In short: "Yadav" is the modern umbrella surname and community identity shared by a large family of historically pastoral, farming and warrior castes across northern, western and southern India and the Nepali Terai — known regionally as Ahir, Golla, Idaiyar, Kunbi-Rao and Abir. For most practical purposes Yadavs are classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in India, though the exact list entry varies by state and the community widely claims Kshatriya (warrior) varna status that census officials once recorded as Shudra. This guide answers the specific, high-volume questions — category, Kshatriya-or-Shudra, gotra, kuldevta, state-wise population, Yadav Divas and the same-gotra marriage rule — and is deliberately separate from our long-form history feature, the origins of the Yadav community, which covers the legend, inscriptions and dynasty in depth. Where a number is an estimate rather than an official count, we say so.
Which caste are Yadavs, and what does the name cover?
Yadav is not a single endogamous jati in the strict sense. It is a consolidated identity that sits over a cluster of related communities who share an origin narrative traced to Yadu, a legendary king of the lunar (Chandravanshi) line in Sanskrit epic and Puranic literature, and to Krishna of the Vrishni clan. Depending on region, people inside this family may identify as Ahir (the Hindi belt, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sindh), Golla (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka), Idaiyar or Ayar (Tamil Nadu, Kerala), Kunbi or Rao (Maharashtra, Karnataka), Abir (Nepal's Terai), or simply Yadav. The single "Yadav" label spread because the community's own early-twentieth-century organisations chose it and the colonial census recorded it. The regional names and distribution are summarised, with sources, at Wikipedia's article on the Yadav community.
Is Yadav OBC or General category?
This is the single most-searched Yadav-caste question, and the honest answer is "OBC in most of India, but it depends on the state list, and the community petitions for General status."
- Central (All-India) lists: Yadav / Ahir and its allied sub-groups appear on the Central List of Other Backward Classes, which is the basis for OBC reservations in union-government jobs and central educational institutions. So at the national level Yadavs are treated as OBC, not General.
- State lists differ: each state maintains its own OBC list, so a group that is OBC in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar may be entered under a different label, sub-categorised, or (rarely) excluded elsewhere. In Tamil Nadu, the Yadav/Idaiyar community is placed within the state's Backward Class / Most Backward Class (BC/MBC) framework rather than the northern "Yadav" OBC entry — which is why queries like "yadav caste in Tamil Nadu BC or MBC" get affirmative answers.
- The General-Category demand: because Yadavs are a large, land-holding and politically powerful community, sections of them have campaigned in several states for removal from OBC lists and recognition as General/forward — the flip side of the same reservation politics that put them on those lists. This is an active, contested policy issue, not a settled fact.
So "yadav obc or general" has no universal yes/no: OBC is the working default for reservation purposes, General is a contested claim, and the state list is what actually applies to any individual.
Are Yadavs Kshatriya or Shudra?
The community's self-image and the colonial record disagree, and that gap explains most of the online debate.
Yadavs claim Kshatriya (warrior) status, tracing descent from Yadu and Krishna and pointing to a documented martial and ruling history — the Deccan Yadava dynasty of Devagiri, the "Abhira" listed as a martial people on the Allahabad Pillar (c. 350 CE), Ahir landholders and soldiers through the Sultanate and Mughal centuries, and the recognised martial recruitment of the colonial era.
The 1901 and 1931 censuses, however, administrative-classified many Ahir/Yadav groups as Shudra, based partly on their pastoral and nomadic occupation. That classification triggered the early-twentieth-century Sanskritisation movement: community bodies — above all the All India Yadav Mahasabha, founded 17 April 1924 — campaigned to be recorded as Yaduvanshi Kshatriyas, adopted the "Yadav" surname, and built the genealogical and temple-based evidence for the higher claim. The standard scholarly summary of this Shudra-versus-Kshatriya tension is captured in Wikipedia's Yadav article, which notes the community is accorded Shudra status in the classical varna scheme "although the community's members often claim the higher status of Kshatriya."
