Deshastha Brahmin

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Deshastha Brahmin
Regions with significant populations
Kannada people
Thanjavur Marathi • Marathi people

Deshastha Brahmin is a

Kannada or Telugu.[2][3][4]

Over the millennia, the Deshastha community has produced Mathematicians such as Bhāskara II,[13] Sanskrit scholars such as Bhavabhuti; Bhakti saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Sripadaraja, Eknath, Purandara Dasa, Samarth Ramdas and Vijaya Dasa;[14][15][16] Logicians such as Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha.[17]

The traditional occupation of Deshastha Brahmins is

land grants of various types."[30]

Etymology

The word Deshastha derives from the

Deccan plateau adjacent to the Western Ghats, are collectively termed the Desha – the original home of the Deshastha Brahmins.[33]

In Tamil Nadu, Deshastha Brahmins are also referred as Rayar Brahmins.[34] The word Rayar means king in South India.

Classification

Deshastha Brahmins fall under the

Carnatic Brahmins.[37][38][39]

Based on Veda

Deshastha Brahmins are further classified in two major sub-sects, the Deshastha Rigvedi and the Deshastha Yajurvedi, who earlier used to inter-dine but not inter-marry but now intermarriages between the two sub-groups is common.

Veda
they follow.

Rigveda

The Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins (DRB) are followers of

Kannada speaking families do happen often.[2] Marriage alliance between Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins, Telugu Brahmins and Karnataka Brahmins also takes place quite frequently.[46]

Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are treated as a separate and distinct caste from the Deshastha Yajurvedi Madhyandina and Deshastha Kannavas Brahmins by several authors, including Malhotra and

Yajurveda

The Deshastha Yajurvedi Brahmins are followers of

Based on Vedanta

The Deshastha Rigvedi's and Deshastha Yajurvedi's started following the Vedantas propounded by

Madhvas among them.[57][58][59][60] Intermarriages between Deshastha Smarthas and Deshastha Madhwas is very common and normal among Deshasthas of Maharashtra.[61] These sub-sects are based on the Vedanta
they follow.

Dvaita Vedanta

Deshastha Madhva Brahmins, also referred as Deshastha Madhvas (or simply Madhvas) are Deshastha Brahmins who follow

Advaita Vedanta

Deshasthas following Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankara have two divisions among them. They are Vaishnav Advaitins and Smarta Advaitins. The Smarta Advaitins are also known as Deshastha Smarta Brahmins or Deshastha Smartas[69][70]

Demographics

Madhavarao Tanjavarkar (born 1828, died 4 April 1891), a descendant of Deshastha Brahmins with the last name Tanjavarkar or Thanjavurkar
Deshastha Brahmin is located in India
Dewas
Delhi
Gwalior
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
Jabalpur
Indore
Vadodara
Varanasi
Thanjavur
Arcot
Dharwad
Shivamogga
Bijapur
Gulbarga
Bidar
Belgaum
Raichur
Bellary
Uttara Kannada
Anantapur
Kurnool
Hyderabad
Guntur
Tirupati
Cuddapah
Location of areas outside Maharashtra where Deshastha brahmins have settled over the centuries as administrators or religious leaders (Pandits).Some of these had Maratha rulers. Hover over the dot to see the area name.

The valleys of the Krishna and Godavari rivers, and the plateaus of the Western Ghats (Sahyadri hills), are collectively called the Desha – the original home of the Deshastha Brahmins.[71]

Maharashtrian Brahmins are Deshastha Brahmins.[73] In North Karnataka, especially in the districts of Vijayapura, Dharwad and Belagavi Deshasthas were about 2.5% of the total population in the 1960s.[74] Earlier this region was known as "Bombay-Karnataka region".[75] The Illustrated Weekly of India says, The exact percentage of population belonging to Deshastha community is very difficult to find out since they are spread throughout the Deccan.[76]

The Deshastha Brahmins are equally distributed all through the state of Maharashtra, ranging from villages to urban areas.

Deshasthas also settled outside Maharashtra and Karnataka, such as in the cities of

Telugu states completely adapted themselves to the Telugu ways, especially in food.[88]

The military settlers (of Thanjavur) included Brahmins of different sub-castes and by reason of their isolation from their distant home, the sub-divisions which separated these castes in their mother-country were forgotten, and they were all welded together under the common name of Deshasthas.[89][90] Today's Marathi speaking population in Tanjore are descendants of these Marathi speaking people.[91][92] The isolation from their homeland has almost made them culturally and linguistically alien to Brahmins in Maharashtra.[93] The early British rulers considered Deshastha from the south to be a distinct community and heavily recruited them in administrative service in the present-day areas of Northern Karnataka after the fall of Peshwa rule in these areas in preference to Deshastha and other Brahmins from Desh.[94]

Migration patterns

According to PILC Journal of Dravidic Studies, Maratha people who migrated towards the South India were originally from Pune and Bijapur. They took the land route and passed through Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. Another set of migrants migrated from Bijapur through North Karnataka, the districts of Cuddupah, Kurnool, Chittoor and North Arcot.[95]

History

The location of state of Maharashtra in India. Majority of Deshastha live in Maharashtra (left). The Krishna and Godavari rivers (right)
Desha and Stha, which mean inland or country and resident respectively. Fused together, the two words literally mean "residents of the country".[96][97][98] Deshastha are the Maharashtrian and North Karnataka Brahmin community with the longest known history,[36][99] making them the original[77][100] and the oldest Hindu Brahmin sub-caste from Maharashtra and North Karnataka.[36][99][101] The Deshastha community may be as old as the Vedas, as vedic literature describes people strongly resembling them.[102][103] This puts Deshastha presence on the Desh between 1100 and 1700 BC.[citation needed] As the original Brahmins of Maharashtra, the Deshasthas have been held in the greatest esteem in Maharashtra and they have considered themselves superior to other Brahmins.[104]

Marathi Brahmins started migrating to the Hindu holy city of

Mughal and other north Indian courts.[105]
During the Deccan sultanates era and early Maratha rule, the Deshasthas were closely integrated into the texture of rural society of Maharashtra region, as village record keepers (Kulkarnis) and astrologers (Joshis).[106] As such they featured far more prominently in the eyes of the rural communities than any other Brahmin groups in the region. Before the rise of the Peshwas from the Bhat family, the Maratha bureaucracy was almost entirely recruited from the Deshastha community along with the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu community; but Balaji Vishwanath's accession to power shattered their monopoly over the bureaucracy, even though they retained influence as Kulkarnis and Deshmukhs on rural Maharashtra.[107][108][109] Many Deshastha Brahmins moved to present day Andhra Pradesh for lack of opportunities in Chitpavan dominated Peshwa era.This group became part of the elite in this region, specifically around Guntur.[110] By the 19th century, Deshasthas had held a position of such strength throughout South India that their position can only be compared with that of the Kayasthas and Khatris of North India.[111] At the time of Indian independence in 1947,
rural, they were mostly urbanised by the end of the 20th century.[112][113][114]

One of the traditional occupations of the Deshasthas was that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or officiating at socio-religious ceremonies. Records show that most of the religious and literary leaders since the 13th century have been Deshasthas. Author Pran Nath Chopra and journalist

Vitthal temple in Pandharpur are Deshastha, as are the priests in many of Pune's temples.[117] Other traditional occupations included village revenue officials, academicians, astrologer, administrators and practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine.[118][119][120] Deshasthas who study the vedas are called Vaidika, astrologers are called "Joshi"[121] and practitioners of medical science are called Vaidyas, and reciters of the puranas are called Puraniks.[122] In historic times Deshasthas also engaged in manufacturing and trading of salt and cereals in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Hence they also adopted the surnames related to them.[123]

Philosophy and literature

Deshasthas have contributed to the fields of Sanskrit, Marathi literature and Kannada literature, mathematics, and philosophy.[124][125][126][127]

The Deshastha community in the Karnataka region produced the fourteenth century Dvaita philosopher saint

Dvaita monastery) beginning from Raghunatha Tirtha, Raghuvarya Tirtha, Raghuttama Tirtha to Satyapramoda Tirtha, without a single exception, belonged to the community.[132][133]

Deshasthas produced prominent literary figures in Maharashtra between the 13th and the 19th centuries.

Mahāvīracarita and Mālatī Mādhava. Mahaviracarita is a work on the early life of the Hindu god Rama, whereas Malati Madhava is a love story between Malati and her lover Madhava, which has a happy ending after several twists and turns.[135]

Mukund Raj was another poet from the community who lived in the 13th century and is said to be the first poet who composed in Marathi.[136] He is known for the Viveka-Siddhi and Parammrita which are metaphysical, pantheistic works connected with orthodox Vedantism. Other well known Deshastha literary scholars of the 17th century were Mukteshwar and Shridhar Swami Nazarekar.[137] Mukteshwar was the grandson of Eknath and is the most distinguished poet in the ovi meter. He is most known for translating the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in Marathi but only a part of the Mahabharata translation is available and the entire Ramayana translation is lost. Shridhar came from near Pandharpur and his works are said to have superseded the Sanskrit epics to a certain extent. Other major literary contributors of the 17th and the 18th century were Vaman Pandit,[138] Mahipati,[139] Amritaraya,[140] Anant Phandi[141][142] and Ramjoshi.[143]

The Deshastha community has produced several saints and philosophers. Most important of these were Dnyaneshwar, Jayatirtha, Sripadaraja, Vyasatirtha, Eknath, Purandara Dasa, Samarth Ramdas and Vijaya Dasa.

