| Adi Guru Shri Gauḍapādāchārya, the grand guru of Shri Adi Shankaracharya and the first historical proponent of Advaita Vedanta, also believed to be the founder of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, the Guru Peetha of Rajapur Saraswat Brhamins. |
| Total population |
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| 75000 (approx) |
| Regions with significant populations |
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Rājāpur/Bhālāvalikar Gauda Sāraswat Brāhmins (RSB), as they are known, belong to the "Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana" groups or "Gaudadi Panchakas". Rājāpur Sāraswat Brahmins are a branch of the saraswat brahmins, who were supposed to have resided on the banks of the legendary Saraswati River. They migrated to Goa region in around 700 BC from the banks of river Saraswati. They got their name from their village of origin namely Rajapur/Bhalavali Village in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra state in India, where they had migrated from Goa. Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswat Brahmins were called as Gowd Saraswat Brahmins, before they migrated from Bhalavali/Rajapur to various other places.
Many Goan Gaud Saraswat Brahmins fled from Goa, a section of them went to Bhalavali, Rajapur villages in Ratnagiri district in order to save themselves from forced conversions by Portuguese in Goa and also attacks from Muslim rulers. Later they came to known as Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Gauda Saraswat Brahmins. The members of this community follow the hindu religion and speak Konkani language. The Konkani spoken by them is a mixture of Goan konkani and Marathi. They are the disciple of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, Kavle in Goa state of India.
Saraswat Brahmins lived on the banks of Saraswati River, now an extinct river, which used to flow in the northern part of India. Though invisible today, there are numerous mention of this sacred river in Rigveda, Mahabharata and other Hindu holy books. References to river Saraswati has been frequently made in the Rig veda shlokas, praising the river as the mightiest river and describe her as "limitless, undeviating, shining and swift moving". Recent findings by scientists and research institutes have confirmed the existence of Saraswati river.
Saraswat Brahmins derived their name from either the river Saraswati or from their spiritual leader Great sage Saraswat Muni (son of Rishi Dadichi)[1] , who lived on the banks of Saraswati. They belonged to Smarta tradition and primarily worshipped Panchayatana (the five deities): Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. These Brahmins were one of the Pancha Gouda Brahmin groups who lived north of the Vindhyas.
Saraswat Brahmins mastered the Vedas[2], and administerd the priestly rites in the temples. The Vedas were passed down to the generations by the virtue of word of mouth, as written records didn't exist at that time. The Saraswat Brahmins had to maintain a very tight hold on their culture to maintain and protect their legacy. Sarwats are from Goa
The first migration of Saraswats to Goa took place around 700BC. They migrated from the banks of river Saraswati, mostly through sea routes in search of greener pastures. Subsequently, many more Saraswat Brahmins migrated to Goa. They took up farming and trading business in Goa. They settled down peacefully and worked in partnership with indigenous people. At the same time, they kept their ancient vedic way of life alive, performed vedic rituals and retained their cultural traditions. They also brought their Kuladevtas and established temples for their deities.These temples facilitated socio-cultural activities of the community.
Another popular belief is that Sage Parashurama brought Saraswats of 10 different Gothras, to the south of Vindhyas to Gomatak, where he asked Varuna to vacate part of the sea-land, which is also called Parashurama Kshetra or Parashurama Shrishti. Then more Saraswat groups followed them. They follow the Shodasha Samskaras with Shrothra-Smartha Chatur Ashrama Karma. These Saraswats are Rigvedi Asulayana Suthra-Shakal Shakha-Adhyayees (student).[3]
Saraswats prospered for many centuries in Gomantak region. In 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, Saraswats migrated to different places for many reasons. In 1328, army of Tughalaks (Delhi Sultan) captured the Kadamba capital Chandrapur which included Gomantak region and looted it. Gomantak province came under Bahmani (Muslim ruler) rule in 1352 AD [4] and ruled about quarter century, and again in 1472 AD. Bahamani Muslims attacked and destroyed many temples and forced people to convert to Islam. In 1510 Portuguese established their rule in Gomantak after capturing it from Adil Shah of Bijapur dynasty.
