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{{short description|Hindu Brahmin community in India and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{infobox ethnic group
| image = Parshuramsaraswats.jpg
| caption = Parshurama with Saraswat Brahmin settlers, commanding Varuna to make the seas recede in order to create the Konkan Region
| group = Gaud Saraswat Brahmin
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| poptime =
| popplace = Primary populations in  [[Karnataka]], [[Goa]], [[Maharashtra]] and [[Kerala]]<ref name="The Konkan Rail">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/the-konkan-rail/282334 | title=The Konkan Rail | magazine=Outlook India | date=1 October 2012 | access-date=8 October 2016 | author=Lola Nayar}}</ref>
| languages = [[Konkani]]<ref name="lang"/> (primarily)
| rels = [[Hinduism]]
| related = [[Saraswat Brahmin]]s
}}

'''Gaud Saraswat Brahmins''' (also Goud or Gawd, archaically as Shenvi) are a [[Hindu]] [[Brahmin]] community in India and a part of the larger [[Saraswat Brahmin]] community. They belong to the Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana groups. They are popularly referred to by the acronym '''GSB'''. They primarily speak [[Konkani language|Konkani]], including different dialects, as their mother tongue.<ref name="lang">{{mdash}}{{cite book|title=Urban India: Society, Space, and Image: Papers Presented at a Symposium Held at Duke University|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDl1AAAAIAAJ|page=27|author=Richard Gabriel Fox|publisher=Duke University|year=1970}} {{mdash}}{{Cite book|title=Survey of Konkani in Kerala|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLnoakl6NH0C|author=J. Rajathi|publisher=Language Division, Office of the Registrar General|year=1976|pages=145–150}} {{mdash}}{{cite news |last1=George |first1=Anjana |title=Navarathri celebrations in Kerala: Kerala celebrates Navarathri in 9 diverse ways |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/kerala-celebrates-navarathri-in-9-diverse-ways/articleshow/54752512.cms |access-date=15 February 2021 |work=The Times of India |date=9 October 2016 |language=en}} {{mdash}}{{cite news |title=GSB community concludes its celebration |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/gsb-community-concludes-its-celebration/articleshow/77793609.cms |access-date=15 February 2021 |work=The Times of India |date=28 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Etymology==
There are many interpretations on how the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins received the name "Gaud" and the information about it is scant.

The debates in Rajapur during Shivaji's coronation had the local Brahmins claiming that they are Gowdas while the GSBs claimed that they were "Gauda Brahmins" ie. hailed from Trihut in Bengal. <ref>{{cite book|author=Viśveśvara Bhaṭṭa|editor=Bendrey, V. Sitaram|title=Coronation of Shivaji the Great (Gagābhaṭṭakrlaḥ: Śrīśivarājabhiṣekaprayogaḥ): or, The procedure of the religious ceremony performed by Gagabhatta for the consecration of Shivaji Maharaj as a Sawraj's king|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006658575|year=1960|pages=24–27|publisher=P. P. H. Bookstall}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale|publisher=Param Mitra Publications|year=2012|title=Shivaji His Life and Times|pages=480|isbn= 978-9380875170}}</ref>

Authors Jose Patrocinio De Souza and Alfred D'Cruz interpretes that the word ''Gauda'' or ''Goud'' may have been taken from ''[[Ghaggar]]'', with ''Goud'' and ''Saraswat'' having the same meaning, that is an individual residing on the banks of river [[Saraswati River|Saraswati]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Souza |first1=Jose Patrocinio De |last2=D'Cruz |first2=Alfred |title=Saligao: Focus on a Picturesque Goan Village |year=1973 |publisher=Jacob R. de Souza Adoni Printers and Publishers for the Mae de Deus Church (Saligao) Centenary Celebrations Committee |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nXVeROGei0UC&q=gauda+saraswat+bengal |language=en}}</ref> While these brahmins are only known as ''Saraswats'' in the vast region of [[Kashmir]], [[Punjab]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bengal]], the term ''Gaud Saraswat'' was applied to them by the natives after the former migrated to the [[South India|South]].<ref name="Chavan"/> Author V. P. Chavan opines that they might have received the name Gaud Saraswat after they started following [[Gaudapada]], a scholar of ''[[Advaita Vedanta]]'' school of [[Hindu philosophy]].<ref name="Chavan">{{harvnb|Chavan|1991|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SBWQIDwNWx4C&q=gaud+saraswat+gaudapadacharya&pg=PA20 20]}}</ref>

