeys seem to have been made grave diggers in Auranzebs rule, and continue to live in an area called Gol Para, burial ground for Mughal muslims.
Many immigrant chaturvedis became prosperous village agriculturists, and others became highly educated and well placed throughout North India. Some of them became Kulins, a name the Mathura chuabeys ascribe to all immigrants, particularly those with western style educations. “Kulin” means of noble ancestry, or educated , and is used in juxtaposition to the “Panda”, or pilgrimage priests. The immigrant Kulins have a common dislike of the profession of ritual mediator to God, the Pandas. The Pandas appear daily at vishram ghat and sunning the prilgrims for alms, and badgering them to use their ritual services. Or they go to the Mathura railway station and in search of old clients or gather new ones. This dependence on alms, and the modern description of a greedy pusillanimous Panda is demeaning to Kulins and most hate the profession, thereby creating more rift between the Kadwe and Mithe.
Criticisms
Due to their dominance of spiritual discourse in Braj Bhumi, non-Chaubey Brahmans, Sanidhya Brahamans, and Yadavs have many stories in an attempt to discredit the Chaturvedi clan. Ludicrous as they may sound, Some of them are :
That the chaubeys are really Lodhi muslims who came as grave diggers with Akbar. Their children began to show pilgrims around, and slowly took over that profession and became hindus.
They came as slaves to Babur from Chuaba , Afghanistan. Some of them are still called Gulamte, a plural of ghulam or slave.
There is a part of Chuaba Para known as Taj Pura, which only muslims occupied, They were grave diggers to Akbar, and moved in.
There was a war at Vishram ghat about 150 years ago where the Chabeys won and took the bahis of clients with them
Chaubeys are not real Brahmans because they were not included in the categories of five northern and five southern castes recognised by Shankaracharya( ~728-820 AD). {Brahmans of Mathura and magadh were specifically excluded by the Shankaracharya because he had identified these castes for penance since they had diluted their purity by being inflenced by bhuddism}
References
Ref : Liberally referenced from Prof Yogesh Atal's "Emerging Social Science concerns"
Labels: braj, chaturvedi, chaubey, mathura
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