The subsequent entry of Christian missionories made the matter worse for Hindus and Saraswat Brahmins. The Hindu temples were destroyed, Hindus were forced to convert to Christianity, Hindu religious functions were banned, people were also forced to eat beef. In 1559 AD, King Joao III of Portugal issued a decree threatening expulsion or execution of non-believers in Christianity. In about 1560 AD, beautiful temple at Keloshi, Kushasthali (Mangesh, Shanta durga), Shri Gaudapadacharya Math at Keloshi and about 280 temples were destroyed in Berdez and 300 temples in Salcette, and many churches were built.
This was perhaps worst and humiliating time for the Saraswat Brahmins. To avoid this humiliation and religious persecution, several Saraswat families fled to different directions such as Mangalore, north Canara in Karnataka, Cochin in Kerala, Ratnagiri District in Maharashtra to name few, some families who could not afford to flee or resist the persecution converted to Christianity, some who could resist but were not willing to abandon their farms and business stayed on and rebuilt their lives.
They built few temples in these places and continued Smartha tradition. They have their surnames like Lotlikar,Tendulkar,Salwankar, Karlekar etc. (ref. names given under 'Upanamas' in below table of Gotras) which are the original names of Gomantak villages.
Those who fled and settled in Rajapur/Bhalavali village lived there for about two to three centuries. Rajapur used to be an important centre of maritime trade. The Rajapur town has a creek which was navigable and English and French East India Company had established factories near the creek which were abandoned in the early 1700s. Some families engaged in trade, so it is partially correct that, migrated Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswats were referred as traders in Dakshina Kannada Gazetteer written in 1885. Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswats worked in military posts of King's and got surnames such as Nayak, Prabhu etc.
There used to be frequent battles between Maratha Kings and Muslim rulers of Bijapur Adil Shahi dynasty in these areas including Kudal, Savantwadi etc. In 1660 Maratha King Shivaji Maharaj attacked the Rajapur and looted English establishments in retaliation to them providing arms and ammunition to rival Muslim rulers. The frequent battles lead to unrest in the area and difficult to live, which made people to leave these areas and find a safer shelter elsewhere.
So it is believed that Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswats migrated to Karnataka/Kerala between late 16th century and early 17th century. Bhalavalikars mainly settled in Dakshina kannada and Kodagu Districts of Karnataka and Kasaragod District in Kerala and Rajapur Saraswats settled in Udupi District. As per D.P.Nayak's book Kudaladeshkar Part 2, they migrated to Coastal Karnataka and northern Kerala in the 17th century between 1749 and 1750 AD. B
Though Rajapur/Bhalavalikars had their identity as Gauda Saraswat Brahmin's till they migrated to Karnataka/Kerala, they confronted a strange situation of keeping a separate denominational identity. Their new found habitat of Karnataka and Kerala already had strong presence of Konkani speaking Gauda Saraswat Brahmins who had directly migrated from Goa in 13th and 14th century and they were followers of Vaishnavism as they had converted from Smarta sampradaya to Vaishnavism under the influence of Shri Madhwacharya's Dwaita philosophy and were followers of Kashi Math. They were financially prospered community, as over couple of centuries they had established themselves in trade and business in this region and had their own identity. In those days the spoken language was closely associated with identification of a community.
During that time migration means leaving a place of living with only worn clothes and grains enough for few days of living, obviously the migrant Rajapur/Bhalavalikars were not financially strong. They were still followers of Smarta tradition and however they were not in touch with their Kula Guru Peetha Shri Gaudapadacharya Math in Goa. They spoke a different Konkani dialect under the influence of Marathi due to living in Maharashtra for couple of centuries. These socio-economic factors forced them to establish their own new identity separate from Gauda Saraswat Brahmins of the region. Thus the families who came from Rajapur Taluk of Ratnagiri District came to be known as Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins, and who came from Bhalavali came to be known as Bhalavalikar Saraswat Brahmins.
The history of Saraswats is a testimony of their struggle for existence, owing to a chain of migrations. Throughout the course of history, the Saraswat Brahmins have migrated to a variety of locations. Despite all odds, they have been successful in preserving their culture and traditions intact to this day. Their traditions are unique and tolerant and they easily adopted to the places they migrated.