Historically they have been known as Shenvis and that is how they are referred to in all historical documents and British records. <ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.24261/page/n19/mode/2up|year=1864|title=Census of Bombay|page=I}}</ref> The name GSB is a modern construction based on newly curated caste history and origin legends.

== History ==
According to the ''[[Sahyadrikhanda]]'' of the [[Skanda Purana]], ninety-six Saraswat Brahmin families belonging to ten [[gotra]]s migrated to [[Goa]] from the [[Saraswati river]] basin, along with Parashurama.<ref name="skanda">''Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha)'' -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan shastri Gaytonde, published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai</ref><ref>''Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti'' Part-1, p. 206, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication</ref>
Reference to Saraswat names are found in [[Shilahara]]s as well as [[Kadambas of Goa|Kadamba]] [[Indian copper plate inscriptions|copper plate inscriptions]]. The inscriptions found in Goa bear testimony to the arrival of Brahmin families in the Konkan region.<ref name="trade" />

The [[Shilahara]] kings seem to have invited supposedly pure Aryan Brahmins and Kshatriyas from the [[Indo-Gangetic plain]] to settle in [[Konkan]]. These castes are the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and [[Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religions And Faiths In India|publisher=Mangal Deep Publications|year=2004|page=204|isbn=8175941693|author=Raj Pruthi, Rameshwari Devi|quote=There was a craze in the southern and eastern countries for the importation of the supposed pure Aryan Brahmins and Kshatriyas from the indo-gangetic valley in the north. The silhara kings of Konkan also seem to have invited both brahmins and kshatriyas from the north for settling in the south about this time.They are the Gauda Sarasvata Brahmins and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus of Konkan. The Gauda Sarasvata Brahmins and the Kayastha Prabhus are naturally often referred to as 'Aryas' which is corrupted to 'Aiyyas' in the inscriptions. The local Brahmins were referred to as 'Bhats', and the imported northerners as Aryas...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Background of Maratha Renaissance in the 17th Century: Historical Survey of the Social, Religious and Political Movements of the Marathas|author=Narayan Keshav Behere|year=1946|page=81}}</ref>

Sahyadrikhanda and ''Mangesh Mahatmya'' allude to migrations of Saraswat Brahmins, constituting ninety-six families, who settled in eight villages of Goa. There were regional variations among the Saraswats, such as those among ''Bardeskars'', ''Pednekars'' and ''Sastikars''. The ''Konkana mahatmya'', from the 17th century CE, deals with the internal rivalry of the Saraswats and strained relations between these groups.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXyWE6KbG8oC&pg=PA168|title=Caste in Life: Experiencing Inequalities|publisher=Pearson Education India|year=2011|isbn=9788131754399|page=168|editor=D. Shyam Babu and [[R. S. Khare|Ravindra S. Khare]]}}</ref>

The GSB ancestors identified themselves as of the Saraswat section of the northern Gaud division, in contrast to their Maharashtra and Karnataka Brahman neighbours of the southern division. Many Saraswats left Goa after the invasion of [[Malik Kafur]] to the neighbouring regions and during the period of religious persecution of the Portuguese also Saraswats migrated to [[Uttar Kannada]], [[Dakshina Kannada]], [[Kerala]] and [[Konkan|South Konkan]]. The Saraswat Brahmins particularly served as administrators, village revenue collectors ([[Kulkarni]]s), financiers, landlords, priests, teachers and merchants in the intra-Asian trade, and diplomats. Many sources of government income in Goa, Konkan and elsewhere, including taxes on commodities and customs duties, remained in their hands.<ref name="trade">{{cite book|last1=Pinto|first1=Celsa|title=Trade and Finance in Portuguese India: A Study of the Portuguese Country Trade, 1770–1840|date=1994|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788170225072|pages=53–56|edition=Volume 5 of Xavier Centre of Historical Research Porvorim: XCHR studies series}}</ref>

