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Saraswat Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins, who are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. The word Saraswat is derived from the Rigvedic Sarasvati River.

Classification

Saraswats Brahmins are classified under the Pancha Gauda Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in India.

In Western and South India, along with the Chitpavan, Karhades (including Padhyes, Bhatt Prabhus), and Konkani-speaking Saraswat Brahmins are referred to as Konkani Brahmins, which denotes those Brahmin sub-castes of the Konkan coast which have a regional significance in Maharashtra and Goa.

Based on Veda and Vedanta

In Western and South India, The Saraswat Brahmins are Rigvedi Brahmins and they follow Ashwalayana Sutra and are of Shakala Shaka Saraswat Brahmins are divided into two groups based on the Vedanta they follow, the first of which follows the Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya and second group are followers of Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankara.

In Karnataka and Kerala, Majority of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins are followers of Madhvacharya, while the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins are Smarthas, followers of Adi Shankara. Writer Chandrakant Keni and former I.C.S officer V. N. Kudva says, "The majority of the Saraswats, including those in Goa, are now Vaishnavas".

History

Origin and migration

The Saraswat Brahmins believe themselves to be named after the mythical Saraswati river, which was thought to arise in the Himalayas and flow through the present day Punjab and Rajasthan region to the western sea near Dwaraka, in Gujarat. Saraswat brahmins are mentioned in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhavishya Purana..According to the Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana, ninety-six Brahmin families belonging to ten gotras migrated to Goa from western India, along with Parashurama. Linguistic evidence for such a migration of Saraswats to Konkan and Deccan is based on distribution of Indo-Aryan linguistic expansions, beginning before 500 BCE.

Saraswats were spread over a wide area in northern part of the Indian subcontinent. One group lived in coastal Sindh and Gujarat, this group migrated to Bombay State after the partition of India in 1947. One group was found in pre-partition Punjab and Kashmir most of these migrated away from Pakistan after 1947. Another branch known as Dakshinatraya Saraswat Brahmin are now found along the western coast of India.

The Saraswat Brahmins originating in Balochistan were called sindhur and were considered a low caste. They have a legend of origin related to Lord Ramachandra (not the same as Parashurama), who could not find a priest in Balochistan and applied a Tilaka on the head of some Mleccha. Jürgen Schaflechner cites the historian Rowe who states that such "low ranking Brahmins" formed a symbiotic relationship with Vaishya castes such as Khatris, Lohanas, etc. who were trying to raise their varna status - which in turn would benefit the Saraswats as well. For this purpose, certain religious texts were written during the British Raj era.

Philosophy and literature

Saraswats have contributed to the fields of Sanskrit, Konkani, Marathi and Kannada literature and philosophy. All the mathadhipathis of Kashi Math, Gokarna Math, Kavale Math and Chitrapur Math without a single exception are from the Saraswat Brahmin community. The 17th-century Madhva Saraswat scholar, Sagara Ramacharya, authored the Konkanabhyudhaya

Advaita saints such as Gaudapada, grand-teacher of the philosopher Shankaracharya; Narayana Tirtha, the first peetadhipathi of Gokarna Math and Yadavendra Tirtha, the first peetadhipathi of Kashi Math, are some of the prominent saints from the Saraswat Brahmin community.

Society and culture

Northern India

Kashmir

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.

According to M. K. Kaw (2001), Kashmiri Pandits, a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community hold the highest social status in Kashmir. Based on the calendar used, they divided into two groups-Malmasi (who remained in the valley despite religious persecution) and Banmasi (who are said to have immigrated or re-immigrated under King Zain ul Abidin in the fifteenth century) The former follow the lunar calendar while latter who are in the majority follow the solar calendar. Walter Lawrence states that the Kashmiri Pandit community to be divided into the following classes - the Jotish (astrologer), the priestly class Guru or Bachabat and the Karkun (working class) that was employed in government service. Philosophers like Sureśvara, the first peetadhipathi of Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Mandana Mishra, were Kashmiri Saraswat Brahmins. and Parijnanashram I, was the first peetadhipathi of Chitrapur Math.