In the course of time after migrating to Karnataka and Kerala until 1967 they remained disciples of Shri Sringeri Sharada Math established by Shri Adi Shankaracharya which follows Smarta Sampradaya, as they had lost contact with their original Guru Peetha Shri Gaudapadacharya Math in Goa. The reasons for losing the contact with Guru Peetha can be attributed to lack of communication in those days, destruction of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math and thereby prolonged absence of successive Swamijis in Gomantak (as they decided to remain in Varansasi) due to of religious atrocities committed by Portuguese in Goa.
In 1942 AD, Shri Durgaparameshwari temple was built at Bantakal in Udupi District by RSBians. The yearly temple festival facilitated gathering of large number of community people at one place. During such a festival in 1947, Shri Kodange Pandith Narayan Nayak addressed the gathering and reminded the community people that their ancestors belonged to Gomantak Saraswats and they were disciples of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math. He also stressed for working towards renewing the relation with the Guru Peetha Shri Gaudapadacharya Math in order to restore the pride and achieve overall development of the Rajapur/Bhalavalikar gauda saraswath brahmins.
Further to this, in 1956 another massive community gathering was organised in Shri Durgaparameshwari temple at Bantakal. In that gathering Puttur Mukund Nayak addressed the gathering and presented compilation of detailed history of Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Gauda saraswat brahmanas, with details such as Gothras, family deity details, surnames etc. prevalent in the community and comparing it with Goan Saraswats emphasizing the ancestral relations[5].
In 1963 AD Shrimat Satchidananda saraswati Swami Gaudapadacharya, mathadipati of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math was on a Mokkam at Shri Venkataramana temple in Karkala along with Shri Sudhindra teertha swamiji, mathadish of Shri Kashi Math. During this occasion both the Swamiji's were met by RSB community leaders and prayed at their lotus feet to pay a visit to Shri Aadi Shakti Mahalakshmi temple, Lakshmipura, a community temple built and managed by Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins. Later both the Swamiji's kindly accepted the invitation and they were welcomed to Laxmipura temple in a grand ceremony with great devotion and respect to shri Guru peetha. This was a historic event for Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins because, Rajapur/Bhalavalikar saraswats took this opportunity to explain the reasons which had led them to lose contact with Shri Gaudapadacharya Math Saunstan to Shrimat Satchidananda Saraswati Swami Gaudapadachrya in detail and prayed at his lotus feet to accept them again as disciples of the Math and bless them.
In response to this prayer, Shrimat Satchidananda Saraswati Swami Gaudapadacharya held detailed discussions with other Saraswat math swamiji's for taking a decision. On 15 April 1967, with the divine presence of Shri Swamiji of Kashi Math, after performing religious rituals in Shri Adi Shakti Mahalakshmi temple, Lakshmipura, hrimat Satchidananda Saraswati Swami Gaudapadacharya issued a Rayasa (written letter) accepting the RSB community as disciples of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math and whole heartedly blessed them [6]. It was a historic event in the fascinating history of Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Gauda Saraswat Brahmins. Subsequent to this event, in 1971 AD. Shrimat Satchidananda Saraswati Swami Gaudapadacharya, performed his Chaturmas vruta for the first time in Shri Aadi Shakthi Mahalakshmi temple, Laxmipura.
Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswats gratefully acknowledge this deed of great kindness of Shri Sachidananda Saraswati Swamiji and they proudly mention this in every forum that their recent achievements are mainly on account of the wholehearted blessings of Shri Swamijis of Shri Saunstan Gaudapadacharya Math.
Predominantly Rajapur Gauda Saraswat Brahmins settled in places near Karkala, Udupi in Karnataka and Bhalavalikar Gauda Saraswat brahmins settled in Sullia, Bantwala, Puttur, Kodagu in Karnataka state and Kasaragod distrcit in Kerala State. It made them divided into two separate groups due to lack of communication. In 1978 with the intervention and blessings of Shri Sachidananda Saraswati Swami Gaudapadacharya of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, both Rajapur and Bhalavalikar Saraswats came together as single group.