Bhagvad Gita. It is called Dnyaneshwari and is written in the Prakrit language. He lived in the 13th century.[144] Eknath was yet another Bhakti saint who published an extensive poem called the Eknathi Bhagwat in the 16th century. Other works of Eknath include the Bhavartha Ramayana, the Rukmini Swayamwara and the Swatma Sukha.[145] The 17th century saw the Dasbodh of the saint Samarth Ramdas, who was also the spiritual adviser to Shivaji.[146]

Military and administration

Tatya Tope's Soldiery

Seuna dynasty and Vijayanagara eras

Seuna Yādav Dynasty of Devagiri, which ruled in the western and southern part of India was a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin.[147][148]

Deshastha Brahmins also held prominent roles in the political, military and administrative hierarchy of the Vijayanagara Empire.[149][150]

Deccan sultanate and Mughal Era

According to Robert Eric Frykenberg, the very origin of the

Bahamani power appears to have been linked with support from local deccani leadership. Frykenberg also quotes that, The reason to Mahmud Gawan greatness as an administrator was due to his sagacious employment of groups of Maratha Brahmans known as Deshasthas.[151]

According to Robert Eric Frykenberg, the break-up of Bahamani authority following the senseless execution of the able Diwan in 1481 led to increasing dependence upon the services of the Deshasthas by the Sultanates of Bijapur, Golkonda, and Ahmednagar.[152]

Deshastha Madhva Brahmins held high positions during the rule of Qutb shahis of Golkonda. The posts held by them include Deshmukh, Deshpande, Majumdar, Mannavar (Head of Police) etc. in the districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[153]

Maratha Empire and Nizam State

Most of

Vinchurkars,[161] The Purandares,[162] The Gandekars (Pant Sachiv family)[163] and The Bavadekars.[164]

During the Peshwa era, The lack of administrative positions forced Deshastha and other literate groups to find opportunities elsewhere in India such as the Guntur area in present-day Andhra Pradesh.[165]

Prominence of Deshastha in 18th century Pune

Historian

Saraswat accounted for 11 families each.[166][167]

East India Company and British era

Kingdom of Mysore

This Deshastha Brahmin migrant who served under

Tippu, a greater penetration of them into the service was witnessed during the Dewanship of Purnaiah and during the succeeding years. One Rama Rao was appointed Foujdar of Nagar in 1799 by Purnaiya. Sowar Bakshi Rama Rao, Bargir Bakshi Balaji Rao, Babu Rao, Krishna Rao and Bhim Rao of Annigere were some of the notables among this class. When Purnaiah was Prime Minister of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan
Krishna Rao served as Commander-in-Chief of .

Madras Presidency

In 17th century Deshastha Madhva Brahmins started migrating to Andhra Pradesh and held high level administrative positions during the ascendancy of Qutub Shahis of Golconda.[174] In Guntur district between 1788 and 1848, two out of five Zamindars i.e., Chilkalurpet Zamindari and Sattanapalli Zamindari were ruled by Deshastha Madhva Brahmins, whose title was "Deshmukh",[175][176] but Frykenberg also tells us that in the earlier phase the Deshasthas had to contend for power with the zamindars many of whom were not Brahmins at all but Kammas, Velama and Rajus. This structure of competition was evidently not created ex nihilo by British rule, but existed before Maratha period and earlier.[177] According to Eric Frykenberg, By mid-nineteenth century all the vital positions in the subordinate civil and revenue establishments in the Guntur district were monopolised by certain Deshastha Brahmin families.[178] According to Asian Economic Review, The tendency of the Deshastha Brahmins to consolidate the power by appointing their own relations was not only confined to Guntur, but this habit extended throughout South India.[179] By the 19th century, Deshasthas had held a position of strength throughout South India.[180] According to Eric Frykenberg, "Deshastha Madhva Brahmins—a vestige of former regimes— who possessed the requisite clerical skills and knowledge of the revenue system and a capacity for concealing this knowledge through the use of this complicated book-keeping system and the Modi script who conspired to subvert the orders of the and to absorb a sizeable amount of land revenues".[181][182] According to Frykenberg, This was the reason why most of the Sheristadars, Naib Sheristadars and Tehsildars in Madras Presidency are exclusively selected from Deshastha Brahmin community, who are fluent in writing Modi script. According to Frykenberg, Deshasthas also are noted for their English skills during British colonial rule.[183][184][185] At the beginning of the British colonial rule, the most powerful Brahmin bureaucrats in the South India were Deshastha Brahmins, who were migrants from Maharashtra and North Karnataka.[186] During the later years of the colonial rule Deshasthas increasingly lost out to the Tamil Brahmins due to the latter community's enthusiasm towards English education.[184]

Society and culture

Language

Even though the majority of Deshasthas speak Marathi, one of the major languages of the

Kannada as their mother tongue and speak in local languages with other people.[189]

Diet

As with most

vegetarians.[190] Deshastha use black spice mix or kala, literally black, masala
, in cooking. Traditionally, each family had their own recipe for the spice mix. However, this tradition is dying out as modern households buy pre-packaged mixed spice directly from supermarkets. A popular dish in Deshastha cuisine is the varan made from
tuvar dal. Metkut, a powdered mixture of several dals and a few spices is also a part of traditional Deshastha cuisine.Puran poli for festivals and on the first day of the two-day marriage is another Marathi Brahmin special dish.[191]

Dressing style

Tulsi Vrindavan (plinth)
in her yard

Most middle aged and young women in urban Maharashtra dress in western outfits such as skirts and trousers or shalwar kameez with the traditionally nauvari or nine-yard sari, disappearing from the markets due to a lack of demand. Older women wear the five-yard sari. Traditionally, Brahmin women in Maharashtra, unlike those of other castes, did not cover their head with the end of their saree.[192] In urban areas, the five-yard sari is worn by younger women for special occasions such as marriages and religious ceremonies. Maharashtrian brides prefer the very Maharashtrian saree – the Paithani – for their wedding day.[193]

In early to mid 20th century, Deshastha men used to wear a black cap to cover their head, with a turban or a

Chief Minister of Maharashtra prefers white fine khadi kurtas,[196] while younger men prefer modern western clothes such as jeans
.

In the past, caste or social disputes used to be resolved by joint meetings of all Brahmin sub-caste men in the area.[197][198]

Religious customs

A typical Deshastha household Shrine called Deoghar.

Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins still recite the Rig Veda at religious ceremonies, prayers and other occasions.[199] These ceremonies include birth, wedding, initiation ceremonies, as well as death rituals. Other ceremonies for different occasions in Hindu life include Vastushanti which is performed before a family formally establishes residence in a new house, Satyanarayana Puja, originating in Bengal in the 19th century, is a ceremony performed before commencing any new endeavour or for no particular reason. Invoking the name of the family's gotra and the Kula Daivat are important aspects of these ceremonies. Like most other Hindu communities, Deshasthas have a shrine called a devaghar in their house with idols, symbols, and pictures of various deities.[200] Ritual reading of religious texts called pothi is also popular.

