The Gauḍa brahmins comprise one of the five sub-divisions of Panch-Gauda (pañcagauḍa, pañca-gauḍa-brāhmaṇa-jāti , i.e., "fivefold Jāti of Gauda Brahmins").
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Pt Ḍori Lāl Śarmā writes that the region from Bengal to Kashmir was Gauḍa country.[1] That is why five major sub-divisions of north Indian brahmins are named Panch-Gauda, after the name Gauḍa. The Sanskrit text Ādi-Gauḍa-dīpikā mentions that the region west of river Gaṇḍaki bounded by Sarayu in west and south and by Himalayas in the north is the core of Gauḍa country and brahmins living here from the beginning (=Ādi) of Creation were known as Ādi-Gauḍa.[2] Another story relates Ādi-Gauḍa brahmins of this region to those brahmins who were invited by King Janamejaya in his yajña and settled in the Ādi-Gauḍa region.[3]
At present the chief branches of Gauḍa brahmins are [4][5] :
Other minor branches of Gauḍa are :
Deśwāli & Pacāte form the mainstream Gaudas, numerically. Ādi Gauḍa Brāhmaṇotpatti enumerates 24 original gotras, but Kul Pradīpikā gives a list of 28 main gotras. Only 12 gotras are common to both lists :
Anāvṛika, Avyaya, Ālampāyana, Kāṇḍava, Kātyayana, Kāñcana, Kauṇḍinya, Garga, Jaimina, Dhṛita Kauśika, Śakti, Śunaka. All these are found today among Gauḍa brahmins.
Following is the list of 12 gotras unique to Ādi Gauḍa Brāhmaṇotpatti : Kaśyapa, Sāvaṛṇa, Bhārdvaja, Kalpiśa, Agniveśa, Kuśika, Viśvāmitra, Citra, Kriṣṇātreya, Rohita, Hārita, Jamdagni. All these are ancient and widespread gotra names.Only the Ādi Gauḍas enumerate these 12 gotras among the original gotras. Other Gauḍas accept these gotras but not as original ones. Sri Gauḍa list is very different.
Both the lists given above are to be found in the comprehensive list of extant gotras given below. But four gotras unique to Kul Pradīpikā are not found today : Bṛihaspati, Sankṛiti, Vṛiddha. Vṛiddha may imply Vṛiddha Vasiṣṭha, because Vṛiddha does not appear to be any name at all.. Sankṛiti may be same as or precursor of Sānkṛitya. Bṛihaspati cannot be related to any modern gotra, it is perhaps a precursor of some modern or extinct gotra/gotras.
Vasiṣṭha gotra is not found as such now, but as five sub-divisions : Apara Vasiṣṭha, Para Vasiṣṭha / Vṛiddha Vasiṣṭha, Diva Vasiṣṭha, Purva Vasiṣṭha, Uttara Vasiṣṭha.
King Janamejaya had granted 1444 villages to 1444 Gauḍa brahmins headed by Vateśwar Muni invited in his yajña.[3] Later, there disciples from various gotras came to them and settled in their villages. As a result, many gotras were found in one village. Such multi-gotra villages came to be called as śāsanas (because disciples lived in the śāsana / control of gurus). Often one śāsana is found in more than one gotra, and more than one śāsana is found in a śāsana. Gauḍa brahmins prohibit endogamy within a gotra as well as within a śāsana. Each śāsana has a distinct name, signifying the name of some ancient village.[6] Some gotras have a large number of śāsanas associated with them.
Later on, descendants of these original 24 or 28 gotra-founders became bīj-purusha (founding fathers) of new gotras, so that there are 115 gotras among Gauḍa brahmins now, as the following comprehensive list shows [7] (figures following each gotra indicates the number of śāsanas associated with that gotra) :
Sum total of all existing śāsanas as given above is 1690, but some śāsanas are found in more than one one gotra;[8] hence, the traditional story about number of original śāsanas stated to be 1444 matches admirably with extant number of śāsanas. Gotras with highest number of śāsana associated with them are :
The names of these gotras and śāsanas throw much light on many historically and sociologically significant aspects of brahmin communities. For instance, one gotra is named Āsuri and it has four śāsanas : abhicāriā, bhalārhiā, malaiyā and pāñcāliā. It suggests that this Āsuri (literally, demonic) gotra was related to ritals like abhicāra associated with Tantra (perhaps Vāmamārgi) which might have prevailed in parts of Pañcāla in some remote age. Pulastya gotra has śāsanas bearing names like Lankapuriya, Tantariya, Yantri, etc., which suggest a relation with Rāvaṇa) of Rāmāyaṇa. Bhṛigu gotra has interesting śāsanas named Daityācārya, Daityapāla, Abhicāraka, etc. Such names are, however, rare and almost all gotra names are associated with names of Vedic sages.