RSBians follow Smartism or Smarta Sampradaya, Smarta Tradition, as it is termed in Sanskrit is a denomination of the Hindu religion. The term Smarta refers to adherents who follow the Vedas and Shastras. Though large number of Sraswats converted to Vaishnavism under the influence of Shri MAdhwacharya, it was believed that the forefathers of RSBians had taken a oath in front of Lord in Mangueshi temple in Goa that they will never convert to Vaishnavism under any circumstances and remained under Smarta Sampradaya. They mainly follow the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Shri Gaudapadacharya which was later popularised by his parama Shishya Shri Adi Shankaracharya.They are Rigvedi Brahmins and follow the Ashwalayana Sutra. They are the disciples Shri Gaudapadacharya Math Saunstan located at Kavale, Ponda Taluka, Goa and Mathadipati of the Math is as their Kulaguru.
They belong to 10 Gotras and worship Kula Devata or family deity as per Panchayatana puja' (IAST Pañcāyatana pūja) system. As per this system of worship in the Smarta sampradaya, it consists of the worship of five deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. The Kula Devata or family deity is kept in the center and the other four surround it. Worship is offered to all the deities. The five are represented by five marks made by keeping handful of white rice and a coconut is kept over the mark in center representing the Kula Devata.
Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts are the main places in Karnataka where Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswats are concentrated. However over a period Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswats went to different places and cities for jobs, education and better living. Now we can also find the many members of this community living in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Karwar, Belgaum and also abroad mainly in Middle East and USA.
Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Gaud Saraswats proudly call themselves as 'Konknay' (Konkanies). Since they migrated from Goa, they continued speaking Konkani, the state language of Goa. They lived in Rajapur/Bhalavali for a century and half. The local language Marathi made heavy influence on their native language. So the language spoken by them is a fine blend of Goan Konkani with presence of many Marathi words. People who migrated to Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu districts in Karnataka and northern part of Kerala adopted some words from Kannada, Tulu, and Kodava due to the influence of local language.
Families who continued to live in Rajapur/Bhalavali areas adopted either Marathi or Malvan Konkani over a period of time.
Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Goud Saraswats are of 10 gotras, they are:
Saraswats have a the concept of Panchayatana, means worshipping five Gods like form of Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Surya and Ganesha.
Kuladev or Kula devata (Family deity) are the deities which a set of families of identical Gotras primarily worship. There will be a main temple for each deity built and maintained by these families. Many Kuladev temples are in Goa. People travel from far away places of settlement to these temples in Goa, normally once in a year to perform pujas and take blessings from the Shri Gaudapadacharya Math Swamiji, their spiritual guru. It is said that a newly married couple is supposed to visit their family deity's temple (Kuladev Mandir) soon after their marriage and take blessings of Kula devata and Kula guru Shri Gaudapadacharya Math Swamiji.
Below given table provides details of Gotras and their Kula devatas, prevalent surnames, Upanamas etc. of Rajapur/Bhalavalikar gauda saraswat brahmins)[7]. Most of the Upanamas are original Gomantak village names where they used to stay. People use either 'Upanama' or 'Janmanama' as their surname.
| Gotra | Pravara | Upanama | Janmanama | Kuladevta (Family Deity) |
| Bharadwaja | Angirasa, Barhaspathya, Bharadhwaja. | Madkaikar, Salvankar, Shivaji, Thakur, Wagle. | Nayak, Nayak, Shenoy, Nayak, Shanbhag, Sharma. | Shantadurga, Mahalakshmi, LakshmiRavalanath, LakshmiNarayana. |
| Gautama | Angirasa, Ayushya, Gautama. | Kamat/Kamath, Mahajan, Mokoshi. | Kamath/Kamat | SaptaKoteshwar, LakshmiNarayana, Ganapathi. |
