Mathur Vaishya
Mathur Vaishya is a sub-caste of Vaishya, a Hindu caste.
According to the Hindu theology Lord Brahma, the Creator, created the four Varnas. According to the oldest mention of the varna system in the Purusha sukta of Rigveda 10.90.12 which states: "... his two thighs were the Vaishya, ... born". According to the Indian caste system, Vanika (Sanskrit) or Bania (Hindi) is a trader or merchant belonging to the business class. They are also referred to as Vaishya. Gupta is most widely used surname of Vaishya.
As regards the Mathur Vaishya sub-caste of the Vaishya, They were a part of trading community in Mathura till around 1018AD. During the ancient period, Mathura was an economic hub, located at the junction of some relatively important caravan routes. Mathura had historical links with Bateshwar, which is also located on the banks of river Yamuna. Bateshwar was founded by the king Śũrasena grandfather of lord Krishna according to legends.
According to history, Mahmud Ghaznavi destroyed and plundered Thanesar temple city and massacred the inhabitants in 1014AD. the Mahmud Ghaznavi's army brought to Ghazni 200,000 captives, and much wealth. When (1018AD) the news of his imminent attack on Mathura broke out, the panic spread in the city, hence causing mass migration from city of Mathura. One of the group of business community rushed to escape southwards along the bank of river yamuna (about 100 Km journey) to Bateshwar (a part of Bah tehsil of Agra district). So these migrants from Mathura came to be known as Mathur Vaishya. Mathur Vaishya have no linkage with Mathur, except the ancestrol abode as Mathura kingdom.
Since Mathur Vaishya were forced by circumstances to leave most of their belongings back home in Mathura, so most of them became poor. They restarted their lives with small business opportunities. With the passage of time and broadening of opportunities, they followed other professions along with trading. Some of them moved to nearby village SAMUGARH now known as Fatehabad. Over time, the migration range widened to nearby villages Pinahat and Samshabad. During early part of British period, Mathur Vaishya took further step in migration and moved beyond northen bank of Yamuna (Shikohabad, Chandwar Nagar, Sirsaganj) & southern bank of Chambal (Dholpur, Ambah, Morena). With the introdunction of railways, they even migrated to big cities like Calcutta, Delhi, Bangalore, Madras. Now they are spread all over India and some abroad too.
Mathur Vaishya population is still well below a million. Firozabad has highest Mathur Vaishya population, followed by Agra. Most of Mathur Vaishya in Firozabad are associated with glass bangles business. In Firozabad, Mathur Vaishya are referred as Mathuria (came from Mathura). Most of Mathur Vaishya write Gupta as surname, while others write their Gotra as surname. Mathur Vaishya have 109 gotras, which is bit weired. It is believed that some Gotras had high percentile strength, so those gotras were divided into sub-gotras.
Mathur Vaishya speaks Hindi or its dialects. Mathur Vaishya have traditionally been strictly vegetarian and non-alcoholic, though few have changed in the modern times.
Mathur Vaishya do not marry amongst same gotra (of Father & Mother) because they think that once upon a long time their elders belonged to one clan and hence blood related brothers and sisters. Previously, even any match of Gotra's of grand mother and maternal grand mother was not allowed. According to tradition, the dasa are said to be the descendants of Mathur Vaishya through non-Mathur Vaishya wives.