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The Vishwakarma (or Viśvákarma) caste, known within the group as the Viswabrahmin, is an Indian caste which includes five sub-castes: carpenters, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, goldsmiths and sculptors who are described as descendants of their namesake Vishwakarma, the Hindu god of craftsmen and architects. They worship various forms of the deity and follow five vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, Pranava Veda.

Origin and subdivisions

In India, five artisan castes are known as Vishwakarma. The Vishwakarma or Panchala people of Karnataka say that five sons (Manu, Maya, Thwasta, Shilpi and Vishwajnya or Daivajnya) were born from the five faces of the god Vishwakarma, and these five had five sons who are the rishi or gotrakara (founders of gotra, lineage) of the community's five divisions. These sons were: Sanaga, Sanātana, Ahabūna, Pratna and Suparņa (respectively); these five rishis are mentioned in Yajur Veda Taittiriya Samhita (4.3.3). These five gotras are further subdivided into 125 gotras. According to a temple engraving of Haihaya Beta in Macherla, Vishwakarma the creator of Vishnu's Discus, and father in law of Sun is described as the ancestor to the Vishwakarma community, whose acharyas were experts in making Shiva lingas and prepared images, built the four types of mansions, grasped geometry, and studied Vastu Shastra (architecture).

Distribution

The Vishwakarma are largely found in the South of India: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Konkan. In Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, the Vishwakarmas are also known as Vishwbrahmin. Other Indian Vishwakarma populations are in: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, and Orissa. They are also found in Sri Lanka.

Kerala

Vishwakarmas of Kerala are also known as Achary, Kammalar, or Viswa Brahmanar. They exist in Tamil in two communities: one Tamil (primarily in Travancore), one Malayali.

Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, Tamil Achari or Asari are known as Tamil Kammalars. They are goldsmiths and landlords.

Karnataka

The Vishwakarma caste of south Karnataka, is composed of several sub-castes: Kulachar, Shiv Achar, Uttaradi (goldsmiths), Matachar (founders), Muddekammaras, and Chikkamanes. Most of these sub-castes do not intermarry and have a hierarchy among themselves. These subcastes are varied according to various regions of Karnataka, but all worship the goddess Kali. They are similar to Brahmins in their ritual practices but a few of them are non-vegetarians.

Diet

Vishwakarmas in North and South India follow a vegetarian diet and abstain from liquor.

Notables

• Adi Shankara

Further reading

• John Duncan Martin Derrett (1976). Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law: Dharmaśāstra and related ideas. Brill. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-90-04-04475-3.
• Alfred Edward, Roberts Ratnavira (1909). Visvakarma and His Descendants. Colombo.

Notes

1. According to the Shankara Vijaya, when Adi Shankara visited Masulipatam, the Devakammalars became angry at his claim of being a Jagatguru believing an impostor was trying to assume a title that was their own exclusive property. Questioning Shankara his right to the distinction, he sang in reply: Acharyo Sankaranama Twashta putro nasansaya Viprakula Gourordiksha Visvakarmantu Brahmana: I am a decendent of Twashter, I am a Brahmin of the Vishwakarma Caste.Visvakarma, and His Descendants. Ceylon Visvakarma Union, Colombo, Ceylon, 1909. p. 10. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)

References

1. ^ "...in a record of Haihaya Beta. The record says that Visvakarama, son of Brahma was the proginator of the achitects and father- in-law of the sun. Visvakarama is stated to have converted the rays of the sun, his son-in-law into devine weapons e.g. discus of Vishnu. Some well-known acharyas of the Visvakarma family are mentioned as "experts in cutting lingas (of Siva)..." "Journal of the Andhra Historical Society". Journal of the Andhra Historical Society. Volumes 25-26: 8. Retrieved 6 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
2. "The Panchals are the followers of the five Vedas, the fifth being Pranava Veda. "Karnataka (India) (1987). Karnataka State Gazetteer: Belgaum. Printed by the Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Govt. Press.
3. ^ Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 38, No. 45 (Nov. 8-14, 2003), pp. 4794-4802 | http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4414253?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102491255617
4. ^ B. N., Sri Sathyan (1990). Karnataka State Gazetteer: Bangalore District Gazetteer of India. Karnataka (India): Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press.
5. V. Annamalai (1 January 1996). Formation And Transformation Of Power In Rural India. Discovery Publishing House. pp. 32, 72. ISBN 978-81-7141-323-2. Retrieved 29 June 2013. Page 32 - They claim themselves to be desendants of five sons of Vishwakarma and hence style themselves as Viswa Brahmins. They have a caste association called Vishwakarma association. In the study area they are referred generally as 'Asaris'"- Page 72 Like a few other castes, Hindu Asaris also have places of family deity which determines marriage alliances. Though locally they are called Asaris they come under the category of Kammalar Caste. The Hindu Asaris belong to Vishwakarm"
6. "TS (4.3.2) mentions the five ŗşhīs namely Vasişhţha, Bharadvāja, Vishvāmitra, Jamadagni and Vishvakarma; RV (10.137) mentions seven ŗşhīs: Bharadvāja, Kashyapa, Gotama, Atri, Vishvāmitra and Vasişhţha. During Sandhya worship, one repeats the names of seven ŗşhīs. The list varies from gotra to gotra. One version is: Atri, Bhŗgu, Kutsa, Vasişhţha, Gotama, Kashyapa, Angirasa. (4.3.3) mentions five ŗşhīs Sanaga, Sanātana, Ahabūna, Pratna, Suparņa. The Vishvakarma Brāhmins who build temples and sculpt the forms of deities trace their lineage to these five ŗşhīs." Kashyap, Rangasami Laksminarayana (2002). Kr̥ṣṇayajurvedīya Taittirīya-saṃhitā, Volume 2. Sri Aurobindo Kapāli Sāstry Institute of Vedic Culture. p. 40. ISBN 8179940055.
7. Singh, Kumar Suresh. Rajasthan,. Vol. Volume 2. Dipak Kumar Samanta, Sushil Kumar Mandal, N. N. Vyas,. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 201. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
8. Thurston, Edgar. Castes and tribes of Southern India,. Vol. Volume 3. pp. 126–129. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. Iyer, L. A. Krishna (1968). Social history of Kerala. Book Centre. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2012. The Kammalars are divided into two classes, the Tamil Kammalar and the Malayali Kammalar.
10. Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2007). Historical dictionary of the Tamils. Scarecrow Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-0-8108-5379-9. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
11. ^ Heesterman, J. C. "Goldsmiths of Karnataka". Ritual, state, and history in South Asia: essays in honour of J.C. Heesterman. M. S. Oort. pp. 442–455. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
12. Meera Mukherjee (1978). Metalcraftsmen of India. Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India. pp. 60, 62, 124. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
13. Aashi Manohar; Shampa Shah (1996). Tribal arts and crafts of Madhya Pradesh. Mapin Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-944142-71-4. Retrieved 18 June 2013.

• Blacksmith castes
• Carpenter castes
• Goldsmith castes
• Vishwakarma