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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Temples In Kerala
Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd), also known as Shenvis are a Hindu community of contested caste status and identity. They primarily speak Konkani and its various dialects as their mother tongue.

They claim to be Saraswat Brahmins who initially migrated to Konkan from Gaud, per Puranic accounts. Upon moving out of Goa during Portuguese occupation, their claims of Brahminhood were rejected both to the north of Goa, by the Deshastha, Chitpavan and Karhade Brahmins of Maharashtra, and to the south, by the Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala.

The GSBs were traditionally traders and even as early as the 1400s they conducted commerce across the Indian Ocean. In the Maratha empire, they also served as administrators.

Etymology

There are many interpretations on how the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins received the name "Gaud" and the information about it is scant.

Authors Jose Patrocinio De Souza and Alfred D'Cruz interpreters that the word Gauda or Goud may have been taken from Ghaggar, with Goud and Saraswat having the same meaning, that is an individual residing on the banks of river Saraswati.

Scholars write that "Shenvi" and "Gaud Saraswat Brahmin" are synonyms.

Historically, Jana Tschurenev states that the Shenvis were a community that claimed to be Brahmins.

Classification

According to Ghurye, five hundred years ago Saraswats were mainly confined to the area around Goa.In the last three hundred years, they migrated south towards Mangalore and north towards Rajapur in present day Ratnagiri district, Alibag and further north. He identifies seven sub-castes among the Saraswats, namely Bardeshkar, Bhalawalikar, Kudaldeshkar, Lotlikar, Pednekar, Sashtikar and Shenvi-paiki. From early twentieth century there have been many initiatives by the different sub-castes to form a unified Saraswat caste but according to Frank O'Conlon (writing in 1974) these attempts failed. These initiatives however, did spur foundation of educational and commercial instituitions which have endured.

History

In Kalhana's Rajatarangini (twelfth century CE), the Saraswats are mentioned as one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities residing to the north of the Vindhyas.

References to Saraswat names are found in Shilaharas as well as Kadamba copper plate inscriptions. The inscriptions found in Goa bear testimony to the arrival of Brahmin families in the Konkan region.

The Shilahara kings seem to have invited supposedly pure Aryan Brahmins and Kshatriyas from the Indo-Gangetic plain to settle in Konkan. These castes are the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus (CKP).

The GSB ancestors identified themselves as of the Saraswat section of the northern Gaud division, in contrast to their Maharashtra and Karnataka Brahman neighbours of the southern division. Many Saraswats left Goa after the invasion of Malik Kafur to the neighbouring regions and during the period of religious persecution of the Portuguese also Saraswats migrated to Uttar Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kerala and South Konkan.

Historian Farias states that the Gaud Saraswats supposedly intermarried with women from other castes after their arrival in Goa.

Historical occupations

After commercial activities in the Indian Ocean increased after the 1400s, Pius Malekandathil states that "many Indians, particularly the banyas, the Gowda Saraswat Brahmins began to move to different parts of this maritime space to conduct trade, where they eventually set up nucleus for Indian diasporas".

Harald Tambs-Lyche notes that trading communities such as the GSB, when dominating the merchants of Cochin, received exterritorial rights granted by the Dutch.

South Kanara is part of the Kanara coast from Goa to Kerala. In the sixteenth century, the increase and export of rice production here was brought about by the GSB, the Bunts and Billava coconut growers. The Gaud Saraswat Brahmin – which Marine Carrin and Lidia Guzy describe as a "Konkani speaking community of traders [who were] already established along the coast" now became the major rice exporters. The Bunts controlled the land while the GSB controlled the rice trade in the markets. Thus in South Kanara, the GSB were merchants by occupation and not priests who served in temples. The priestly as well as clerical function was performed by Shivalli Brahmins. This remains the case even in modern times although other castes have entered the trading occupations now.

During the Portuguese rule and later, they were again one of the main trading communities. They also served as "village – Kulkarnis, financiers, tax-farmers in the intra-Asian trade, and diplomatic agents". Many sources of government income in Goa, Konkan and elsewhere, including taxes on cloth and tobacco, were controlled by them. Some engaged with Tobacco trade with Brazil in the early eighteenth century.

In the mid-nineteenth century, in Portuguese India, the trade in Goa changed focus from luxury items to essential items only. Coconut, salt, areca-nuts, fruits and poultry were exported, while rice and timber were imported. According to Borges, Pereira and Stubbe, of the trading communities, the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and Gujarati Vania played the major role in this trade and Mormugao city became the major meeting place for the traders. British and Portuguese interests clashed during this time.

In Maharashtra, Saraswats had served as administrators under the Deccan Sultanates such as the Adil Shahi. In the eighteenth century during the Maratha empire era, the Shinde and the Holkar rulers of Ujjain and Indore recruited Saraswats to fill their administrative positions. R.C.Chaurasia says that Mahadji Shinde favoured the Shenvi Brahmins and Deshastha Brahmins. After Mahadji's death, his widows favoured the Shenvis to the Deshastha. Balloba Pagnis and Lakhwa Dada held high posts - Pagnis was a minister and Dada was a Viceroy.

A sample study in the 1970s in Kota, Karnataka found that the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins owned most of the grocery and general merchandise stores.

Origin myth per the Sahyadrikhanda

Parshurama with Saraswat Brahmin settlers, commanding Varuna to make the seas recede in order to create the Konkan Region

As per Sahyadrikhanda, "Chitpavan and Karhade brahmins are "new creations of base-origins" and not a part of "established Gaud or Dravid groups". After Parashuram created the Chitpawans from fishermen who had assembled around some funeral pyre in Konkan, their later actions displeased him. As if to rectify his mistake, Parashuram brought ten sages from North India, specifically, Trihotra (Trihut, Bihar) and set them up in Goa for performing ancestral rites, fire sacrifice and dinner offerings. The fourth chapter of Sahyadrikhanda describes the Gotras of these Brahmins and praises them as "best brahmins, honored by the kings, good-looking, with righteous behavior, and expert in all rites".

The Gauḍa Sārasvat Brahmins from southern India, whose claim to Brahminhood was often not accepted by the surrounding Dravid Brahmins, could use this text from Sahyadrikhanda to address the conflict. Wagle makes no judgement on the validity of the claim of Northern origin and writes:

The claim of the Gauḍa Sārasvata brahmanas (= GSB), whether real or imagined, of a north Indian origin is not an obscure historical problem; it is a relevant problem which has been of constant interest to the GSB. Many GSB leaders in the 1870s and 1880s have referred to this northern origin to indicate the solidarity of the GSB in contrast with other brahmana groups of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. In the late 19th century the GSB spokesmen wrote books and articles, gave public speeches, cited documentary evidence in the native Indian as well as English court of law to prove that they belonged to the Northern stock of brahmanas. In this, their claim was in line with their efforts to be recognized as brahmanas, a right which was challenged by the Chitpavan, Deshastha and Karhade, among others.

In addition, as per some modern scholars like Hewitt, the Sahyadrikhanda is considered corrupted by many modifications and interpolations to the original. As an example, Madhav Deshpande cites the 4th verse from chapter-I which when translated is:

The Trihotras, the Āgnivaiśyas, the Kānyakubjas, the Kanojis, and the Maitrāyaṇas, these five are said to be the five Gauḍas.

Deshpande considers this as a "sloppy interpolation" to get Trihotra in the list of Brahmin migrations as the Gaud Saraswats group has migrated from Trihotra in northern India as per the text. There is a reference to Kānyakubja in this verse and Kanoji in the previous although they are the same.

Scholars' opinions

Bambardekar, a scholar on Konkan History, does not accept the Gauda or Brahmin claim of the Gauda Saraswats. According to Bambardekar, the Pancha Dravid Brahmins are the original Gauda Brahmins and he cites a verse from the Skanda Puran to prove his assertion.

Alexander Henn says that "modern scholars have questioned the myth of the northern descent". According to modern scholars, arguing that their origins instead come from local priests who, at some point in history, gained Brahmanhood".

Varna dispute

Gaud Saraswats of Goa during the long Portuguese rule have had their Brahmin claim challenged by the locally smaller brahmin communities of Deshastha, Chitpavan and Karhade as well as by the Goldsmith, Maratha, and other non-brahmin communities.

Sanjay Subrahmanyam says that in the 15th and 16th century Saraswats did business with the Portuguese at the port of Basrur. They claimed Brahminhood sometimes but were more associated with trading activity and referred to as "chatins" from the word chetti by the Portuguese. They were a "caste of open status" according to Subrahmanyam.

M.R. Kantak says that in 16th(1500s), Brahmins were the only caste that had access to higher education and learning in Sanskrit. Saraswats and Prabhus, who came next to the Brahmins, also educated their children and home, but only in accounting and vernacular literature. Apart from these three communities (Brahmins, Saraswats and Kayasthas), other communities did not receive much education as during those times only higher castes received education. Kantak does not consider the Saraswats in the Brahmin category.

The brahmin status of the Saraswats was affirmed by the Kashi pandits in 1630.

Later in the 17th century, Shivaji (1630-1680) had asked Gaga Bhatt, a Benares based Deshastha Brahmin pandit, to resolve the issue regarding the Shenavis' ritual status when they met before his coronation. Fifteen pandits in Benares proclaimed that the Shenavis were Brahmins. This proclamation includes Prashasti (praise) from both Shivaji and his father, Shahaji for the verdict. However, there was a debate in Shivaji's court in 1664, which reached the consensus that they were not "full-fledged Brahmins" but only trikarmi brahmins who do not have the full rights of a Brahmin. A late 20th century study showed that Konkani communities - Shenvis, Sastikars, Bardeshkars, Bhalvalikars, Rajpurkars and Pednekars currently have trikarmi status only.

