GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Detailed explanation-1: -The first historical reference to the term Kayastha, not necessarily related to the modern community, comes from a Mathura inscription of the Kushan emperor Vasudeva I, dated to around 171-172 CE, which records the gift of an image of the Buddha by a Kayastha Śramaṇa.

Detailed explanation-2: -The earliest known reference to the term Kayastha dates back to the Kushan Empire, when it evolved into a common name for a writer or scribe. In the Sanskrit literature and inscriptions, it was used to denote the holders of a particular category of offices in the government service.

Detailed explanation-3: -The earliest recorded history of these groups goes to the early medieval period of Indian history, while the word “Kayastha” itself dates to the third-century CE. The North Indian Kayasthas were powerful components of the upper-bureaucracy and made highly influential urban elites under Hindu kings.

Detailed explanation-4: -The earliest effort to unite them date back to 1887 when Munshi Kali Parshad, the founder of the Kayashta Pathshala in Allahabad (1873), formed the All-India Kayastha Conference (AIKC) which held its first convention in Lucknow in 1887.

Detailed explanation-5: -Sanskrit kāyastha, probably from kāya body, group +-stha standing, being in; akin to Sanskrit cinoti he gathers, heaps up and to Sanskrit tiṣṭhati he stands.