==Diet and culture==
===Diet===
There is a misconception that most of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins are fish eaters. Many are pure vegetarians instead, namely those who follow [[Madhvacharya]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Karnataka State: Udupi District|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LGiex76a5-kC&q=madhva|author=S. Anees Siraj|publisher=Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department|year=2012|page=189}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 91, Part 2|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12084|publisher=Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press|year=1970|page=[https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12084/page/n411 63]|quote=The Saraswats are largely a vegetarian community, whose coconut- based cuisine is famed for its variety.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra, Land and Its People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bl90u5lmwRAC|page=48|publisher=Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra|year=2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A Konkani touch!|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/664936/a-konkani-touch.html|publisher=Deccan Herald|date=16 May 2018|quote=Gowd Saraswat Brahmins are often tagged as fish-eating brahmins. However, a sizeable section of them are pure vegetarians.}}</ref> while the smarthas include [[Pescetarianism|seafood]] as part of their diet.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDxdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA273|title=Understanding Society: Readings in the Social Sciences|date=October 1970|publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education|access-date=4 March 2019|page=273|isbn=9781349153923}}</ref><ref name="FishKaw">{{cite book |last1=Kaw |first1=M. K. |title=Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future |date=2001 |publisher=APH Publishing |isbn=9788176482363 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMM-xRVr5qgC&q=gaud+saraswat+fish&pg=PA35 |access-date=7 April 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="NDTV_food">{{cite news |title=Gowd Saraswat Cuisine, Where Fish Dishes Hold a Special Place |url=https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/gowd-saraswat-cuisine-where-fish-dishes-hold-a-special-place-1712996 |access-date=7 April 2019 |work=NDTV Food |date=16 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Forward castes must think forward as well |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-view/forward-castes-must-think-forward-as-well/story-SQ9mT9rE8zOGDSyhO5If3K.html |newspaper=Hindustan Times |access-date=18 March 2019 |date=23 November 2014}}</ref> Most of the GSB's in the [[Karnataka]] (mainly concentrated in [[Kanara]]), [[Kerala]] and [[Tamil Nadu]] regions are followers of [[Madhvacharya]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Survey of Konkani in Kerala|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLnoakl6NH0C|page=6|author=J. Rajathi|publisher=Language Division, Office of the Registrar General|year=1976|quote=Culture:The GSBs are Vaishnavites and are followers of Madhvacharya.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Karnataka State: Udupi District|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LGiex76a5-kC&q=madhva|author=S. Anees Siraj|publisher=Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department|year=2012|page=189}} {{mdash}}{{cite book|title=Karnataka State Gazetteer: Shimoga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrG1AAAAIAAJ|page=110|publisher=Karnataka (India), Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press|year=1973}} {{mdash}}{{cite book|title=Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Kanara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jooBAAAAMAAJ|page=111|publisher=Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press|year=1973|quote=The Gauda Saraswats are the Madhva Vaishnavite Saraswat Brahmins, while the Saraswats have continued to be Smarthas.}} {{mdash}}{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 93|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sh6qWN4dcp4C|publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press|year=1972|page=18-22|quote='''Page 22''':Next comes the old Mysore areas, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, parts of Maharashtra proper, Tulunad (South Kanara) and U.P. barring the Karnatak area and Tamil Nadu , the largest community of Madhvas is to be found among the Gaud Saraswats.}}</ref> In [[Goa]] also there are many GSB's who follow [[Madhvacharya]] and are mainly concentrated in the [[Bardez]] and [[Salcete]] regions.{{Sfn|Chavan|1991|p=2122}}<ref>{{cite book|title=A Socio-cultural History of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGBuAAAAMAAJ|page=108|author=Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri|publisher=Institute Menezes Braganza|year=1999|quote=Prior to the 15th century there was no conflict between the followers of Vaishnavism and Shaivism in Goa . However after the spread of Dvaita philosophy in Goa the Saraswat community was divided into Vaishnavites (Madhvas) and Smartas (Shaivites).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 91, Part 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2Y6AQAAIAAJ|page=8|publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press|year=1970|quote=Later under the influence of Madhvacharya many of them became Vaishnavites.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0NuAAAAMAAJ|page=154|author=Venkataraya Narayan Kudva|publisher=Samyukta Gowda Saraswata Sabha|year=1972|quote=The majority of the Saraswats, including those in Goa, are now Vaishnavas.}}</ref>