Punjab

Mohyal Brahmins are a sub-caste of Saraswat Brahmins from the Punjab region, who are sometimes referred to as 'Warrior Brahmins'. Mohyal Brahmins stopped practising priestly duties.

A small minority of Mohyals also have an association with Shia Muslims because they helped Imam Hussain in the Battle of Karbala, these Mohyal Brahmnins are called Hussaini Brahmins.

The Vaishnava saint Surdas was born in a Saraswat Brahmin family near Delhi.

Western and Southern India

Here the Saraswat Brahmins are divided into three sub-groups, they are, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins. Vaishnavas among them are followers of Kashi Math and Gokarna Math, while the Smarthas are followers of Kavale Math and Chitrapur Math.

Western India

The majority of Saraswats speak Konkani, one of the languages of the Indo-Aryan language family. The major dialects of Konkani used by Saraswats are Goan Konkani, Maharashtrian Konkani and Canarese Konkani.

Historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam states that Saraswats at "Basrur on the Kanara coast south of Goa" were a "caste of open status", which sometimes claimed to be Brahmins although they were associated with mercantile activity and called as "Chatins" from Chetti by the Portuguese. Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta had also visited Basrur, which was considered "the great center of Saraswat trade", two centuries earlier than the Portuguese, but it did not interest him as much as it did the Portuguese.Chatins de Barcelor was the term used for the Saraswat community of merchants at Basrur in the time of Diogo do Couto, but the term Chatin acquired a pejorative meaning later. It is likely derived from the Tamil 'Chati', which is a suffix for many trading castes that were present on the southern side of the Godavari river.

The Saraswats and Gujarati Vanias in Goa, were involved not only in trade but also in tax related income. After the 1540s discrimination against non-Christians in Goa increased and there were mass conversions to Christianity. Despite this, between 1600 and 1670, about 80% of the tax farms or rendas were held by the Hindus, especially Saraswats. The prominent Saraswat merchants mentioned at this time i.e. early 1600s are Govinda, Pondya as well as the Kini and Nayaks. The rendas were on various items such as spices(pepper), cotton and silk cloths, food shops and duties on gold. Michael Pearson has given an example of members and relatives of a Saraswat Naik family to show that when a person successfully did a bidding for a renda from the government, he had to name some guarantors - who were usually his relatives or caste members.

The Saraswats also traded at the Vengurla and Raybag ports and acted as suppliers of rice and pepper that they imported from Kanara. In this context, they also dealt with the Dutch who has established a factory in the port of Vengurla. Scholars mention a certain P.Nayak who was a notable merchant in the 1670s.

Saraswat merchant families during the Portuguese rule of Goa also were involved in trade with Portuguese colonies around the globe including in the African slave trade. In the 19th century also, French slave merchants came to Goa and contacted the Portuguese and Saraswat Brahmins who sold them African slaves.

In Konkan, the Saraswat as well as the fishermen communities were traditionally traders as well as sailors. The reason for seafaring was that the land of Konkan suffered due to salinisation and unpredictable rains. This caused the Saraswats to look for livelihood outside of Konkan and they would often use the Arabian Sea for travelling for trade. Dabhol was the main Konkan port in 1600 to Hormutz and the traders traded with Socotra and Yemen but by 1700 Dabhol was ruined due to silting and sandbanks. Moreover, the cities with which the trading occurred had also declined.

During Shivaji's coronation, the ritual status of the Saraswats to be Brahmins was supported by Gaga Bhatt, a leading Brahmin from Benares.

Historically, in Maharashtra, Saraswats had served as low and medium level administrators under the Deccan Sultanates for generations. In the 18th century, the quasi-independent Shinde and the Holkar rulers of Malwa recruited Saraswats to fill their administrative positions. This made them wealthy holder of rights both in Maharashtra and Malwa during the eighteenth century. During the same period in Peshwa ruled areas, there was a continuation of filling of small number of administration post by the Saraswats. During the rule of the Chitpavan Brahmin Peshwas in the 18th century, Saraswat Brahmins was one of the communities against whom the Chitpavans conducted a social war which led to Gramanya (inter-caste dispute).

