Karhade Brahmin

Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra.[1]

Karada brahmins
Regions with significant populations
Primary populations in Maharashtra
Languages
Marathi and Konkani (Karhadi dialect)

Classification

Along with the Deshastha and Konkanastha Brahmins, the Karhade Brahmins are referred to as Maharashtrian Brahmins.

Based on Veda and Vedanta

Karhade Brahmins are essentially Rigvedi Brahmins who follow the Ashwalayana Sutra.[2]. Karhade Brahmins are divided into two groups based on the Vedanta they follow, the first of which follows the Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankara and the second of which follow the Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya. Majority of Karhade Brahmins are Smarthas, while small minority among them are Madhvas.[3] Like their Deshastha counterparts, traditionally the karhade allowed cross-cousin marriages.[4]

Divisions

There are three divisions of Karhade Brahmins - Karhade (from Desh), Padye[5] and Bhatt Prabhu. Padyes hail from present day state of Goa. "Padhye" was a further division of "Padye" - and were Khots or farmers.

Origin

Skanda Purana (Sahyadri Khanda) as well as Brahmanda Purana are very harsh towards these Brahmins and it is mentioned that they descended from the bones of camel and hence designated as Karhades.[6][7]

The Karhada Brahman take the name from the town of Karad in Satara district, the sacred junction of the Koina and Krishna. They migrated to the region between Malvan and Sangameshwar near the Konkan coast and made it their home land.The Karhade section, though it takes its name from Karad, a place in the Deccan region, is found chiefly in the Konkan coast.[8] Karhade Brahmins are generally thought to be a branch of the Deshastha Rigvedi's who immigrated from their home in Satara district to the southern part of Ratnagiri on the Konkan Coast, where they were principally settled.[9]

Demographics

Most Karhade Brahmins live in Maharashtra though a significant population exist in Goa, Karnataka, and cities outside Maharashtra such as Sagar [10] and Indore[11] in present day state of Madhya Pradesh.Ancestors of these people moved to these places during 18th century during the Maratha empire period.A southern branch of the Karhade Brahmins settled around the Kasargod region of the Malabar coast and they are called the "Karada Brahmins" and share their traditions with Kerala Brahmins and the Brahmins of South Karnataka.[12]

Culture

Occupation

Traditionally, the Karhade Brahmins were a community of priests who offered religious services in Hindu temple and to other communities.

Language

Marathi is the mother tongue of most of the Karhade Brahmins in Maharashtra.[13]

Diet

Karhade Brahmins generally follow a vegetarian diet.[14]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. Patterson, Maureen L. P. (25 September 1954). "Caste and Political Leadership in Maharashtra: A Review and Current Appraisal" (PDF). The Economic Weekly: 1065. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  2. Karnataka State Gazetteer: Belgaum. Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Govt. Press. 1987. p. 199. The Karhades are the followers of Rigveda and belong to the Smartha sect
  3. M. V. Kamath (1989). B.G. Kher, the Gentleman Premier. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 4. The majority of Karhades are Shaivites and subscribe to Advaita though a small minority are Vaishnavites , having , like many Saraswat brahmins , come under the influence of Madhva.
  4. Karve, I., 1958. What is caste. Economic Weekly, 10(4), p.153.
  5. Borayin Larios (10 April 2017). Embodying the Vedas: Traditional Vedic Schools of Contemporary Maharashtra. De Gruyter. p. 91. ISBN 978-3-11-051732-3.
  6. "A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara" By Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri Published by Institute Menezes Braganza, 1999 ,Original from the University of Michigan, Pages:50.
  7. "Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha)" -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan Shastri Gaytonde. Published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai.
  8. Hirendra K. Rakshit (1975). Bio-anthropological Research in India: Proceedings of the Seminar in Physical Anthropology and Allied Disciplines. Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India. p. 68.
  9. Sandhya Gokhale (2008). The Chitpavans: Social Ascendancy of a Creative Minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918. Shubhi Publications. p. 28. ISBN 9788182901322. Karhade Brahmans are generally thought to be a branch of the Deshastha Rigvedis who immigrated from their home in Satara district to the southern part of Ratnagiri on the Konkan Coast , where they were principally settled.
  10. Roberts, John (1971). "The Movement of Elites in Western India under Early British Rule". The Historical Journal. 14 (2): 241–262. JSTOR 2637955.
  11. Rodney W. Jones (1974). Urban Politics in India: Area, Power, and Policy in a Penetrated System. University of California Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-520-02545-5.
  12. India's Communities, Volume 5. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 1583. ISBN 9780195633542.
  13. Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri (1999). A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara (PDF). Institute Menezes Braganza. p. 54.
  14. India's Communities, Volume 5. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 2079. ISBN 9780195633542.
  15. Syed Siraj ul Hassan (1989). The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1. Asian Educational Services. p. 115. ISBN 9788120604889. The Karhada Brahmans are remarkable for their neat and cleanly habits and hospitable conduct. They are a very intelligent class and have risen to high offices under the present Government. The poet Moropant and the notoriously brave Rani Laxmibai of Zansi belonged to this caste.
  16. Tucker, R., 1976. Hindu Traditionalism and Nationalist Ideologies in Nineteenth-Century Maharashtra. Modern Asian Studies, 10(3), pp.321-348.
  17. Joyce Lebra (2008). Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment. p. 2. ISBN 9789812308092. Myth and history intertwine closely in the life if the Rani of Jhansi, known in childhood as Manu...She was born in the holy city of Varanasi to a Karhada brahmin , Moropant Tambe
  18. Chapman 1986, p. 13.
  19. Karve, D.D. (1963). The New Brahmans: Five Maharashtrian Families. Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univ of California Press. p. 5.
  20. Natarajan, ed. by Nalini (1996). Handbook of twentieth century literatures of India (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. pp. 219, 221, 227. ISBN 9780313287787.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  21. M. V. Kamath (1989). B.G. Kher, the Gentleman Premier. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 5. Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant was a Karhade Brahmin whose ancestors went north from Karhatak.
  22. Patterson, Maureen L. P. (1968). "Chitpavan Brahmin Family Histories: Sources for a Study of Social Structure and Social Change in Maharashtra". In Singer, Milton; Cohn, Bernard S. (eds.). Structure and Change in Indian society. Transaction Publishers. p. 533. ISBN 9781351487801.
  23. Sharma, Jyotirmaya (2007). Terrifying vision : M.S. Golwalkar, the RSS, and India. New Delhi: Penguin, Viking. p. x. ISBN 978-0670999507.

Bibliography
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