In traditional families, any food is first offered to the preferred deity as naivedya, before being consumed by family members and guests. Meals or snacks are not taken before this religious offering. In contemporary Deshasthas families, the naivedya is offered only on days of special religious significance.[201]

Deshasthas, like all other Hindu Brahmins, trace their paternal ancestors to one of the seven or eight sages, the saptarshi. They classify themselves into eight gotras, named after the ancestor rishi. Intra-marriage within gotras (Sagotra Vivaha) is considered as incest.[202]

Deshastha Smartas applies Tripundra with Vibhuti (cow-dung ashes) or Chandana (Sandalwood paste). They smear it in three traverse streaks on their forehead and after the Puja is over they replace it by a sandalwood spot. Whereas Deshastha Madhvas applies Urdhva Pundra with Gopichandana (Sandal paste). They smear gopichandana on their forehead in two perpendicular lines, running from the nose to the root of the hair, with a central line of charcoal divided in the middle by a circular turmeric patch at the centre. During the initiation, a Deshastha Madhva men is marked on the shoulders and on the chest with Shankha (conch), Chakra (disc) and other emblems of Vishnu, while for women, the seals are stamped only on their arms, the ‘chakra’ is stamped on the right arm, the shanka is stamped on the left arm. The stamp used for marking these seals being of red hot iron and is known as "Tapta Mudra Dharana". Tapta means 'heated' and mudra means ‘seals'. Madhvas also stamp five mudras with gopichandana paste daily on various parts of the body. Vaishnava Advaitins who follow Varkari Sampradaya also apply Gopichandana Urdhva Pundra on their forehead.[56][203]

Every Deshastha family has their own family patron deity or the

Savadatti. Venkateswara of Tirupathi, Narasimha and Vithoba (Vittala) of Pandharpur are popular forms of Vishnu who are worshipped as kuladevatha among Deshasthas.[207][208][209]

Ceremonies and rituals

Traditionally the Deshastha followed the sixteen bodily

Sanskara from birth to death.[210]
Upon birth, a child is initiated into the family ritually according to the
paternal aunt has the honour of naming the infant. When the child is 11 months old, he or she gets their first hair-cut. This is an important ritual as well and is called Jawal.[80]

When a male child

Shravan, according to the Hindu calendar. The threads are called Jaanave in Marathi and Janavaara in Kannada.[80]

The Deshasthas are historically an

cross cousin marriage, just like many other Marathi castes.[190][217] In South Maharashtra, Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins even allow uncle-niece marriage.[218]

While arranging a marriage, gana, gotra, pravara, devak are all kept in mind. Horoscopes are matched.[219] The marriage ceremony is described as follows: "The groom, along with the bride's party goes to the bride's house. A ritual named Akshat is performed in which people around the groom and bride throw haldi (turmeric) and sindur (vermilion) coloured rice grains on the couple. After the Kanyadan ceremony, there is an exchange of garlands between the bride and the groom. Then, the groom ties the Mangalsutra around the neck of the bride. This is followed by granthibandhan in which the end of the bride's sari is tied to the end of the groom's dhoti, and a feast is arranged at the groom's place."[219]

A Deshasthas marriage ceremony includes many elements of a traditional Marathi Hindu wedding ceremony. It consists of seemant poojan on the wedding eve. The dharmic wedding includes the antarpat ceremony followed by the vedic ceremony which involves the bridegroom and the bride walking around the sacred fire seven times to complete the marriage. Modern urban wedding ceremonies conclude with an evening reception. A Deshastha woman becomes part of her husband's family after marriage and adopts the gotra as well as the traditions of her husband's family.[b]

After weddings and also after thread ceremonies, Deshastha families arrange a traditional religious singing performance by a Gondhal group.[223][224]

Deshastha Brahmins dispose their dead by cremation.[80] The dead person's son carries the corpse to the cremation ground atop a bier. The eldest son lights the fire to the funeral pyre at the head for males and at the feet for females. The ashes are gathered in an earthen pitcher and scattered in a river on the third day after the death. This is a 13-day ritual with the pinda being offered to the dead soul on the 11th and a Śrāddha ceremony followed by a funeral feast on the 13th. Cremation is performed according to vedic rites, usually within a day of the individual's death. Like all other Hindus, the preference is for the ashes to be immersed in the Ganges river or Godavari River. Śrāddha becomes an annual ritual in which all forefathers of the family who have passed on are remembered. These rituals are expected to be performed only by male descendants, preferably the eldest son of the deceased.[225]

Festivals

Deshasthas follow the

Saka calendar. They follow several of the festivals of other Hindu Marathi people. These include Gudi Padwa, Rama Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Narali Pournima, Mangala Gaur, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Kojagiri Purnima, Diwali, Khandoba Festival (Champa Shashthi), Makar Sankranti, Maha Shivaratri and Holi
.

Of these, Ganesh Chaturthi is the most popular in the state of Maharashtra,[226][227] however, Diwali, the most popular festival of Hindus throughout India,[228] is equally popular in Maharashtra. Deshasthas celebrate the Ganesha festival as a domestic family affair. Depending on a family's tradition, a clay image or shadu is worshiped for one and a half, three and a half, seven or full 10 days, before ceremoniously being placed in a river or the sea.[229] This tradition of private celebration runs parallel to the public celebration introduced in 1894 by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.[230] Modak is a popular food item during the festival. Ganeshotsav also incorporates other festivals, namely Hartalika and the Gauri festival, the former is observed with a fast by women whilst the latter by the installation of idols of Gauris.[231]

The religious amongst the Deshasthas fast on the days prescribed for fasting according to Hindu calendar.[232] Typical days for fasting are Ekadashi, Chaturthi, Maha Shivaratri and Janmashtami. Hartalika is a day of fasting for women. Some people fast during the week in honour of a particular god, for example, Monday for Shiva or Saturday for Hanuman and the planet Saturn, Shani.[233]

Gudi Padwa Gudi or Victory pole

Gudi Padwa is observed on the first of the day of the lunar month of

prasad or the religious food on Rama Navami. They observe Narali-pournima festival on the same day as the much widely known north Indian festival of Raksha Bandhan. Deshastha men change their sacred thread on this day.[233]

An important festival for the new brides is Mangala Gaur. It is celebrated on any Tuesday of Shravana and involves the worship of lingam, a gathering of womenfolk and narrating limericks or Ukhane using their husbands' first name. The women may also play traditional games such as Jhimma, and Fugadi, or more contemporary activities such as Bhendya till the wee hours of the next morning.[237]

Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Krishna on which day Gopalkala, a recipe made with

Ashvin, is celebrated in the honour of Lakshmi or Parvati. A milk preparation is the special food of the evening. The first born of the family is honoured on this day.[citation needed
]

In Deshastha families Ganeshotsav is more commonly known as Gauri-Ganpati because it also incorporates the Gauri Festival.In some families Gauri is also known as Lakshmi puja. It is celebrated for three days; on the first day, Lakshmi's arrival is observed. The ladies in the family will bring statues of Lakshmi from the door to the place where they will be worshiped. The Kokanstha Brahmins, instead of statues, use special stones as symbols of Gauri.[238] The statues are settled at a certain location (very near the Devaghar), adorned with clothes and ornaments. On the second day, the family members get together and prepare a meal consisting of puran poli. This day is the puja day of Mahalakshmi and the meal is offered to Mahalakshmi and her blessings sought. On the third day, Mahalakshmi goes to her husband's home. Before the departure, ladies in the family will invite the neighbourhood ladies for exchange of haldi-kumkum. It is customary for the whole family to get together during the three days of Mahalakshmi puja. Most families consider Mahalakshmi as their daughter who is living with her husband's family all the year; but visits her parents' (maher) during the three days.[239][240][241]

Navaratri, a nine-day festival starts on the first day of the month of Ashvin and culminates on the tenth day or Vijayadashami. This is the one of three auspicious days of the year. People exchange leaves of the Apti tree as symbol of gold. During Navaratri women and girls hold Bhondla referred as bhulabai in Vidarbh region, a singing party in honour of the Goddess.[citation needed]

Like all Hindu Marathi people and to a varying degree with other Hindu Indians, Diwali is celebrated over five days by the Deshastha Brahmins. Deshastha Brahmins celebrate this by waking up early in the morning and having an Abhyangasnan. People light their houses with lamps and candles, and burst fire crackers over the course of the festival. Special sweets and savouries like

Chiwda and Ladu are prepared for the festival. Colourful Rangoli drawings are made in front of the house.[citation needed
]

Deshastha Brahmins observe the

Baingan Bharta) and rodga, small round flat breads prepared from jwari (white millet).[242]

Tilgul is exchanged by Deshasthas on Makar Sankaranti. The centre shows sugarcoated sesame seeds surrounded by laddus of tilgul or sesame jaggery.

Makar Sankranti falls on 14 January when the Sun enters Capricorn. Deshastha Brahmins exchange Tilgul or sweets made of jaggery and sesame seeds along with the customary salutation Tilgul Ghya aani God Bola, which means Accept the Tilgul and be friendly.[243] Gulpoli, a special type of chapati stuffed with jaggery is the dish of the day.

Maha Shivaratri is celebrated in the month of

curd fruit (Kawath in Marathi) is part of the cuisine of the day.[244]

Social and political issues

The Deshasthas of Maharashtra and Karnataka practised priesthood as their hereditary occupation, who traditionally offer socio-religious services to the other communities.[245][246] The secular among them who had agricultural land practised agriculture.[247] However, the absentee landlords among Deshasthas lost their lands when the newly independent India enshrined in its constitution, agrarian or land reform. Between 1949 and 1959, the state governments started enacting legislation in accordance with the constitution implementing this agrarian reform or Kula Kayada in Marathi. The legislation led to the abolition of various absentee tenures like inams and jagirs. This implementation of land reform had mixed results in different States. On official inquiry, it was revealed that not all absentee tenures were abolished in the State of Maharashtra as of 1985.[248] Other social and political issues include anti-Brahminism and the treatment of Dalits.