M.R. Kantak, while discussing the contributions of castes during Shivaji's rule in the 17th century, says that their education made the Saraswats and Prabhus proficient in account keeping as well as clerical posts in the administration as against the Brahmins who studied Sanskrit for religious literature also. Saraswats and Shenavis were acquainted with Portuguese and English languages, and therefore could act as interpreters during Shivaji's time.

During the census of 1846 carried out by the british colonial authorities in Bombay presidency, the ongoing feud between the Chitpavans and the Shenvis led to the latter being classified separately from the "Brahmans".

Madhav Deshpande writes:

The Deshastha, Chitpavan and Karhade were united in their rejection of the brahminhood for the Gauḍa Saraswats, and Wagle himself provides evidence of this animosity.

Bambardekar, a prominent researcher on Konkan's history, also rejects the Brahmin claim of the Shenvi GSB as well as their "gauda-ness". He argues that the Seṇavīs adopted the term Gauḍa-Sārasvata in the latter part of the nineteenth century. According to Bambardekar, the (Shenvi)GSBs have falsified the Kannada word gowḍa meaning 'village chief' as being identical with the Sanskrit word gauḍa and challenges their Brahmin status itself. Bambardekar cites a document from 1694 AD and another from 1863 AD in which the Brahmins and Shenvis are separately listed. University of Michigan scholar Madhav M. Deshpande cites R.V.Parulekar and states that " British administrative documents from the early nineteenth century Maharashtra always list brahmins and Shenvis as two separate castes". Irawati Karve and G. S. Ghurye consider GSB's as part of larger Saraswat Brahmins and overall Brahmin community. The Hindu scripture Sahayadhri Khanda provided support for the Brahmanical genealogy of the GSB. However, Sanskrit scholar Madhav Deshpande, Indologist and Sanskrit Scholar Stephan Hillyer Levitt and historian O'Hanlon consider the portion of the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa that describes Saraswats to be corrupted and recently interpolated by Saraswats themselves in order to improve their status.

In Kerala, the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin claim to be Brahmins but this view is not necessarily supported by other communities such as the Namboodri Brahmins.

The GSB from Goa were considered to be non-Brahmin by the Pune Brahmin Shastris of late 1800s and therefore did not allow, RG Bhandarkar, an eminent orientalist and Sanskrit scholar to participate in a Brahmin only debate in the British era as he was a GSB and not a Brahmin. This caused GSB caste activists to claim the Brahmin status by using markers such as "gotra", "kuldeva", village, "allegiance to a lineage of spiritual descent" or "guru parampara" of preceptors (swamis). The movement was active from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Gail Omvedt, while describing the non-Brahman movement in western India, says that Shahu, the ruler of Kolhapur, who encouraged non-Brahmins, sponsored hostels for almost all non-Brahmin communities. Omvedt ways that one of these was the Saraswat hostel.

Sociologist Sharmila Rege also considers the Saraswats(Shenvis) as different from Brahmins while discussing matriculation from Elphistone after the fall of the Peshwa rule.

In mid 19th century Bombay, the Pathare Prabhu and the GSB were both considered lower in ritual status in the varna system as compared to the Brahmins of Maharashtra although they had a high secular status. This ambiguous position caused the Prabhus and the GSBs to support Vishnubawa Brahmachari's Hindu revival in the 19th century.

Historian John Roberts also considers them as coming after the Brahmin community of Maharashtra in the jati hierarchy.

According to sociologist Dabir, ritually higher non-Brahmin castes in Maharashtra, the Saraswats and CKP, have tried to follow Brahmin customs in the treatment of women. She calls this process as Brahminisation.

Sociologist Ramesh Bairy says that "Saraswat claim to Brahminhood is still strongly under dispute, particularly in the coastal districts of Karnataka".

Culture

Classification and culture

Gaud Saraswat Brahmins have both Madhvas and Smarthas among them. The Gaud Saraswats following Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya are followers of Kashi Math and Gokarna Math, while the followers of Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankara are followers of Kavale Math and Chitrapur Math. Among Gaud Saraswat Brahmins the Madhvas are Vaishnavites, while the Smarthas are considered as Shivites and Shaktites. According to author A B de Bragnanca Pereira says, "The main deities worshipped by Shaivite are Mangesh, Shantadurga, and Saptakoteshwar, while the Vaishnavites deities are Nagesh, Ramnath, Mahalakshmi, Mahalasa, Lakshmi, Narasimha, Venkataramana, Kamaksha, Bhagwati and Damodar". Most of the GSB's in the Malabar Coast, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu regions are followers of Madhvacharya. In Goa, the GSB's who follow Madhvacharya and are mainly concentrated in the Bardez and Salcete regions.

Diet

Gaud Saraswat Brahmins are primarily fish and other seafood eaters but there are also vegetarians among them. Historian Kranti K Farias states that "Their main food is rice – called congi or Pej. Shaktas offer and then consume mutton, fowl and liquor during the worship of the female divine.

