Mahuri

Mahuri (माहुरी) is a Hindu caste (jāti) under Vaisya varna.

Mahuri Vaisya people are reported to have migrated from the city of Mathura and surrounding rural locations to the then suba of Bengal under the Mughal Empire. As a faithful community, the Mahuri Vaisya community still continue to worship Mata Mathurashani Devi, an incarnation of Shakti, as their family deity.

Mythology

In a part of the Bhagavata Purana, which is named Sukha Sagar (that is, the Ocean of Bliss), there is a mythical story which states that Brahma felt that the Avatar (incarnation) of Krishna had already taken place on the earth (Prithvi). He dispatched an emissary to Mathura region to ascertain the factual position. There the emissary found that Krishna was moving around with Gopas and Gopis in and around Vrindavan. After some time, Krishna went somewhere, leaving the Gopas and Gopis alone for sometime. During Krishna's absence, Brahma's emissary put all the Gopas and Gopis inside a cave and closed the opening of the cave. Upon his return, when Krishna found that all the Gopas and Gopis had disappeared, he, by his divine power, created duplicates of them, and sent them to their respective homes.