Inter-caste issues

The main entrance to the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur

During British rule in the 19th century, social reformers such as

Jotiba Phule launched campaigned against Brahmin domination of society and in government employment.The campaign was continued in the early 20th century by the maharaja of Kolhapur, Shahu. In the 1920s the non-Brahmin political party under Keshavrao Jedhe led the campaign against Brahmins in Pune and rural areas of western Maharashtra. This period saw Brahmins losing their landholding and their migration to urban centers[249]
Maharashtrian Brahmins were the primary targets during the anti-Brahmin riots in Maharashtra in 1948, following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. The rioters burnt homes and properties owned by Brahmins.[250] The violent riots exposed the social tensions between the Marathas and the Brahmins.[251]

In recent history, on 5 January 2004, the

Dadoji Konddeo from the Statue of Child Shivaji ploughing Pune's Land at Lal Mahal, Pune. They also threatened that if their demands were not met, they would demolish that part of statue themselves.[253]

Until recent times, like other high castes of Maharashtra and India, Deshastha also followed the practice of segregation from other castes considered lower in the social hierarchy. Until a few decades ago, a large number of

sanyasa to family life. The family was harassed and humiliated to an extent that Dnyaneshwar's parents committed suicide.[256] Other saints like Tukaram (Kunbi caste) were discriminated against by the Brahmins.[257][258]

The Maharashtra Government has taken away the hereditary rights of priesthood to the Pandharpur temple from the Badve and Utpat Deshastha families, and handed them over to a governmental committee. The families have been fighting complex legal battles to win back the rights.[259][c] The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an organisation founded by K. B. Hedgewar advocates Dalits being head priests at Hindu temples.[261]

Deshastha-Konkanastha relations

Prior to the rise of the Konkanastha Peshwas, the Konkanastha Brahmins were considered inferior in a society where the Deshasthas held socio-economic, ritual and Brahminical superiority.

Peshwa, Konkanastha migrants began arriving en masse from the Konkan to Pune,[264][265] where the Peshwa offered some important offices to the Konkanastha caste.[125] The Konkanastha kin were rewarded with tax relief and grants of land.[266] Historians point out nepotism[267][268][269][270][271][272]
and corruption during this time.

The Konkanasthas were waging a social war on Deshasthas during the period of the Peshwas.

Gaikwads and others that were at the periphery of the Peshwa's kingdom.[276]
After the Maratha empire under the command of Chimaji Appa, the brother of Peshwa Bajirao I (1700-1740), captured Vasai from the Portuguese in 1739, local chitpavan brahmins contested the claim of the local Shukla yajurvedi brahmins, who had lived under Portuguese rule for nearly two hundred years, of being brahmins .[d] The full Brahmin status of the Vasai Yajurvedis was affirmed by an assembly of learned Brahmins in 1746. However, the case came up again in 1808 in the waning years of Peshwai.[279] Richard Maxwell Eaton states that this rise of the Konkanastha is a classic example of social rank rising with political fortune.
ghats on the Godavari at Nasik. The Konkanasthas on their part, pursued for greater intellectual ability and better political acumen.[280] During the British colonial period of 19th and early 20th century, Deshasthas dominated professions such as government administration, music, legal and engineering fields, whereas Konkanasthas dominated fields like politics, medicine, social reform, journalism, mathematics and education. The relations have since improved by the larger scale mixing of both communities on social, financial and educational fields, as well as with intermarriages.[281][282][283]

Community organisations

The Deshastha Rigvedi sub-caste have community organisations in many major cities such as Mumbai, Dombivali, Belgaum, Nasik, Satara etc. Most of these organisations are affiliated to Central organisation of the community called Akhil Deshastha Rugvedi Brahman Madhyavarty Mandal (A. D. R. B. M.) which is located in Mumbai. The activities of ADRBM includes offering scholarships to needy students, financial aid to members, exchange of information, and Matrimonial services. The Deshastha community organisations are also affiliated to their respective local All Brahmin Umbrella Organisations.[284][285] Similar to the Rigvedi community, there are organisations and trusts dedicated to the welfare of the Yajurvedi sub-caste.[286][287]

Notable people

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "[page 98]:Almost half Maharashtrian Brahmins were Deshastha Brahmins. They were found throughout the province, but particularly on the Deccan plateau."
  2. ^ Until about 300 BC, Hindu men were about 24 years of age when they got married and the girl was always post-pubescent.[220] The social evil of child marriage established itself in Hindu society sometime after 300 BC as a response to foreign invasions.[221] The problem was first addressed in 1860 by amending the Indian Penal Code which required the boy's age to be 14 and the girls age to be 12 at minimum, for a marriage to be considered legal. In 1927, the Hindu Child Marriage Act made a marriage between a boy below 15 and a girl below 12 illegal. This minimum age requirement was increased to 14 for girls and 18 for boys in 1929. It was again increased by a year for girls in 1948. The Act was amended again in 1978 when the ages were raised to 18 for girls and 21 for boys.[222]
  3. Sane Guruji
    fought for the cause of Dalits.
  4. Baji Rao I, who coveted conquering Vasai or Bassein, sent an envoy to the Portuguese governor of Bassein. The governor, Luís Botelho, provided the rationale to do so by "grossly insult[ing] the Peshwa's envoy" by speaking of the handsome and fair-complexioned Bajirao, as a "negro."[277] The Peshwa then deployed his brother, Chimaji Appa in the conquest of Vasai. This was a hard-fought battle with the British supplying the Portuguese with advice, and the Marathas with equipment. Khanduji Mankar of the Pathare Prabhu caste and Antaji Raghunath Kavale, a Yajurvedi Brahmin, both played important roles in the conflict.[278]

