****Srivastava, also spelled variously as ****Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname found amongst the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha (also known as North-Indian Kayastha) community of upper caste Hindus particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India. The North Indian 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 North-Indian 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, their progenitor, 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 and central India, as being influential during ancient empires and Mughal empire in the Indian subcontinent, earning such titles as Pandit, Thakur and Lala.

Etymology

The title Śrīvāstava is the shortened form of Śrīvāstavya and thus derived directly from the Sanskrit 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, 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: