Tiwari / Tripathi ( तिवारी/ त्रिपाठी )
In Tiwari or Tripathi or Tripedi (Ti or Tri: All the three and wari or pathi or pedi means versed, thus Tiwari/Tripathi/Tripedi means versed in knowledge of past, present and future). Another description of Tiwari or Tripathi or Tripedi (Ti or Tri means three and wari or path or pedi means person who is having the virtues of God's three forms, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, which represent life's three stages, birth, life and death. Thus Tiwari/Tripathi/Tripedi means knowledgeable priest, who is versed in the life's three stages).
Tiwari / Tripathi is a Hindu Brahmin surname found mostly in the Northern and Central parts of India and Nepal. Its other forms are Tewari, Tewary, Tiwary, Tewaree, and Tewarey. It is derived from Trivedi which literally means "versed in three vedas".
While Tiwari is common in the states Uttar Pradesh,Delhi,Uttarakhand,Bihar,Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Tripathi is used in (in addition to these states)in Orissa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra. The density of Tiwari (and Tripathi) is more among Saryupareen Brahminss,Kanyakubja Brahminss, Bhumihar Brahmins,Maithil Brahmins,and Utkala Brahmins .
Tiwari's refers to those Brahmins in
Vedic age who used to do all rituals in a Vedic ceremony instead of any
specific one. It is one of the most widespread Brahmin surnames in the fertile
Gangetic plain region and in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh,Delhi, Orissa,
Bihar,Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and West Bengal. It is also
found in countries such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, due to migration
owing to agricultural/plantation employment. The surname is also found in
Nepal, Fiji and Mauritius, as well as in other Indian diaspora communities.
They have historically been martial Brahmins as well, and due to their involvement
in the uprising against the British in the First War
of Indian Independence in 1857, when many of the ranks which
followed Mangal Pandey,[Chandrashekhar
Azad ]](Chandrashekhar Sitaram Tiwari) in his rebellion were composed of Brahmins from the agricultural regions of
Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Due to this they were not declared a martial race like Mohyals due to their ardent support for the Indian
independence movement and rebellion against the British Raj. Tiwari's were therefore devoid of
the support from the newly formed Indian government. Historically, Tiwaris have
always fulfilled their religious duties and had great knowledge of the Vedas
and other holy texts. However presently the majority are engaged in more secular vocations. Historians believe that
Tiwaris were traditional farmers sometimes with a strong connection with the
original Indo-European tribe
which inhabited the Great Gangetic plains.