Citations

  1. ^ . The Maharashtra Desastha Brahman are distributed in the districts of Telangana.
  2. ^ . Thus the Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins include some families that speak Marathi and some that speak Kannada.
  3. ^ .
  4. ^ .
  5. .
  6. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 45. Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are the most ancient sub-caste of Maharashtra and they are to be found in all the districts of the Deccan, Marathi speaking part of the former Nizam State and in Berar.
  7. . The Deshasthas are spread all over the Deccan, especially in the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra.
  8. . The Deshastha Brahmins "Desha" is the name given to the territory of the valleys of the Krishna and the Godavari, and the Deccan Plateau. Hence this community is spread over the states of Maharashtra (especially in Kolhapur), Karnataka, and Andhra.
  9. . Deśastha Brahmans can be found not only in Maharashtra but also in Karnataka and other parts of the Deccan.
  10. .
  11. ^ . Most of the well- known saints from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra were Deshastha Brahmanas. They are intensely religious , steeped in rituals , trustworthy and hardworking . They have produced saints , politicians and men of learning . There are two major groups in the community . The people of one follow the Rigveda and are called Rigvedis and those of the other the Yajurveda and are known as Yajurvedis.
  12. ^ Pritish Nandy (1974). The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95, Part 4. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. p. 29. Most of the well- known saints from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra are Deshastha Brahmins. They are also a peace-loving, just and duty-conscious people and have always proved reliable.
  13. ^ Pritish Nandy (1974). The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95. Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. p. 30. Deshasthas have contributed to mathematics and literature as well as to the cultural and religious heritage of India. Bhaskaracharaya was one of the greatest mathematicians of ancient India.
  14. ^ a b Hebbar 2005, p. 227.
  15. ^ The illustrated weekly of India, volume 95. 1974. p. 30.
  16. ^ Chopra 1982, p. 54.
  17. ^ Hebbar 2005, p. 205.
  18. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 45. Priesthood and Kulkarni Vatan were their traditional occupations.
  19. . The Kulkarni generally belonged to the rural based deshastha community, even under the chitpavan rule.
  20. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 45. In Maharashtra Chitpavan or Kokanastha, and Deshastha Brahmins practise priesthood as their hereditary profession.
  21. ^ Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Amravati. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State, Maharashtra (India). 1968. p. 146. Most of the Deshasthas pursue secular professions and are writers, accountants, merchants, etc. The posts of village patwaris are almost monopolised by them.
  22. . Most of the Deshastha pursue secular professions as writers, accountants, merchants and are among the great Pandits in various branches of Sanskrit learning. Traditionally, the Deshastha Brahmin are a community of priests who render socio-religious services to the other caste groups. Apart from this, agriculture is also practised by the members who possess cultivable land in the rural areas. Some of them also taken to white-collar jobs. They are a progressive community.
  23. . Under Shivaji the Great, Sambhaji and Rajaram all the incumbents of the office of Peshwa were from the Deshastha (residing in the Desh area of Maharashtra) subcaste of the Brahmans.
  24. .
  25. .
  26. .
  27. . The work of collection of revenue and accounts-keeping at village level in Maharashtra and especially in the Deccan had been with the Deshastha Brahmans even during the Muslim times.
  28. .
  29. ^ Khan, Dr. (2016). "Administrative Set Up Of The Deccan Under The Early Nizams*". The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention. 3 (4): 5th Pg – via Valley International Journals.
  30. .
  31. ^ Central Provinces district gazetteers, Volume 5. Governmaent of Maharashtra. 1983. p. 128. The word Deshastha literally means residents of the country and the name is given to the Brahmans of that part of the Country
  32. ^ Sarat Chandra Roy (1990). South Asian Anthropologist, Volumes 11-14. Institute of Anthropological Studies. p. 31. The Deshastha Brahman are sporadically distributed all through the state of Maharashtra starting from village to urban peripheries. Etymologically the term Deshastha signifies 'the residents of desh (highland) region'.
  33. . Desh usually refers to the Deccan plateau British districts and princely states in the upper Godavari, Bhima, and upper Krishna river basins, from Nasik in the north, south to Kolhapur. Deshastha, "being of the Desh", usually refers to a group of Brahmin castes differentiated by ritual affiliations with a Vedic shakha ("branch")
  34. . MAHARASHTRA BRAHMAN Also known as the Rayar Brahman or Desastha Brahman, they are a Marathi-speaking community of Tamil Nadu. They use titles like Kesikar, Row and Goswamigal, and are concentrated in the Madras, Thanjavur, North Arcot and South Arcot, Pudukkottai, Thiruchirapal- li, Ramanathapuram and V.O. Chidambaram districts
  35. .
  36. ^ a b c d e Shrivastav 1971, p. 140.
  37. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 464.
  38. .
  39. ^ .
  40. . Earlier, both the subgroups, Yajurvedi and Rigvedi practised endogamy but now intermarriages between the two take place.
  41. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 45. Deshastha Brahmin : Deshastha Brahmins are in a large number in Maharashtra and they are to be found all over the Deccan. There are two sub - groups among Deshastha Brahmins, namely Rigvedi and Yajurvedi.
  42. ^ Irawati Karmarkar Karve (1968). Hindu Society: An Interpretation. Deshmukh Prakashan. p. 24. The Deshastha Ṛgvedi Brahmins as their name suggests, live in the Desh and follow a Ṛgvedic ritual. They are an extremely numerous and widespread community.
  43. . Rig Vedic Deshasthas is the most ancient Shakha in Maharashtra.
  44. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 45. Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are the most ancient sub-caste of Maharashtra and they are to be found in all the districts of the Deccan.
  45. ^ Irawati Karmarkar Karve (1968). Hindu Society: An Interpretation. Deshmukh Prakashan. This caste is found in western and central Deccan along the banks of the Godavari and the Krishna and has spread deep into Karnatak. There are frequent inter-marriages between Karnatak and Maharashtra families in this community.
  46. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 45. Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are the most ancient sub-caste of Maharashtra and they are to be found in all the districts of the Deccan, Marathi speaking part of the former Nizam State and in Berar. Marriage alliance between Deshastha Rigvedi and Telugu and Karnataka Brahmins takes place quite frequently.
  47. ^ Karve & Malhotra 1968, pp. 109–134.
  48. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. pp. 45–46.
  49. .
  50. .
  51. ^ Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya. Hindu Castes and Sects: An Exposition of the Origin of the Hindu Caste System and the Bearing of the Sects Towards Each Other and Towards Other Religious Systems. Thacker, Spink. p. 86. The Madhyandinas* attach great importance to the performance of the Sandhya prayer at noon, i.e., after 11 am
  52. . The Madhyandina Brahmans perform sandhya (daily ritual) in the noon; to them the day begins at noon and not at sunrise or midnight. This marks them off from the others.
  53. ^ Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Aurangabad district. Director of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. 1977. p. 25. The Deshasthas of the district are divided into the 'Ashvalayan sub-division of Rigveda: the Apastamba subdivision of Krishna Yajurved; several sections of the Prathama Shakhi sub-division of the Shukla Yajurveda, such as Madhyandina, Kanva
  54. .
  55. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 46. Like Rigvedi Brahmins, Shukla Yajurvedi Brahmins are spread all over the Deccan and their population is almost equal to that of the Rigvedi Brahmins.
  56. ^ .
  57. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95, Part 4. Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1974. p. 30.
  58. .
  59. ^ a b Suryanarayana 2002, p. 54:"Among the Deshasthas in Madras are three different endogamous groups like Rigvedi Deshasthas, Smartha Deshasthas and Madhwa Deshasthas."
  60. ^ Maharashtra State Gazetteers, Volume 1. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. 1960. p. 135. Smārtas are followers of Śaṅkarācārya, the apostle of doctrine that the soul and the universe are one; and Vaiṣṇavas who are mainly Bhāgavats, that is followers of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, hold the doctrine that the soul and universe are distinct. Those Deshasthas who are Vaiṣṇavas are known as Mādhva Brāhmaṇs or followers of Madhvācārya ( A.D. 1238 to 1317 ) whose chief mission was to preach the reality and dependence of the universe composed of cit (souls) and acit (matter) on God.
  61. ^ Sophia Wadia (1968). The Aryan Path Volume 39. Theosophy Company (India), Limited. p. 8. Intermarriage between the Adwaitins and the Dwaitins takes place and is normal among the Maharashtra Deshasthas. The Adwaitin, who is ordinarily a Smarta, holds rather liberal views but the Dwaitin is ordinarily very strong in his views.
  62. ^ Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Kolhapur District. Directorate of Government Print, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. 1959. p. 135. Those Deshasthas who are Vaisnavas are known as Madhva Brahmans or followers of Madhvacarya (A.D. 1238 to 1317)
  63. ^ a b Hebbar 2005, p. 152.
  64. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 199.
  65. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 193.
  66. . The Desastha or Kannada- Marathi Madhvas have a few mathas, of which the Uttaradimatha is the largest;
