Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Indian Hindu Brahmin subcaste}} {{Redirect|DRB}} {{EngvarB|date=October 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox ethnic group | group = Deshastha Brahmin | image = | poptime = | popplace = [[Maharashtra]] • <br/> [[Karanataka]], [[Telangana]],<ref>{{cite book|title=India's Communities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw9uAAAAMAAJ|page=552|author=K. S. Singh|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn = 9780195633542|quote=The Maharashtra Desastha Brahman are distributed in the districts of Telangana.}}</ref> [[Madhya Pradesh]] ([[Gwalior]], [[Indore]], [[Ujjain]], [[Dhar]])<br/>[[Gujarat]] ([[Vadodara]]) • [[Delhi]] | langs = First language – [[Marathi language|Marathi]] (majority), [[Kannada language|Kannada]]<ref name="Desai1975">{{cite book|author=A.R. Desai|title=Society In India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yqV1Ux0oGIC&pg=PA3|year=1975|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-81-7154-013-6|page=18}}</ref> and [[Telugu language|Telugu]]<ref name="Raman2012">{{cite book|author=Bhavani Raman|title=Document Raj: Writing and Scribes in Early Colonial South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW67K09byR4C&pg=PA214|year=2012|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn= 978-0226703275|page=214}}</ref><ref name="Singh1992">{{cite book|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|title=People of India: India's communities|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/India_s_Communities/Mt9G1e6JF-QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=|year=1992|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India|page=3317}}</ref> | rels = [[Hinduism]] | related = [[Karhade Brahmin|Karhade]] • [[Chitpavan|Konkanastha]] •[[Devrukhe]] •<br/>• [[Gaud Saraswat Brahmin]] • [[Daivadnya Brahmin]] • [[Thanjavur Marathi (people)|Thanjavur Marathi]] • [[Marathi people]] | native_name = | native_name_lang = }} '''Deshastha Brahmins''' are a [[Hinduism|Hindu]] [[Brahmin]] [[caste|subcaste]] mainly from the Indian state of [[Maharashtra]] and northern area of the state of [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMPYnfS_R90C&pg=PA249|title=Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice|author=Robin Rinehart|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2004|page=249|isbn=9781576079058}}</ref> The word ''Deshastha'' derives from the [[Sanskrit]] ''deśa'' (inland, country) and ''stha'' (resident), literally translating to "residents of the country".<ref>{{cite book|title=Central Provinces district gazetteers, Volume 5|publisher=Governmaent of Maharashtra|year=1983|page=128|quote=The word Deshastha literally means residents of the country and the name is given to the Brahmans of that part of the Country}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=South Asian Anthropologist, Volumes 11-14|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sPCZAAAAIAAJ|author=Sarat Chandra Roy|publisher=Institute of Anthropological Studies|year=1990|page=31|quote=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'.}}</ref> The valleys of the [[Krishna river|Krishna]] and the [[Godavari river|Godavari]] rivers, and a part of [[Deccan plateau]] adjacent to the [[Western Ghats]], are collectively termed the ''Desha'' – the original home of the Deshastha Brahmins.<ref>{{cite book|title=City, countryside and society in Maharashtra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mm5uAAAAMAAJ|author1=Donald W. Attwood|author2=Milton Israel|author3=Narendra K. Wagle|publisher=University of Toronto, Centre for South Asian Studies|year=1988|page=53|quote=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")|isbn = 9780969290728}}</ref> In [[Tamil Nadu]], Deshastha Brahmins are also referred as ''Rayar Brahmins''.<ref>{{cite book|title=People of India: India's communities, Volume 5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9MVAQAAMAAJ|page=2086|isbn=978-0195633542|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|quote=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 }}</ref> Most of the well-known saints from [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]] and [[Combined Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh]] were Deshastha Brahmins.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religions and Communities of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAtuAAAAMAAJ|author=Pran Nath Chopra|publisher=East-West Publications|year=1982|page=52|isbn = 9780856920813|quote=Most of the well- known saints from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra were Deshastha Brahmanas.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95, Part 4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Wc6AQAAIAAJ|publisher=Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press|year=1974|page=29|quote=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.}}</ref> Over the millennia, the Deshastha community of Maharashtra region produced Sanskrit scholars such as [[Bhavabhuti]], and Advaita saints such as [[Dnyaneshwar]], [[Samarth Ramdas]] and [[Eknath]].<ref>{{cite book | title = The illustrated weekly of India, volume 95 | page = 30 | year = 1974}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqC_pGtqPBkC&pg=PA39|title= Living Through the Blitz|author=Tom Harrisson|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1976|page=39|isbn= 9780002160094}}</ref> The Deshastha community of the Karnataka region in the last millennium produced many Dvaita order philosophers and saints such as [[Jayatirtha]], [[Sripadaraja]] and [[Purandara Dasa]].{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=227}}{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=205}}{{Sfn|Chopra|1982|p=54}} Traditionally, Deshastha Brahmins as big landholders had enjoyed a higher ritual status in [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Crossing Thresholds: Feminist Essays in Social History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bG3aAAAAMAAJ|author=Meera Kosambi|publisher=Permanent Black|year=2007|page=55|isbn = 9788178241821}}</ref> Vora and Glushkova (1999) states that "Deshastha Brahmins have occupied a core place in Maharashtrian [[politics]], [[society]] and [[culture]] from almost the beginning of the Maharashtra's recorded history. Occupying high offices in the state and even other offices at various levels of administration, they were recipients of state honours and more importantly, [[land grants]] of various types."<ref>{{cite book|title=Home, Family and Kinship in Maharashtra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFhuAAAAMAAJ|page=118|author1=I. P. Glushkova|author2=Rajendra Vora|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|isbn = 9780195646351}}</ref> [[Brahmin]]s are about 10% of the population in [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Brahmins too demand for reservations in Maharashtra|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-brahmins-too-demand-for-reservations-in-maharashtra-2004800|accessdate=24 July 2014|author=Dhaval Kulkarni|newspaper=Daily News and Analysis}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bhujbal has a hush-hush meet with Brahmin leader|url=https://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pune/cover-story/bhujbal-has-a-hush-hush-meet-with-brahmin-leader/articleshow/32560839.cms|publisher=India Times|author=Nitin Brahme|accessdate=7 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Distribution Of Brahmin Population|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/distribution-of-brahmin-population/220442|accessdate=16 June 2003|magazine=Outlook India}}</ref> Almost 60 percent of [[Maharashtrian Brahmin]]s are Deshastha Brahmins<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/mythoflokamanya00rich|url-access=registration|title=The Myth of the Lokamanya: Tilak and Mass Politics in Maharashtra|author=Richard I. Cashman|publisher=University of California Press|year=1975|page=[https://archive.org/details/mythoflokamanya00rich/page/19 19]|quote=The Deshasthas, who hailed from the Deccan plateau, the Desh, accounted for three-fifths of the Maratha Brahman population.|isbn=9780520024076}}</ref> In [[North Karnataka]], especially in the districts of [[Bijapur district, Karnataka|Bijapur]], [[Dharwad district|Dharwad]] and [[Belgaum district|Belgaum]] Deshasthas were about 2.5% of the total population in 1960's.<ref>{{cite book|title=Linguistic Diversity in South Asia: Studies in Regional, Social, and Functional Variation|author1=Charles Albert Ferguson|author2=John Joseph Gumperz|publisher=Indiana University. Research Center in Anthropology, and Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DX0PAAAAYAAJ|year=1960|page=79|quote=Deshastha Brahmins number about 2.5% of the population of Dharwar, Belgaum and Bijapur districts.}}</ref> Earlier this region was known as "Bombay-Karnataka region".{{Sfn|Mathew|1984|p=26}} According to [[The Illustrated Weekly of India]], (a weekly [[newsmagazine]] published by [[Times of India]]), By 1974, the Deshastha Brahmins were spread throughout the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], especially in the states of [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]] and [[Combined Andhra Pradesh]]. The exact percentage of population belonging to Deshastha community is very difficult to find out since they are spread throughout the Deccan.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AsU7R69gqDIC|publisher=Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press, 1974|page=28|quote=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. |year = 1974}}</ref> ==Classification== {{See also|Caste system in India}} Deshastha Brahmins fall under the [[Pancha-Dravida|Pancha Dravida Brahmin]] classification of the Brahmin community in India.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch|url-access=registration|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/490 490]–492|author=James G. Lochtefeld|year=2002|isbn = 9780823931804}}</ref> Along with the [[Karhade Brahmin|Karhade]] and [[Chitpavan|Konkanastha Brahmins]], the [[Marathi language|Marathi]]-speaking Deshastha Brahmins are referred to as [[Maharashtrian Brahmin]]s, which denotes those Brahmin subcastes of the [[Deccan Plateau]] which have a regional significance in Maharashtra,{{sfn|Shrivastav|1971|p=140}} while the [[Kannada language|Kannada]]-speaking Deshastha Brahmins from the [[Deccan Plateau]] region of [[Karnataka]] are referred to as [[Karnataka Brahmins]] or [[Karnataka Brahmins|Carnatic Brahmins]].{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=464}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k--C9xHsSnEC&pg=PA95|title=Glimpses of Maratha Socio-economic History|author=Krishnaji Nageshrao Chitnis|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|year=1994|page=95|isbn=978-8171563470}}</ref><ref name="Syed Siraj ul Hassan 1989 118">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C&pg=PA118|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassan|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|page=118|isbn=9788120604889}}</ref> ===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.<ref>{{cite book|title=India's Communities, Volume 6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mt9G1e6JF-QC|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|page=3316|quote=Earlier, both the subgroups, Yajurvedi and Rigvedi practised endogamy but now intermarriages between the two take place.|isbn = 9780195633542}}</ref>{{sfn|Shrivastav|1971|p=140}} These sub-sects are based on the [[Veda]] they follow. ;Rigveda The Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins (DRB) are followers of [[Rigveda]] and follow Rigvedic rituals.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hindu Society: An Interpretation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yZktAAAAMAAJ|author=Irawati Karmarkar Karve|publisher=Deshmukh Prakashan|year=1968|page=24|quote=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.}}</ref> 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 [[Iravati Karve]].{{sfn|Karve|Malhotra|1968|pp=109–134}} Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are the most ancient sub-caste among Deshasthas.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Chitpavans: social ascendancy of a creative minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ez4wAQAAIAAJ|author=Sandhya Gokhale|publisher=Shubhi Publications|year=2008|page=27|quote=Rig Vedic Deshasthas is the most ancient Shakha in Maharashtra.|isbn = 9788182901322}}</ref> According to [[Iravati Karve]], Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are found in [[Deccan Plateau|western and central Deccan]] along the banks of the [[Godavari River|Godavari]] and the [[Krishna River|Krishna]] rivers and are spread deep into [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Hindu Society: An Interpretation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yZktAAAAMAAJ|author=Irawati Karmarkar Karve|publisher=Deshmukh Prakashan|year=1968|quote=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.