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According to the mythological chronicle [[Sahyadrikhanda]] of [[Skanda Purana]],ninety six Brahmin families belonging to ten [[gotra]]s migrated to Goa from North western India.<ref name="skanda">''Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha)'' -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan shastri Gaytonde, published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai</ref><ref>''Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti'' Part-1, p. 206, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication</ref>The former Purana further adds that the sage [[Parashurama]] brought Saraswats to Goa.Even if Parashurma is considered as a historical figure, the regionalisation of Brahmins had not taken place during his age and he had brought only Brahmins and not specifically Saraswats Brahmin.<ref name="sar" />As per [[Bhau Daji]] and [[Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi]],there is no relation between Parashurama and the migration of the Brahmins.<ref>{{Citation|last=Kosambī|first=Dharmānanda|title=Dakṣiṇī Sārasvatas|journal=Vividajñāna vistāra|volume=2|issue=55|page=14|language=Marathi}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Lāḍa|first=Dr Bhāū Dājī|title=Indian caste|publisher=JAS|page=54}}</ref>The Sahyadrikhaṇḍa is a later inclusion in the original Sanskrit Skanda Puraṇa, not a part of the original Sanskrit text.<ref name=shastri>Shastri, (1995) ''Introduction to the Puranas'', New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, pages 118–20</ref>The Parashurama legend serves as a symbol of the [[Sanskritisation]] that, then Goan culture experienced with the advent of [[Vedic religion|Brahminical religion]] to this region.<ref name="parshu">{{cite book|last1=Kamat|first1=Pratima|title=Tarini and Tar-vir,the unique boat deities of Goa|date=2008|publisher=Goa Institute for Culture and Research in History(GOINCARH)|location=Panjim|isbn=978-81-904485-0-9|page=5|accessdate=17 March 2016}}</ref>This was achieved to a certain extent through the agency of the Saraswat Brahmins who had migrated to Goa who ought to establish their hegemony.<ref name="pura">{{cite book|title=Purabhilekh-puratatva: Journal of the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology|publisher=Goa, Daman and Diu (India). Directorate of Archives, Archaeology, and Museum|location=Panaji, Goa|pages=10|edition=Volume 2}}</ref>
According to the mythological chronicle [[Sahyadrikhanda]] of [[Skanda Purana]],ninety six Brahmin families belonging to ten [[gotra]]s migrated to Goa from North western India.<ref name="skanda">''Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha)'' -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan shastri Gaytonde, published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai</ref><ref>''Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti'' Part-1, p. 206, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication</ref>The former Purana further adds that the sage [[Parashurama]] brought Saraswats to Goa.Even if Parashurma is considered as a historical figure, the regionalisation of Brahmins had not taken place during his age and he had brought only Brahmins and not specifically Saraswats Brahmin.<ref name="sar" />As per [[Bhau Daji]] and [[Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi]],there is no relation between Parashurama and the migration of the Brahmins.<ref>{{Citation|last=Kosambī|first=Dharmānanda|title=Dakṣiṇī Sārasvatas|journal=Vividajñāna vistāra|volume=2|issue=55|page=14|language=Marathi}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Lāḍa|first=Dr Bhāū Dājī|title=Indian caste|publisher=JAS|page=54}}</ref>The Sahyadrikhaṇḍa is a later inclusion in the original Sanskrit Skanda Puraṇa, not a part of the original Sanskrit text.<ref name=shastri>Shastri, (1995) ''Introduction to the Puranas'', New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, pages 118–20</ref>The Parashurama legend serves as a symbol of the [[Sanskritisation]] that, then Goan culture experienced with the advent of [[Vedic religion|Brahminical religion]] to this region.<ref name="parshu">{{cite book|last1=Kamat|first1=Pratima|title=Tarini and Tar-vir,the unique boat deities of Goa|date=2008|publisher=Goa Institute for Culture and Research in History(GOINCARH)|location=Panjim|isbn=978-81-904485-0-9|page=5|accessdate=17 March 2016}}</ref>This was achieved to a certain extent through the agency of the Saraswat Brahmins who had migrated to Goa who ought to establish their hegemony.<ref name="pura">{{cite book|title=Purabhilekh-puratatva: Journal of the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology|publisher=Goa, Daman and Diu (India). Directorate of Archives, Archaeology, and Museum|location=Panaji, Goa|pages=10|edition=Volume 2}}</ref>


Sahyadrikhanda mentions the original home of Saraswats as [[Tirhut]].The section in which the Tirhut is mentioned has been tentatively dated to 1400 CE.A writer on the basis of the genealogy and chronology of Puranic sages has mentioned that Aryans reached Goa during 2500 B.C.This is based on preconceived notion, that Aryans and Saraswats were identical. Elsewhere in the same work the author has argued that Parashurama had brought only Brahmins and not Saraswats. Therefore, equating Aryans and Saraswats seems to be far-fetched.<ref name="sar">{{cite book|last1=Mitragotri|first1=Vithal Raghavendra|title=A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara|date=1999|publisher=Institute Menezes Braganza|pages=50 - 54|accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref>However, it is more reasonable to suppose that the Saraswats of Goa migrated from North Western [[Uttar Pradesh]],[[Punjab]],[[Sindh]],[[Kutch]] and [[Saurashtra]]. There is no agreement among scholars about the original home of Saraswats.The name by which these Brahmins have been designated clearly indicates that the river Saraswati had played an important role in the life in their life. Even after the disappearance of the river, the Brahmins who had once inhabited the banks of river Saraswati retained the name of the region. There are evidences in history about the migration of the population from one region to another regions account of foreign invasions and sudden climatic changes. The recent researches in Archaeology have shown that the [[Saraswati river]] dried in before 1000 BCE.For the study of the migration of the Saraswats to [[Konkan]] and Deccan, the linguistics provides a corroborative evidence.The main line of [[Indo-Aryan]] linguistic expansion began from north to south much before 500 BC.The Saraswats settled themselves in [[Rajasthan]], Sindh and [[Gujarat]]. In ancient Gujarat there was a separate division called ''Saraswat Mandal''.There are many Konkani words which are found only in Gujrati. From this it is evident that Saraswats had settled in Gujarat migrated to Goa.This also indicates that the Saraswats from the Kutch regions might have migrated to Goa on account of Arab invasion in 8th century CE.<ref name="sar" />
Sahyadrikhanda mentions the original home of Saraswats as [[Tirhut]].The section in which the Tirhut is mentioned has been tentatively dated to 1400 CE.A writer on the basis of the genealogy and chronology of Puranic sages has mentioned that Aryans reached Goa during 2500 B.C.This is based on preconceived notion, that Aryans and Saraswat brahmins were identical. Elsewhere in the same work the author has argued that Parashurama had brought only saraswath Brahmins. Therefore, equating Aryans and Saraswats seems to be far-fetched.<ref name="sar">{{cite book|last1=Mitragotri|first1=Vithal Raghavendra|title=A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara|date=1999|publisher=Institute Menezes Braganza|pages=50 - 54|accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref>However, it is more reasonable to suppose that the Saraswats of Goa migrated from North Western [[Uttar Pradesh]],[[Punjab]],[[Sindh]],[[Kutch]] and [[Saurashtra]]. There is no agreement among scholars about the original home of Saraswats.The name by which these Brahmins have been designated clearly indicates that the river Saraswati had played an important role in the life in their life. Even after the disappearance of the river, the Brahmins who had once inhabited the banks of river Saraswati retained the name of the region. There are evidences in history about the migration of the population from one region to another regions account of foreign invasions and sudden climatic changes. The recent researches in Archaeology have shown that the [[Saraswati river]] dried in before 1000 BCE.For the study of the migration of the Saraswats to [[Konkan]] and Deccan, the linguistics provides a corroborative evidence.The main line of [[Indo-Aryan]] linguistic expansion began from north to south much before 500 BC.The Saraswats settled themselves in [[Rajasthan]], Sindh and [[Gujarat]]. In ancient Gujarat there was a separate division called ''Saraswat Mandal''.There are many Konkani words which are found only in Gujrati. From this it is evident that Saraswats had settled in Gujarat migrated to Goa.This also indicates that the Saraswats from the Kutch regions might have migrated to Goa on account of Arab invasion in 8th century CE.<ref name="sar" />