Notable people

Main article: List of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins

Festivals

Main article: List of festivals of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ after the portuguese rulers had destroyed the Math (monastery) of the Community.The community wanted to continue the math in Kashi with a Saraswat Sanyasi as the head. Previously in Goa, the Math head had always been a sanyasi from other brahmin communities. In order for a Saraswat sanyasi to head the math, a petition was made to the Kashi pandits. The pandits with Dadam Bhatta as their chief issued their judgement in 1630 granting the saraswats, a brahmin status which allowed them to set up the Kashi math with a saraswat sanyasi as their head
  2. ^ a scholar cited for paper on the History and Social Organization of the Gauḍa Sārasvata Brāhmanas of the West Coast of India
  3. ^ Although the quote uses the word 'saraswat', the context of the paper shows that he refers to Gaud Saraswat only and the source referred by the source for the cases is The History and Social Organization of the Gauḍa Sārasvata Brāhmanas of the West Coast of India(1970) by Wagle
  4. ^ The debate was by the learned Brahmins was on the issue of Brahmin widow remarriage

Citations

  1. ^ Lola Nayar (1 October 2012). "The Konkan Rail". Outlook India. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  2. ^ Anil Seal (2 March 1968). The Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the Later Nineteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 375. ISBN 9780521062749. GAUD SARASWAT : a subdivision of Brahmins.
  3. ^ —Richard Gabriel Fox (1970). Urban India: Society, Space, and Image: Papers Presented at a Symposium Held at Duke University. Duke University. p. 27.
    —J. Rajathi (1976). Survey of Konkani in Kerala. Language Division, Office of the Registrar General. pp. 145–150.
    —George, Anjana (9 October 2016). "Navarathri celebrations in Kerala: Kerala celebrates Navarathri in 9 diverse ways". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
    —"GSB community concludes its celebration". The Times of India. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ^ Pius Malekandathil (5 July 2017). Vijaya Ramaswamy (ed.). Migrations in Medieval and Early Colonial India. Routledge. pp. 271–. ISBN 978-1-351-55825-9.
  5. ^ Marine Carrin; Lidia Guzy (29 November 2020). Voices from the Periphery: Subalternity and Empowerment in India. Taylor & Francis. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-00-036569-6.
  6. ^ Harald Tambs-Lyche (9 August 2017). Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste. Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-351-39396-6.
  7. ^ Charles J. Borges; Oscar Guilherme Pereira; Hannes Stubbe, eds. (2000). Goa and Portugal: History and Development. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 63–. ISBN 9788170228677. OCLC 1014554637. Among the trading communities , the Gowda Saraswat brahmins and Gujarati vanias played a major role . Mormugao emerged as a rendezvous of trade in Goa .
  8. ^ Souza, Jose Patrocinio De; D'Cruz, Alfred (1973). Saligao: Focus on a Picturesque Goan Village. Jacob R. de Souza Adoni Printers and Publishers for the Mae de Deus Church (Saligao) Centenary Celebrations Committee. p. 31.
  9. ^ Jim Masselos (2007). The City in Action: Bombay Struggles for Power. Oxford University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-19-567929-8. Shenvi is a popular synonym for Gaud Saraswat Brahmin
  10. ^ Deepra Dandekar (23 December 2020). Baba Padmanji: Vernacular Christianity in Colonial India. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-00-033613-9. Shenvi, or Gaud Saraswat Brahmins from coastal Karnataka and Goa
  11. ^ Jana Tschurenev (23 May 2019). Empire, Civil Society, and the Beginnings of Colonial Education in India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 282–. ISBN 978-1-108-49833-3.
  12. ^ Ghurye, Govind (1969). Caste and race in India. Bombay: popular prakashan. pp. 194–195. ISBN 978-81-7154-205-5.
  13. ^ Conlon, F. F. (1974). Caste by Association: The Gauḍa Sārasvata Brāhmaṇa Unification Movement. The Journal of Asian Studies, 33(3), 351-365.
  14. ^ D. Shyam Babu and Ravindra S. Khare, ed. (2011). Caste in Life: Experiencing Inequalities. Pearson Education India. p. 168. ISBN 9788131754399.
  15. ^ Pinto, Celsa (1994). Trade and Finance in Portuguese India: A Study of the Portuguese Country Trade, 1770–1840 (Volume 5 of Xavier Centre of Historical Research Porvorim: XCHR studies series ed.). Concept Publishing Company. pp. 53–56. ISBN 9788170225072.
  16. ^ Raj Pruthi, Rameshwari Devi (2004). Religions And Faiths In India. Mangal Deep Publications. p. 204. ISBN 8175941693. There was a craze in the southern and eastern countries for the importation of the supposed pure Aryan Brahmins and Kshatriyas from the indo-gangetic valley in the north. The silhara kings of Konkan also seem to have invited both brahmins and kshatriyas from the north for settling in the south about this time. They are the Gauda Sarasvata Brahmins and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus of Konkan. The Gauda Sarasvata Brahmins and the Kayastha Prabhus are naturally often referred to as 'Aryas' which is corrupted to 'Aiyyas' in the inscriptions. The local Brahmins were referred to as 'Bhats', and the imported northerners as Aryas...