  67. . Uttarādimatha , the largest single matha , to which most of the Mādhvas in Maharashtra and in eastern and northern Karnataka adhere.
  68. ^ Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, Volumes 8-9. Department of Linguistics, University of Illinois. 1978. p. 199. The Desastha Madhwa brahmins in the South have traditionally been bilingual in Marathi and Kannada, Telugu or Tamil
  69. ^ Abhishankar & Kāmat 1990, p. 242.
  70. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India. 1974. the fact that Deshasthas have Smartas as well as Madhwas among them.
  71. ^ Chopra 1982, pp. 52–54 The valleys of the Krishna and the Godavari and the plateau of the Sahyadri hills are known as Desha and the Brahmanas from this region are called Deshashtha Brahmanas. Vedic literature describes people closely resembling the Deshastha Brahmanas and so it may be said that this community is as old as the Vedas.
  72. ^ # Irawati Karmarkar Karve; Yashwant Bhaskar Damle (1963), Group relations in village community, Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, p. 9, The Brahmin who form about 8% of the population of Maharashtra.
    1. Subhash R. Walimbe; P. P. Joglekar; Kishor Kumar Basa (2007). Anthropology for archaeology: proceedings of the Professor Irawati Karve Birth Centenary Seminar. Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute. p. 158. While comprising only 9% of the Maharashtrian population, the eight endogamous Brahmin castes studied by Karve and Malhotra
    2. Maharashtra Assembly election: How Brahmin Devendra Fadnavis won over Marathas, India Today, 17 October 2019, For record, Brahmins contribute to around 10 per cent in the population of Maharashtra.
    3. After Marathas, Brahmins in Maharashtra seek reservation, The Economic Times, 3 December 2018, Dave also said they would be soon meeting the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission to pitch for their claims. According to the latter, the state had around 90 lakh Brahmins and 70% of them are below the creamy layer, which means they would be eligible for reservation benefits.
    4. No reservation for Brahmins, says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, The Free Press Journal, 29 May 2019, The Brahmin community has around 8 percent share in the population of the state which is around 90 lakhs.
    5. "Maharashtra Brahmins unhappy, want separate 4% reservation", The Times of India, 31 January 2019, Vishwajeet Deshpande, a functionary of the Samaj, said that the Brahmin community comprises 8% of Maharashtra's total population of 11.4 crore.
    6. Distribution Of Brahmin Population, Outlook, 5 February 2022, Brahmins are about 10 percent of Maharashtra population.
    7. Maharashtra: Brahmin community presses for economic status survey, The Indian Express, 3 December 2018, It is widely believed that people from the Brahmin community are well-to-do. That is not true. Almost 60-70 per cent Brahmins are poor, especially those living in rural areas," said Anand Dave, president of Pune district unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahman Mahasangh. The mahasangh said that Brahmins make up 8-9 per cent of Maharashtra's population, which is around 90 lakh.
    8. Now Brahmins in Maharashtra want survey on socio-economic status, Frontline, The Hindu, 7 December 2018, In the numbers game, which is so crucial in influencing government policy, Brahmins do not do as well as Marathas. The Brahmin community forms about 9 per cent of the State's population as opposed to Marathas who constitute about 30 per cent of the population.
    9. Hazel D'Lima (1983). Women in Local Government: A Study of Maharashtra. Concept Publishing Company. p. 170. . Brahmins do not have a numerical superiority as they account for only 8 per cent of the population.
  73. . The Deshasthas, who hailed from the Deccan plateau, the Desh, accounted for three-fifths of the Maratha Brahman population.
  74. ^ Charles Albert Ferguson; John Joseph Gumperz (1960). Linguistic Diversity in South Asia: Studies in Regional, Social, and Functional Variation. Indiana University. Research Center in Anthropology, and Linguistics. p. 79. The principal caste represented by the advanced classes in the three districts are the Deshastha Brahmins, who belong either to the Smarta (Saivite) sect or to the sect of the Madhvas, who are primarily worshippers of Vishnu. Deshastha Brahmins number about 2.5% of the population of Dharwar, Belgaum and Bijapur districts.
  75. ^ Mathew 1984, p. 26.
  76. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press, 1974. 1974. p. 28. Deshastha Brahmins have spread all over the Deccan, especially in the States of Maharashtra, Mysore and Andhra. It is very difficult to find out the exact number of people belonging to this community.
  77. ^ a b c Leach & Mukherjee 1970, pp. 98, 55–56.
  78. ISSN 0257-7348
    , retrieved 10 October 2010, The Deshastha Brahman are sporadically distributed all through the state of Maharashtra starting from village to urban
  79. ^ Abhishankar & Kāmat 1990, pp. 241–242.
  80. ^ .
  81. ^ Fuller & Narasimhan 2014, p. 61.
  82. ^ PILC journal of Dravidic studies, vol. 8, Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture, 1998, p. 58, retrieved 10 October 2010, Maratha rule in the Tamil country lasted for about two hundred years – from the later half of the Seventeenth century to 1855
  83. ^ Gujarat (India) 1984, pp. 171–174"The Deshastha Brahmans are immigrant Maharashtrian Brahmans from the Deccan who came here for State service during princely regime."
  84. ^ People of India: A - G., Volume 4. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 3317. In Andhra Pradesh, the Deshastha Brahman have settled in various parts, particularly in the cities of Rayalaseema, Anantapur, Kurnool, Tirupati, Cud- dapah and Hyderabad.
  85. . There are several Karnatakas and Desastha Madhwas in the district.
  86. .
  87. . The Andhra Brahman, again, are either Shaivite (Smartha) or Vaishnavite. The Maharashtra Desastha Brahman are distributed in the districts of Telangana.
  88. . The Maratha Brahmin bureaucrats, who had served faithfully the Moslem rulers earlier and now were serving loyally under the white umbrella, these desasthas had completely adapted themselves to the Telugu ways, especially in food.
  89. . Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  90. . Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  91. ^ Holloman & Aruti︠u︡nov 1978, p. 225.
  92. .
  93. ^ Vinayak 2000.
  94. JSTOR 2637955
    .
  95. ^ PILC Journal of Dravidic Studies: PJDS., Volume 8. Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture. 1998. p. 56. Marathas who migrated towards the South were originally from Poona and Vijayapura. They took the land route and passed through Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. Another set of migrants migrated from Bijapur through northern Karnataka, the districts of Cuddupah, Kurnool, Chittor and North Arcot.
  96. ^ P. N. Chopra (1988). Encyclopaedia of India - Volume 1. Agam Prakashan. p. 107. Brahmans residing in 'Desh', i.e., valleys of river Krishna and Godavari and the plateau of Sahyadri hills in Deccan, are called 'Deshasthas'
  97. ^ Central Provinces district gazetteers (Volume 5). Government of Maharashtra. 1983. p. 128. The word Deshastha literally means residents of the country and the name is given to the Brahmans of that part of the Deccan which lies above the ghats
  98. . -stha-situated in
  99. ^ a b Mandavdhare 1989, p. 39.
  100. ^ Johnson 2005, p. 55.
  101. ^ Levinson 1992, p. 68.
  102. ^ Chopra 1982, pp. 52–54.
  103. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India Volume 95. Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1974. p. 28. Vedic literature describes a people closely resembling the Deshastha Brahmins and it is, there-fore, believed that this community is as old as the Vedas.
  104. ^ a b Leach & Mukherjee 1970, p. 98, [1]:As the original Brahmin inhabitants of Maharashtra they[Deshastha] were held in greatest esteem and considered themselves superior to other Brahmins. Yet although the Deshastha Brahmins composed the traditional religious social elite of Maharashtra, they have not featured so prominently in recent Indian history as Chitpavan Brahmins
  105. ^ O'HANLON, Rosalind, 2010. Letters home: Banaras pandits and the Maratha regions in early modern India. Modern Asian Studies, 44(2), pp.201-240.
  106. . The work of collection of revenue and accounts-keeping at village level in Maharashtra and especially in the Deccan had been with the Deshastha Brahmans even during the Muslim times.
  107. ^ Sandhya Gokhale (2008). The Chitpavans: social ascendancy of a creative minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918. Shubhi Publications. p. 74. But despite the fact that Balaji Vishwanath subverted their monopoly in administrative posts, they still managed to hold a commanding position on the rural Maharashtra as Kulkarnis and Deshmukhs.
  108. ^ Kumar, Ravinder (1964). STATE AND SOCIETY IN MAHARASHTRA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (PDF). Australian National University. pp. 61–62.
  109. .
  110. .
  111. ^ Paul Wallace; Richard Leonard Park (1985). Region and nation in India. Oxford & IBH Pub. Co. During much of the 19th century, Maratha Brahman Desasthas had held a position of such strength throughout South India that their position can only be compared with that of the Kayasthas and Khatris of North India.
  112. . ...its main adherents came from those in government service, qualified professionals such as doctors, engineers and lawyers, business entrepreneurs, teachers in schools in the bigger cities and in the institutes of higher education, journalists[etc]...The upper castes dominated the Indian middle class. Prominent among its members were Punjabi Khatris, Kashmiri Pandits and South Indian brahmins. Then there were the 'traditional urban-oriented professional castes such as the Nagars of Gujarat, the Chitpawans and the Ckps (Chandrasenya Kayastha Prabhus) of Maharashtra. Also included were the old elite groups that emerged during the colonial rule:the Probasi and the Bhadralok Bengalis, the Parsis and the upper crusts of Muslim and Christian communities. Education was a common thread that bound together this pan Indian elite.