| Atri | Atreya, Archananasa, Shyavashya. | Shendre, Bokde/Bokade, Bandre, Budukule, Goorke, Burake. | Nayak, Marathe, Nayak, Prabhu, Shenoy. | Mangesh, MahadevaMaharudra, Mahalakshmi, Kamakshi,LakshmiRavalanath. |
| Kashyapa | Avatsara, Kashyapa, Asike. | Sankolkar, Kinare, Mahajan, Bhagav, Dhonde, Manjrekar. | Nayak, Juvale, Nayak, Shembekar, Nayak, Nayak, Manjrekar. | Narsimha, Nagesha, Mahalakshmi, Shri Mahalsa Narayani, Shanteri, Mangesh. |
| Vashishta | Vashishta, Indrapramada, Bharadwasu. | Haldonkar,Nar, Potkar, Ambelkar, Khandolkar, Lanjol, Lanjekar, Nidod, Sankalkar, Shevde. | Nayak, ,Kamath, Prabhu, Nayak, Prabhu, Nayak, Prabhu, Nayak. | Bhagavati, LakshmiRavalanatha, Narsimha, Mahalakshmi, Mahalakshmi, Mahalakshmi, SaptaKoteshvara, Mahalakshmi, Mahalakshmi. |
| Vatsa | Bhargava, Chyavana, Apnavan, Cherva, Jamadagni. | Kini,Navelkar, Aslekar, Khandolkar, Kadavanekar, Kamat/Kamath, Valavalkar. | Kini,Prabhu, Nayak, Mallya, Prabhu, Nayak, Kamat/Kamath, Nayak. | Ganapati Khandola, GanapatiKhandola, Ravalanatha, Nagesha, Mahalakshmi, Narsimha, Shantadurga. |
| Kaundinya | Vashishta, Maitra, Varuna, Kaundinya. | Shinkar, Lotalikar, Kini, Wakade, Shembekar, Kanchikar, Borkar.Mayekar | Pai, Prabhu, Prabhu, Nayak, Juvale, Sharma, Nayak, Nayak, Nayak.Shenvi | Ramanath, Mangesh, Ramanath, Ravalanath, Ganapati, Mahalakshmi, Mangesh, Shantadurga.Mangesh,Mahalaxmi. |
| Dhananjaya | Atreya, Archananasa, Dhananjaya, | Tendulkar, Patkar, Kalwari, Kavatkar/bhute, Raykar, Mede, Bhagavat, Brahme, Gavalkar, Gudkar, Godbole, Jharame. | Prabhu, Prabhu, Nayak, Nayak, Nayak, Nayak, Prabhu, Nayak, Nayak, Nayak. | LakshmiRavalanath, LakshmiRavalanath, , Mahalakshmi, Ravalanath, Mahalakshmi, Mahalakshmi, Mahalakshmi, Mahalakshmi. |
| Kaushika | Vishwamitra, Aghamarpana, Kaushika. | Kelkar, Bandodkar, Bandelkar, Pandit, Chimbalkar, Juvalosahukar, Kapur. | Prabhu, Pai, Nayak, Nayak, Nayak. | Nagesha, Nagesha, Mahalakshmi, Nagesha, Shantadurga, Nagesha. |
| Jamadagni | Bhargava, Chyavana, Apnavan. | Marathe, Karlekar. | Nayak, Prabhu. | Somanatheshwara, Lakshmiravalanatha. |
Goddess Shri Durgaparameshwari is widely worshipped by Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswat brahmins as their Ishta devata apart from Kula devata. It may be a legacy of their routes in Bengal, which was part of then Gaud Desh, where worshipping Goddess Durga is very popular. As they migrated bare handed from Goa and then from Rajapur/Bhalavali, they believed Goddess Shri Durgaparameshwari protects them like a 'Durga' (fort) from all evils. The number of Shri Durgaparameshwari temples built by the community despite their poverty is testimonial to their strong faith on the Goddess.
Kula devata or family deity is considered important in Saraswat Brahmins. People belonging to one Gotra is considered as one family or one Kula and each Gotra will have a primary deity worshiped on every important vocations. It is a tradition that a couple soon after marriage will visit to their Kula devata along with their family and take blessings of Kula devata; also, during every religious program at home, the family deity is worshipped. Some of the Kuladevata temples located in Goa are:
This is a list of the prevelent surnames known to occur in the Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins (RSB) community:
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Saraswats wherever they migrated and lived, they built some fine temples. These temples facilitated community gatherings, carrying out religious rituals & traditions also it helped to safeguard the Culture they carried over centuries. Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswat Brahmins have built many temples, some of them are :
Saraswats are known to be experts in finance and book keeping. Following are the some of financial and educational institutions started by Samaj for helping development of poor and needy from the community members as well as general public by providing easy access to finance.
The Rajapur/Bhalavalikar Saraswat community, though a small community having less than a lakh population, is a close knit strong community. In present time due to need to travel and live in far off places for jobs, community population has spread across many places and following community magazines have played a important role in keeping them informed about happenings within community.
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