  17. ^ Narayan Keshav Behere (1946). The Background of Maratha Renaissance in the 17th Century: Historical Survey of the Social, Religious and Political Movements of the Marathas. p. 81.
  18. ^ "Boletim Do Instituto Vasco Da Gama No. 68 – 1952". Tipografia Rangel, Bastora. 1952. p. 74. ... Principalmente, na segunda metade do século XVI, em várias ocasiões, os hindus goeses emigraram, em massa, por motivo religioso, para as terras do Idalcão, para o Canará e ainda para o território de Samorim. ...
  19. ^ Kranti K. Farias (1999). The Christian Impact in South Kanara. Church History Association of India. p. 10. ISBN 9788175251267. There supposedly was inter-marriage between women of other castes and the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins[..]The Gaud Saraswat of all classes or sub – castes except the Kaushalthalis eat fish occasionally (at dinners for friends only), onion, vegetables, roots . Their main food is rice (congi or pej), gruel, curries and vegetable.[..]The Shakti worshippers of female force in nature eat mutton and fowl and drink liquor after worship . The teachings of Madhavacharya of Udipi who visited Goa in the twelfth century caused the first division among the Konkani Brahmins.
  20. ^ Harald_Tambs-Lyche (2008). "Indian Ocean Trade and the Merchant Castes: India's West Coast". In Helena basu (ed.). Journeys and Dwellings:Indian Ocean Themes in South Asia. Orient BlackSwan. p. 142. ISBN 9788125031413. In Cochin , merchant communities like the GSB had their own quarter in the city , and considerable autonomy - indeed they were included in the exterritorial rights exercised by the Dutch when they dominated Cochin's trade( Malekandathil 2001 )
  21. ^ Fernandes, J.K., 2008. INDO-PORTUGUESE ART AND THE SPACE OF THE ISLAMICATE.[1] Archived 8 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Gordon, Stewart (2017). The Marathas 1600–1818, Volume 2. Cambridge university press. pp. 130–145. ISBN 9780521033169.
  23. ^ Conlon, F.F., 1974. Caste by Association: The Gauḍa Sārasvata Brāhmaṇa Unification Movement. The Journal of Asian Studies, 33(3), pp.351-365.
  24. ^ Chaurasia, R S (2004). History of the Marathas. Atlantic Publishers. pp. 30–33. ISBN 9788126903948.
  25. ^ G. Morris Carstairs; Ravi L. Kapur (1 January 1976). The Great Universe of Kota: Stress, Change, and Mental Disorder in an Indian Village. University of California Press. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-0-520-03024-4.
  26. ^ Deshpande, M.M. (2010). "Pañca Gauḍa and Pañca Drāviḍa: Contested borders of a traditional classification". Studia Orientalia: 108: 42–43.
  27. ^ Deshpande, M.M. (2010). "Pañca Gauḍa and Pañca Drāviḍa: Contested borders of a traditional classification". Studia Orientalia: 108: 31. In comparison with the previous verse, this verse is flawed in some significant ways and looks like an interpolation. The double reference to Kānyakubja and Kanoji which are one and the same is an indication of the sloppiness of the author of this interpolation. I suspect that the author wanted to get some important groups like the Trihotras into this listing. As will be noted later, the Gauḍa Sārasvatas, according to the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa, are migrants from Trihotra. The Maitrāyaṇas are also a relative late migrant group in Maharashtra, probably from Gujarat, and the text looks kindly upon them in including them among the five Gauḍas, some of whom later migrated to the southern region. This indicates the process of changing definitions of these terms at various times and localities to suit various purposes.
  28. ^ Alexander Henn (2014). Hindu-Catholic Encounters in Goa. Indiana University Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780253013002. Only a few archival sources are available today that give detailed evidence about the pre-Portuguese history of the Goan people and their village and religious culture. One resource is the Sahyadri Khanda of the Skanda Purana, or "Book of the Western Mountains," an apparently recently organized and somewhat deficient edition of disparate texts (Levitt 1977; Figueiredo 1963)-the earliest ones of which date to the fifth and the latest to the thirteenth centuries (Levitt 1973: 82, 87)-that tell the mythological story of the people of the Konkan and Goa (Cunha 1877; Gaitonde 1972). An especially relevant example is the story of the migration of the Saraswat branch of the Panca Gauda Brahmans of North India to Goa. The mythical hero of this story is Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, who, enraged by a misdeed of King Kartavirya, perpetrates a massacre among the Kshatriya. The hero then begs the sea-god Varuna for land or, according to another version, claims the land of Konkan and Malabar himself from the ocean by blows of his magical axe, in order to bestow it to Brahmans in expiation for his cruel deed (Walker 1983: 2:190; Doshi and Shirodkar 1983: 54). More precisely, the Sahyadri Khanda accounts for sixty-six Gaud Saraswat Brahman families who Parashurama had brought from Trihotra, the modern Tirhut in western Bengal, to settle in Goan villages.....Facilitated by its enormous size and amorphous structure, the Sahyadri Khanda, however, has become the subject of contested interpretations. Modern scholars have questioned the "myth of the northern descent" of the Gaud Saraswat Brahman, arguing that their origins instead come from local priests who, at some point in history, gained Brahmanhood (Kosambi 1962] 1992: 166).
