The Yadava (Maithili) of Nepal

The Yadava (Maithili) of Nepal, numbering approximately 801,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a large, historically pastoral community of India and Nepal whose shared identity is rooted in mythological descent from King Yadu and association with Krishna, and whose modern form emerged through social consolidation in the 19th–20th centuries They are an Indigenous people, with Yadava as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Yadav people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Maithili is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Yadava (Maithili)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: Yadav
Primary Language(s): Maithili (mai)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 801,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046321

Pray for the Yadava (Maithili) of Nepal

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maithili
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Maithili Speakers

Media Resources in Maithili:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Maithili:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Tranlsators, Inc.✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Maithili bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yadava (Maithili) are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Yadava (Maithili):
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Yadava (Maithili) of Nepal

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
readPsalm 19:3

Pray that God will lead them to His Word, and where it is not available, ask that He will raise up those who will produce gospel media in their heart language.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
readPsalm 22:27

Pray that all families of the nations will worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Yadav (Maithili) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116745) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
Yadava (Maithili)Yadava (Maithili)India1,565,000Engaged yet UnreachedMaithiliHinduism
Yadava (Maithili)Yadava (Maithili)Nepal801,000Engaged yet UnreachedMaithiliHinduism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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