Reference to Saraswat names are found in [[Shilahara]]s well as [[Kadambas of Goa|Kadamba]] [[Indian copper plate inscriptions|copper plate inscriptions]].Certain [[Muslim]] incursions in [[North India]] provoked the Brahmin exodus.The inscriptions found in Goa bear testimony to arrival of certain Brahmin families in Konkan region.<ref name="trade" />Sahyadrikhanda ans ''Mangesh Mahatmya'' allude to migrations of Saraswats constituting sixty six families were settled in eight villages of Goa.There were regional variations among the Saraswats, like that of ''Bardeskars, Pednelkars, Kudalkars and Sashtikars''. Konkana mahatmya of 17th century CE, deals with the internal rivalry of the Saraswats and strained relations between these groups.<ref name="km">{{cite book|title=Konkana Mahatmya|publisher=Samant hari|pages=21-34|accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref>Saraswats were not recognised by the local Brahmins as well as others.They were not entitled to the six duties of the Brahmins called ''Shatkarma''s and they were called ''Trikarmi'',entitled to three duties like the other [[Dvija]]s.Hence besides their sacerdotal duties, they took up administrative vocations under the ruling dynasties. Therefore, they gradually established as the landowning class and also as traders.After settling down in Konkan and Goa in c. 800 A.D. Saraswats may have taken about a century to establish being patronised by the Shilaharas and the Kadambas of Goa.<ref name="sar" /> Many Saraswats left Goa after the invasion of Malik Kafur to the neighboring regions and during the period of religious persecution of the Portuguese also Saraswats migrated to [[Uttar Kannada]], [[Dakshina Kannada]] and [[Konkan|North Konkan]].The Saraswat Brahmins particularly served as village [[Kulkarni]]s,financiers,tax farmers,traders in the intra-Asian trade and as diplomats.Many sources of government income in Goa,Konkan and elsewhere tax on commodities,custom duties remained in their hands.<ref name="trade">{{cite book|last1=Pinto|first1=Celsa|title=Trade and Finance in Portuguese India: A Study of the Portuguese Country Trade, 1770-1840|date=1994|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788170225072|pages=53-56|edition=Volume 5 of Xavier Centre of Historical Research Porvorim: XCHR studies series|accessdate=17 March 2016}}</ref>
Reference to Saraswat names are found in [[Shilahara]]s well as [[Kadambas of Goa|Kadamba]] [[Indian copper plate inscriptions|copper plate inscriptions]].Certain [[Muslim]] incursions in [[North India]] provoked the Brahmin exodus.The inscriptions found in Goa bear testimony to arrival of certain Brahmin families in Konkan region.<ref name="trade" />Sahyadrikhanda ans ''Mangesh Mahatmya'' allude to migrations of Saraswats constituting sixty six families were settled in eight villages of Goa.There were regional variations among the Saraswats, like that of ''Bardeskars, Pednelkars, Kudalkars and Sashtikars''. Konkana mahatmya of 17th century CE, deals with the internal rivalry of the Saraswats and strained relations between these groups.<ref name="km">{{cite book|title=Konkana Mahatmya|publisher=Samant hari|pages=21-34|accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref>They took up administrative vocations under the ruling dynasties. Therefore, they gradually established as the landowning class and also as traders.After settling down in Konkan and Goa in c. 800 A.D. Saraswat brahmins may have taken about a century to establish being patronised by the Shilaharas and the Kadambas of Goa.<ref name="sar" /> Many Saraswats left Goa after the invasion of Malik Kafur to the neighboring regions and during the period of religious persecution of the Portuguese also Saraswats migrated to [[Uttar Kannada]], [[Dakshina Kannada]] and [[Konkan|North Konkan]].The Saraswat Brahmins particularly served as village [[Kulkarni]]s,financiers,tax farmers,traders in the intra-Asian trade and as diplomats.Many sources of government income in Goa,Konkan and elsewhere tax on commodities,custom duties remained in their hands.<ref name="trade">{{cite book|last1=Pinto|first1=Celsa|title=Trade and Finance in Portuguese India: A Study of the Portuguese Country Trade, 1770-1840|date=1994|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788170225072|pages=53-56|edition=Volume 5 of Xavier Centre of Historical Research Porvorim: XCHR studies series|accessdate=17 March 2016}}</ref>