  29. ^ Axelrod, P., & Fuerch, M. A. (1998). Portuguese Orientalism and the Making of the Village Communities of Goa. Ethnohistory, 45(3), 439–476. https://doi.org/10.2307/483320
  30. ^ Sanjay Subrahmanyam (29 October 1998). The Career and Legend of Vasco Da Gama. Cambridge University Press. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-0-521-64629-1. An important and relatively little-known example of a sort of 'merchant republic' form, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries can be found at Basrur, on the Kanara coast south of Goa. The dominant trading community here were Saraswats , a caste of open status , which at times claimed Brahminhood but more usually was identified with mercantile activity ( the Portuguese usually term them chatins , from chetti )
  31. ^ M.R. Kantak 1978, pp. 40–41: Among all the castes, the Brahmin caste was the only one, which had, because of its social and religious privileges, access to higher education and learning available in Sanskrit language, as well as lower education in clerical work, account-keeping and the vernacular religious poetry in the 16th and 17th century Maharashtra. Next to the Brahmins came the Saraswats and the Kayastha Prabhus. These two communities had the tradition of giving the children education at home but only in clerical work account keeping and vernacular literature. As a result the saraswats or prabhus were proficient in account keeping and other clerical jobs. Except the Brahmins, the Saraswats and the Kayasthas, all other castes and communities in 17th century Maharashtra received very little education, which was the sole priviledge of the higher castes
  32. ^ O’Hanlon, R. (2013). Performance in a world of paper: Puranic histories and social communication in early modern India. Past & Present, 219(1), 87-126.
  33. ^ Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale (2012). Shivaji His Life and Times. Param Mitra Publications. p. 480. ISBN 978-9380875170. Shivaji had met Gagabhatt a decade before his coronation in Rajapur to solve the issue related to shenavis regarding their ritual rights.( page-480)15 well learned pandit from Benaras gave vedict in favour of shenavis declaring them as Brahmins.(Same page)The decision at this assembly in April 1664 is prefaced by praise or prashasti from Shahaji and Shivaji to Gaga Bhatt.
  34. ^ Madhav Deshpande 2010, p. 41.
  35. ^ Bento Graciano D'Souza (1975). Goan Society in Transition: A Study in Social Change. p. 61. The most important of the Konkani caste communities were : ( 1 ) The Saraswat Brahmins such as Shenvis , Sastikars , Bardeshkars , Bhalvalikars , Rajpurkars and Pednekars. ...They are , therefore , called Trikarmi Brahmins as distinguished from Shatkarmi Brahmins who performed all the six duties assigned to their caste
  36. ^ M.R. Kantak 1978, pp. 40:The present article deals with Shivaji's achievement of moulding the caste-ridden Maratha[people] society of the 17th century into a well-knit unit, with reference to 'the actual political role of different Maratha castes and communities of Hindu religion, high and low, in the foundation of Swarajya under his able lead
  37. ^ Guha S. The Politics of Identity and Enumeration in India c. 1600–1990. Comparative Studies in Society and History. 2003;45(1):148-167. doi:10.1017/S0010417503000070
  38. ^ Deshpande, M.M. (2010). "Pañca Gauḍa and Pañca Drāviḍa: Contested borders of a traditional classification". Studia Orientalia: 108: 45. The Deśasthas, Citpāvans and Karhāḍes were united in their rejection of the brahminhood for the Sārasvatas, and Wagle himself provides evidence of this animosity. See Wagle 1970b: 318–319 for court cases filed by different brahmins against the Sārasvatas in 1788 ad, 1850 ad and 1864 ad. Also see Bambardekar 1939 and Conlon 1977: 39ff
  39. ^ The Indian P.E.N., Volume 41. P.E.N. All-India Centre. 1975. p. 18. OCLC 1716992. ( iii) The birth centenary of the late Rao Bahadur V. A. Bambardekar, a well-known research-scholar of Konkan's history, was celebrated at Bombay on November 24. Vice – Chancellor Shri T. K. Tope presided
  40. ^ Madhav Deshpande 2010, p. 41: Bambardekar (1939: 111) cites two documents dated 1863 ad and 1694 ad where the brahmins are listed separately from the Seṇavīs. He argues that the Seṇavīs appropriated the term Gauḍa-Sārasvata only in the late 19th century. He also cites a letter from a Ṥeṇavī scholar (p. 297): "You are certainly right when you say that the term [...] Saraswata is a term of modern origin. Being myself a so-called [...] Saraswata, I may tell you that this term was invented only the other day to suit the conservative mentality of some of my community people." It may be noted that British administrative documents from the early 19th century Maharashtra always list brahmins and Shenavis as two separate castes, cf. Parulekar (1945; 1951: 26 ff.
  41. ^ Madhav Deshpande 2010, p. 55.