Bottom line: in ritual varna terms the historical record is genuinely contested; in modern legal-administrative terms Yadavs are OBC; and in self-identity the Kshatriya Yaduvanshi claim is the dominant one.
Yadav population: how many Yadavs, and where?
First, the most important caveat for accuracy: India has not published a caste-wise population count since Independence. The decennial Census enumerates Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but does not release an all-caste tally, so any "Yadav population" figure is either a state caste survey or a researcher's estimate — not an official national number. Anyone quoting a precise all-India figure is extrapolating.
What we can cite:
- Bihar (official): the 2022 Bihar Caste-Based Survey, published in October 2023, counted Yadav (including Ahir, Gowala, Gora, Ghasi, Mehar and Sadgop sub-groups) at 18,650,119 people — about 14.26% of the state's population, making Yadavs the largest Other Backward Class group in Bihar. This is the single most reliable Yadav population figure available for any Indian state because it is a completed, official state enumeration.
- Uttar Pradesh (estimate): UP almost certainly holds the largest Yadav population in absolute numbers — widely described as running into the tens of millions, roughly a fifth of the OBC population in some estimates — but because UP has had no official caste census, its percentage share is given as a range by researchers and election-study bodies rather than a fixed figure. Treat "yadav percent in UP" claims (commonly quoted anywhere from about 9% to 15%) as estimates, not counts.
- All-India: advocacy and community sources sometimes claim Yadavs and allied castes together form on the order of 20% of India's population; the honest framing is that the Yadav family of castes is among India's largest social blocs, but there is no verified national percentage.
Answering the two most common sub-questions directly: which state has the highest Yadav share → Bihar (≈14% official); which state has the most Yadavs in raw numbers → Uttar Pradesh. The recurring "up me yadav kitne percent hai" and "bihar me yadav kitne percent hai" queries resolve to: no official UP figure exists; Bihar's official 2023 survey says about 14%.
Yadav gotra: what clan-line is "the" Yadav gotra?
There is no single "Yadav gotra." Gotra (patrilineal clan lineage used mainly in marriage rules) varies widely by region and sub-community, and Yadav/Ahir gotra lists are locally maintained rather than nationally codified — so be sceptical of any list claiming to be exhaustive or authoritative.
What is broadly consistent:
- Many Yadav families trace a symbolic lineage to Yadu and the Chandravanshi (lunar) line, and some adopt the classical Saptarishi gotras (Kashyap, Atri, Vashisht, Vishvamitra and others) common across "twice-born" claims.
- Region-specific gotra/clan names recur in north Indian (especially Haryana, Rajasthan, western UP) Ahir/Yadav lists — names such as Dagar, Dahiya, Rathi, Banaphar, Apharia, Solanki, Tomar, Nikumbh, Bagria/Babria, Phatak and Pancholi appear across community compilations. These are clan/sub-group labels as much as brahmanical gotras.
- Some communities recognise a traditional set (often cited as a larger number of gotras, e.g. the "64 gotra" framing popular in community literature), but no official register confirms a fixed count.
For the query "yadav ka gotra kya hai": the accurate answer is "it depends on your family and region — Yadavs use many gotras, and your kuldevta and marriage rules are tied to the specific one." Verification for an individual gotra should come from family records or a reliable community register, not a web list.
Kuldevta and worship
A kuldevta / kuldaivat is a clan's patron deity, and for Yadavs the devotional centre is overwhelmingly Krishna — the human form of Vishnu born to the Yadavas, whose childhood among the cowherds of Braj makes him the natural focal deity of a community that remembers itself as his kin. Living expressions include the Laddu Gopal tradition of Braj, reverence for the cow as Krishna's animal, and pilgrimage pride in Dwarka.
Beyond Krishna, regional kuldevtas vary: many Ahir/Yadav families in Rajasthan, Haryana and western UP also venerate local hero-deities and forms of Bhairon Baba, Shiva, Burha/Ajagar ancestor figures, and family Devi (shakti) forms. As with gotra, the specific kuldevta is a matter of family and region, so treat any single-name answer as partial.