}}</ref> Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are endogomous group which include families from difference linguistic regions. Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins include some families that speak [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and some speak [[Kannada language|Kannada]] majority of marriages happen within the families of same language but the marriages between [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Kannada language|Kannada]] speaking families do happen often.<ref>{{cite book|title=Society in India: Continuity and change|url=https://archive.org/details/societyinindia0002mand|url-access=registration|author=David Goodman Mandelbaum|publisher=University of California Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/societyinindia0002mand/page/n192 18]|year=1970|isbn = 9780520016231}}</ref> Marriage alliance between Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins, [[Telugu Brahmin]]s and [[Karnataka Brahmin]]s also takes place quite frequently.<ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra, Land and Its People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bl90u5lmwRAC|page=45|publisher=Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra|year=2009|quote=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.}}</ref> ;Yajurveda The Deshastha Yajurvedi Brahmins are followers of [[Yajurveda]] and follow Yajurvedic rituals. They are further classified into two groups called the Madhyandins and the Kanavas. The Madhyandins follow the Madhyandin branch of the [[Yajurveda#Shukla Yajurveda|Shukla Yajurveda]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra, Land and Its People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bl90u5lmwRAC|publisher=Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra|year=2009|pages=45–46}}</ref> The word ''Madhyandin'' is a fusion of two words ''Madhya'' and ''din'' which mean middle and day respectively. They are so called because they perform ''[[Sandhya Vandana]]'' at noon.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste and Race in India|url=https://archive.org/details/casteraceinindia0000ghur|url-access=registration|author=Govind Sadashiv Ghurye|publisher=Popular Prakashan|page=[https://archive.org/details/casteraceinindia0000ghur/page/200 200]|year=1969|isbn = 9788171542055}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=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|author=Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya|publisher=Thacker, Spink|page=86|quote=The Madhyandinas* attach great importance to the performance of the Sandhya prayer at noon, i.e., after 11 A.M.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Brahmanic Ritual Traditions in the Crucible of Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2VIqAAAAYAAJ|page=61|author=Baidyanath Saraswati|publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study|year=1977|quote=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.}}</ref> Some Yajurvedi Deshasthas follow the 'Apastamba' subdivision of [[Yajurveda#Krishna Yajurveda|Krishna Yajurveda]].<ref>{{cite book | title= Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Aurangabad district | publisher = Director of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State | year = 1977 | page=25 | quote= "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"}}</ref> Recently, the Yajurvedi Madhyandin and Yajurvedi Kannava Brahmins have been colloquially being referred to as Deshastha Yajurvedi Madhyandin and Deshastha Yajurvedi Kannava, although not all have traditionally lived or belonged to the Desh.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ruralcreditinwes0000cata|url-access=registration|title=Rural Credit in Western India, 1875-1930: Rural Credit and the Co-operative Movement in the Bombay Presidency|author=I. J. Catanach|publisher=University of California Press|year=1970|page=[https://archive.org/details/ruralcreditinwes0000cata/page/14 14]|isbn=9780520015951}}</ref> ;Samaveda and Atharvaveda There is also a small section among Deshasthas who follow [[Atharvaveda]] and [[Samaveda]]. They are called Deshastha Samavedi Brahmins and Deshastha Atharvavedi Brahmins.<ref>{{cite book|title=India's Communities: H - M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHQMAQAAMAAJ|page=3315|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0195633542}}</ref> According to [[Iravati Karve]], Samavedi Brahmins are present in the [[Khandesh|Khandesh region]] of [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Hindu Society: An Interpretation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yZktAAAAMAAJ|page=155|author=Irawati Karmarkar Karve|publisher=Deshmukh Prakashan|year=1968|quote=There are small groups of Samavedi Brahmins in Khandesh}}</ref> ===Based on Vedanta=== The Deshastha Rigvedi's and Deshastha Yajurvedi's started following the Vedantas propounded by [[Adi Shankara]] and [[Madhvacharya]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C&pg=PA110|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassan|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|page=110|isbn=9788120604889}}</ref> They have produced a number of [[acharya]]s who has presided over various [[matha]]s. These seats of learning spread the teachings of the [[vedas]], [[smritis]], [[puranas]] and especially [[Advaita]] and [[Dvaita]] philosophies all over [[India]], because of this they have [[Smarta tradition|Smarthas]] as well as [[Madhwas]] among them.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95, Part 4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Wc6AQAAIAAJ|publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press|year=1974|page=30}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassan|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|page=110|isbn = 9788120604889}}</ref>{{sfn|Suryanarayana|2002|p=54|ps=:"Among the Deshasthas in Madras are three different endogamous groups like Rigvedi Deshasthas, Smartha Deshasthas and Madhwa Deshasthas."}} These sub-sects are based on the [[Vedanta]] they follow. ;Dvaita Vedanta (Madhvas) {{see also|Madhva Brahmins}} [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]] speaking Deshastha Brahmins following [[Dvaita Vedanta]] of [[Madhvacharya]] are known as Deshastha [[Madhwa Brahmins|Madhva Brahmins]] or Deshastha [[Madhwas|Madhvas]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Kolhapur District|publisher=Directorate of Government Print, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWZDAAAAYAAJ|year=1959|page=135|quote= Those Deshasthas who are Vaisnavas are known as Madhva Brahmans or followers of Madhvacarya (A.D. 1238 to 1317)}}</ref>{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=152}} Deshastha Madhva Brahmins are followers of ten Madhva Mathas.{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=152}} Out of the ten mathas, the [[Uttaradi Math]], [[Vyasaraja Math (Sosale)|Vyasaraja Math]] and [[Raghavendra Math (Mantralayam)|Raghavendra Math]] are considered to be three premier apostolic institutions of [[Dvaita Vedanta]] and are jointly referred as ''Mathatraya''.{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=199}}{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=193}} Out of the ten Deshastha Madhva mathas, [[Uttaradi Math]] is the largest.<ref>{{cite book|title=Charisma and Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnvXAAAAMAAJ|page=122|author1=Vasudha Dalmia|author2=Angelika Malinar|author3=Martin Christof|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|quote=The Desastha or Kannada- Marathi Madhvas have a few mathas, of which the Uttaradimatha is the largest;|isbn = 9780195654530}}</ref> In [[South India]] Deshastha Madhvas have traditionally been bilingual in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Kannada language|Kannada]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] or [[Tamil language|Tamil]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CK0oAQAAIAAJ|title=Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, Volumes 8-9|publisher=Department of Linguistics, University of Illinois|page=199|year=1978|quote=The Desastha Madhwa brahmins in the South have traditionally been bilingual in Marathi and Kannada, Telugu or Tamil}}</ref> ;Advaita Vedanta (Smarthas) {{see also|Smartha Brahmins}} Deshasthas following [[Advaita Vedanta]] of [[Adi Shankara]] are known as Deshastha [[Smarta tradition|Smartha Brahmins]] or Deshastha [[Smarta tradition|Smarthas]].{{sfn|Karnataka (India)|Abhishankar|Kāmat|1990|p=242}}<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AsU7R69gqDIC|publisher=Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India|year=1974|quote=the fact that Deshasthas have Smartas as well as Madhwas among them.}}</ref> ==Demographics== [[File:Madhava Rao.jpg|thumb|right|[[T. Madhava Rao|Madhavarao Tanjavarkar]] (born 1828, died 4 April 1891), a descendant of Deshastha Brahmins with the last name Tanjavarkar or Thanjavurkar]] {{location map+|India|float=right|width=200|caption=Location of areas outside Maharashtra region where Deshastha brahmins have settled over the centuries as administrators or religious leaders (Pundits).Some of these had Maratha rulers. Hover over the dot to see the area name.|places= {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Dewas |lat=22.96|long=76.06}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Gwalior |lat=26.22|long=78.18}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Sagar, Madhya Pradesh |lat=23.83|long=78.71}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Indore |lat=22.71667|long=75.84722}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Vadodara |lat=22.30|long=73.19}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Varanasi |lat=25.28|long=82.96}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Thanjavur |lat=11.25|long=78.1378}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Arcot |lat=12.99|long=79.314}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Dharwad |lat=15.2730|long=75.0030}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Bijapur |lat=16.83|long=75.71}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Gulbarga |lat=17.329|long=76.825}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Bidar |lat=17.9|long=77.5}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Belgaum |lat=15.51|long=74.30}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Raichur |lat=16.2|long=77.37}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Ballari |lat=15.06|long=76.55}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Uttara Kannada |lat=14.6|long=74.7}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label= Anantapur|lat=14.68|long=77.599}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Kurnool |lat=15.83|long=78.05}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Hyderabad |lat=17.37|long=78.48}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Guntur |lat=16.3008|long=80.4428}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Tirupati |lat=13.65|long=79.42}} {{location map~|India|position=none|mark=City locator 13.svg|label=Cuddapah|lat=14.47|long=78.82}} }} 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.{{sfn|Chopra|1982|pp=52–54|ps="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."}} The Deshastha Brahmins are equally distributed all through the state of Maharashtra, ranging from villages to urban areas.{{sfn|Leach|Mukherjee|1970|pp=98, 55–56}}{{efn|"[page 98]:Almost half Maharashtrian Brahmins were Deshastha Brahmins. They were found throughout the province, but particularly on the Deccan plateau." }}<ref>{{Citation |year=1990 |title=South Asian anthropologist |volume=11-14 |pages=31|quote=The Deshastha Brahman are sporadically distributed all through the state of Maharashtra starting from village to urban|publisher=Sarat Chandra Roy Institute of Anthropological Studies |issn=0257-7348 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yYYrAAAAIAAJ |accessdate=10 October 2010 }}</ref> Deshastha also settled outside Maharashtra, such as in the cities of [[Indore]]{{sfn|Shrivastav|1971|p=140}} in [[Madhya Pradesh]] and those of [[Chennai]]{{sfn|Suryanarayana|2002|p=54|ps=:"Among the Deshasthas in Madras are three different endogamous groups like Rigvedi Deshasthas, Smartha Deshasthas and Madhwa Deshasthas."}} and [[Thanjavur]] in [[Tamil Nadu]],{{sfn|Fuller|Narasimhan|2014|p=61}} which were a part of or were influenced by the [[Maratha Empire]].<ref>{{Citation |title=PILC journal of Dravidic studies |volume=8 |issue=1–2 |year=1998 |publisher=Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture |pages=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZF4AAAAIAAJ |accessdate=10 October 2010|quote=Maratha rule in the Tamil country lasted for about two hundred years — from the later half of the Seventeenth century to 1855}}</ref> The Deshastha Brahmins of [[Vadodara]] in [[Gujarat]] are immigrants who came from the Deccan for state service.