  42. ^ Deshpande, M.M. (2010). "Pañca Gauḍa and Pañca Drāviḍa: Contested borders of a traditional classification". Studia Orientalia: 108: 41. 14 Bambardekar (1939: 111) cites two documents dated 1863 ad and 1694 ad where the brahmins are listed separately from the Seṇavīs. He argues that the Seṇavīs appropriated the term Gauḍa-Sārasvata only in the late 19th century. He also cites a letter from a Ṥeṇavī scholar (p. 297): "You are certainly right when you say that the term [...] Saraswata is a term of modern origin. Being myself a so-called [...] Saraswata, I may tell you that this term was invented only the other day to suit the conservative mentality of some of my community people." It may be noted that British administrative documents from the early 19th century Maharashtra always list brahmins and Shenavis as two separate castes, cf. Parulekar (1945; 1951: 26 ff.)
  43. ^ Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1969). Caste and Race in India. Popular Prakashan. p. 195. ISBN 9788171542055.
  44. ^ Jason Fernandes 2018.
  45. ^ Levitt S. H. (2017). "Reflections on the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa's Uttarārdha". Studia Orientalia Electronica. 5: 151–161. doi:10.23993/store.65156. ISSN 2323-5209.
  46. ^ ALINA KACZMAREK-SUBRAMANIAN (2020). "Caste and ethnicity in South India: A case study of the Konkani people in Kochi". Etnografia Polska LXIV, 2020, Z. 1–2. 64: 177. doi:10.23858/EP64.2020.009. Nowadays when members of the caste group define themselves as a part of a particular caste, it also indicates their place in the hierarchical idealized order of varna. Thus, Goud Saraswat Brahmins and Sonar (Daivadnya Brahmins) would call themselves Brahmins, although not everybody would consider them as such. It depends on who is speaking. Goud Saraswat Brahmins would not consider Sonar as valuable Brahmins, because the latter eat fish. The local Keralan Namboodri Brahmins would not recognize either the Goud Sarawat or the Sonar as Brahmins since they travelled through the sea, which is considered polluting.
  47. ^ Tucker R. Hindu Traditionalism and Nationalist Ideologies in Nineteenth-Century Maharashtra. Modern Asian Studies. 1976;10(3):321-348. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00013007
  48. ^ Gail Omvedt (1976). Cultural Revolt in a Colonial Society: The Non Brahman Movement in Western India, 1873 to 1930. Scientific Socialist Education Trust. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-88386-922-2. Typical of his style was sponsorship of student hostels for almost all non-Brahman communities, in which the Maharaja provided encouragement, sometimes a gift of land and grants where these were necessary, but would appeal to the rich men of the respective caste communities for basic support. These hostels included the Jain hostel (founded 1901), the Victoria Maratha hostel (1901), the Veerashaiva or Lingayat hostel (1907), the Mahomedan hostel (1906), the Namdev Shimpi hostel, the Daivadnaya Brahman or Sonar hostel (1921), the Saraswat hostel, the Kayastha Prabhu hostel, the Miss Clark Hostel for Untouchables ( founded in 1908 under non-Brahman leadership due to the lack of educated Untouchables), and the Arya Kshatriya or Jingar hostel (1920)
  49. ^ Sharmila Rege 2014, pp. 32: The consequences of the British policy of education that has been guided by the needs of the administration became evident by the middle of the nineteenth century. A class of administrators, clerks, journalists and writers - a professional class, which was the backbone of the middle class - emerged. The caste composition of the emergent intelligentsia is clearly indicative of the fact that with the British policy of education, upper castes such as saraswats(shenvis) and prabhus could consolidate their hold over the scarce opportunities. A non-brahman Ryot had, in 1823 commented that the power of Brahman had doubled since they lost the country(Ballhachet 1957:153). Before the downfall of the Peshwa rule, in 1815, there was only one school started by missionaries for orphans in Bombay. Between 1827 and 1848, several schools of the Elphistone institution had started and 152 students had completed matriculation. Of these 152 students, 71 were prabhus, 28 parsis, 16 brahmanas, 12 saraswats and 25 belonged to lower castes.
  50. ^ Kenneth W. Jones (1992). Religious Controversy in British India. State University of New York(press. p. 14).
  51. ^ John Roberts (9 April 1971). "The Movement of Elites in Western India under Early British Rule". The Historical Journal. 14 (2): 241–62. JSTOR 2637955. The main Maharashtrian Brahman jatis (sub-castes), the Chitpavans, Deshasthas and Karhadas, and also intermediate castes such as the Saraswats and Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus, all contributed families to this expatriate elite, although different jatis predominated in different regions and at different times.
