Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) is a caste mainly found in Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. They held the posts such as Deshpande and Gadkari according to the historian, B.R. Sunthankar, produced some of the best warriors in Maharashtrian History. Traditionally, in Maharashtra, the caste structure was headed by the deshasthas, chitpawans, karhade, saraswats and the CKPs. Other than the Brahmins, the Prabhus (CKPs and Pathare Prabhus) were the communities advanced in education. Traditionally, the CKPs have the upanayana ( janeu or thread ceremony) and have been granted the rights to study the vedas and perform vedic rituals along with the Brahmins. The CKP performed three Vedic karmas or duties which in sanskrit are called: Adhyayan- studying of the Vedas, yajna- ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras and dāna – alms or charity. Ritually ranked very high, the caste may be considered socially proximate to the Brahmin community. They have traditionally been an elite and literate but a numerically small community. More formally, in Maharashtra, they are one of the Prabhu Communities and a sister caste of the Pathare Prabhu. The CKP followed the Advaita Vedanta tradition propounded by Adi Shankara, the first Shankaracharya. The word Prabhu means Lord or a Chief in Sanskrit language. The name Chandraseniya may be a corruption of the word Chandrashreniya, meaning from the valley of the Chenab River (also known as "Chandra"). This theory states that the word Kayastha originates from the term Kaya Desha, an ancient name for the region around Ayodhya. The CKP claim descent from Chandrasen, an ancient kshatriya king of Ujjain and Ayodhya and of the Haihaya family of the lunar Kshatriya Dynasty. During the times of the Shilahara dynasty of Konkan (around the 10th century), the Silhara kings were known to invite for settlement into their lands, Brahmins and Kshatriyas of the northern Indo-Gangetic valley. These are the Goud Saraswat Brahmin and the CKP.