Srivastava (; ), also spelled variously as Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname found amongst the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community of upper caste Hindus particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India. Origin Srivastavas are one of the twelve sub-clans of the Chitraguptvanshi Kayasthas that were traditionally involved in record-keeping, administration and military services. They regard 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: Aadesh Shrivastava (1966–2015), Indian music director Kapil Srivastava, Indian guitarist, music composer, educationist & author Aanjjan Srivastav (born 1948), Indian film, television and stage dancer/actor Aditya Shrivastava (born 1968), Indian actor Ajita Srivastava, Indian singer Alankrita Shrivastava (born 1979), Indian filmmaker Anand & Milind Shrivastav, Indian music directors Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (1899–1973), Indian historian Chandrika Prasad Srivastava (1920–2013), Indian diplomat Chitragupta Shrivastava, Indian music director Dheer Charan Srivastav (born 1967), Indian actor Ganesh Prasad Srivastava (1933–2011), physicist, author Hari Shankar Srivastava (1921-2017), Indian historian Harish Chandra Srivastava, Indian politician J. N. Srivastava (1933–2010), Indian mathematician Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918–2008, recorded by Allahabad University as "M.C. Shrivastava"), introduced Transcendental Meditation Mansi Srivastava (born 1990), Indian TV actress Nikhil Srivastava, Indian mathematician Nirmala Srivastava