Yājñavalkya gotra has 7 śāsanas, including Janaksthaliyā (place of Janaka, ancient king of Mithila). Śākalya gotra also has one śāsana named Janakpuriyā, and another named Vangawāl, which indicate eastern origins of some śāsanas. Similarly some śāsanas can be traced to Gujarāt, Sindh and Kumāun. Barring these exceptions , all the śāsanas belong to Madhyadeś, the region from Gaṇḍaki in the east to Rājasthan and Hariyāṇā in the west.[9]
The śāsana Gāndharwāla in Bhārdvāja gotra seems to be an ancient form of Gāhaḍwāla. Pāṇina gotra has śāsanas naned Pāṇina-prasthiā and Pāni-patiā, which asuggests that Pāṇina-prasth was the ancient name of Pānipat. It is not known whether the famous grammarian Pāṇini belonged to this Pāṇina gotra or not, but other divisions of brahmins do not have Pāṇina gotra.[10]
Dhaumya (family priest of Pāṇḍavas) is an important gotra and its 8 śāsanas indicate following 8 ancient villages/towns where they lived : Bhiṣma-sthala, Parikṣita-garha, Parikṣika, Sahāranpur, Muktanagar, Kamalgiri, Gajapur and Ḍhāḍbala. Many of these śāsanas are associated with characters and locale of Mahabharata. Bāghpat is said to evolve from Bāghaprastha, on the analogy of Indraprastha, but Vyāghrapāda gotra has a śāsana Bāghpatia (i.e."of Baghpat"), which suggests that Bāghpat was perhaps called Vyāghrapāda (name of a sage) and not Bāghaprastha. Folklore relates Bāghpat with five village demanded by Pāṇḍavas.
Ādi Gauḍas are differently organised than the main Gauḍas described above. There are 15 sakhas (divisions) among Ādi Gauḍas :
All Ādi Gauḍa have Rigveda & some have Veda (Śukla Yajurveda),Śākhā (Madhyandina), same Sutra (Paraskara), but Nūkhas (surnames) and Āvaṇṭakas differ. There are 20 Āvaṇṭakas among Ādi Gauḍa, of which the first in the following has Miśra nūkha, and the second has Parota nookha, the rest having Jośi nūkha. :
Haritwāla,lata, Māraśyā, Kiriṭa, Indauriyā, Baverwāl, Semal, Ḍācolā, Surelā, Pādopotā, Pañcarangyā, Icchāwat, Tāsorayā, Asṭān, Kundālak, Giṇḍā, Moroliā, Tungā, Ṭilāwat, Vivāl, Bhivāl. [12]
In 1268 AD, King Vijay Simha of Gujarat invited 200 Śri Gauḍa to settle in his state. These Śri Gauḍas originally lived in Śri Haṭṭa Nagar (perhaps Śrinagar) of Kashmir, but migrated to Malwa due to a famine and finally settled in Gujarāt.. Later, more migrants from Kāśmīr arrived, causing a division between old and new.New Śri Gauḍas have 22 clans, half of them are regarded as uttama (best) and the rest medium. Their kuladevi (clan-deity)) is Lakṣmeśwari (another name of Śri-devi of Śri-nagar).
Those who came to Mālwā from Meerut (Meraṭh) are called Meḍhatwāl Śri Gauḍa. Those who directly came to Mālwā from Kāśmīr are known as Mālāvī Śri Gauḍa. Those originating from Kharola are called Kharola Śri Gauḍa, and those who came from Kharsod are called Kharsodiye Śri Gauḍa.
Prawāliye Śri Gauḍa are inhabitants of Bagaḍa and are characterised by a lack of religiosity. Those who married with Śudra women are known as Ḍerolā Śri Gauḍa. Excepting these last two all Śri Gauḍas branches allow marriages among each other, other Śri Gauḍas do not marry with Prawāliye and Ḍerolā.
