Gaud Saraswat Brahmin

Gaud Saraswat Brahmins(GSB) (also Goud or Gawd) are a Hindu Brahmin community,[2][3][4][5] who are part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community that migrated to Konkan from Gaud, as per the Skanda Purana in ancient India. They belong to the Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana groups.They primarily speak Konkani and it's various dialects, as their mother tongue.[6]

Gaud Saraswat Brahmin
Parshurama with Saraswat Brahmin settlers, commanding Varuna to make the seas recede in order to create the Konkan Region
Regions with significant populations
Primary populations in Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala[1]
Languages
Konkani
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Saraswat Brahmins

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.[7]

Scholars write that "Shenvi" and "Gaud Saraswat Brahmin" are synonyms.[8][9]

Historically, Jana Tschurenev states that the Shenvis were a community that claimed to be Brahmins.[10] The name GSB is a modern construction based on newly curated caste history and origin legends.

History

According to the Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana, ninety-six Saraswat Brahmin families belonging to ten gotras migrated to Goa from the Saraswati river basin, along with Parashurama.[11][12] Reference 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.[13]

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.[14][15]

Sahyadrikhanda and Mangesh Mahatmya allude to migrations of Saraswat Brahmins, constituting ninety-six families, who settled in eight villages of Goa. There were regional variations among the Saraswats, such as those among Bardeskars, Pednekars and Sastikars. The Konkana mahatmya, from the 17th century CE, deals with the internal rivalry of the Saraswats and strained relations between these groups.In Kalhana's Rajatarangini (12th century CE), the Saraswats are mentioned as one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities residing to the north of the Vindhyas.[16]

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. During the Portuguese rule and later, the Saraswat Brahmins were 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.[13]

Historian Farias states that the Gaud Saraswats supposedly intermarried with women from other castes after their arrival in Goa.[17]

Historically, in Maharashtra, Saraswats had served as administrators under the Deccan Sultanates such as the Adil Shahi.[18] In 18th century during the Maratha empire era, the Shinde and the Holkar rulers of Ujjain and Indore recruited Saraswats to fill their administrative positions.[19][20]

Varna(Shenvi)

There were varna disputes related to the Shenvi subsection of the GSB. The Brahmins of Maharashtra, i.e. Deshastha, Chitpavan and Karhade were unanimous in the rejection of the Brahmin claim of the (Shenvi)Gaud Saraswat Brahmins.[lower-alpha 1][21] Bambardekar, a prominent researcher on Konkan's history,[22] in his 20th-century Bhaṭṭojidīkṣitajñātiviveka 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 19th 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 19th century Maharashtra always list brahmins and Shenvis as two separate castes".[23]Irawati Karve and G. S. Ghurye consider GSB's as part of larger Saraswat Brahmins and overall Brahmin community.[24] The Hindu scripture Sahayadhri Khanda provided support for the Brahmanical genealogy of the GSB.[25]

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.[26][27][28] Among Gaud Saraswat Brahmins the Madhvas are Vaishnavites, while the Smarthas are considered as Shivites & 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".[29] Most of the GSB's in the Malabar Coast, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu regions are followers of Madhvacharya.[30][31] In Goa, the GSB's who follow Madhvacharya and are mainly concentrated in the Bardez and Salcete regions.[32][33][34][35]

Diet

Vaishnavite GSB who follow Madhvacharya are lacto-vegetarian.[36][37][38][39] while the Smarthas include seafood as part of their diet.[40][41][42][43] Historian Kranti K Farias states that "Their main food is rice - called congi or Pej. Shakta Smarthas offer and then consume mutton, fowl and liquor during the worship of the female divine.[17]

Notable people
Main article: List of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins

Festivals
Main article: List of festivals of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins

See also

References
  1. 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
  1. Lola Nayar (1 October 2012). "The Konkan Rail". Outlook India. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  2. Abhinav Chandrachud (28 May 2015). An Independent, Colonial Judiciary: A History of the Bombay High Court during the British Raj, 1862–1947. Oxford University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-19-908948-2. Gaud Saraswat community (The 'Gaud Saraswat Brahmins' are a sub-sect of the Brahmin caste found primarily in western India.).
  3. Sangeeta M. Sonak (1 October 2013). Khazan Ecosystems of Goa: Building on Indigenous Solutions to Cope with Global Environmental Change. Springer. p. 134. ISBN 9789400772021. Gaud-Saraswat Brahmin (GSBs) GSBs are a group of Hindu Brahmin community.
  4. Rinki Bhattacharya (9 June 2004). Behind Closed Doors: Domestic Violence in India. SAGE Publications India. p. 230. ISBN 9788132103271. Gaud Saraswat Brahmin—A subcaste of Brahmins.
  5. 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.
  6. —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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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.
  11. Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha) -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan shastri Gaytonde, published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai
  12. Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti Part-1, p. 206, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication
  13. 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.
  14. 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...
  15. 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.
  16. D. Shyam Babu and Ravindra S. Khare, ed. (2011). Caste in Life: Experiencing Inequalities. Pearson Education India. p. 168. ISBN 9788131754399.
  17. 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.
  18. Fernandes, J.K., 2008. INDO-PORTUGUESE ART AND THE SPACE OF THE ISLAMICATE.
  19. Gordon, Stewart (2017). The Marathas 1600-1818, Volume 2. Cambridge university press. pp. 130–145. ISBN 9780521033169.
  20. Conlon, F.F., 1974. Caste by Association: The Gauḍa Sārasvata Brāhmaṇa Unification Movement. The Journal of Asian Studies, 33(3), pp.351-365.
  21. 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 {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. 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
  23. 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.) {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  24. Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1969). Caste and Race in India. Popular Prakashan. p. 195. ISBN 9788171542055.
  25. Jason Keith Fernandes (1 May 2018). "Bridging the Centuries: A Brief Biography of Wamanrao Varde Valaulikar". Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 115. Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra: 188–199.
  26. Chavan 1991, p. 22.
  27. Singh 1995, p. 185.
  28. Chavan 1991, p. 23.
  29. Pereira 2008, p. 59.
  30. 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.
  31. 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.
  32. Chavan 1991, p. 2122.
  33. 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).
  34. 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.
  35. 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.
  36. S. Anees Siraj (2012). Karnataka State: Udupi District. Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department. p. 189.
  37. The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 91, Part 2. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1970. p. 63. The Saraswats are largely a vegetarian community, whose coconut- based cuisine is famed for its variety.
  38. Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 48.
  39. "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.
  40. Understanding Society: Readings in the Social Sciences. Macmillan International Higher Education. October 1970. p. 273. ISBN 9781349153923. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  41. Kaw, M. K. (2001). Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future. APH Publishing. ISBN 9788176482363. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  42. "Gowd Saraswat Cuisine, Where Fish Dishes Hold a Special Place". NDTV Food. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  43. "Forward castes must think forward as well". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

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. 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. 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.
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