After the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule in 1961, many Goan Saraswats opposed merger of Goa into Maharashtra.

The 19th century Konkani scholar Shenoi Goembab,and the 20th century multi-faceted Marathi scholar Purushottam Laxman Deshpande are some of the prominent scholars from the Saraswat Brahmin community.

Southern India

According to Nagendra Rao, the trading communities of Saraswats, Jews, Arabs, Komatis, Nawayath, etc. were active in south Kanara when the Portuguese arrived for trading in the 1500s. The items of trade were rice, pepper, ginger, etc. International trade already existed at the time in South Kanara and business existed with Malabar, Maldives, ports of the Red Sea. In Mangalore, Saraswats were part of the trading community when the Portuguese arrived to import saltpetre. The items from Mangalore were exported to Malabar, Goa, Surat, Bengal, Malacca, Maldives, Mecca, Aden, Congo, Hormuz and Ceylon.

Studies show that between 1500 and 1650, in Kanara, Saraswats and Nawayath were dominant in commerce with ports outside India but it was Mappila Muslims and Middle Eastern Muslims who dominated in Malabar.

The rulers in India encouraged Tobacco production from the mid-1600s because chewing, smoking and sniffing Tobacco gathered momentum in India. The Dutch extended cultivation in Kerala. Some towns in Kerala received support from the King of Cochin for tobacco cultivation. Here, the Saraswat Brahmin merchants such as Nayak, Kamat, etc. took up tobacco farming in the latter half of the seventeenth century and this resulted in major income for the King of Cochin.

According to some socialists due to the pescatarian diet of saraswats the claim of satkarmi brahminhood of saraswats was contested by local Brahmins but majority of saraswat Brahmins were Vegetarians, this was discussed during the coronation of shivaji where Gagabhatt gave verdict in favour of saraswat Brahmins,further during British era this matter reached court which resulted in court declaring saraswat Brahmins as Satkarmi Brahmins Sociologist and researcher Ramesh Bairy writes that "Saraswat claim to Brahminhood is still strongly under dispute, particularly in the coastal districts of Karnataka".

According to the sociologist, Gopa Sabharwal (2006), in Belgaum, Karnataka, "marriages between Saraswat and non-Saraswat Brahmins are on the increase though they were unheard of before, mainly because the Saraswats eat fish and occasionally meat, while all other Brahmins are vegetarians". According to sociologist Ramesh Bairy, even in 2010, in Karnataka, "at the level of the community as a whole, Brahmins may not be incensed at the Saraswat claim to Brahminhood. But a non-Saraswat Brahmin will not be keen on proposing marriage with a Saraswat family".

Marriages

The Saraswat Brahmins are divided into various territorial endogamous groups, who did not intermarry.

Diet

Kashmir valley

Kashmiri Pandits eat mutton and fish, but obey restrictions laid down by the shastras of not eating the meat of forbidden animals. Professor Frederick J. Simoons says according to some reports, Saraswat Brahmins from northern India also consume fish as part of their diet.

Maharashtra and Goa

In Goa and Konkan region, Saraswat Brahmins have both vegetarians and pescetarians among them, while in Maharashtra they are pescetarians.

Gujarat

In Gujarat, Saraswat Brahmins are pure vegetarians and do not even consume masur dal and garlic. They chiefly live on Bajri (millet), wheat roti (unleavened bread) with rice during lunch,and Khichdi (a mixture of rice and pulse) in the Dinner.

Punjab and Jammu

In Punjab and Jammu region, Saraswat Brahmins have been traditionally vegetarian.

Southern India

In Karnataka, Saraswat Brahmins are mainly concentrated in the coastal Kanara region. The sub-groups among Saraswats are Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins are largely vegetarians. In Kerala, Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins and Gaud Saraswat Brahmins are chiefly vegetarians, but there are also pescetarians among them .

