Chakraborty (
Bengali and
Assamese চক্রবর্তী
Chôkroborti) is a common
surname of
Bengali and
Assamese Hindus in
India and
Bangladesh. People with the surname
Chakraborty commonly belong to the
Brahmin caste. It is spelled in various ways, including
Chakraborti,
Chakrabarti,
Chakrabarty for East Indians and
Chakravarty,
Chakravarthy,
Chakravarti,
Chakravorti and
Chakravorty for South Indians. It is an honorary title and many with it can be found to be not brahmins, although the name indicates the purest of Assamese and Bengali Brahmins. However, in
Assam valley; people with this surname are always
Brahmins (see,
Assamese Brahmins). They always use their traditional family name (surname) for the rituals like weddings and Upanayan.
In the past some practicioners of Tantra meditation would seat in a symbol called Tantra Chakra to perform their practices. As they would sit in this symbol they were given the respectable title of Chakravarty.Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar,
A Few Problems Solved, (Orient Press, 1988), Part 9.
It is also a surname for Tamil, Telugu and Kannada
Sri Vaishnavas.
In all of India, it is a given name, but largely found in use in Assam, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh regions.
It is almost a euphemistic term for a local landlord to be called the "king of kings" as it means.
But
Nambudiri Brahmins are more well known and more influential in Indian and Hindu culture.
Some notable personalities with this surname...
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