  113. ^ Social Action, Volume 50, Indian Social Institute, 2000, p. 72.
  114. S2CID 147219376
    . Brahmans in Maharashtra are represented primarily by the Chitpava, Deshastha, Saraswatand Karhade jatis. Currently and historically they represent about 4.5% of Maharashtra's population. Historically Chitpavan Brahmins had been largely urban and are synonymous with the Poona Brahmans in the local vernacular because they are largely resident in the city of Pune. The three latter Brahman jatis historically were largely rural and are commonly identified as Maharashtra Brahmans. Today all the Brahmin jatis in Maharashtra are primarily Urban.
  115. ^ Pritish Nandy (1974). The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95, Part 4. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. p. 29. Most of the well- known saints from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra are Deshastha Brahmins. They are also a peace-loving, just and duty-conscious people and have always proved reliable.
  116. ^ Johnson 2005, p. 56.
  117. ^ Zelliot & Berntsen 1988, pp. 55–56.
  118. . Retrieved 11 November 2014. In general, though, at the highest levels occupied by Indians in Madras Presidency's revenue administration, Deccani Brahmans—Maratha Deshasthas and Telugu Niyogis— were more prominent than Tamil Brahmans. Deshasthas had been both innovative and powerful in the bureaucracies of the Muslim states in the western India and then in Shivaji's Maharashtrian Hindu kingdom in the seventeenth century.
  119. . The work of collection of revenue and accounts-keeping at village level in Maharashtra and especially in the Deccan had been with the Deshastha Brahmans even during the Muslim times.
  120. . The majority of Satara's Brahmans were Deshasthas, who as joshis (priests and astrologers), kulkarnis (village officials)
  121. ^ Ellen E. McDonald; D.D.Karve (1963). The New Brahmans: Five Maharashtrian Families. Univ of California Press. p. 58. Joshi, meaning astrologer, is a very common surname
  122. .
  123. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. In historic times Deshastha Brahmin were engaged in trading especially salt and cereals and also in money lending.
  124. ^ a b Pandey 2007, p. 19.
  125. ^ a b c Patterson 2007, p. 398.
  126. ^ a b Bokil 1979, p. 18.
  127. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India - Volume 95, Part 4. Bennett, Coleman & Company. 1974. p. 30. Deshasthas have contributed to mathematics and literature as well as to the cultural and religious heritage of India
  128. ^ Onkar Prasad Verma (1970). The Yādavas and their times. Vidarbha Samshodhan Mandal. p. 178. ...Patalakarani (Chief Secretary), Rajadhyaksha (Foreign Affairs Secretary), Mahattama (Head of a village council), and Rajaguru (Royal Priest)...
  129. ^ Hebbar 2005, p. 229.
  130. ^ Hebbar 2005, p. 93.
  131. ^ Hebbar 2005, p. 306.
  132. ^ Purandaradāsa; Iyer, A. S. Panchapakesa (1992). Sree Puranḍara gānāmrutham: text with notation. Gānāmrutha Prachuram. Shri Purandara dasa who is considered to be the aadhiguru and Sangeeta Pitamaha of carnatic music was born in purandaragad in Ballary District near the town of Hampi, to a millionaire Varadappa Nayak and Kamalambal, a devoted wife and great lady, belonging to Madhva Desastha Brahmin race, by the blessings of Tirupati Venkatachalapathi in the year 1484.
  133. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 198.
  134. ^ "Bhavabhuti", Encyclopædia Britannica Online, retrieved 10 October 2010
  135. .
  136. ^ Appaji Kashinath Kher. A Higher Anglo-Marathi Grammar Containing Accidence, Derivation, Syntax on a New Plan with the Analysis of Sentences ... p. 453. Mukund Raj (A. D. 1 200)— The first Marathi Poet said to have been an inhabitant of Ambe, was a Deshastha Brahmin. He is the author of Viveka-Sindhu and Paramamriht both of them metaphysical pantheistic works connected with orthodox Vedantism
  137. ^ Shridhar Swami (2011). Diwakar Anant Ghaisas; Ranade (eds.). Shri Ramvijay (in Marathi). Dhavale Prakashan. p. 4.
  138. . Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  139. . ...Mahipati, who lived throughout the eighteenth century, dying in 1790. He was a Deshastha Brahmin Kulkarni or village accountant of Taharabad, but he is more famous now as a kirtankar who specialised in the stories of the lives of the sants
  140. ^ Appaji Kashinath Kher. A Higher Anglo-Marathi Grammar Containing Accidence, Derivation, Syntax on a New Plan with the Analysis of Sentences ... p. 451. Amritaraya (Died, about 1758) – A Deshashtha Brahmin, the resident of Awangabad.
  141. ^ Govind Chimnaji Bhate. History of modern Marathi literature, 1800-1938. p. 53. The second poet of lesser calibre than Ram Josi was Anant PhandI. He came from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district. He was born in the year 1744 a. d. He was a Deshastha Yajurveda Brahmin.
  142. ^ Appaji Kashinath Kher. A Higher Anglo-Marathi Grammar Containing Accidence, Derivation, Syntax on a New Plan with the Analysis of Sentences ... p. 453. Anant Phandi (1744-1819)— A Yajurvedi Brahmin, residing at Sangamner in the Nagar District. His father was Bhavani Bowa and his mother Ranubai. He was called Phandi because he was a friend of a Fakir named Malik Phandi.
  143. . Retrieved 2 January 2014. One of the most important figures in this public performance context at the end of the eighteenth century was Ram Joshi, a Deshastha Brahmin of Sholapur who relocated to Pune to pursue his profession.
  144. ^ M. NARASIMHACHARY (28 August 2007). "Prakrit adaptation of the Bhagavad Gita". The Hindu. Sant (Saint) Dnyaneshwar (Jnaneshwar) of Maharashtra (1275-96) composed 9000 verses in the Maharashtri Prakrit (an old dialect) expounding the Gita which contains only 700 verses in Sanskrit. This exposition is called Dhnyashwari (Jnaneswari). This is not a regular commentary on the Gita; it is an independent work taking Gita as a reference and unravelling the concepts of all the Indian philosophical systems
  145. .
  146. .
  147. ^ Kāḷācyā paḍadyāāḍa, Volume 2. Marāṭhī Sāhitya Parishada. 1992. p. 373. देवगिरी येथे रामचंद्रराव राजा राज्य करीत असता दमरदारीच्या कामावर हेमाद्री ऊर्फ हेमाडपंत' हा देशस्थ ऋग्वेदी ब्राह्मण काम करीत होता.
  148. .
  149. .
  150. .
  151. ^ Brand 1973, p. 111.
  152. ^ Frykenberg 1979, p. 222.
  153. ^ Appasaheb Ganapatrao Pawar (1971). Maratha History Seminar, May 28-31, 1970: papers. Shivaji University. p. 31. The ascendancy of the Qutb-shahis of Golkonda resulted in several Maratha Brahmins of the Madhwa sect, generally called Desasthas, being appointed to high positions. This is evident from several terms such as Deshmukh, Deshpande, Majumdar, Mannavar etc.used in the district's of Andhra to signify certain administrative posts
  154. ^ Prakash 2003, p. 115.
  155. ^ a b Palsokar & Rabi Reddy 1995, p. 59.
  156. ^ Vishnu Bhikaji Kolte (1954). Marathi santomka samajika karya. p. 140. अधिकार होते हुए भी अण्णाजी दत्तो तथा मोरोपंत पिंगले इन दो देशस्थ ब्राह्मणोंने दशवर्षके बालक राजारामको सिंहासन...
  157. . Moropant Pingale and Annaji Datto, as ministers of Shivaji, led military expeditions, besides attending to their regular administrative duties.
  158. ^ Puratan, Volume 16. Department of Archaeology and Museums, Madhya Pradesh. 2012. p. 102. Raghunathpant Hanmante, an erudite scholar and diplomat was Serving under Shahaji, the father of Shiwaji when Shahaji was administering his Benglore fief. Narayan, the father of Raghunath was serving as mujumdar (Revenue minister) under Shahji. Raghunath was a trusted minister of Ekoji but for some reasons he left Benglore and joined cabinet of Shiwaji. He accompanied Shiwaji in the Bhaganagar expedition. (Bhaganagar=Golkunda, the Capital of the Kutubshahi Kingdom).
  159. ^ Kunte 1972, Chapter 9 - The Moghals in Maharashtra.
  160. ^ Lele & Singh 1989, p. 34.
  161. . The Vinchurkar, a Deshastha Brahman, held forty-five villages in Nasik, as well as elsewhere in Maratha country,
  162. . The Purandares belonged to the original group that rose to eminence from the time of Balaji Vishwanath. They were Rigvedi Deshastha Brahmans and Deshpandes of Saswad, enjoying one- half part of the rights of the Deshkulkarnis of the district Raryat Marval.
  163. . The princes of Bhor were known as Pantsachivs, a title derived from sachiv of ashtapradhan (the eight ministrs of state), which was granted in 1698 to their ancestor Shankar Narayan Gandekar by Rajaram, Shivaji ' s son. A scribe at the court of Shivaji at the beginning of his carrier, this Deshastha Brahman later proved himself an outstanding warrior and governor.
  164. ^ Murlidhar Balkrishna Deopujari (1973). Shivaji and the Maratha Art of War. Vidarbha Samshodhan Mandal. p. 256.
  165. .
  166. . The caste composition of these leaders throws interesting light on the nature and functioning of the upper echelons of Poona society. The late Professor G.S.Sardesai compiled a list of prominent historical families who played significant political, military and financial roles in Poona's affairs during the Eighteenth Century. The list contains the names and genealogies of 163 families. The caste affiliations of the families are Deshasthas 80 Chitpawans 46 Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus 15 Karhadas 11 Saraswats 11.
  167. ^ Kamal Ramprit Dikshit; Charulata Patil; Maharashtra State Board for Literature & Culture (1986). Maharashtra in maps. Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture. p. 173. Recognized as the cultural capital of Maharashtra, the town has grown from its historic antiquity into a modern metropolis
  168. ^ Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Volume 41. Indian History Congress. 1980. p. 671.
  169. . Retrieved 7 November 2012. For most part, company establishment records erroneously differentiated between Brahmans by means of their linguistic affiliations. Thus many Deccani Brahmans were identified as "Maratha". Robert Frykenberg has generally interpreted this to mean that they were all Deshastha Brahmans who had accompanied the Bhonsle dynasty to Tanjavur.
  170. . Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  171. ^ Tipu Sultan, a Great Martyr. Bangalore University. 1993. p. 27. The revenue and finance departments were monopolized almost by the Brahmins like Purnaiah, Shamiah, Krishna Rao, etc. With their mathematical mind, accuracy and memory they were ideally suited for these posts.