Notable people

See also

• Canara Konkani
• Gaur Brahmins

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. ^ D. Shyam Babu and Ravindra S. Khare, ed. (2011). Caste in Life: Experiencing Inequalities. Pearson Education India. p. 168. ISBN 9788131754399.
3. ^ James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z. Rosen. pp. 490–491. ISBN 9780823931804.
4. P. P. Nārāyanan Nambūdiri (1992). Aryans in South India. Inter-India Publications. p. 78. ISBN 9788121002660.
5. Kamath, Suryanath U. (1992). The origin and spread of Gauda Saraswats. Archana Prakashana.
6. P. Thankappan Nair (2004). South Indians in Kolkata: History of Kannadigas, Konkanis, Malayalees, Tamilians, Telugus, South Indian Dishes, and Tippoo Sultan's Heirs in Calcutta. Punthi Pustak. p. 93. ISBN 9788186791509. As a result of this, the Saraswats living in the south of the Gangavali in North Kanara separated into what is known as the Gowda Saraswat community consisting mostly of Vaishnavas and Chitrapur Saraswats, mostly of Smarthas.
7. 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.
8. ^ S. Anees Siraj (2012). Karnataka State: Udupi District. Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department. p. 189.
9. Chandrakant Keni (1998). Saraswats in Goa and Beyond. Murgaon Mutt Sankul Samiti. p. 62. The majority of the Saraswats, including those in Goa, are now Vaishnavas
10. ^ 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.
11. 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. Nearly the whole of the prosperous trading community on the West Coast are now Madhvas.
12. D. Shyam Babu and Ravindra S. Khare, ed. (2011). Caste in Life: Experiencing Inequalities. Pearson Education India. p. 168. ISBN 9788131754399.
13. Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha) -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan shastri Gaytonde, published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai
14. Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti Part-1, p. 206, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication
15. Mitragotri, Vithal Raghavendra (1999). A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara. Institute Menezes Braganza. pp. 50–54.
16. GopalKrishna, Pai (2016). Swapna Saraswat. karnataka press. p. 20.
17. Dakshinatya Sarasvats: Tale of an Enterprising Community, page 6
18. Jürgen Schaflechner (2018). Hinglaj Devi: Identity, Change, and Solidification at a Hindu Temple in Pakistan. Oxford University Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-0-19-085052-4.
19. Sharma 2000, p. 474.
20. Sharma 2000, p. 577.
21. Sharma 2000, p. 580.
22. ^ P. Thankappan Nair (2004). South Indians in Kolkata: History of Kannadigas, Konkanis, Malayalees, Tamilians, Telugus, South Indian Dishes, and Tippoo Sultan's Heirs in Calcutta. Punthi Pustak. p. 93. ISBN 9788186791509. Remembering that some of his predecessors like Sureshvaracharya ( the famous Mandana Misra, the successor of Sankaracharya on the Sringeri Sharada Pitha ) were Kashmiri Saraswats, the Jagadguru readily gave them a letter in which ...
23. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 578.
24. M K, KAW (2017). Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future. APH Publications. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9788176482363.
25. ^ Michael Witzel (September 1991). "THE BRAHMINS OF KASHMIR" (PDF). Retrieved 25 January 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
26. Dhingra, Rajni; Arora, Vaishali (March 2005). "At the Cross Roads: Families in Distress". Journal of Human Ecology. 17 (3): 217–222. doi:10.1080/09709274.2005.11905784. S2CID 54701622. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
27. Hanks, Patrick (8 May 2003). Dictionary of American Family Names: 3-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 605. ISBN 978-0-19-508137-4.
28. McLeod, W. H. (1989). Who is a Sikh? : the problem of Sikh identity. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-826548-4. OCLC 19125681.
29. "Country Advice: India" (PDF). Refugee Review Tribunal. 31 January 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
30. Rath, Akshaya K. (7 July 2016). Secret Writings of Hoshang Merchant. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908961-1.
31. Datta, Nonica (30 September 2019). "The Forgotten History of Hussaini Brahmins and Muharram in Amritsar". The Wire. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
32. Sheikh, Majid (31 December 2017). "Spiritual connect of two villages on both sides of the divide". Dawn. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