{{sfn|Gujarat (India)|1984|pp=171–174|ps="The Deshastha Brahmans are immigrant Maharashtrian Brahmans from the Deccan who came here for State service during princely regime."}} In [[Karnataka]], the Deshastha Brahmins are mostly concentrated in the districts of [[Bijapur district, Karnataka|Bijapur]], [[Dharwad district|Dharwad]], [[Gulbarga district|Gulbarga]], [[Belgaum district|Belgaum]], [[Bidar district|Bidar]], [[Raichur district|Raichur]], [[Ballari district|Bellary]], and [[Uttara Kannada]].{{sfn|Karnataka (India)|Abhishankar|Kāmat|1990|pp=241-242}}<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 1998 3316">{{cite book|title=India's Communities, Volume 6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mt9G1e6JF-QC|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|page=3316|isbn = 9780195633542}}</ref> In [[Andhra Pradesh]], the Deshastha Brahmins have settled in various parts, particularly in the cities of [[Anantapur]], [[Kurnool]], [[Tirupati]], [[Cuddapah]], [[Hyderabad]] (which is now part of [[Telangana]]).<ref>{{cite book|title=People of India: A - G., Volume 4|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|page=3317|quote=In Andhra Pradesh, the Deshastha Brahman have settled in various parts, particularly in the cities of Rayalaseema, Anantapur, Kurnool, Tirupati, Cud- dapah and Hyderabad.}}</ref> In [[Coastal Andhra]], Deshastha Brahmins settled in [[Nellore district]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Nellore District: Brought Upto 1938|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qx-smrZLyUC|page=101|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=2004|isbn = 9788120618510|quote=There are several Karnatakas and Desastha Madhwas in the district.}}</ref> [[Krishna district]] and [[Guntur district]].<ref>{{cite book|title=India and the Indianness of Christianity: Essays on Understanding -- Historical, Theological, and Bibliographical -- in Honor of Robert Eric Frykenberg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jgubl3CQQDgC&pg=PA70|author1=Robert Eric Frykenberg|author2=Richard Fox Young|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|page=70|year=2009|isbn = 9780802863928}}</ref> In [[Telangana]], Deshastha Brahmins are distributed throughout all the districts of the state.<ref>{{cite book|title=India's Communities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw9uAAAAMAAJ|page=552|author=K. S. Singh|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn = 9780195633542|quote=The Andhra Brahman, again, are either Shaivite (Smartha) or Vaishnavite. The Maharashtra Desastha Brahman are distributed in the districts of Telangana.}}</ref> The Deshastha families who migrated to [[Combined Andhra Pradesh|Telugu states]] completely adapted themselves to the Telugu ways, especially in food.<ref>{{cite book|title=The River Is Three-Quarters Full|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKllAAAAMAAJ|author=Ranga Rao|publisher=Penguin Books India|date=1 January 2001|page=16|isbn = 9780140299373|quote=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.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8kc1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT125|title=Rise of Maratha Power|author=Mahadeo Govind Ranade|publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting|page=125|accessdate=29 August 2017|isbn=9788123025117|date=29 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=PILC journal of Dravidic studies |volume=8 |issue=1–2 |year=1998 |publisher=Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture |pages=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZF4AAAAIAAJ |accessdate=10 October 2010 }}</ref> The Brahmin and the Maratha migrants migrated, in the 17th and 18th centuries, to [[Tanjore]] and other regions of present-day [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]], from the [[Desh, Maharashtra|Desh region]] of [[Maharashtra]], but till today maintain their separate identities.Today's Marathi speaking population in Tanjore are descendants of these [[Marathi people|Marathi]] speaking people.{{sfn|Holloman|Aruti︠u︡nov|1978|p=225}}<ref name="David1977">{{cite book|editor=Kenneth David |author=Mahadev Apte |title=The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia |chapter=Region, Religion and Language: Parameters of Identity in the Process of Acculturation|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vp_la9QMGIQC&pg=PA383|date=1 January 1977|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-080775-2|page=385}}</ref> The isolation from their homeland has almost made them culturally and linguistically alien to Brahmins in Maharashtra.{{sfn|Vinayak|2000}} 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 [[North Karnataka|Northern Karnataka]] after the fall of [[Peshwa]] rule in these areas in preference to Deshastha and other Brahmins from Desh.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=John Roberts |title=The Movement of Elites in Western India under Early British Rule |journal=The Historical Journal the Historical Journal |date=June 1971 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=241–262 |jstor=2637955 }}</ref> ==History== {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = India Maharashtra locator map.svg | width1 = 155 | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = Indiarivers.png | width2 = 155 | alt2 = | caption2 = | footer = The location of state of Maharashtra in India. Majority of Deshastha live in Maharashtra (left). The Krishna and Godavari rivers (right) }} [[File:Maharashtra Districts.png|right|thumb|315px|Divisions of Maharashtra. The blue region is an approximate indication of the Desh.]] The word Deshastha comes from the Sanskrit words ''[[Desh, Maharashtra|Desha]]'' and ''Stha'', which mean inland or country and resident respectively. Fused together, the two words literally mean "residents of the country".<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of India - Volume 1|page=107|author=P. N. Chopra|year=1988|publisher=Agam Prakashan|quote=Brahmans residing in 'Desh', i.e., valleys of river Krishna and Godavari and the plateau of Sahyadri hills in Deccan, are called 'Deshasthas'}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Central Provinces district gazetteers (Volume 5)|publisher=Government of Maharashtra|year=1983|page=128|quote=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}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Astadhyayi of Panini|date= 1 Jan 2015|author=Sumitra M. Katre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iSDakY97XckC&pg=PA769|quote=-stha-situated in|page=769|isbn= 9788120805217}}</ref> Deshastha are the Maharashtrian Brahmin community with the longest known history,{{sfn|Shrivastav|1971|p=140}}{{sfn|Mandavdhare|1989|p=39}} making them the original{{sfn|Leach|Mukherjee|1970|pp=98, 55–56}}{{sfn|Johnson|2005|p=55}} and the oldest Hindu Brahmin sub-caste from Maharashtra.{{sfn|Shrivastav|1971|p=140}}{{sfn|Mandavdhare|1989|p=39}}{{sfn|Levinson|1992|p=68}} The Deshastha community may be as old as the Vedas, as vedic literature describes people strongly resembling them.{{sfn|Chopra|1982|pp=52-54}} This puts Deshastha presence on the Desh between 1100 and 1700 BC.{{sfn|Oldenberg|1998|p=158}} 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.<ref name="superior">{{harvnb|Leach|Mukherjee|1970|p=98|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2u88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA98&lpg=PA98]|ps=: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}}</ref> Marathi Brahmins started migrating to the Hindu holy city of [[Benares]] in the medieval period. They dominated the intellectual life of the city and established an important presence at the Mughal and other north Indian courts.<ref>O'HANLON, Rosalind, 2010. Letters home: Banaras pandits and the Maratha regions in early modern India. Modern Asian Studies, 44(2), pp.201-240.</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite book|title=Business communities of India: a historical perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kcu5AAAAIAAJ|author=Dwijendra Tripathi|publisher=Manohar Publishers|year=1984|page=94|isbn = 9780836412765|quote=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.}}</ref> 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; but [[Balaji Vishwanath]]’s accession to power shattered their monopoly over the bureaucracy, even though they retained influence as [[Kulkarni]]s and [[Deshmukh]]s on rural [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Chitpavans: social ascendancy of a creative minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918|author=Sandhya Gokhale|publisher=Shubhi Publications|year=2008|page=74|quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Ravinder |title=STATE AND SOCIETY IN MAHARASHTRA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY |date=1964 |publisher=Australian National University |pages=61–62 |url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/11258/1/Kumar_R_1964.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Gordon1993">{{cite book|author=Stewart Gordon|title=The Marathas 1600-1818|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C&pg=PR9|date=16 September 1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26883-7|page=130}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samaddar|first1=Ranabir (editor)|last2=De|first2=Barun (Author)|title=Peace studies : an introduction to the concept, scope, and themes|date=2004|publisher=SAGE Publ.|location=New Delhi [u.a.]|isbn=9780761996606|page=214|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hVADxxgT6KAC&q=karhade+brahmin&pg=PA206}}</ref> By 19th century, Deshasthas had held a position of such strength throughout [[South India]] that their position can only be compared with that of the [[Kayastha]]s and [[Khatri]]s of [[North India]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Region and nation in India|author1=Paul Wallace|author2=Richard Leonard Park|publisher=Oxford & IBH Pub. Co.|year=1985|quote=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.}}</ref> At the time of Indian independence in 1947, [[Urban area|urban]] dwelling and professional [[Marathi people|Marathi]] Hindu people, mostly belonged to communities such as the [[Chitpavan]]s and the [[CKP]]s. However, researcher Donald Kurtz concludes that although Deshasthas and other brahmin groups of the region were initially largely [[rural]], they were mostly urbanised by the end of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Indian Middle class|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbgMy8KfD74C&pg=PA28|author=Pavan K. Varma|publisher=Penguin Books|quote=...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.|isbn=9780143103257|year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Social Action, Volume 50|publisher=Indian Social Institute|year=2000|page=72}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|publisher=Journal of Anthropological Research Volume 65, Issue 4, University of Chicago Press|pages=613|last1= Kurtz|first1= Donald V.|title=The Last Institution Standing: Contradictions and the politics of Domination in an Indian University|journal=Journal of Anthropological Research|volume=65|issue=4|year=2009|jstor=25608264|quote=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.|doi=10.3998/jar.0521004.0065.404|s2cid=147219376}}</ref> The traditional occupation of the Deshasthas was that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies. Records show that most of the religious and literary leaders since the 13th century have been Deshasthas. In addition to being village priests, most of the [[village accountant]]s or Kulkarnis belonged to the Deshastha caste.{{sfn|Leach|Mukherjee|1970|pp=98, 55–56}}{{sfn|Johnson|2005|p=56}} Priests at the famous [[Vitthal]] temple in [[Pandharpur]] are Deshastha, as are the priests in many of Pune's temples.{{sfn|Zelliot|Berntsen|1988|pp=55–56}} Other traditional occupations included village revenue officials, academicians, astrologer, administrators and practitioners of [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] medicine.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7KjBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62|title=Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste|page=62|author1=C. J. Fuller|author2=Haripriya Narasimhan|publisher=University of Chicago Press|accessdate=11 November 2014|quote= 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.|isbn=9780226152882|date=11 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Business communities of India: a historical perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kcu5AAAAIAAJ|author=Dwijendra Tripathi|publisher=Manohar Publications|year=1984|page=94|isbn = 9780836412765|quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=City, countryside and society in Maharashtra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mm5uAAAAMAAJ|page=40|author1=Donald W. Attwood|author2=Milton Israel|author3=Narendra K. Wagle|publisher=University of Toronto, Centre for South Asian Studies|year=1988|quote=The majority of Satara's Brahmans were Deshasthas, who as joshis (priests and astrologers), kulkarnis (village officials)|isbn = 9780969290728}}</ref> Deshasthas who study the vedas are called Vaidika, astrologers are called "[[Joshi]]"<ref>{{cite book|page=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ky5IH3-LPNwC&pg=PA58|title=The New Brahmans: Five Maharashtrian Families|author1=Ellen E. McDonald|author2=D.D.Karve|year=1963|publisher=Univ of California Press|quote=Joshi, meaning astrologer, is a very common surname}}</ref> and practitioners of medical science are called Vaidyas, and reciters of the puranas are called Puraniks.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C&pg=PA111|page=111|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassan|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|isbn = 9788120604889}}</ref> ===Philosophy and literature=== Deshasthas have contributed to the fields of Sanskrit, Marathi literature and Kannada literature, mathematics, and philosophy.{{sfn|Pandey|2007|p=19}}{{sfn|Patterson|2007|p=398}}{{sfn|Bokil|1979|p=18}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India - Volume 95, Part 4|page=30|year=1974|quote=Deshasthas have contributed to mathematics and literature as well as to the cultural and religious heritage of India|publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Company}}</ref> The Deshastha community in the Karnataka region produced the fourteenth century Dvaita philosopher saint [[Jayatirtha]],{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=227}} the fifteenth and sixteenth century stalwarts of [[Haridasa]] movement and philosophers of [[Dvaita]] order, [[Vyasatirtha]], who was also the "[[Rajguru|Rajaguru]]"<ref name="Verma1970">{{cite book|author=Onkar Prasad Verma|title=The Yādavas and their times|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdO1AAAAIAAJ|year=1970|publisher=Vidarbha Samshodhan Mandal|quote=...Patalakarani ( Chief Secretary ), Rajadhyaksha ( Foreign Affairs Secretary ), Mahattama ( Head of a village council ), and Rajaguru (Royal Priest)...|page=178}}</ref> of [[Krishnadevaraya]] of [[Vijayanagara Empire]] and his disciples [[Purandara Dasa]] and [[Vijayendra Tirtha]], the seventeenth century philosopher-saint [[Raghavendra Tirtha]].{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=229}}{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=93}}{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=306}} In fact, according to Sharma, all the pontiffs of [[Uttaradi Matha]] (a [[Dvaita]] monastery) beginning from [[Raghunatha Tirtha]], [[Raghuvarya Tirtha]], [[Raghuttama Tirtha]] to [[Satyapramoda Tirtha]], without a single exception, belonged to the community.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sree Puranḍara gānāmrutham: text with notation|author1=Purandaradāsa|author2=Iyer, A. S. Panchapakesa |publisher=Gānāmrutha Prachuram|year=1992|quote=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.}}</ref>{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=198}} Deshasthas produced prominent literary figures in Maharashtra between the 13th and the 19th centuries.{{sfn|Patterson|2007|p=398}} The great Sanskrit scholar [[Bhavabhuti]] was a Deshastha Brahmin who lived around 700 AD in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.{{sfn|Pandey|2007|p=19}}<ref>{{Citation |chapter=Bhavabhuti |title=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |chapter-url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Bhavabhuti |accessdate=10 October 2010}}</ref> His works of high Sanskrit poetry and plays are only equalled by those of [[Kalidasa]]. Two of his best known plays are ''[[Sanskrit Drama|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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJVlZjIe5o8C&pg=PA1253|title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics |author1=Roland Greene|author2=Stephen Cushman|author3=Clare Cavanagh|author4=Jahan Ramazani|author5=Paul F. Rouzer|author6=Harris Feinsod|author7=David Marno|author8=Alexandra Slessarev|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2012|page=1253|isbn=978-0691154916 }}</ref> [[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.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Higher Anglo-Marathi Grammar Containing Accidence, Derivation, Syntax on a New Plan with the Analysis of Sentences ...|author=Appaji Kashinath Kher|page=453|quote=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}}</ref> He is known for the ''Viveka-Siddhi'' and ''Parammrita'' which are metaphysical, pantheistic works connected with orthodox [[Advaita Vedanta|Vedantism]]. Other well known Deshastha literary scholars of the 17th century were Mukteshwar and [[Shridhar Swami Nazarekar]].<ref>{{cite book|title = Shri Ramvijay| language=mr|editor1=Diwakar Anant Ghaisas|editor2=Ranade|author=Shridhar Swami|publisher=Dhavale Prakashan| page= 4| year=2011}}</ref> 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]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=89ZdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT72|title=आधुनिक मराठी साहित्यातील परतत्त्वबोध / Adhunik Marathi Sahityatil Paratatwa Bodh|author=Dr. Sumati Risabuda|publisher=Ramakrishna Math, Nagpur|accessdate=30 May 2018|page=72|isbn=9789388071994|date=30 May 2018}}</ref> [[Mahipati]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Tellings and Texts: Music, Literature and Performance in North India|publisher=Open Book Publishers|year=2015|editor1= Francesca Orsini|editor2= Katherine Butler Schofield|author=Christian Lee Novetzke|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.doa.008|page=[https://archive.org/details/dli.doa.008/page/n200 180]|quote=...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|isbn=9781783741021}}</ref> Amritaraya,<ref>{{cite book|title=A Higher Anglo-Marathi Grammar Containing Accidence, Derivation, Syntax on a New Plan with the Analysis of Sentences ...|author=Appaji Kashinath Kher|page=451|quote=Amritaraya ( Died, about 1758 ) — A Deshashtha Brahmin, the resident of Awangabad.}}</ref> Anant Phandi<ref>{{cite book|title=History of modern Marathi literature, 1800-1938|author=Govind Chimnaji Bhate|page=53|quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A Higher Anglo-Marathi Grammar Containing Accidence, Derivation, Syntax on a New Plan with the Analysis of Sentences ...|author=Appaji Kashinath Kher|page=453|quote=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.}}</ref> and Ramjoshi.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religious Cultures in Early Modern India: New Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTnJBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT215|page=215|author1=Rosalind O'Hanlon|author2=David Washbrook|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=2 January 2014|quote=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.|isbn = 9781317982876|date = 2 January 2014}}</ref> The Deshastha community has produced several saints and philosophers. Most important of these were Dnyaneshwar, Eknath and Ramdas.{{sfn|Bokil|1979|p=18}} The most revered of all [[Bhakti]] saints, Dnyaneshwar was universally acclaimed for his commentary on the [[Bhagvad Gita]]. It is called [[Dnyaneshwari]] and is written in the [[Prakrit]] language. He lived in the 13th century.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Hindu|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-bookreview/prakrit-adaptation-of-the-bhagavad-gita/article2267099.ece|title=Prakrit adaptation of the Bhagavad Gita|date=28 August 2007|author=M. NARASIMHACHARY|quote=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}}</ref> 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''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1143|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Literature (Volume II)|editor-first=Amaresh|editor-last=Datta|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=2005|page=1143|isbn=9788126011940}}</ref> The 17th century saw the ''[[Dasbodh]]'' of the saint [[Samarth Ramdas]], who was also the spiritual adviser to Shivaji.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q-QoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT88|publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting|year=2017|title=Cultural Leaders of India - Devotional Poets and Mystics: Part-2|editor-first=V|editor-last=Raghavan|page=88|isbn=9788123024837}}</ref> ===Military and administration=== [[File:TantiaTope1858.jpg|right|thumb|[[Tatya Tope]]'s Soldiery]] [[Hemadpant]] who was the prime minister from 1259 to 1274 C.E. in the regimes of Kings [[Mahadeva of Devagiri|Mahādeva]] (1259–1271) and [[Ramachandra of Devagiri|Ramachandra]] (1271–1309) of [[Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri|Seuna Yādav Dynasty of Devagiri]], which ruled in the western and southern part of [[India]] was a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kāḷācyā paḍadyāāḍa, Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_wvAAAAMAAJ|page=373|publisher=Marāṭhī Sāhitya Parishada|year=1992|quote=देवगिरी येथे रामचंद्रराव राजा राज्य करीत असता दमरदारीच्या कामावर ''हेमाद्री ऊर्फ हेमाडपंत' हा देशस्थ ऋग्वेदी ब्राह्मण काम करीत होता.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Religious Cultures in Early Modern India: New Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTnJBQAAQBAJ&q=Hemadpant+is+brahmin&pg=PT194|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn = 9781317982876}}</ref> According to Robert Eric Frykenberg, the very origin of the [[Bahamani Sultanate|Bahamani]] power appear 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.{{Sfn|Brand|1973|p=111}} Deccan Brahmins also held prominent roles in the political, military and administrative hierarchy of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mehta|first=J. L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fmtjbaQPzMC|title=Vol. Iii: Medieval Indian Society And Culture|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-81-207-0432-9|pages=224|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Chaturvedi|first=Sarojini|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXcwAQAAIAAJ&q=administration+brahmins+vijayanagar|title=A short history of South India|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Saṁskṛiti|isbn=978-81-87374-37-4|pages=238|language=en}}</ref> ====Deccan sultanates==== According to Robert Eric Frykenberg, the breakup of [[Bahmani Sultanate|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 [[Adil Shahi dynasty|Bijapur]], [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Golkonda]], and [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate|Ahmednagar]].{{Sfn|Frykenberg|1979|p=222}} Deshastha Madhva Brahmins held high positions during the rule of [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Qutb shahis of Golkonda]]. The posts held by them include [[Deshmukh]], [[Deshpande]], [[Majumdar]], Mannavar etc. in the districts of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Maratha History Seminar, May 28-31, 1970: papers |author= Appasaheb Ganapatrao Pawar |publisher= Shivaji University |year=1971 |page=31|quote= 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}}</ref> ====Maratha Era==== Most of [[Shivaji]]'s principal Brahmin officers were Deshasthas,{{sfn|Prakash|2003|p=115}} including all of his Peshwas.{{sfn|Palsokar|Rabi Reddy|1995|p=59}} Other significant Deshasthas of the period were warriors such as [[Moropant Trimbak Pingle]], [[Ramchandra Pant Amatya]], [[Annaji Datto Sachiv]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Marathi santomka samajika karya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OHs_AAAAIAAJ|page=140|author=Vishnu Bhikaji Kolte|year=1954|quote=अधिकार होते हुए भी अण्णाजी दत्तो तथा मोरोपंत पिंगले इन दो देशस्थ ब्राह्मणोंने दशवर्षके बालक राजारामको सिंहासन...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra: Society and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2puAAAAMAAJ|page=145|author=A. Rā Kulakarṇī|publisher=Books & Books|year=2000|quote=Moropant Pingale and Annaji Datto, as ministers of Shivaji, led military expeditions, besides attending to their regular administrative duties.}}</ref> Abaji Sondev, [[Pralhad Niraji]], Raghunath Narayan Hanmante<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWJX64NGu5sC|title=Puratan, Volume 16|page=102|publisher=Department of Archaeology and Museums, Madhya Pradesh|year=2012|quote=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).}}</ref> and [[Melgiri Pandit]].{{sfn|Kunte|1972|loc=Chapter 9 - The Moghals In Maharashtra}} At one point in the history of the Maratha Empire, seven out of eight [[Ashta Pradhan]] (Council of Eight Ministers) came from the community.{{sfn|Palsokar|Rabi Reddy|1995|p=59}} In 1713, [[Balaji Vishwanath|Balaji Vishwanath Bhat]], a Kokanastha Brahmin was appointed as the sixth Peshwa and the seat of Peshwa remained in Konkanastha hands until the fall of the Maratha Empire. To obtain the loyalty of the locally powerful Deshastha Brahmins, the Konkanastha Peshwas established a system of patronage for Brahmin scholars.