Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahman
Encyclopedia
Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin (Devnagri:कुडाळदेशकर गौड ब्राह्मण), is a community hailing from the western coast of India
, residing in the Konkan
division of Maharashtra
, Goa
and some parts of coastal and central Karnataka
. This community is also known as Kudaldeshkar Aadya Gaud Brahman (कुडाळदेशकर आद्य गौड ब्राह्मण) and sometimes Kudalkar Brahmans (कुडाळकार in local Konkani
dialects). They speak dialects of Marathi
, Malwani
dialect of Konkani
.
. Earlier immigrants were called Adi Gaud saraswats / Kudaldeshkar.
Tired of the constant peevishness of Muslim rulers and other Avedic activities in this region,this group of Brahmins crossed Vindhyachal Parvat and descended into the Sahyadri Parvat in early 7th century BC until 12th BC, and settled in Dakshin Konkan
created by Parashuram. Legend has it that they were a group of 8,000 clansmen. These folks were hardworking and were interested in agriculture
. The then ruling Chalukya king was impressed with them, and granted them portions of land, ranging from Devgad to Phonda. These came to be known as the 14 Agraharas
or Bhumikas.Those families fled to northern Kudal desh in Ratnagiri district (Maharashtra) settled down in Lotli, Bardesh, Pedne, Rajapur, Balavali, Malwan, Vengurla etc. where they assimilated the local language and culture. Naturally, with this exodus to distant areas and settling there, these groups lost contacts among themselves which led to estrangement. In course of time, they came to be known by prefixing their new locality names. By the end of 11th century, atleast 6 distinct groups came into being and were known by their new locality names prefixing. They are: Sasashtikars, Shenavis, Bardeshkars, Pednekars, Lotlikars and Kudaldeshkars. The well-known Kudaldeshkar Prabhu Desai family is one of the most important Saraswat families. Their dynasty was powerful and they ruled for nearly five hundred years independently.These terms, it seems, were used even after so many years in the Kudal region which gave birth to the new sub group known as Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmins. The leader of the community was Kalyan Prabhu, whose two sons Suryabhan & Chandrabhan are believed to have expanded the rule of the K D G Bs. This rule went without any problems till 1696, when the Bhosales of Sawantwadi attacked the Kudal region and killed the last ruler named Jogan Prabhu. His nephew Narayan Prabhu ran away to Malwan and the rule of the K D G Bs came to an end in 1697.These socio-economic factors forced them to establish their own new identity separate from Gauda Saraswat Brahmins of the region. Being saraswats due to the feud against other sub groups they decided not be identified as saraswats and called themselves kudaldeshkar gaud brahmins. GSB( Gaud saraswat Brahmins) who setlled in kudal prefer to be called as kudaldeshkars rather than Gsb.
These 14 Agraharas are as follows: Valavali, Dhamapur, Nerur
, Paat, Parule, Mhapan, Khanoli, Ajgaon
, Golvan, Kelus, Vetore, Dabholi, Tendoli and Tirvade. History says that these people have exceptional leadership skills, and hence the Kadamba king donated four more Agraharas
to a learned priest from the community named Devsharma in 1020 AD. The names of these four Agraharas are as follows: Kochare, Masade, Chendvan and Malgaon. These 18 Agraharas came to be known as Kudal Desh
, and hence its patrons were called as Kudaldeshkars.
's Advait
school of philosophy, and have their own three centuries old Math in Dabholi village in the Indian state of Maharashtra.The first pontiff of the Shreemat Purnanand Swamiji was initiated into Sanyasa by HH Vishwananda Swamiji. The present 20th pontiff of the Math is HH Shreemat Pradyumnanand Swamiji.
as their Kuldevta
s:
and other Brahminical rituals, but are not so orthodox, and are highly educated, cultured, and flexible.
Kudaldeshkars are Brahman Warriors, also called "Brahmakshatriyas". This Brahman Warriors or 'Brahmakshatiyas' cult is unique and very rare within the Hindus. Many of them were Governors (rulers) of the Agraharas (Prabhu Walavalkar, Prabhu Tendolkar, Prabhu Khanolkar,...), administrators of the Agraharas (Desai, Samant, Patil, Naik..), a few of them were priests and Sanskrit
scholars (Mahajan, Pandit,..) plus traders and farmers (Dhond,..). Today Kudaldeshkars are 100 percent educated and most of them are engaged in different white collar jobs and business.
(also referred to as a creoles between Konkani and Marathi). Today Malwani is more significantly identified as the principal language of Kudaldeshkars and also of the natives of the Sindhudurg district. There is no special script or text characters for Malwani and it is generally written in Marathi. They also speak Marathi
in Maharashtra
, and Konkani
in Goa
, and Karnataka
. Malwani is also called Kudali, originally known as Kudwali. Kudwal is the ancient name for Kudal.
Historians say that the period of migration of Kudalkars and the Daivajnas from the northern part of India occurred at the same, and they settled in Goa in the same period. For this reason, members of both the communities speak the same dialect of Konkani in Goa.