33. Medieval Indian Literature, an Anthology: Selections (Gujarati - Konkani). Sahitya Akademi. 1997. p. 457. ISBN 9788126003655. SURDAS ( Sürdās, 1488 - 1591 ) was born in the village of Sihi, near Delhi, as the son of Ram Das, a Saraswat Brahmin.
34. Saraswats in Goa and Beyond. Murgaon Mutt Sankul Samiti. 1998. p. 10.
35. 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 )
36. Anthony Disney (25 July 2019). Historiography of Europeans in Africa and Asia, 1450–1800. Routledge. pp. 244–. ISBN 978-1-351-93068-0.
37. Sanjay Subrahmanyam (7 March 2012). The Portuguese Empire in Asia, 1500-1700: A Political and Economic History. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-27402-6.
38. Michael Naylor Pearson (1981). Coastal Western India: Studies from the Portuguese Records. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 101–. ISBN 9788170221609.
39. Sinnappah Arasaratnam; Holden Furber; Kenneth McPherson (2004). Maritime India. Oxford University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-19-566428-7. When the Dutch established a factory in the port of Wingurla , they dealt with a number of Hindu merchant suppliers of the neighbourhood . Hindu merchants , Konkanis and Saraswats , were located southwards in the Kanarese ports and Goa . They traded in the Bijapur ports of Wingurla and Raybag , being the major suppliers there of pepper and rice which they brought from Kanara . A prominent merchant of the 1670s with extensive dealings with the Nayak was Polpot Nayak.
40. de Souza, Teotonio R. “MHAMAI HOUSE RECORDS INDIGENOUS SOURCES FOR ’INDO’-PORTUGUESE HISTORIOGRAPHY.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 41, 1980, pp. 435–45. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44141866. Accessed 2 September 2022.
41. RUSSELL-WOOD, A. J. R. “An Asian Presence in the Atlantic Bullion Carrying Trade, 1710-50.” Portuguese Studies, vol. 17, 2001, pp. 148–67. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41105165. Accessed 2 September 2022.
42. Pedro Machado (6 November 2014). Ocean of Trade. Cambridge University Press. pp. 253–. ISBN 978-1-107-07026-4.
43. Rene J. Barendse (8 July 2016). The Arabian Seas: The Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century: The Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century. Routledge. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-317-45835-7. The Saraswat Brahmin communities and the fishermen have traditionally been heavily involved in trade and seafaring, for this was a poor land: the soil was threatened by salinization, the harvest by the erratic rains.
44. Manu S Pillai (2018). Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji. Juggernaut Books. pp. 279–. ISBN 978-93-86228-73-4.
45. Gordon, Stewart (2017). The Marathas 1600-1818, Volume 2. Cambridge university press. pp. 130–145. ISBN 9780521033169.
46. Gokhale, Sandhya (2008). The Chitpwans. Shubhi Publications. p. 204. The jati disputes were not a rare occurrence in Maharashtra. There are recorded instances of disputes between jatis such as Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus and the Chitpawans, Pathare Prabhus and the Chitpawans, Saraswats and the Chitpawans and Shukla Yajurvedi and the Chitpawans. These intra-caste dispute involving the supposed violation of the Brahmanical ritual code of behavior was called Gramanya in marathi.
47. Arun Sinha (2002). Goa Indica: A Critical Portrait of Postcolonial Goa. Bibliophile South Asia. p. 50. ISBN 8185002312. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
48. Olivinho Gomes (2004). Goa. National Book Trust, India. p. 176. ISBN 9788123741390. Shennoy Goembab, the great Konkani writer and scholar, himself a Saraswat Brahmin by caste ,
49. "Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 14". Sameeksha Trust. 1979: 1519. Deshpande a college graduate from a progressive Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community.. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
50. Nagendra Rao (2001). Pius Malekandathil; T. Jamal Mohammed (eds.). The Portuguese, Indian Ocean, and European Bridgeheads, 1500-1800. Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities of MESHAR. p. 305. The Portuguese were first European traders to arrive at the ports of South Kanara. On the eve of the arrival of the Portuguese, South Kanara comprised of large number of major and minor ports. There existed trade with Malabar, Maldives and ports of the Red Sea. There also existed the trading communities like the Arabs, Jews, Saraswats, Telugu Komatis, Navayats and others. International trade was not new to the traders of South Kanara. The traders dealt with commodities like rice, pepper, ginger and other spices. The arrival of Portuguese helped in enhancing the volume of trade in the ports of South Kanara.
