History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c41.s1.5

Language: English

v3.c41.s1.5.1

Strangely enough the northern Brahmins were looked upon in the beginning of this sub-period as purer in race as also in Āchāra or religious life and we have evidence, traditional no doubt, of many southern kings inviting northern India Brahmin families to settle in their countries. Thus we find the Sena king Sāmanta or Ballāla inviting Kanaujia Brahmins to settle in Bengal though tradition speaks of these Brahmins as having come in the time of Ādiśūra, a fictitious king of earlier date; and we have mention of Brahmins coming from the north and settling in Orissa also in the days of the Kesari kings. We have mention again of Northern Brahmins being invited to settle in Gujarat by Mūlarāja and even so far south as the Tamil land we have mention of a Chola king inviting and settling in his country Brahmins from Northern India. In all these cases, these Brahmins formed separate sub-castes owing to their unwillingness to mix with local Brahmins, considered to be of lower purity, either in food or marriage. The Nagarakotia Brahmins alone who believe that they were invited by a Katoch king say that they consist of 13 families, 3 of whom were Kashmiri, 3 Kanaujia and 3 Sārasvata, the remaining four being local Brahmins. (These probably were not agriculturalists). The number of sub-castes was thus further increased. Then again we may believe that certain sections of Brahmins migrated to safer lands from the Panjab and the U. P.

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owing to invasions first and then oppression of Mahomedan conquerors. The Gauda Sārasvata Brahmins of Goa territory thus appear to have come from the region of the Sarasvati about this time. It is an unhistorical idea that they came from Bengal, for Guda is a name which originally was applied to the country round Thanesar and the peculiarity of these Brahmins viz. that they eat fish is mentioned even in the Mahābhārata as arising among Brahmins residing on the banks of the Sarasvati during a long famine. The Bengali Brahmins were emigrants from the same ancient country of the Sārasvatas and are also hence called Gauda. We disbelieve the tradition of the Gauda Sārasvatas of Goa coming from Bengal because there is no historical reason why they should have left Bengal and further because their speech does not exhibit any linguistic and phonetic peculiarities of Bengal such as the change of s into sh and a into ō. The Chitpāvans are another section of Konkan Brahmins which has the tradition of coming there from outside. As stated in our Mahābhārata Mīmānsā they from their fair complexion appear to have come from the Panjab hilly districts into the hilly region of the Ratnagiri District after a short halt in the Thana District about Bassein where is the original first Konkan sanctuary of Paraśurāma. These instances will suffice to show that in this sub-period we have evidence of Brahmin families migrating to, or being invited to settle in, southern and eastern countries.

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The example again of Deccani Brahmins going to the Āndhra country in the wake of Chālukya conquest of Vengi and forming a separate sub-section of Brahmins called now Niyogi shows that there may be instances of Brahmin migrations after conquest, as happened in modern history after the conquests of the Marathas. The mode adopted by Nāgara Brahmins of defining their sub-caste by counting their families and their gotras was followed by all these various sub-sections and hence have arisen those hundreds of sub-castes into which Brahmins are now sub-divided and which restrict marriage and food to themselves. All these sub-sections acquired new names from country or town of their residence or from other causes, which became of paramount importance owing to restriction of marriage to each sub-section and gotra and Śākhā became consequently of minor importance. But it must be stated that all the sub-sections of Brahmins appear to have adhered loyally to their ancient Vedic religion. They not only preserved their Veda or Śākhā but also its special ritual and also the memory of their gotras and pravaras and still preserve the gotra and pravara law of marriage prohibition enjoined by the smritis, the gotras and pravaras being enumerated in the Śrauta Sūtras. And hence it is that gotra and pravara among Brahmins and even Kshatriyas remain the same throughout the whole of India though Brahmin and Kshatriya families everywhere acquired new names from curious causes.

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These names became no doubt predominant, but they never acquired so great an importance among Brahmins at least as to destroy the importance of gotra, and the gotra law of marriage is still the supreme law of marriage among Brahmins.