Naturally, fish was and is the primary ingredient. Various varieties of fish are merrily consumed. Since availability of fish is a seasonal story, even dry fish becomes necessary. Fish is either fired or made into a delicious curry. Almost all of them are deep-sea fish eaters and thus non-vegetarians, but Kudaldeshkars do not consider fish as a non-veg diet. Kudaldeshkars mostly prefer fried, cooked, hot and tasty dishes. Their cuisine is unique, more of humid tropical nature, dominated by fish, rice, spices, kokums, raw mangos, cashew nuts and coconuts. Still, the Malwani diets unique characteristics are well distinguished from Goan food. Kudaldeshkars are not to keen in fruits intake. But the Konkan region is one of the biggest for growing Bananas and Alphanso Mango.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, residing in the Konkan
Konkan
The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...
division of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
and some parts of coastal and central Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. This community is also known as Kudaldeshkar Aadya Gaud Brahman (कुडाळदेशकर आद्य गौड ब्राह्मण) and sometimes Kudalkar Brahmans (कुडाळकार in local Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
dialects). They speak dialects of Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Malwani
Malvani
Malvani is a dialect of Konkani with significant Marathi influences and loanwords. Some define it as a Creole between Konkani and Marathi. Though Malvani does not have a unique script, scripts of the other languages native to the regions its speakers inhabit are used. Devanagari is used by most of...
dialect of Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
.
History
Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmins were once natives of a region called 'gaud bengal' in BengalWest Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. Earlier immigrants were called Adi Gaud saraswats / Kudaldeshkar.
Tired of the constant peevishness of Muslim rulers and other Avedic activities in this region,this group of Brahmins crossed Vindhyachal Parvat and descended into the Sahyadri Parvat in early 7th century BC until 12th BC, and settled in Dakshin Konkan
Konkan
The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...
created by Parashuram. Legend has it that they were a group of 8,000 clansmen. These folks were hardworking and were interested in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The then ruling Chalukya king was impressed with them, and granted them portions of land, ranging from Devgad to Phonda. These came to be known as the 14 Agraharas
Agraharam
An Agraharam or Agrahara is the name given to the Brahmin quarter of a heterogenous village or to any village inhabited by Brahmins...
or Bhumikas.Those families fled to northern Kudal desh in Ratnagiri district (Maharashtra) settled down in Lotli, Bardesh, Pedne, Rajapur, Balavali, Malwan, Vengurla etc. where they assimilated the local language and culture. Naturally, with this exodus to distant areas and settling there, these groups lost contacts among themselves which led to estrangement. In course of time, they came to be known by prefixing their new locality names. By the end of 11th century, atleast 6 distinct groups came into being and were known by their new locality names prefixing. They are: Sasashtikars, Shenavis, Bardeshkars, Pednekars, Lotlikars and Kudaldeshkars. The well-known Kudaldeshkar Prabhu Desai family is one of the most important Saraswat families. Their dynasty was powerful and they ruled for nearly five hundred years independently.These terms, it seems, were used even after so many years in the Kudal region which gave birth to the new sub group known as Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmins. The leader of the community was Kalyan Prabhu, whose two sons Suryabhan & Chandrabhan are believed to have expanded the rule of the K D G Bs. This rule went without any problems till 1696, when the Bhosales of Sawantwadi attacked the Kudal region and killed the last ruler named Jogan Prabhu. His nephew Narayan Prabhu ran away to Malwan and the rule of the K D G Bs came to an end in 1697.These socio-economic factors forced them to establish their own new identity separate from Gauda Saraswat Brahmins of the region. Being saraswats due to the feud against other sub groups they decided not be identified as saraswats and called themselves kudaldeshkar gaud brahmins. GSB( Gaud saraswat Brahmins) who setlled in kudal prefer to be called as kudaldeshkars rather than Gsb.
These 14 Agraharas are as follows: Valavali, Dhamapur, Nerur
Nerur
Nerur is a town of Kudal Taluka of Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra in India. It is one of the smaller towns in the district having 32 wadis.The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has taken up the development of industrial areas. The Malvani dialect of Konkani is spoken here. There...
, Paat, Parule, Mhapan, Khanoli, Ajgaon
Ajgaon
Ajgaon is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India. It is located in the Haliyal taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka.Ajgaon is also a small part of Konkan.........
, Golvan, Kelus, Vetore, Dabholi, Tendoli and Tirvade. History says that these people have exceptional leadership skills, and hence the Kadamba king donated four more Agraharas
Agraharam
An Agraharam or Agrahara is the name given to the Brahmin quarter of a heterogenous village or to any village inhabited by Brahmins...
to a learned priest from the community named Devsharma in 1020 AD. The names of these four Agraharas are as follows: Kochare, Masade, Chendvan and Malgaon. These 18 Agraharas came to be known as Kudal Desh
Kudal
Kudal is a census town in Sindhudurg district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:Kudal is located at . It has an average elevation of 20 metres .-Demographics:...
, and hence its patrons were called as Kudaldeshkars.