The first of the following list has 5 pravaras, all other Śri Gauḍas have 3 pravaras. Śri Gauḍas are differentiated mainly by means of 22Ṭankas, because only 15 gotras have survived in them due to uprooting (from Kashmir) and wanderings. Āspada means surname.
| Ṭanka | Gotra | Āspada |
|---|---|---|
| Bhādrāṇia | Vatsa | Jośi |
| Kamaṭāṭipāriā | Vatsa | Jośi |
| Baḍeliā | Kuśaks | Pāṭhaka |
| Peḍoliā | Pāska | Dube |
| Chālecā | Kauśika | Dube |
| Kāśmirā | Garga | Jośi |
| Moṭāśiā | Candrātreya | Dube |
| Moṭāśiā | Kṛiṣṇātreya | Dube |
| Nāhāpalā | Bhardvāja | Pāṭhaka |
| Darbhāvatyā | Bhardvāja | Jośi |
| Kapṭā | Atri | Dube |
| Kapṭā Boṭaliā | Atri | Vyāsa |
| Meṭlāda | Atri | Paṇḍyā |
| Muḍāloḍhā | Modgala | Paṇḍyā |
| Ḍholakiā | Śāṇḍilya | Dube |
| Śiholiā | Vasiṣṭha | Dube |
| Masūḍiā | Pārāśara | Jośi |
| Sundariā | Vāmakakṣa | Jośhi |
| Māḍhasiā | Kātyāyana | Pāṭhak |
| Kapṭā Buṭhiā | Kātyāyana | Dube |
| Kapṭāllihā | Kātyāyana | Dube |
| Moṭhiā | Kātyāyana | Pāṭhak |
Another organisation sequence (krama) like the above of 21 divisions, known as Jīrṇa-krama, is also in vogue. The Meḍhatwāla Śri Gauḍas use their own Meḍhatwāla-krama.
A cursory look at some identifiable śāsanas of Deśwāli and Pachāde Gaudas reveals the traditional areas :
Following is the traditional area for all Gauḍa: "Hariyānā and Jangaldeś in the Madhyadeś, Delhi, regions around Yamunā, Mārwār, Śekhāwati, Puṣkar, Matsya and Virāṭa (in Rajasthan), Bhiwāni, etc" are traditional areas of Gauḍa brahmins according to the author of A History of Brahmin Clans.[1] Brāhmaṇotpatti-mārtaṇḍa says that regions north of Sarayu and Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, around Saravasti near modern Goṇḍda, are (also) traditional areas of Gauḍa brahmins.[13] This latter view is supported by Matsya Purāṇa which linked "best brahmins" to the Gaudadesh of Śrāvasti near modern Goṇdā district.[14]
Mishra,Lata, Tiwāri, Dube, Gautam, Puthiā, Chaumoharia, etc. are chief surnames among Deś Wāli Gauḍa brahmins. Śukla is also a surname among Gauḍa brahmins, among Ādi Gauḍa Śukla, Mehrishi (Suryadhwaja Gauda) and Soral are the surnames of a majority, followed by Miśra and Parota.[15]
Surname in Ādi Gauḍa is known as Nūkha [12]
Gauḍa brahmins are mostly Yajurvedi and some are Sāmvedi too. Generally, upanayana accompanies marriage, and early marriage is preferred.[15] With increasing modernisation, such trends are expected to decline. The surnames of the aadi gaur/gaud brahmin in western U P, Haryana,Delhi and some parts of Rajasthan are Sharma, Gaur and name of the his gotra mostly.
Pt Ḍori Lāl Sarmā writes that the sāsanas had originated due to settling of many gotras in a single village, as disciples settled in the village of their guru to acquire Vedic and related knowledge.[16] Moreover, a new gotra was started by the name of a person who attained the status of a rishi by dint of spiritual accomplishments. It shows that the organisational mechanism was dynamic and depended upon the principal objective of a brahmin's life : acquisition of scriptural knowledge and spiritual purity. But during the medieval age, brahmins received grants like agrahāras (land grants) and stuck to landed properties, and the organisational system gradually ossified. Pt Ḍori Lāl Sarmā narrates many stories in his book which reveal that accepting grants from mundane powers was regarded a vice by rishis and a major cause of multiple divisions within the once monolothic brahmin community was ostracism of those who grabbed such land grants. This primordial monolithic character of brahmin community is mentioned in a Sanskrit text Brāhmaṇotpatti-mārtaṇḍa [17] :
सृष्टियारम्भे ब्राह्मणस्य जातिरेका प्रकीर्तिता ।
Meaning : There was one caste of Brahmin in the beginning of Creation.