{{sfn|Lele|Singh|1989|p=34}} The most prominent Deshastha Brahmin families during the Peshwa rule were The [[Pant Pratinidhi]]s ,The [[Vinchurkar]]s,<ref>{{cite book|title=Indian Secularism: A Social and Intellectual History, 1890-1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xtrPKa59j4C&pg=PA63|page=63|author=Shabnum Tejani|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2008|isbn= 978-0253220448|quote=The Vinchurkar, a Deshastha Brahman, held forty-five villages in Nasik, as well as elsewhere in Maratha country,}}</ref> The [[Purandare]]s,<ref>{{cite book|title=Poona in the eighteenth century: an urban history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THR5AAAAIAAJ|author=Balkrishna Govind Gokhale|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1988|page=116|isbn = 9780195621372|quote=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.}}</ref> The [[Gandekar]]s (Pant Sachiv family)<ref>{{cite book|title=Mārga: Ways of Liberation, Empowerment, and Social Change in Maharashtra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xovXAAAAMAAJ|page=391|author1=Masao Naitō|author2=Iwao Shima, Hiroyuki Kotani|publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors|year=2008|isbn=978-8173047626|quote=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.}}</ref> and The [[Ramchandra Pant Amatya|Bavadekars]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Shivaji and the Maratha Art of War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iF8MAAAAIAAJ|page=256|author=Murlidhar Balkrishna Deopujari|publisher=Vidarbha Samshodhan Mandal|year=1973}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Samaddar2004">{{cite book|author=Ranabir Samaddar|title=Peace Studies: An Introduction To the Concept, Scope, and Themes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hVADxxgT6KAC&pg=PA206|date=19 August 2004|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-0-7619-9660-6|page=214}}</ref> According to Eric Frykenberg, By mid-nineteenth century all the vital positions in the subordinate civil and revenue establishments in the [[Guntur district]] were monopolized by certain Deshastha Brahmin families.<ref>{{cite book|title=Modern Bengal, a socio-economic survey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tTsAAAAMAAJ|author=Siba Pada Sen|publisher=Institute of Historical Studies |page=231|quote=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.|isbn = 9788185421001|date = January 1990}}</ref> According to [[East Asian Economic Review|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 throuhgout [[South India]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Asian Economic Review, Volume 8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tNIsAQAAIAAJ|author=S .N.|year=1965|page=399}}</ref> By 19th century, Deshasthas had held a position of strength throughout [[South India]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Region and nation in India|author1=Paul Wallace|author2=Richard Leonard Park|publisher=Oxford & IBH Pub. Co.|year=1985|quote=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.}}</ref> =====Feud between Vasai Yajurvedi and the Peshwa===== Peshwa [[Bajirao I]] (1700-1740) promised the [[Jagir]] of [[Battle of Vasai|Vasai]] to Antaji Raghunath Kavale, a yajurvedi Brahmin, for his help in dislodging the ruling Portuguese administration from that area, but after accomplishing that task in 1739, the promise was allegedly not kept by the Konkanastha Peshwa, who instead contested the claims of the Vasai Yajurvedis to be Brahmin.{{efn|The Konkanastha Peshwa [[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."{{sfn|Sarkar|1976}} 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.<ref name="Kulkarni2008">{{cite book|author=Prof. A. R. Kulkarni|title=Medieval Maratha Country|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OY5LDwAAQBAJ|date=1 July 2008|publisher=Diamond Publications|isbn=978-81-8483-072-9|chapter=Religion and Bassein campaign of 1739}}</ref>}} 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.{{sfn|O'Hanlon|2013|p=765-787}} ;Prominence of Deshastha in 18th century Pune Historian [[Govind Sakharam Sardesai]] lists 163 prominent families that held high ranks and played significant roles in politics, military and finance in 18th century Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra. Of these 163 families, a majority(80) were Deshastha, 46 were [[Chitpawan]], 15 were [[CKP]], and [[Karhade Brahmin]] and [[Saraswat]] accounted for 11 families each.<ref name="Gokhale1988">{{cite book|author=Balkrishna Govind Gokhale|title=Poona in the Eighteenth Century: An Urban History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9QcAAAAMAAJ|pages=111, 112|year=1988|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195621372|quote=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 geneologies of 163 families. The caste affiliations of the families are Deshasthas 80 Chitpawans 46 Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus 15 Karhadas 11 Saraswats 11.}}</ref><ref name="DikshitPatil1986">{{cite book|author1=Kamal Ramprit Dikshit|author2=Charulata Patil|author3=Maharashtra State Board for Literature & Culture|page=173|title=Maharashtra in maps|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QytuAAAAMAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture|quote=Recognized as the cultural capital of Maharashtra, the town has grown from its historic antiquity into a modern metropolis}}</ref> ====East India Company and British era ==== According to PILC Journal of Dravidic Studies, Maratha people who migrated towards the [[South India]] were originally from [[Pune district|Pune]] and [[Bijapur district, Karnataka|Bijapur]]. They took the land route and passed through [[Satara district|Satara]], [[Sangli district|Sangli]] and [[Kolhapur district|Kolhapur]]. Another set of migrants migrated from [[Bijapur]] through [[North Karnataka]], the districts of [[Kadapa district|Cuddupah]], [[Kurnool district|Kurnool]], [[Chittoor district|Chittoor]] and [[North Arcot]].<ref>{{cite book|title= PILC Journal of Dravidic Studies: PJDS., Volume 8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpJkAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture|year=1998|page=56|quote=Marathas who migrated towards the South were originally from Poona and Bijapur. 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.}}</ref> =====Kingdom of Mysore===== [[File:Purniya, Chief Minister of Mysore.tif|thumb|Painting of 1st [[Diwan of Mysore|Diwan of Mysore Kingdom]], [[Purnaiah|Mir Miran Purnaiah]] by Irish painter [[Thomas Hickey (painter)|Thomas Hickey]]]] This Deshastha Brahmin migrant who served under [[Hyder Ali]] and [[Tippu Sultan]] as the most trustworthy aide could successfully win over the confidence of the [[East India Company|English]] in 1799. Diwan [[Purnaiah]] was a typical example of an elite adept in the art of accommodation and survival by changing loyalties in a most astonishing and successful manner. But the most important plus point in him that attracted the English was perhaps his technical abilities as a successful administrator, which the English could use to their advantage in later years'. Although, many Deshastha Brahmins were employed in the service of [[Hyder Ali|Hyder]] and [[Tippu Sultan|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 [[Mysore Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Volume 41|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeRtAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=1980|page=671}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Document Raj: Writing and Scribes in Early Colonial South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW67K09byR4C|author=Bhavani Raman|publisher=University of Chicago Press|accessdate=7 November 2012|page=214|quote=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.|isbn=978-0226703275|date = 7 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Institutions and Ideologies: A SOAS South Asia Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tN0rBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA194|page=194|author1=David Arnold|author2=Peter Robb|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=1 February 2013|isbn=978-1136102349|date = February 2013}}</ref> During this time the revenue and finance departments were monopolized almost by them. With their mathematical mind, accuracy and memory they were ideally suited for these posts.<ref>{{cite book|title=Tipu Sultan, a Great Martyr|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mR1uAAAAMAAJ|page=27|publisher=Bangalore University|year=1993|quote=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.}}</ref> [[Purnaiah]] governed the [[Mysore Kingdom]] as the first [[Dewan]] under [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar III]] and later Sovar Bakshi Rama Rao, [[Bargir Bakshi Balaji Rao]], Babu Rao continued as the [[Dewan]]s after him. Diwan [[Purnaiah]] was also the founder of [[Yelandur estate]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Artha Vijnana, Volume 13, Issues 1-2|page=130|year=1970|publisher=Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics|quote=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}}</ref> Diwan [[Purnaiah]]'s direct descendent [[P. N. Krishnamurti]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook of oriental collections in Finland: manuscripts, xylographs, inscriptions and Russian minority literature, Issues 31-34|page=73|author=Harry Halén|publisher=Curzon Press|year=1978|quote=The leader of the Hebbar Iyengars, Krishnaiengar, had also died and instead they supported P. N. Krishnamurthi, the grandson of the great Purnaiya.}}</ref> who was the fifth jagirdar of [[Yelandur estate]] also served as the [[Diwan of Mysore]] from (1901 – 1906). Later many prominent Deshastha Brahmins such as Kollam Venkata Rao, [[V. P. Madhava Rao]], [[T. Ananda Rao]] (son of [[Raja]]h [[T. Madhava Rao]]) and [[N. Madhava Rao]] governed the [[Mysore Kingdom]] as [[Dewan]]s. =====Madras Presidency===== According to Eric Frykenberg, "Deshastha Madhwa 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".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_WIqAQAAMAAJ|publisher=American Academy of Political and Social Science|year=1967|page=235|quote=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.}}</ref></blockquote><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://history.wisc.edu/people/frykenberg-robert-eric/ |title = Frykenberg, Robert Eric|date = 532}}</ref> According to Frykenberg, This was the reason why most of the [[Sheristadar]]s, 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=India and the Indianness of Christianity: Essays on Understanding -- Historical, Theological, and Bibliographical -- in Honor of Robert Eric Frykenberg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jgubl3CQQDgC|author1=Robert Eric Frykenberg|author2=Richard Fox Young|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|year=2009|page=79|quote=Deshasthas were noted for their English skills|isbn = 9780802863928}}</ref><ref name="Seal1971"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW67K09byR4C|title=Document Raj: Writing and Scribes in Early Colonial South India|author=Bhavani Raman|date=7 November 2012|publisher=University of Chicago Press, 7 November 2012|page=214|isbn=9780226703275|quote=Although the Presidency's sheristadars generally included men from Deshastha families, not all writers of Modi were necessarily Deshastha.}}</ref> At the beginning of the [[British Raj|British colonial rule]], the most powerful Brahmin bureaucrats in the [[South India]] were Deshastha Brahmins, who were migrants from [[Maharashtra]] and [[North Karnataka]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98uLj5FpTHQC&pg=RA3-PA1963|title=A Companion to the Anthropology of India|page=1963|author=Isabelle Clark-Decès|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|accessdate=10 February 2011|isbn=9781444390582|date=10 February 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Seal1971">{{cite book|author=Anil Seal|title=The Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the Later Nineteenth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xV84AAAAIAAJ&pg=PR13|date=2 September 1971|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=978-0-521-09652-2|page=98}}</ref> ==Society and culture== {{See also|Maharashtrian cuisine}} The majority of Deshasthas speak Marathi, one of the major languages of the [[Indo-Aryan language]] family. The major dialects of Marathi are called Standard Marathi and Warhadi Marathi.{{sfn|Dhoṅgaḍe|Wali|2009|pp=11, 39}} Standard Marathi is the official language of the State of Maharashtra. The language of Pune's Deshastha Brahmins has been considered to be the standard Marathi language and the pronunciation of the Deshastha Rigvedi is given prominence.{{sfn|Nemāḍe|1990|pp=101, 139}} There are a few other sub-dialects like Ahirani, Dangi, Samavedi, Khandeshi and Puneri Marathi. There are no inherently nasalised vowels in standard Marathi whereas the Chitpavani dialect of Marathi, spoken in Pune does have nasalised vowels.{{sfn|Dhoṅgaḍe|Wali|2009|pp=11, 39}} As with most Maharastrian Brahmin communities, Deshastha Brahmins are [[vegetarian]].<ref name="karve1959">{{cite journal|last1=Karve|first1=Iravati|title=What Is Caste? (IV) Caste-Society and Vedantic Thought|journal=The Economic Weekly Annual|date=1959|issue=January|page=153|url=http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1959_11/4-5-6/what_is_casteiv_castesociety_and_vedantic_thought.pdf}}</ref> Typical Deshastha cuisine consists of the simple ''varan'' made from [[tuvar]] [[dal]]. ''Metkut'', a powdered mixture of several dals and a few spices is also a part of traditional Deshastha cuisine. Deshastha use black spice mix or ''kala'', literally black, [[Spice mix#Masala|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. [[Puran poli]] for festivals and on the first day of the two-day marriage is another Marathi Brahmin special dish.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Caste conscious cuisine of Maharashtra|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/36268/caste-conscious-cuisine-of-maharashtra|magazine=Outlook India}}</ref> [[File:Aji 1976.jpg|thumb|right|A Deshastha woman from the 1970s in the traditional attire]] Most middle aged and young women in urban Maharashtra dress in western outfits such as skirts and trousers or [[shalwar kameez]] with the traditionally ''[[Kasta sari#Nauvari|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.<ref name=Saree>{{cite book|last=Ghurye|first=Govind Sadashiv|title=Indian Costume|year=1951|publisher=Popular Prakashan|location=Bombay|isbn=978-81-7154-403-5|pages=180|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irh9dvlLz3MC&q=ghurye&pg=PR5}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Saraf|2004|p=1}} In early to mid 20th century, Deshastha men used to wear a black cap to cover their head, with a turban or a [[pagadi]] being popular before that.<ref name="Syed Siraj ul Hassan 1989 118"/> For religious ceremonies males wore a coloured silk [[dhoti]] called a ''sovale''. In modern times, dhotis are only worn by older men in rural areas.<ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Bhandara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CAtuAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Directorate of Government Print, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State|year=1979|page=201}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Volume, Xxiv: Kolhapur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P61DAQAAMAAJ|page=44|publisher=Gazetters Department, Government of Maharashtra|year=1999|quote=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.}}</ref> In urban areas, just like women, a range of styles are preferred. For example, the Deshastha [[Shiv Sena]] politician [[Manohar Joshi]] and former [[Chief Minister of Maharashtra]] prefers white fine [[khadi]] [[kurta]]s,{{sfn|Deshpande|2010|p=}} 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.{{sfn|Ahmadnagar District Gazetteer|1976b|}}{{sfn|Government of Maharashtra|1977|p=}} ===Religious customs=== Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins still recite the ''Rig Veda'' at religious ceremonies, prayers and other occasions.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Economic Weekly, Volume 10|publisher=Economic Weekly|year=1958|page=129|quote=The Deshastha Rigvedl Brahmins as their name shOWs live in the Desha and follow a Rigvedic ritual. They are an extremely widespread}}</ref> 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 ''[[Kuladevata|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. Ritual reading of religious texts called ''pothi'' is also popular. [[File:Deoghar.jpg|thumb|left| A typical Deoghar or shrine in a deshastha household]] 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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igC0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT97|title=Pangat, a Feast: Food and Lore from Marathi Kitchens|author=Saee Koranne - Khandekar|publisher=Hachette UK|accessdate=31 October 2019|page=97|isbn=9789388322928|date=31 October 2019}}</ref> 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 ''[[gotra]]s'', named after the ancestor [[rishi]]. Intra-marriage within gotras (Sagotra Vivaha) was uncommon until recently, being discouraged as it was likened to incest, although the taboo has considerably reduced in the case of modern Deshastha families who are bound by more practical considerations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C&pg=PA109|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassan|page=109|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|isbn=9788120604889}}</ref> In a court case "Madhavrao versus Raghavendrarao", involving a Deshastha Brahmin couple, the German philosopher and Indologist [[Max Müller]]'s definition of gotra as descending from eight sages and then branching out to several families was thrown out by reputed judges of a Bombay High Court.{{sfn|Sen|2010|p=}} The court called the idea of Brahmin families descending from an unbroken line of common ancestors as indicated by the names of their respective gotras ''impossible to accept''.{{sfn|Anand|2010|p=}} The court consulted relevant Hindu texts and stressed the need for Hindu society and law to keep up with the times emphasising that notions of good social behaviour and the general ideology of Hindu society had changed. The court also said that the mass of material in the Hindu texts are so vast and full of contradictions that it is almost an impossible task to reduce it to order and coherence.{{sfn|Sen|2010|p=}} Every Deshastha family has their own family patron deity or the ''[[kuladevata|Kuladaivat]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C&pg=PA110|page=110|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassanpublisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|quote=Each Deshastha family has its own family or patron deity worshipped with great ceremony either on the Paurnima (the 15th) of Chaitra (March–April).|isbn = 9788120604889}}</ref> This deity is common to a lineage or a clan of several families who are connected to each other through a common ancestor.{{sfn|Walunjkar|pp=285–287}} The [[Khandoba]] of Jejuri is an example of a Kuladaivat of some Maharashtrian Deshastha families; he is a common Kuladaivat to several castes ranging from Brahmins to [[Dalit]]s.{{sfn|Government of Maharashtra|1962|p=}} The practice of worshiping local or territorial deities as Kuladaivats began in the period of the [[Yadava dynasty]].{{sfn|Walunjkar|pp=285–287}} Other family deities of the Deshasthas of Maharashtra and Karnataka are [[Bhavani]] of [[Tuljapur]], [[Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur|Mahalaxmi]] of [[Kolhapur]], Mahalaxmi of [[Amravati]], [[Renuka]] of [[Mahur, Maharashtra|Mahur]], [[Saptashringi]] on Saptashringa hill at Vani in Nasik district, [[Banashankari]] of [[Badami]], Lakshmi Chandrala Parameshwari of [[Sannati]], [[Renuka|Renuka Yellamma ]] of [[Savadatti]]. [[Venkateswara]] of [[Tirupati|Tirupathi]] and [[Narasimha]] are popular forms of Vishnu who are worshipped as kuladevatha, especially among the Vaishnavite section of Deshasthas.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C&pg=PA110|page=110|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassan|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|quote=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|isbn = 9788120604889}}</ref> ====Ceremonies and rituals==== Upon birth, a child is initiated into the family ritually according to the [[Rig Veda]] for the Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins. The naming ceremony of the child may happen many weeks or even months later, and it is called the ''barsa''. In many Hindu communities around India, the naming is almost often done by consulting the child's horoscope, in which are suggested various names depending on the child's Lunar sign (called Rashi). However, in Deshastha families, the name that the child inevitably uses in secular functioning is the one decided by his parents. If a name is chosen on the basis of the horoscope, then that is kept a secret to ward off casting of a spell on the child during his or her life. During the naming ceremony, the child's [[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''.<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 1998 3316"/> When a male child<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 1998 3316"/> reaches his eighth birthday he undergoes the initiation thread ceremony variously known as Munja (in reference to the [[Saccharum munja|Munja grass]] that is of official ritual specification), ''Vratabandha'', or [[Upanayanam]].{{sfn|Mookerji|1989|pp=174–175}} From that day on, he becomes an official member of his caste, and is called a [[dwija]] which translates to "[[twice-born]]" in English, in the sense that while the first birth was due to his biological parents, the second one is due to the initiating priest and [[Gayatri Mantra|Savitri]].{{sfn|Prasad|1997|pp=156–158}} Traditionally, boys are sent to [[gurukula]] to learn [[Vedas]] and scriptures. Boys are expected to practice extreme discipline during this period known as [[brahmacharya]]. Boys are expected to lead a celibate life, live off alms, consume selected vegetarian [[saatvic]] food and observe considerable austerity in behaviour and deeds. Though such practices are not followed in modern times by a majority of Deshasthas, all Deshasthas boys undergo the sacred thread ceremony. Many still continue to get initiated around eight years of age. Those who skip this get initiated just before marriage. Twice-born Deshasthas perform annual ceremonies to replace their sacred threads on [[Narali Purnima]] or the [[full moon]] day of the month of [[Shravan]], according to the Hindu calendar. The threads are called ''Jaanave'' in Marathi and ''Janavaara'' in Kannada.<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 1998 3316"/> The Deshasthas are historically an [[endogamous]] and monogamous community for whom [[Hindu wedding|marriages]] take place by negotiation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Hoshangabad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqE8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA150|page=150|publisher=Government Central Press|quote=Konkanastha, Deshastha and Karhade are endogamous in character|year = 1827}}</ref> The [[Mangalsutra]] is the symbol of marriage for the woman. Studies show that most Indians' traditional views on caste, religion and family background have remained unchanged when it came to marriage,{{sfn|Bahuguna|2004|p=}} that is, people marry within their own castes,{{sfn|Srinivasa-Raghavan|2009|p=}} and matrimonial advertisements in newspapers are still classified by caste and sub-caste.{{sfn|The Economist|2010|p=}} Deshastha Yajurvedi do not allow [[cross cousin]] marriage, while the Deshastha Rigvedi sub-group, allow [[cross cousin]] marriage, just like many other Marathi castes.<ref name="karve1959"/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Weekly of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AsU7R69gqDIC|page=28|publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press|year=1974|quote=Among Yajurvedis, however, a boy is not allowed to marry the daughter of his maternal uncle. There is no such taboo among Rigvedis.}}</ref> In South Maharashtra, Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins even allow uncle-niece marriage.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kinship Organization in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w58iAQAAMAAJ|page=268|author=Irawati Karmarkar Karve|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|year=1990|isbn = 9788121505048|quote=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. }}</ref> While arranging a marriage, ''gana'', ''gotra'', ''pravara'', ''devak'' are all kept in mind. Horoscopes are matched.{{Sfn|Sharma|2005|p=289}} 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."{{Sfn|Sharma|2005|p=289}} 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.{{efn|Until about 300 BC, Hindu men were about 24 years of age when they got married and the girl was always post-pubescent.{{sfn|Nagi|1993|pp=6–9}} The social evil of child marriage established itself in Hindu society sometime after 300 BC as a response to foreign invasions.{{sfn|Nagi|1993|pp=7}} 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.{{sfn|Nagi|1993|pp=9}}}} After weddings and also after thread ceremonies, Deshastha families arrange a traditional religious singing performance by a Gondhal group.{{sfn|Zelliot|Berntsen|1988|pp=176}} Deshastha Brahmins dispose their dead by [[Antyesti|cremation]].<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 1998 3316"/> The dead person's son carries the corpse to the cremation ground atop a [[bier]]. The eldest son lights the fire to the corpse at the head for males and at the feet for females. The ashes are gathered in an earthen pitcher and immersed 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|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.