51. Nagendra Rao (2001). Pius Malekandathil; T. Jamal Mohammed (eds.). The Portuguese, Indian Ocean, and European Bridgeheads, 1500-1800. Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities of MESHAR. p. 310. In 1632, the agent of the Portuguese sent their men to Mangalore to procure saltpetre from Mangalore. The trading community of Mangalore consisted of Muslims, Saraswats, Komatis, Virashaiva traders of Karnataka,Christians, Gujaratis, traders from Kerala and foreign traders belonging to Red Sea ports. According to the Livro do Cartazes,during the period from 1705 to 1724 about 8600 khandis were exported to different markets. The destinations of Mangalore trade were Malabar, Goa, Surat, Bengal, Malacca, Maldives,Mecca, Aden, Congo, Hormuz and Ceylon
52. Sanjay Subrahmanyam (18 July 2002). The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500-1650. Cambridge University Press. pp. 337–. ISBN 978-0-521-89226-1. the period from 1500 to 1650 , one finds certain communities which appear to dominate external commerce : Mappilas and a heterogenous group of Middle Eastern Muslims in Malabar , Saraswats and Navayat Muslims in the Kanara region
53. Pius Malekandathil (13 September 2016). The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India. Taylor & Francis. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-1-351-99746-1.
54. Dennis Kurzon (2004). Where East Looks West: Success in English in Goa and on the Konkan Coast. Multilingual Matters. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-1-85359-673-5. Saraswatis claim that they come from the Brahmin caste – hence their name - but others believe that they are usurpers using some fake brahmin ancestry to maintain their superiority.
55. 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.
56. "Department Of Sociology:Dr. Gopa Sabharwal". Retrieved 28 December 2019.
57. Gopa Sabharwal (2006). Ethnicity and Class: Social Divisions in an Indian City. Oxford University Press. p. 131. ISBN 9780195678307. In fact, marriages between Saraswat and non-Saraswat Brahmins are on the increase though they were unheard of before, mainly because the Saraswats eat fish and occasionally meat, while all other Brahmins are vegetarians.
58. Ramesh Bairy (11 January 2013). Being Brahmin, Being Modern: Exploring the Lives of Caste Today. Routledge. ISBN 9781136198199. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
59. Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's Communities, Volume 6. Oxford University Press. p. 3175. The Saraswat Brahman are an ancient and a dynamic community of India, spread from Kashmir to Konkan. They are divided into various territorial endogamous groups, who at one time did not intermarry.
60. Frederick J. Simoons (1994). Eat Not this Flesh: Food Avoidances from Prehistory to the Present. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 284. ISBN 9780299142506. There are even reports of certain Brahmin (Bengali Brahmins, Oriya Brahmins, Brahmins of certain parts of Bihar, Saraswat Brahmins of northern India, and Kashmiri Pandits) eating fish.
61. Kaw, M. K. (2001). Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future. APH Publishing. ISBN 9788176482363. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
62. "Forward castes must think forward as well". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
63. Maria Couto (2005). Goa: A Daughter's Story. Penguin Books India. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-14-303343-1.
64. Understanding Society: Readings in the Social Sciences. Macmillan International Higher Education. October 1970. p. 273. ISBN 9781349153923. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
65. Anant Kakba Priolkar (1967). Goa Re-discovered. Bhatkal Books International. p. 53. Saraswats are mainly vegetarians but are permitted to eat fish.
66. G. C. Hallen (1988). Indian Journal of Social Research, Volume 29. p. 4. In Maharashtra among most Brahmin castes non-vegetarian food is taboo but the Saraswat Brahmins eat fish.
67. Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's Communities: N -Z. Oxford University Press. p. 3178. ISBN 9780195633542.
68. J. Rajathi (1976). Survey of Konkani in Kerala. Language Division, Office of the Registrar General. pp. 7–8.
69. Nagendra Singh (2006). Global Encyclopaedia of the South Indian Dalit's Ethnography, Volume 2. Global Vision Pub House. p. 729. ISBN 9788182201675. Rajapura Saraswat ( Rajapuri ) are loosely referred to as Nayaka ... The Rajapura Saraswat are mostly vegetarian , rice being their chief food , but some use fish , and rear fowls..