Religion
Kudaldeshkar Brahmans follow ShankaracharyaShankaracharya
Shankaracharya, is a commonly used title of heads of mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The title derives from Adi Shankara, a 9th century CE reformer of Hinduism. He is honored as Jagadguru, a title that was used earlier only to Lord Krishna...
's Advait
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
school of philosophy, and have their own three centuries old Math in Dabholi village in the Indian state of Maharashtra.The first pontiff of the Shreemat Purnanand Swamiji was initiated into Sanyasa by HH Vishwananda Swamiji. The present 20th pontiff of the Math is HH Shreemat Pradyumnanand Swamiji.
Kuldevatas
They worship following deitiesDeity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
as their Kuldevta
Kuldevta
Kuladevata or Kuladevi, also known as Kuladev and Kŭladaiwat, stands for "family deity, that is either a god or a goddess" within Hinduism, as distinct from personal ishta-devata and village deities...
s:
- Shree LakshmiNarayanNarayanNarayan may refer to:*Narayana, an Indian name, an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu*Narayanan, an Indian name*Narain, an Indian name- People :*Aditya Narayan, Indian television show host*Anand Narayan, Indian television personality...
- AdinarayanSuryaSurya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
- VetobaVetobaVetoba is worshipped in Konkan area of Maharashtra, India. He is a deity of the Aravali people, and also known as Agyavetal, Pralayvetal and Iwalavetal. He is noted for his footwear, which consists of large Kolhapuri chappals...
- RavalnathRavalnathRavalnath is a very popular Shaivite deity in west coastal region of India, figuring predominantly Goa, the Sindhudurg district of coastal Maharashtra and some areas of Karnataka.-Etymology:...
- MahadevShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
- SateriShantadurgaShantadurga also known as Shanteri/Santeri is the form of the Goddess Durga, commonly worshipped in Goa, India .She is also called Saibini in Konkani as a mark of reverence....
- PurushottamPurushottamPurushottam is called moolapurush of kudaldeshkar Dhananjay gotri, Bharadwaj Gotri and sankhyan gotri.Purushottam means ideal man. But this Purushottam is just a noun of a person who was devotee of Lord Shiva....
- BhadrakaliBhadrakaliBhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....
- Devi Mauli,Pat
- Sadyawarchi Mauli
- Taradevi
- Shri Devi Chamundeshvari,Andurle ( Patil lokanchi kuldevata)
- Shri Devi Sateri - Mhapan, Kudal, Vetora of Sindhudurga, Maharashtra.
Culture
They abide by all the Shodasha SamskarasSamskara
Samskara may refer to:* Saṃskāra, Hindu rites* Saṃskāra , in Buddhism, mental and volitional formations* Samskara , a technique in ayurvedic medicine...
and other Brahminical rituals, but are not so orthodox, and are highly educated, cultured, and flexible.
Kudaldeshkars are Brahman Warriors, also called "Brahmakshatriyas". This Brahman Warriors or 'Brahmakshatiyas' cult is unique and very rare within the Hindus. Many of them were Governors (rulers) of the Agraharas (Prabhu Walavalkar, Prabhu Tendolkar, Prabhu Khanolkar,...), administrators of the Agraharas (Desai, Samant, Patil, Naik..), a few of them were priests and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
scholars (Mahajan, Pandit,..) plus traders and farmers (Dhond,..). Today Kudaldeshkars are 100 percent educated and most of them are engaged in different white collar jobs and business.
Language
The original language of Kudaldeshkars is Malwani dialect. The Malwani dialects of KonkaniKonkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
(also referred to as a creoles between Konkani and Marathi). Today Malwani is more significantly identified as the principal language of Kudaldeshkars and also of the natives of the Sindhudurg district. There is no special script or text characters for Malwani and it is generally written in Marathi. They also speak Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, and Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. Malwani is also called Kudali, originally known as Kudwali. Kudwal is the ancient name for Kudal.
Historians say that the period of migration of Kudalkars and the Daivajnas from the northern part of India occurred at the same, and they settled in Goa in the same period. For this reason, members of both the communities speak the same dialect of Konkani in Goa.
Diet
Since the community had its base in the Konkan area, food habits are naturally influnced by the sea coast.Naturally, fish was and is the primary ingredient. Various varieties of fish are merrily consumed. Since availability of fish is a seasonal story, even dry fish becomes necessary. Fish is either fired or made into a delicious curry. Almost all of them are deep-sea fish eaters and thus non-vegetarians, but Kudaldeshkars do not consider fish as a non-veg diet. Kudaldeshkars mostly prefer fried, cooked, hot and tasty dishes. Their cuisine is unique, more of humid tropical nature, dominated by fish, rice, spices, kokums, raw mangos, cashew nuts and coconuts. Still, the Malwani diets unique characteristics are well distinguished from Goan food. Kudaldeshkars are not to keen in fruits intake. But the Konkan region is one of the biggest for growing Bananas and Alphanso Mango.
See also
- Gaud Saraswat Brahman
- KudalKudalKudal is a census town in Sindhudurg district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:Kudal is located at . It has an average elevation of 20 metres .-Demographics:...
- KonkanKonkanThe Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...
- List of Goan Brahmin communities