==Rituals==
==Rituals==

Revision as of 19:35, 22 March 2016

Goud Saraswat Brahmin
Regions with significant populations
Primary populations in Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala
Languages
Konkani
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Konkani people, Saraswat Brahmins

Goud (also spelt as Gaud or Gawd) Saraswat Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin community in India and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community.They belong to the Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana groups.They are popularly referred to as GSBs.They primarily speak Konkani as their mother tongue.

Parshurama with Saraswat Brahmin settlers commanding Varuna to make the seas recede to make the Konkan Region

Perceptions of mythology and history

According to the mythological chronicle Sahyadrikhanda of Skanda Purana,ninety six Brahmin families belonging to ten gotras migrated to Goa from North western India.[1][2]The former Purana further adds that the sage Parashurama brought Saraswats to Goa.Even if Parashurma is considered as a historical figure, the regionalisation of Brahmins had not taken place during his age and he had brought only Brahmins and not specifically Saraswats Brahmin.[3]As per Bhau Daji and Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi,there is no relation between Parashurama and the migration of the Brahmins.[4][5]The Sahyadrikhaṇḍa is a later inclusion in the original Sanskrit Skanda Puraṇa, not a part of the original Sanskrit text.[6]The Parashurama legend serves as a symbol of the Sanskritisation that, then Goan culture experienced with the advent of Brahminical religion to this region.[7]This was achieved to a certain extent through the agency of the Saraswat Brahmins who had migrated to Goa who ought to establish their hegemony.[8]

Sahyadrikhanda mentions the original home of Saraswats as Tirhut.The section in which the Tirhut is mentioned has been tentatively dated to 1400 CE.A writer on the basis of the genealogy and chronology of Puranic sages has mentioned that Aryans reached Goa during 2500 B.C.This is based on preconceived notion, that Aryans and Saraswat brahmins were identical. Elsewhere in the same work the author has argued that Parashurama had brought only saraswath Brahmins. Therefore, equating Aryans and Saraswats seems to be far-fetched.[3]However, it is more reasonable to suppose that the Saraswats of Goa migrated from North Western Uttar Pradesh,Punjab,Sindh,Kutch and Saurashtra. There is no agreement among scholars about the original home of Saraswats.The name by which these Brahmins have been designated clearly indicates that the river Saraswati had played an important role in the life in their life. Even after the disappearance of the river, the Brahmins who had once inhabited the banks of river Saraswati retained the name of the region. There are evidences in history about the migration of the population from one region to another regions account of foreign invasions and sudden climatic changes. The recent researches in Archaeology have shown that the Saraswati river dried in before 1000 BCE.For the study of the migration of the Saraswats to Konkan and Deccan, the linguistics provides a corroborative evidence.The main line of Indo-Aryan linguistic expansion began from north to south much before 500 BC.The Saraswats settled themselves in Rajasthan, Sindh and Gujarat. In ancient Gujarat there was a separate division called Saraswat Mandal.There are many Konkani words which are found only in Gujrati. From this it is evident that Saraswats had settled in Gujarat migrated to Goa.This also indicates that the Saraswats from the Kutch regions might have migrated to Goa on account of Arab invasion in 8th century CE.[3]