Bibliography

• Sharma, B. N. Krishnamurti (2000), A History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature, Vol 1. 3rd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass (2008 Reprint), ISBN 978-8120815759

v t e Brahmin communities
Assamese Brahmins	Ganak Kamrupi Brahmin Kanyakubja Brahmin	,
Bengali Brahmins	Gaur Brahmin Kanyakubja Brahmin Kulin Brahmin Utkala Brahmin
Bihari Brahmins	Bhumihar Bairagi Brahmin Gayawal Brahmin Jaitharia Kanyakubja Brahmin Maithil Brahmin Maga Brahmin
Garhwali Brahmins	Gangari Brahmin Sarola Brahmin
Kannada Brahmins	Babburkamme Brahmin Badaganadu Brahmin Havyaka Brahmin Hebbar Iyengar Hoysala Karnataka Brahmin Kandavara Brahmin Karnataka Brahmin Kota Brahmin Koteshwara Brahmin Panchagrama Brahmin Sankethi Brahmin Shivalli Brahmin Smarta Brahmin
Kashmiri Brahmins	Kashmiri Pandits
Madhva Brahmins	Deshastha Brahmin Shivalli Brahmin Shivalli Madhva Brahmin Hebbar
Malayali Brahmins	Ambalavasi Chakyar Ilayathu Kerala Iyer Moothath Nambeesan Nambiar Nair Nambudiri Pushpaka Brahmin Pushpaka Unni Potti
Marathi Brahmins	Chitpavan Brahmin Daivadnya Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin Devrukhe Brahmin Karhade Brahmin Konkani Brahmin Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin Peshwa Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin
Manipuri Brahmin	Kamrupi Brahmin
Maithil Brahmin	Aboti Brahmin Bhumihar Gayawal Brahmin Kanyakubja Brahmin Gautam Brahmin Golapurab Brahmin Gurav Kanyakubja Brahmin Maga Brahmin Malviya Brahmin Nagar Brahmin Naramdev Brahmin Sanadhya Brahmin
Nepali Brahmins	Jaishi Brahmin Saraswat Brahmin
Punjabi Brahmins	Bias Brahmin Gaur Brahmin Gautam Brahmin Hussaini Brahmin Maga Brahmin Mohyal Brahmin
Odia Brahmins	Bias Brahmin Rath Brahmin Samvedi Utkala Brahmin
Saraswat Brahmins	Saraswat Kundiya Samaj Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin Gaur Brahmin Bias Brahmin Dadheech Brahmin Sanadhya Brahmin Anavil Brahmin Audichya Brahmin Bardai Brahmin Girnara Brahmin Gurav Hussaini Brahmin Khedaval Modh Mohyal Brahmin Nagar Brahmin Saryuparin Brahmin Sidhra-Rudhra Brahmin Sompura Brahmin Shrimali Brahmin Brahmin Swarnkar Yajurvedi
Tamil Brahmins	Ashtasahasram Hebbar Iyengar Iyengar Iyer Kanyakumari Brahmin Rigvedi
Telugu Brahmin	Dravida Brahmin Mulukanadu Brahmin Niyogi Brahmin Vaidiki Velanadu
Tuluva Brahmin	Sthanika Brahmin Havyaka Brahmin Sakalpuri Havyaka Brahmin Nambudiri Karhade Brahmin Kota Brahmin Koteshwara Brahmin
See also	Pancha-Dravida Pancha-Gauda Roman Catholic Brahmin Sikh Brahmin

• Brahmin communities