===Classification and culture===
Gaud Saraswat Brahmins have both Madhvas and Smarthas among them. The Gaud Saraswats following [[Dvaita Vedanta]] of [[Madhvacharya]] are followers of [[Kashi Math]] and [[Gokarna Math]], while the followers of [[Advaita Vedanta]] of [[Adi Shankara]] are followers of [[Gaudapadacharya Math|Kavale Math]].{{Sfn|Chavan|1991|p=22}}{{Sfn|Singh|1995|p=185}}{{Sfn|Chavan|1991|p=23}} Among Gaud Saraswat Brahmins the Madhvas are Vaishnavites, while the Smarthas are considered as Shivites. According to author A B de Bragnanca Pereira says, "The main deities worshipped by Shaivite are Mangesh, Shantadurga and Saptakoteshwar, while the Vaishnavites deities are Nagesh, Ramnath, Mahalakshmi, Mhalsa, Lakshmi, Narasingha, Kamaksha and Damodar".{{Sfn|Pereira|2008|p=59}}

==Notable people==
{{main|List of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins}}

==Festivals==
{{main|List of festivals of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins}}

==See also==
* [[List of Saraswats]]
* [[Canara Konkani]]
* [[Saraswat cuisine]]
* [[Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins]]
* [[Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{citation|title=Ethnography of Goa, Daman and Diu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MghtAwAAQBAJ|first=A B de Bragnanca|last=Pereira|publisher=Penguin UK|year=2008|isbn = 9789351182085}}
*{{cite book|title=The Scheduled Castes, Volume 21|first=K. S.|last=Singh|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bl90u5lmwRAC}}
*{{cite book|title=Vaishnavism of the Gowd Saraswat Brahmins: And a Few Konkani Folklore Tales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBWQIDwNWx4C|first=V. P.|last=Chavan|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1991|isbn = 9788120606456}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book
|last= Suryanath U Kamath
|year=1992
|title=The origin and spread of Gauda Saraswats
}}
*{{Cite book
|last=Venkataraya Narayan Kudva
|year=1972
|title=History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats
|publisher=Samyukta Gauda Saraswata Sabha
}}
*{{Cite journal
|last=Ramachandra Shyama Nayak
|title= Saraswath Sudha
}}
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMM-xRVr5qgC&pg=PA35 |title=Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future |first=M. K. |last=Kawl|year=2001 |isbn=9788176482363 }}
* {{cite book | first=Edwin | last=Bryant | author-link=Edwin Bryant (author) | title=The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2001 | isbn=0-19-513777-9| title-link=The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture }}
*Hock, Hans (1999) "Through a Glass Darkly: Modern "Racial" Interpretations vs. Textual and General Prehistoric Evidence on Arya and Dasa/Dasyu in Vedic Indo-Aryan Society." in ''Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia'', ed. Bronkhorst & Deshpande, Ann Arbor.
*{{cite book | author=Shaffer, Jim G. | chapter=Cultural tradition and Palaeoethnicity in South Asian Archaeology | title=Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia|editor= George Erdosy | year=1995 | isbn=3-11-014447-6}}
*{{cite journal |title=Caste by Association: The Gauda Sarasvata Brahmana Unification Movement |first=Frank F. |last=Conlon |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=33 |issue=3 |year=1974 |pages=351–365 |jstor=2052936 |doi=10.2307/2052936}}

{{Ethnic and social groups of Goa and the Konkan}}

[[Category:Gaud Saraswat Brahmin| ]]

Gaud Saraswat Brahmin - Revision history

>Citation bot at 23:39, 7 July 2021