Reference to Saraswat names are found in Shilaharas well as Kadamba copper plate inscriptions.Certain Muslim incursions in North India provoked the Brahmin exodus.The inscriptions found in Goa bear testimony to arrival of certain Brahmin families in Konkan region.[9]Sahyadrikhanda ans Mangesh Mahatmya allude to migrations of Saraswats constituting sixty six families were settled in eight villages of Goa.There were regional variations among the Saraswats, like that of Bardeskars, Pednelkars, Kudalkars and Sashtikars. Konkana mahatmya of 17th century CE, deals with the internal rivalry of the Saraswats and strained relations between these groups.[10]They took up administrative vocations under the ruling dynasties. Therefore, they gradually established as the landowning class and also as traders.After settling down in Konkan and Goa in c. 800 A.D. Saraswat brahmins may have taken about a century to establish being patronised by the Shilaharas and the Kadambas of Goa.[3] Many Saraswats left Goa after the invasion of Malik Kafur to the neighboring regions and during the period of religious persecution of the Portuguese also Saraswats migrated to Uttar Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and North Konkan.The Saraswat Brahmins particularly served as village Kulkarnis,financiers,tax farmers,traders in the intra-Asian trade and as diplomats.Many sources of government income in Goa,Konkan and elsewhere tax on commodities,custom duties remained in their hands.[9]

Rituals

During the eighth month of pregnancy, a woman moves to her mother's house, especially during the birth of her first child. The expecting mother also performs Ganapathi Pooja for a successful delivery and a healthy child. On the 6th day, a pen and lamp are kept near the child's head, symbolic of a wish for an intelligent child. On the 12th day, the naming and cradling ceremony is performed wherein the paternal grandmother whispers the child's name into his/her ear and a horoscope is cast.[citation needed] When the child turns three months old, they are taken to the temple, and thereafter the child goes to the father's abode.[11]

Festivals

GSBs celebrate almost all festivals in Hinduism, and follow the Hindu lunar calendar (Panchang in Konkani) that gives the days on which the fasts and festivals should be observed.[12]

Cuisine

Main article: Saraswat cuisine

Notables

Main article: List of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins

See also

References

  1. ^ Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha) -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan shastri Gaytonde, published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai
  2. ^ Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti Part-1, p. 206, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication
  3. ^ a b c d Mitragotri, Vithal Raghavendra (1999). A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara. Institute Menezes Braganza. pp. 50–54. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Kosambī, Dharmānanda, "Dakṣiṇī Sārasvatas", Vividajñāna vistāra (in Marathi), 2 (55): 14
  5. ^ Lāḍa, Dr Bhāū Dājī, Indian caste, JAS, p. 54
  6. ^ Shastri, (1995) Introduction to the Puranas, New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, pages 118–20
  7. ^ Kamat, Pratima (2008). Tarini and Tar-vir,the unique boat deities of Goa. Panjim: Goa Institute for Culture and Research in History(GOINCARH). p. 5. ISBN 978-81-904485-0-9. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  8. ^ Purabhilekh-puratatva: Journal of the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology (Volume 2 ed.). Panaji, Goa: Goa, Daman and Diu (India). Directorate of Archives, Archaeology, and Museum. p. 10.
  9. ^ a b 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. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ^ Konkana Mahatmya. Samant hari. pp. 21–34. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ "Welcome to GSB Konkani". Gsbkonkani.net. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Fasts and Festivals". Gsbkonkani.net. Retrieved 12 July 2012.

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" (Document). {{cite document}}: Cite document requires |publisher= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |isbn= and |url= (help)
  • Kawl, M. K. Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future.
  • 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. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
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