Yadav Divas — when is it, and is it official?
Community bodies and admirers observe "Yadav Divas" (Yadav Diwas) on 15 April each year as a day to celebrate Yaduvanshi heritage, the Yadu–Krishna lineage and the community's social history. Related observances such as Shaurya Diwas honour Ahir martial tradition. It is important to be precise here: Yadav Divas is a community-led commemoration, not a government-declared public holiday, and the origin narratives attached to the 15 April date differ between organisers. Its institutional roots sit with the same early community movement that founded the All India Yadav Mahasabha on 17 April 1924 — which is why mid-April carries symbolic weight for Yadav organisations. So the honest answer to "yadav divas kab manaya jata hai" is: 15 April, by community organisations; it is a cultural observance, not an official state holiday.
Marriage and the same-gotra rule
Traditional Yadav/Ahir marriage practice follows the wider North Indian Hindu norm of gotra exogamy: a couple should not belong to the same gotra (and in many families, not the same clan/vansh either), even though both may be "Yadav." Cross-cousin and regional marriage customs differ between Ahir, Golla and Idaiyar groups. This is what sits behind searches like "can two Yadavs marry" or "same gotra marriage": same-surname marriage is not barred by the surname itself — the gotra and, in orthodox practice, the lineage are the operative rule. Legal capacity to marry under the Hindu Marriage Act turns on gotra/lineage degrees rather than on sharing the "Yadav" surname, and many Yadav–Yadav marriages do take place across different gotras.
"Which caste is [celebrity]?" — a quick note
Surname-based searches like "suryakumar yadav which caste" or "kuldeep yadav caste" simply reflect that these public figures carry the consolidated Yadav community identity described above; the honest answer is that they belong to Yadav families, and their individual gotra or state-list category is a private family detail we do not speculate about. What we document, with sources, is their public record — see the profiles of Suryakumar Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav and the wider Yadav personalities guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Yadav OBC or General? In most of India Yadav/Ahir groups are listed under the Other Backward Classes (central and state lists), so the working answer for reservation purposes is OBC. The community claims General/forward status in several states, and in places like Tamil Nadu the group is handled under the BC/MBC framework. The state list you fall under is what actually applies.
Are Yadavs Kshatriya or Shudra? Yadavs claim Kshatriya status via the Yadu–Krishna lineage and a real martial/ruling history; the 1901/1931 censuses recorded many as Shudra, which sparked the Yadav Mahasabha's early-20th-century Sanskritisation campaign. Ritual varna is genuinely contested; legally they are OBC; in self-identity the Kshatriya Yaduvanshi claim dominates.
What percentage of UP and Bihar are Yadav? Bihar: about 14.26% (18.65 million), per the official 2022 Bihar Caste Survey — the largest OBC group there. UP: no official figure exists because India publishes no caste census; estimates typically range roughly 9–15%, and UP holds the largest Yadav population in absolute numbers.
What is the Yadav gotra? There is no single one. Yadavs use many gotras that vary by region and sub-community (e.g. Dagar, Dahiya, Rathi, Banaphar, Solanki, Tomar, Nikumbh among others), alongside a symbolic Chandravanshi/Yadu lineage. Confirm an individual gotra from family or community records.
Who is the Yadav kuldevta? Primarily Krishna, with regional kuldevtas including Bhairon Baba, Shiva, Burha/Ajagar ancestor figures and family Devi forms.
When is Yadav Divas? 15 April, as a community-led cultural commemoration (linked to the movement that founded the All India Yadav Mahasabha on 17 April 1924). It is not a government public holiday.
Sources & further reading
The references below are the encyclopaedic and official-government sources for the varna claim, the Bihar survey figure, the community-organisation history and the regional names. Population figures for states without a caste census are presented as estimates, and this guide is re-reviewed whenever an official survey changes the underlying data.