<ref>{{cite book|title=India's Communities, Volume 6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mt9G1e6JF-QC|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|page=3310|isbn = 9780195633542}}</ref> ====Festivals==== {{Main|List of festivals of Maharashtrian Brahmins}} {{See also|List of Hindu 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]], [[Sharad Purnima|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,{{sfn|Thapan|1997|p=226}} however, Diwali, the most popular festival of Hindus throughout India,{{sfn|Council of Social and Cultural Research|p=28}} 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.{{sfn|Government of Maharashtra|1969|p=}} This tradition of private celebration runs parallel to the public celebration introduced in 1894 by [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]].{{sfn|Bandyopādhyāẏa|2004|p=243–244}} ''[[Modak]]'' is a popular food item during the festival. Ganeshotsav also incorporates other festivals, namely [[Teej|Hartalika]] and the Gauri festival, the former is observed with a fast by women whilst the latter by the installation of idols of Gauris.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pattanaik|first1=Devdutt|title=99 thoughts on Ganesha : [stories, symbols and rituals of India's beloved elephant-headed deity]|date=2011|publisher=Jaico Pub House|location=Mumbai|isbn=978-81-8495-152-3|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wh22qvzQuowC&pg=PP9}}</ref> The religious amongst the Deshasthas [[fasting|fast]] on the days prescribed for fasting according to Hindu calendar.{{sfn|Sharma|Gupta|2006|p=}} Typical days for fasting are [[Ekadashi]], [[Chaturthi]], [[Maha Shivaratri]] and Janmashtami. [[Teej|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]].<ref name="ahmednagar.nic.in">http://ahmednagar.nic.in/gazetteer/people_feast.html</ref> [[File:Gudi.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Gudi Padwa Gudi or Victory pole]] Gudi Padwa is observed on the first of the day of the lunar month of [[Chaitra]] of the Hindu calendar.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dNOT9iYxcMC&pg=PA988|title=Concise Encyclopaedia of India|page=988|author1=K.R. Gupta|author2=Amita Gupta|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|year=2006|isbn=9788126906390}}</ref> A victory pole or Gudi is erected outside homes on the day. The leaves of [[Azadirachta indica|''Neem'']] or and [[shrikhand]] are a part of the cuisine of the day.{{sfn|Express News Service|2009|p=1}}{{sfn|Ahmadnagar District Gazetteers|1976a|}} Like many other Hindu communities, Deshasthas celebrate [[Rama Navami]] and [[Hanuman Jayanti]], the birthdays of Rama and Hanuman, respectively, in the month of Chaitra. A snack eaten by new mothers called Sunthawada or Dinkawada is the [[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.<ref name="ahmednagar.nic.in"/> 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.{{sfn|Madhava Rao|1962|}} Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Krishna on which day Gopalkala, a recipe made with [[curds]], pickle, popped millet (''jondhale'' in Marathi) and chili peppers is the special dish. [[Sharad Purnima]] also called as Kojagiri Purnima, the full moon night in the month of [[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|date=June 2017}} 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 (Hinduism)|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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mumbai Food: Ganpati Offerings That Go Beyond The Modak|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/ganesh-chaturthi-special-modak-ganpati-offerings-crab-turmeric-leaves-vegetable-stew-mumbai-food/18518164|publisher=Mid-day|accessdate=20 August 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sharma|first1=Usha|title=Festivals In Indian Society|date=2008|publisher=Mittal|location=New Delhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sqz4eWbAMSkC&pg=PA153|accessdate=12 January 2015|isbn=9788183241137}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bapat |first1=Shakuntala |last2=Karandikar |first2=Suman |title=Rural Context of Primary Education Searching for the Roots |url=http://birbhum.gov.in/DPSC/reference/25.pdf |accessdate=12 January 2015}} See also [http://birbhum.gov.in Birbhum District Official Website].</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Gopalakrishna|first1=B. T.|title=Festival and Dalits|date=2013|publisher=B. T.Gopalakrishna|location=Bangalore|isbn=978-1-300-68262-2|pages=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jW-lBAAAQBAJ&q=gauri+maharashtra+-kotwal++festival+bhadrapad&pg=PA35|accessdate=12 January 2015}}</ref> [[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|date=June 2017}} 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 [[Anarsa|Anarse]], [[Dumpling|Karanjya]], [[Chakli]], [[Chiwda]] and [[laddu|Ladu]] are prepared for the festival. Colourful [[Rangoli]] drawings are made in front of the house.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} Deshastha Brahmins observe the [[Khandoba]] Festival or ''Champa Shashthi'' in the month of [[Agrahayana|Mārgashirsh]]. This is a six-day festival, from the first to sixth lunar day of the bright fortnight. Deshastha households perform ''Ghatasthapana'' of Khandoba during this festival. The sixth day of the festival is called Champa Sashthi. For Deshastha, the [[Chaturmas]] period ends on Champa Sashthi. As it is customary in many families not to consume onions, garlic and [[eggplant]] (Brinjal / Aubergine) during the Chaturmas, the consumption of these food items resumes with ritual preparation of Vangyache Bharit ([[Baingan Bharta]]) and ''rodga'', small round flat breads prepared from ''jwari'' (white [[millet]]).{{sfn|Pillai|1997|p=192}} [[File:Tilgul kha god god bola.jpg|thumb|right| [[Tilgul]] is exchanged by Deshasthas on Makar Sankaranti. The centre shows sugarcoated [[sesame]] seeds surrounded by ''[[laddu]]''s 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''.<ref>Dunghav, M.G., 2015. Scientific Approach to Celebrate Festivals in Maharashtra in India-A Conceptual Study. International Journal of Ayurvedic Medicine, 6(2) pp=97.</ref> ''Gulpoli'', a special type of [[chapati]] stuffed with jaggery is the dish of the day. Maha Shivaratri is celebrated in the month of [[Magha (month)|Magha]] to honour [[Shiva]]. A chutney made from [[curd fruit]] (''Kawath'' in Marathi) is part of the cuisine of the day.<ref>Dunghav, M.G., 2015. Scientific Approach to Celebrate Festivals in Maharashtra in India-A Conceptual Study. International Journal of Ayurvedic Medicine, 6(2) pp=96.</ref> [[Holi]] falls on the full moon day in [[Phalguna]], the last month. Deshasthas celebrate this festival by lighting a bonfire and offering [[Puran Poli]] to the fire. Unlike North Indians, Deshastha Brahmins celebrate colour throwing five days after Holi on [[Rangapanchami]].<ref name="ahmednagar.nic.in"/> ==Social and political issues== Maharashtraian Brahmins were absentee landlords and lived off the surplus without tilling the land themselves per ritual restrictions.{{sfn|Mitra|2006|p=129}} They were often seen as the exploiter of the tiller. This situation started to change 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.{{sfn|Haque|Sirohi|1986|pp=35–36}} Other social and political issues include anti-Brahminism and the treatment of Dalits. ===Inter-caste issues=== [[File:Pandharpur Vithoba temple.jpg|thumb|left|The main entrance to the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur]] During British rule in 19th century, social reformers such as [[Jotiba Phule]] launched campaigned against Brahmin domination of society and in government employment.The campaign was continued in early 20th century by the maharaja of Kolhapur, [[Shahu of Kolhapur|Shahu]].In 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<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jayapalan|first1=N.|title=Social and cultural history of India since 1556|date=2000|publisher=Atlantic Publishers and Distributors|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788171568260|pages=160–162|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWEk1p_b5YUC&q=Rawlinson,+George+++Maratha+Empire+bajirao+&pg=PR5}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Mohanty|2004|p=161}} The violent riots exposed the social tensions between the Marathas and the Brahmins.{{sfn|Dossal|Maloni|1999|p=11}} {{see also|Maharashtrian_Brahmin#Anti-Brahmin Violence in Maharashtra}} In recent history, on 5 January 2004, the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]] (BORI) in Pune was vandalised by 150 members of the Sambhaji Brigade, an organisation promoting the cause of the Marathas.{{sfn|Katakam|2004|pp=17–30}} The organisation was protesting against a derogatory remark made by the American author James Laine, on Shivaji's Parentage in his book, ''Shivaji: A Hindu King in an Islamic Kingdom''. BORI was targeted because Srikant Bahulkar, a scholar at BORI, was acknowledged in Laine's book. The incident highlighted the traditionally uncomfortable Brahmin-Maratha relationship.{{sfn|Katakam|2004|pp=17–30}} Recently, the same organisation demanded the removal of [[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.{{sfn|Swamy|2008|p=}} 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 [[Hindu temples]], presumably with a Deshastha priest, barred entry to the so-called "[[Dalit|untouchables]]" (Dalit). An example of this was the case of the 14th century saint [[Chokhamela]] of the [[Varkari]] movement, who belonged to the [[Mahar]] caste. He was time and again denied entry to the [[Vitthal]] temple in [[Pandharpur]],{{sfn|Prasad|2007|p=10-12}} however, his mausoleum was built in front of the gate of the temple. In the early 20th century, the Dalit leader [[B. R. Ambedkar]], while attempting to visit the temple, was stopped at the burial site of Chokhamela and denied entry beyond that point for being a Mahar.{{sfn|Lele|Singh|1989|p=38}} Deshastha caste-fellow [[Dnyaneshwar]] and his entire family were stripped of their caste and excommunicated by the Deshasthas because of his father's return from ''[[sanyasa]]'' to family life. The family was harassed and humiliated to an extent that Dnyaneshwar's parents committed suicide.{{sfn|Jñānadeva|1981|p=5}} Other saints like [[Tukaram]] ([[Kunbi]] caste) were discriminated against by the Brahmins.{{sfn|Eaton|2005|p=129-130}}{{sfn|Eaton|2005|p=132}} 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.{{sfn|Press Trust of India|2000|p=}}{{efn|While untouchability was legally abolished by the Anti-untouchability Act of 1955 and under article 17 of the Indian constitution, modern India has simply ghettoised these marginalised communities.{{sfn|Nubile|2003|p=}} Article 25(2) of the Indian constitution empowers States to enact laws regarding temple entries. The relevant Act was enacted and enforced in Maharashtra in 1956. Leaders from different times in history such as [[Bhimrao Ambedkar]], [[Mahatma Phule]], [[Savarkar]], [[Sane Guruji]] fought for the cause of Dalits.}} The [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]], an organisation founded by [[K. B. Hedgewar]] advocates Dalits being head priests at Hindu temples.<ref>{{Citation |date=3 January 2007 |title = RSS for Dalit head priests in temples |agency=India Times News Network |website=The Times of India |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-01-03/india/27884065_1_jagannath-temple-upper-caste-dalits |accessdate=13 October 2010 }}</ref> ===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.<ref>*{{cite journal |year=1989 |title=Economic and political weekly |volume=24 |publisher=Sameeksha Trust |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=itOwAAAAIAAJ |accessdate=10 October 2010 }}</ref>{{sfn|Rinehart|2004|p=249}} After the appointment of [[Balaji Vishwanath Bhat]] as [[Peshwa dynasty|Peshwa]], Konkanastha migrants began arriving en masse from the Konkan to Pune,{{sfn|Gokhale|2008|p=113}}{{sfn|Eaton|2005|p=192}} where the Peshwa offered some important offices to the Konkanastha caste.{{sfn|Patterson|2007|p=398}} The Konkanastha kin were rewarded with tax relief and grants of land.{{sfn|Leach|Mukherjee|1970|pp=101, 104–5}} Historians point out nepotism{{sfn|Śejavalakara|1946|pp=24–5}}{{sfn|Seal|1971 |pp=74, 78}}{{sfn|Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute|1947|p=182}}{{sfn|Śinde|1985|p=16}}{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=95}}<ref>{{cite book|title=The Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the Later Nineteenth Century|author=Anil Seal|publisher=CUP Archive|year=1971|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xV84AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA78|page=78|quote=Between Brahmins and these non-Brahmins there was a long history of rancour which the nepotism of the Peshwas had only exacerbated.|isbn=9780521096522}}</ref> and corruption during this time. The Konkanasthas were waging a social war on Deshasthas during the period of the Peshwas.