Asthana Kayastha — History, Origin & Famous Asthanas

Asthana (अस्थाना), also written Ashthana, is a clan of the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community. In Kayastha tradition the Asthana vansh descends from Charun (also called Chitracharan), a son of Bhagwan Shri Chitragupta and Devi Shobhavati.

Sthana in Sanskrit means a place or seat — a fitting word for a family of court officials. Like the other eleven vansh, the Asthanas trace their descent to Lord Chitragupta and his consorts; historians note that the twelve sub-groups traditionally married within themselves and tended to live in particular regions of Hindustan.

• Scribes and officials — like the other Chitraguptavanshi groups, Asthana families served as record-keepers, accountants and officials in the courts and revenue offices of North India, and later took early to English education and law.
• Law and order — in modern India Asthanas are well known in the judiciary and the police, from judges to Delhi’s Police Commissioner.

Lucknow, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Varanasi, Delhi-NCR and Bhopal have well-known Asthana families, and many live abroad — in medicine, journalism, law and the services.

Asthana families share the customs of all Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas:

• Chitragupta Puja (Yama Dwitiya) — on Kartik Shukla Dwitiya, the day of Bhai Dooj, the family worships Bhagwan Shri Chitragupta with pen, ink and account books. See the full Kalam-Dawat Puja vidhi and why it falls on Bhai Dooj.
• Resting the pen — in many Asthana homes the pen is not used from Diwali evening until the puja, and writing begins again with the yearly account written before the Lord.
• Love of learning — education, writing and public service have always been the pride of the vansh.
• Marriage — traditionally within the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha samaj; today families match horoscopes, education and values more than the exact up-jaati.

Kuldevi: the family goddess differs from one Asthana family to another — there is no single kuldevi for the whole vansh. Ask the eldest members of the family or the family priest, and write it down for the next generation.

Gotra: gotras are passed down inside each family and are not the same for every Asthana. Families that do not know their gotra traditionally take Kashyap gotra, a common Hindu custom.

Here are some well-known people with the Asthana surname, from the freedom struggle to science, literature, cinema and public service. A surname alone does not tell anyone’s community — where Wikipedia describes the person as Kayastha, we say so.

R

Rakesh AsthanaIPS officer; Commissioner of Delhi Police and Director-General of the BSF (b. 1961).Read on Wikipedia →

K

Kunwar Bahadur AsthanaPolitician and judge (b. 1915).Read on Wikipedia →

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Ragesh AsthanaActor (1962–2014).Read on Wikipedia →

N

Nupur AsthanaFilm and web-series director.Read on Wikipedia →

A

Anushka AsthanaBritish journalist and broadcaster (b. 1980).Read on Wikipedia →

S

Sanjay AsthanaPhysician and medical researcher, University of Wisconsin.Read on Wikipedia →

Many more well-known Asthana families serve in medicine, law, the armed forces, teaching and business. See also the Legends of the Kayastha community.

Searching for Asthana Kayastha families, a Asthana rishta or relatives you have lost touch with? On Kayastha Setu you can add your up-jaati (Asthana / अस्थाना) to your profile, search the family directory by surname and city, look for matches in Kayastha matrimony, and record your lineage in the family tree — starting from Bhagwan Shri Chitragupta ji himself.

All twelve vansh trace back to the twelve sons of Bhagwan Shri Chitragupta. Read the story of each one — or the complete Kayastha community guide and Chitragupta ji’s 12 sons.

History here follows Kayastha tradition and published sources. Lineage stories differ from family to family, and a surname alone never tells anyone’s community — every family knows its own roots best. Spotted something to correct or add? Write to support@kayasthasetu.com.

• Asthana — Wikipedia
• Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha — Wikipedia