Rastogi

Rastogi is a surname of Kshatriya Varg within Hindu Society. The legacy of King Harishchandra's son, Rohitashva, whose name signifies "lineage of the sun," gave rise to a series of surnames (Rastogi, ''Rohatgi'', ''Rustagi'') associated with the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriya(Ikshvaku), or the Warrior Clan. However, as time passed, they shifted their focus to commerce and were subsequently recognized as members of the Vaishya (Bania) elite community, renowned for their trading prowess.The Rastogis have a rich history as money lenders and businessmen. After the introduction of the Nesfield theory in 1885, they were officially classified as Vaishya based on their occupation. The Mahabharata recounts the glory of Rohitaka's kingdom founded by Rohitashva, whose glory is preserved in its 4 parva (Virata Parva), 35 upa-parva (Nakula Digvijaya), and 5 adhyayas. The kingdom stretched from Kashi's south banks on the Son River all the way to the borders of Indraprastha Punjab in the northwest and Kannauj in the north. Their capital, Rohtasgarh, was named after their ancestral prince Rohitashva.The present-day district of Bihar Rohtas is also named after him. To better administer their kingdom, they established sub-capitals such as Rohtak in Punjab(Haryana) named after Prince Rohitashva/Raja Rohtash. They ruled until the fifth century A.D. The majority of the Rastogi's are concentrated in the Uttar Pradesh Province of India. Provided by Wikipedia