{{sfn|Kulkarnee|1975|p=8}} By the late 18th century, Konkanasthas had established complete political and economic dominance in the region. As a consequence, many members of the literate classes, including Deshastha and Karhade Brahmins, left their ancestral region of Western Maharashtra and migrated to other areas of the Maratha empire such as around the east Godavari basin in the present-day states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Samaddar|editor-first=Ranabir |last=De|first=Barun |title=Peace studies : an introduction to the concept, scope, and themes|date=2004|publisher=SAGE Publ.|location=New Delhi [u.a.]|isbn=9780761996606|page=214|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hVADxxgT6KAC&pg=PA206}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bayly|first1=Susan|title=Caste, society and politics in India from the eighteenth century to the modern age|date=2000|publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press|location=Cambridge [u.a.]|isbn=9780521798426|page=79|edition=1. Indian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC&pg=PR6}}</ref> For example, many Deshasthas, [[Saraswat]]s and [[CKP]]s moved to newly formed Maratha states ruled by the [[Scindia]]s, [[Gaikwad]]s and others that were at the periphery of the Peshwa's kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pandit|first1=Nalini|title=Caste and Class in Maharashtra|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=1979|volume=14|issue=7/8 (February 1979)|pages=425–436|jstor=4367360|quote=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.}}</ref> Richard Maxwell Eaton states that this rise of the Konkanastha is a classic example of social rank rising with political fortune.{{sfn|Eaton|2005|p=192}} Since then, despite being the traditional religious and social elites of Maharashtra, the Deshastha Brahmins failed to feature as prominently as the Konkanastha.<ref name="superior"/> The Deshasthas looked down upon the Konkanasthas as newcomers in the 18th and 19th centuries. They refused to socialise and intermingle with them, not considering them to be Brahmins. A Konkanstha who was invited to a Deshastha household was considered to be a privileged individual, and even the Peshwas were refused permission to perform religious rites at the Deshastha ''[[ghats]]'' on the Godavari at Nasik. The Konkanasthas on their part, pursued for greater intellectual ability and better political acumen.{{sfn|Kumar|2004|p=37}} 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste, Prejudice, and the Individual|url=https://archive.org/details/casteprejudicein0000para|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/casteprejudicein0000para/page/117 117]|author=A. C. Paranjpe|publisher=Lalvani Publishing House|year=1970|quote=It may also be pointed out that marriages between the Deshastha and Kokanastha Brahmins have been very common}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7KjBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62|title=Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste|author1=C. J. Fuller|author2=Haripriya Narasimhan|publisher=University of Chicago Press|accessdate=11 November 2014|page=62|isbn=9780226152882|date=11 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2u88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA105|title=Elites in South Asia|editor1=Edmund leach|editor2=S. N. Mukherjee| author= Gordon Johnson|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=105}}</ref> ===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 Organizations.<ref name="Deshastha Rugvedi Brahman Sangh">{{cite web|title=Deshastha Rugvedi Brahman Sangh|url=http://www.drbsdombivli.org/drbs_dombivli_history.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.is/20130809190816/http://www.drbsdombivli.org/drbs_dombivli_history.htm|archive-date=9 August 2013}}</ref> Similar to the Rigvedi community, there are organisations and trusts dedicated to the welfare of the Yajurvedi sub-caste.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shukla Yajurvediya Maharastriya Brahman Madhyavarti Mandal, Pune |website=Charity Commissioner Of Maharashtra |url=http://www.mahacharity.gov.in/kiosk/o_trust_history.php?case_no=201250001031952&frmAction=modify&dbselect=punedb |access-date=12 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215503/http://www.mahacharity.gov.in/kiosk/o_trust_history.php?case_no=201250001031952&frmAction=modify&dbselect=punedb |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Shree Vishnu Deosthan (Of Yajur Shakhiya Brahman) |website=Charity Commissioner Of Maharashtra |url=http://www.mahacharity.gov.in/kiosk/o_trust_history.php?case_no=201250006891953&frmAction=modify&dbselect=punedb |access-date=12 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204643/http://www.mahacharity.gov.in/kiosk/o_trust_history.php?case_no=201250006891953&frmAction=modify&dbselect=punedb |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ==Notable people== {{Main|List of Deshastha Brahmins}} ==See also== {{Portal|Hinduism}} * [[Thanjavur Maharashtrian]] * [[Forward Castes]] * [[Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh)|Marathi people in Uttar Pradesh]] ==References== '''Notes''' {{notelist}} '''Citations''' {{reflist}} '''Bibliography''' {{refbegin}} * {{citation |last=Ahmadnagar District Gazetteers |year=1976a |title=The People: Feasts and Festivals |publisher=Government of Maharashtra |url=http://ahmednagar.nic.in/gazetteer/people_feast.html }} *{{Citation| last =Mathew|first=George|title=Shift in Indian Politics: 1983 Elections in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zG4JuQMA-a8C|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=1984}} * {{Citation |last=Ahmadnagar District Gazetteer |year=1976b |title=The People: Castes |publisher=Government of Maharashtra |url=http://ahmednagar.gov.in/gazetteer/people_castes.html }} * {{Citation |title=State and Society: A Reader in Comparative Political Sociology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5gzTp13AXQC |first=Coenraad M. |last=Brand |publisher=University of California Press |year=1973 |isbn=978-0520024908}} * {{Citation |title=Religions and communities of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggtuAAAAMAAJ |first=Pran Nath |last=Chopra |publisher=Vision Books |year=1982 }} * {{Citation |last=Frykenberg |first=Robert Eric |title=Land control and social structure in Indian history |year =1979 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qe3sAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Manohar Publications }} * {{Citation |last=Anand |first=Pinky |title=The paradox of the 21st century |location=Chennai, India |newspaper=The Hindu |date=18 May 2010 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article432445.ece }} * {{Citation |last=Bahuguna |first=Nitin Jugran |title=The marriage market |publisher=The Hindu Business Line |date=5 November 2004 |url=http://www.blonnet.com/life/2004/11/05/stories/2004110500130300.htm |accessdate=10 October 2010 }} * {{Citation |last=Bandyopādhyāẏa |first=Śekhara |year=2004 |title=From Plassey to partition: a history of modern India |edition=illustrated |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2596-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0oVra0ulQ3QC }} * {{citation |last=Bokil |first=Vinayak Pandurang |year=1979 |title=Rajguru Ramdas |publisher=Kamalesh P. 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S.|last=Naravane|publisher=APH Publishing|year=2006|isbn=978-8131300343}} {{Refend}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book|title = A History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature, Vol 1. 3rd Edition|first = B. N. Krishnamurti| last = Sharma| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (2008 Reprint) |isbn = 978-8120815759| year= 2000 }} * {{Cite book|last=Bandyopadhyaya|first=JayantanujaJ|year=2008|title=Class and Religion in Ancient India|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-727-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwUF11NRyT4C}} * {{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=Usha|year=2005|title=Marriage in Indian Society: From Tradition to Modernity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fk1dhn9W-44C|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=9788170999980}} * {{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Robert|year=1991|title=Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God|publisher=Albany: State University of New York|page=19|isbn=978-0-7914-0657-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UWS1QgAACAAJ}} * {{cite news|title =India: An international spotlight on the caste system|last= Datta-Ray|first=Sunanda K|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/opinion/12iht-eddattaray.html|accessdate=5 October 2010 |date=13 May 2005}} * {{Cite web |title=Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Short life History |last=Dr. Ambedkar Mission|year=2010 |url=http://www.drambedkarmission.org/ambedkar |accessdate=10 October 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826072937/http://www.drambedkarmission.org/ambedkar |archive-date = 26 August 2010 |df=dmy-all }} * {{Cite journal | last=Frykenberg |first=Robert Eric | title=Elite groups in a South Indian district: 1788–1858 | journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |date = February 1956| volume=24 | issue=2 |pages=261–281 | doi=10.2307/2050565 | jstor=2050565}} * {{Cite book|title=Toward a global science: mining civilizational knowledge|first=Susantha|last=Goonatilake|year=1998|isbn=978-0-253-33388-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SI5ip95BbgEC}} * {{Cite web|title=Satara District Gazetteer|year=1963|last=Government of Maharashtra|url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/SATARA/people_marriage_morals.html|accessdate=10 October 2010}} * {{Cite web|last=Government of Maharashtra|title=Wardha District Gazetteer|year=1974|url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/WARDHA/people_marriage%20morals.html|accessdate=10 October 2010}} * {{Cite book| title=Rapt in the name: the Ramnamis, Ramnam, and untouchable religion in Central India|last=Lamb|first=Ramdas|isbn=978-0-7914-5385-8|lccn=2002070695|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=STw9LQtx89oC|year=2002 |publisher=State University of New York Press}} * {{cite news|title = The caste system – India's apartheid?|last = Rajagopal|first=Balakrishnan|newspaper=The Hindu|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/18/stories/2007081856301200.htm|accessdate=5 October 2010|location=Chennai, India |date=18 August 2007}} * {{Cite book|title=Fields of protest: women's movements in India|first=Raka|last=Ray|year=2000|publisher=Zubaan|isbn=978-81-86706-23-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kh2keRsHhnwC}} * {{Cite book|title=Modern Hindu thought: the essential texts|page=137|first=Arvind|last=Sharma|isbn=978-0-19-565315-1|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1sqAAAAYAAJ}} * {{Cite book|title=Structure and Change in Indian Society|chapter=Mobility in the caste system|editor1-first=Bernard S|editor1-last=Cohn|editor2-first=Milton|editor2-last=Singer|last=Srinivas|first=M. N|publisher=Transaction Publishers |year=2007|isbn= 978-0-202-36138-3|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_g-_r-9Oa_sC}} * {{Cite book|title=Tradition and modernity in Bhakti movements|first=Eleanor|last=Zelliot|editor=Jayant Lele|pages=136–142|year=1981|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kLs3AAAAIAAJ|isbn=978-90-04-06370-9}} * {{cite book|title=Caste, Prejudice, and the Individual|url=https://archive.org/details/casteprejudicein0000para|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/casteprejudicein0000para/page/117 117]|author=A. C. Paranjpe|publisher=Lalvani Publishing House|year=1970|quote=It may also be pointed out that marriages between the Deshastha and Kokanastha Brahmins have been very common}} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7KjBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62|title=Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste|author1=C. J. Fuller|author2=Haripriya Narasimhan|publisher=University of Chicago Press|accessdate=11 November 2014|page=62|isbn=9780226152882|date=11 November 2014}} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2u88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA105|title=Elites in South Asia|editor1=Edmund leach|editor2=S. N. Mukherjee| author= Gordon Johnson|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=105}} ==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Brahmins}} * [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/index.htm Sacred texts: Hinduism] * [https://www.maharashtra.gov.in/ Government of Maharashtra Official Website] [[Category:Brahmin communities of Maharashtra]] [[Category:Brahmin communities of Karnataka]] [[Category:Hindu communities]] [[Category:Indian castes]] [[Category:Marathi people]] [[Category:Kannada people]] [[Category:Maharashtra]]'