  52. ^ Neela Dabir (2000). women in distress. Rawat Publishers. pp. 97–99. (page 97, 98) In the process of Brahminisation, other upper castes across the country, tried to imitate the Brahmins and followed similar norms in the matters of marriage, divorce or treatment of widows. In Maharashtra, for instance, the family norms among the Saraswats and CKPs were similar to those of the Brahmins. Marathas although politically powerful and economically well to do, were on the lower rung of the caste echelon. They had different ritual norms which were marginally lenient as compared to the Brahmins. In contrast, the women from the lower castes enjoyed a little more freedom in these matters. Widow remarriage was an accepted practice in many lower castes[Ranade,1991]...For the purpose of analysis, we have grouped these 56 castes into the following basic categories (1) Brahmin, Saraswat, and CKP (2) Maratha, and (3) other castes (page99) Table 8 reveals that women from the upper castes i.e. Brahmin, Saraswat, and CKP together form the largest group(46%) among the women admitted[in the Ashrams]...The data also reveals some significant differences in the marital status of Brahmin, CKP and Saraswat women on one hand and Maratha and other caste women on the other...These statistical differences acquire a special meaning when we look at them in the context of our earlier statement that oppression of widows and the restrictions on married women were far more severe for the women from Brahmin, CKP and Saraswat castes than for women from Maratha and other castes.
  53. ^ Ramesh Bairy (11 January 2013). Being Brahmin, Being Modern: Exploring the Lives of Caste Today. Routledge. pp. 193–. ISBN 978-1-136-19820-5. Saraswat claim to Brahminhood is still strongly under dispute, particularly in the coastal districts of Karnataka.
  54. ^ Chavan 1991, p. 22.
  55. ^ Singh 1995, p. 185.
  56. ^ Chavan 1991, p. 23.
  57. ^ Pereira 2008, p. 59.
  58. ^ J. Rajathi (1976). Survey of Konkani in Kerala. Language Division, Office of the Registrar General. p. 6. Culture:The GSBs are Vaishnavites and are followers of Madhvacharya.
  59. ^ S. Anees Siraj (2012). Karnataka State: Udupi District. Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department. p. 189.
    —Karnataka State Gazetteer: Shimoga. Karnataka (India), Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. 1973. p. 110.
    —Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Kanara. Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. 1973. p. 111. The Gauda Saraswats are the Madhva Vaishnavite Saraswat Brahmins, while the Saraswats have continued to be Smarthas.
    —The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 93. Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1972. pp. 18–22. Page 22:Next comes the old Mysore areas, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, parts of Maharashtra proper, Tulunad (South Kanara) and U.P. barring the Karnatak area and Tamil Nadu, the largest community of Madhvas is to be found among the Gaud Saraswats.
  60. ^ Chavan 1991, p. 2122.
  61. ^ Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri (1999). A Socio-cultural History of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara. Institute Menezes Braganza. p. 108. Prior to the 15th century there was no conflict between the followers of Vaishnavism and Shaivism in Goa . However after the spread of Dvaita philosophy in Goa the Saraswat community was divided into Vaishnavites (Madhvas) and Smartas (Shaivites).
  62. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 91, Part 2. Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1970. p. 8. Later under the influence of Madhvacharya many of them became Vaishnavites.
  63. ^ Venkataraya Narayan Kudva (1972). History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats. Samyukta Gowda Saraswata Sabha. p. 154. The majority of the Saraswats, including those in Goa, are now Vaishnavas.
  64. ^ "A Konkani touch!". Deccan Herald. 16 May 2018. Gowd Saraswat Brahmins are often tagged as fish-eating brahmins. However, a sizeable section of them are pure vegetarians.
  65. ^ Kaw, M. K. (2001). Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future. APH Publishing. ISBN 9788176482363. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  66. ^ "Gowd Saraswat Cuisine, Where Fish Dishes Hold a Special Place". NDTV Food. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  67. ^ "Forward castes must think forward as well". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2019. Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) community, a caste of fish-eating Brahmins from India's west coast.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Suryanath U Kamath (1992). The origin and spread of Gauda Saraswats.
  • Venkataraya Narayan Kudva (1972). History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats. Samyukta Gauda Saraswata Sabha.
  • Ramachandra Shyama Nayak. "Saraswath Sudha". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Kawl, M. K. (2001). Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future. APH. ISBN 9788176482363.
  • Bryant, Edwin (2001). The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513777-9.
  • Hock, Hans (1999) "Through a Glass Darkly: Modern "Racial" Interpretations vs. Textual and General Prehistoric Evidence on Arya and Dasa/Dasyu in Vedic Indo-Aryan Society." in Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia, ed. Bronkhorst & Deshpande, Ann Arbor.
  • Shaffer, Jim G. (1995). "Cultural tradition and Palaeoethnicity in South Asian Archaeology". In George Erdosy (ed.). Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-014447-6.
  • Conlon, Frank F. (1974). "Caste by Association: The Gauda Sarasvata Brahmana Unification Movement". The Journal of Asian Studies. 33 (3): 351–365. doi:10.2307/2052936. JSTOR 2052936. S2CID 161174511.
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