  172. ^ Artha Vijnana, Volume 13, Issues 1-2. Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. 1970. p. 130. The jagir granted to Purniya in 1807 as a reward for his meritorious services to the state was the largest single grant during the period.This consisted of 46 villages
  173. ^ Harry Halén (1978). Handbook of oriental collections in Finland: manuscripts, xylographs, inscriptions and Russian minority literature, Issues 31-34. Curzon Press. p. 73. The leader of the Hebbar Iyengars, Krishnaiengar, had also died and instead they supported P. N. Krishnamurthi, the grandson of the great Purnaiya.
  174. ^ Appasaheb Ganapatrao Pawar (1971). Maratha History Seminar, May 28-31, 1970: papers. Shivaji University. The 17th century witnessed the Maratha penetration into Andhra. The ascendancy of the Qutb-shahis of Golkonda resulted in several Maratha Brahmins of the Madhwa sect, generally called Desasthas, being appointed to high positions. This is evident from several terms such as Deshmukh, Deshpande, Majumdar, Mannavar etc.used in the district's of Andhra to signify certain administrative posts
  175. ^ The Journal of Asian studies, Volume 24. 1964. p. 264. Indeed, the official titles of the Zamindars of Guntur had been Desmukh (Executive-Collector), Mannavar (Head of Police), and Despandi (Chief Accountant); moreover, two of the five zamindari families were Desastha.
  176. .
  177. .
  178. . Frykenberg found that in the case of the Guntur district in mid-nineteenth century all the vital positions in the subordinate civil and revenue establishments were monopolized by certain Maratha Deshasth Brahman families.
  179. ^ S .N. (1965). The Asian Economic Review, Volume 8. p. 399.
  180. ^ Paul Wallace; Richard Leonard Park (1985). Region and nation in India. Oxford & IBH Pub. Co. During much of the 19th century, Maratha Brahman Desasthas had held a position of strength throughout South India that their position can only be compared with that of the Kayasthas and Khatris of North India.
  181. ^ The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. American Academy of Political and Social Science. 1967. p. 235. Professor Frykenberg argues that It was the Marathi-speaking Deshastha Madhva Brahmins—a vestige of former regimes— who possessed the requisite clerical skills and knowledge of the revenue system and a capacity for concealing this knowledge through the use of this complicated book-keeping system and the Modi script who conspired to subvert the orders of the Madras government and to absorb a sizable amount of land revenues.
  182. ^ "Frykenberg, Robert Eric". 532.
  183. . Deshasthas were noted for their English skills
  184. ^ .
  185. . Although the Presidency's sheristadars generally included men from Deshastha families, not all writers of Modi were necessarily Deshastha.
  186. . Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  187. ^ a b Dhoṅgaḍe & Wali 2009, pp. 11, 39.
  188. ^ Nemāḍe 1990, pp. 101, 139.
  189. ^ Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, Volumes 8-9. Department of Linguistics, University of Illinois. 1978. p. 199. The Desastha Brahmins in the South have traditionally been bilingual in Marathi and Kannada, Telugu or Tamil
  190. ^ a b Karve, Iravati (1959). "What Is Caste? (IV) Caste-Society and Vedantic Thought" (PDF). The Economic Weekly Annual (January): 153.
  191. ^ "Caste conscious cuisine of Maharashtra". Outlook India.
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  193. ^ Saraf 2004, p. 1.
  194. ^ Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Bhandara. Directorate of Government Print, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. 1979. p. 201.
  195. ^ Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Volume, Xxiv: Kolhapur. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 1999. p. 44. The indoor dress of a Deshasth man is a waistcloth and a shouldercloth and sometimes a shirt . When he goes out he puts on a coat, a turban or headscarf, and a pair of sandals or shoes.
  196. ^ Deshpande 2010.
  197. ^ Ahmadnagar District Gazetteer 1976b.
  198. ^ Government of Maharashtra 1977.
  199. ^ The Economic Weekly, Volume 10. Economic Weekly. 1958. p. 129. The Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins as their name shOWs live in the Desha and follow a Rigvedic ritual. They are an extremely widespread
  200. ^ Chavan, C. Y., & Chandar, S. (2022). The Relationships Between Socio-Economic, Political and Cultural Profiles of the People and House-Forms: Sawantwadi, Maharashtra, India.Journal of the International Society for the Study of Vernacular Settlementsal, Vol. 9, no.3,[2]
  201. . Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  202. .
  203. . Besides the tulsimala around the neck, the Varkari was identified by the sandal paste (gopichandan) on his forehead.
  204. . Each Deshastha family has its own family or patron deity worshipped with great ceremony either on the Paurnima (the 15th) of Chaitra (March–April).
  205. ^ a b Walunjkar, pp. 285–287.
  206. ^ Government of Maharashtra 1962.
  207. . The patron deities of the Deshasthas are Bhairoba of Sonari, Shri Bhavani of Tuljapur and Mahur, Khandoba of Jejuri, Shri Narsinha and Shri Venkateshwara of Tirupati
  208. ^ Irawati Karmarkar Karve (1968). Hindu Society: An Interpretation. Deshmukh Prakashan. p. 24. The Deshastha Ṛgvedi Brahmins as their name suggests, live in the Desh and follow a Ṛgvedic ritual. They are extremely widespread and numerous community, they worship different deities but their family god. Many of them are hereditary worshippers of the Vithoba of Pandharpur.
  209. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India Volume 95. Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1974. The deities commonly worshipped by the Deshasthas are Nrusimha, Shiva, Vishnu, Vyankatesa, Shri Rama and Shri Hanumana. The major goddesses they worship are Bhavani of Tuljapur, Ambabai of Kolhapur and Yamai of Aundha.
  210. ^ Mullins, E.M., 1962. Brahman beliefs and practices in Maharashtra (Doctoral dissertation, SOAS University of London).[3]
  211. ^ Mookerji 1989, pp. 174–175.
  212. ^ Prasad 1997, pp. 156–158.
  213. ^ Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Hoshangabad. Government Central Press. 1827. p. 150. Konkanastha, Deshastha and Karhade are endogamous in character
  214. ^ Bahuguna 2004.
  215. ^ Srinivasa-Raghavan 2009.
  216. ^ The Economist 2010.
  217. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India. Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1974. p. 28. Among Yajurvedis, however, a boy is not allowed to marry the daughter of his maternal uncle. There is no such taboo among Rigvedis.
  218. . The Deshastha Rgvedi Brahmins are found in Maharashtra and north Karnatak. Unlike other Marathi Brahmins, they allow cross- cousin marriage and on the southern border of Maharashtra allow uncle-niece marriage also.
  219. ^ a b Sharma 2005, p. 289.
  220. ^ Nagi 1993, pp. 6–9.
  221. ^ Nagi 1993, pp. 7.
  222. ^ Nagi 1993, pp. 9.
  223. ^ Zelliot & Berntsen 1988, pp. 176.
  224. . Among the Madhvas and other Desastha Brahmans the gondhal is performed at their thread ceremonies, marriages and pregnancies. Other castes perform the gondhal at marriages only.
  225. .
  226. ^ Thapan 1997, p. 226.
  227. ^ Courtright, Paul B.. "2. On This Holy Day In My Humble Way Aspects of Pūjā". Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone: The Embodiment of Divinity in India, edited by Joanne Punzo Waghorne and Norman Cutler, New York Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 1985, pp. 33-52. https://doi.org/10.7312/wagh91314-005
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  229. ^ Government of Maharashtra 1969.
  230. ^ Bandyopādhyāẏa 2004, p. 243–244.
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  232. ^ Sharma & Gupta 2006.
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  235. ^ Express News Service 2009, p. 1.
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  237. ^ Madhava Rao 1962.
  238. ^ "Mumbai Food: Ganpati Offerings That Go Beyond The Modak". Mid-day. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
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  245. ^ Singh 1998, p. 3315.
  246. . While the GSBs tend to be a religiously self-contained community, the Taulavas and Desasthas are more sought after for priestly services by other communities. There are numerous cultural difference between these three subdivisions.
  247. ^ Bhanu 2004, p. 480.
  248. ^ Haque & Sirohi 1986, pp. 35–36.
  249. .
  250. ^ Mohanty 2004, p. 161.
  251. ^ Dossal & Maloni 1999, p. 11.
  252. ^ a b Katakam 2004, pp. 17–30.
  253. ^ Swamy 2008.
  254. ^ Prasad 2007, p. 10-12.
  255. ^ Lele & Singh 1989, p. 38.
  256. ^ Jñānadeva 1981, p. 5.
  257. ^ Eaton 2005, p. 129-130.
  258. ^ Eaton 2005, p. 132.
  259. ^ Press Trust of India 2000.
  260. ^ Nubile 2003.
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  264. ^ Gokhale 2008, p. 113.
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  267. ^ Śejavalakara 1946, pp. 24–5.
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  269. ^ Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute 1947, p. 182.
  270. ^ Śinde 1985, p. 16.
  271. ^ Michael 2007, p. 95.
  272. . Between Brahmins and these non-Brahmins there was a long history of rancour which the nepotism of the Peshwas had only exacerbated.
  273. ^ Kulkarnee 1975, p. 8.
  274. .
  275. .
  276. . The Maratha army commanders such as the Scindias, Gaikwads, and others, carved out independent States for themselves on the periphery of the Peshwa's kingdom. The Deshastha and Saraswat Brahmins and Kayastha Prabhus migrated to these kingdoms which offered them opportunities for employment and promotion.
  277. ^ Sarkar 1976.
  278. .
  279. ^ O'Hanlon 2013, p. 765-787.
  280. ^ Kumar 2004, p. 37.
  281. ^ A. C. Paranjpe (1970). Caste, Prejudice, and the Individual. Lalvani Publishing House. p. 117. It may also be pointed out that marriages between the Deshastha and Kokanastha Brahmins have been very common
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Bibliography

Further reading

External links