| Regions with significant populations |
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| Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, U.P., Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Srilanka, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Nepal |
| Languages |
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Hindi, Marwari, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi |
| Religion |
Vishwakarma[viswa brahmin] is the term used in India for a caste of priests, engineers, architects, sculptors, temple builders and artists. The term is applied to five sub-castes; blacksmiths, carpenters, coppersmiths, goldsmiths and sculptors and worshiping various forms of Visvakarman, i.e., Twostar, Daksha prajapathy, Takshaka and Maya and Rhibhus etc.
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The community is spread widely throughout India and played a vital role in the village economy. Their socioeconomic status varied from a very high level to the middle level in different parts of India, as they earned high wages in towns because of their factory employment and low wages in villages.[1] About Vishwabrahmins, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy says "the Kammalar (i.e. Panchal) were known as Vishwa or Dev Brahmana. They spread gradually towards the south and then reached Ceylon, Burma & Java. The Vishwabrahmins claim to have been the spiritual guides and priests and their position in the society survives in the saying the 'Vishwabrahmana is guru to the world'
they are highley skilled in terms of vastusastra , god visvakarma desined the lanka nagri for lord shiva , which was lately given to Ravana ( read more about ravana in Ramayan ) in ancien time . it was known that lanka was made of gold .they are smart and brave pepole.
Krishna Rao says, "The most highly organized & efficient of the industrial classes was Virpanchal comprising Goldsmiths, coiner blacksmiths, carpenters and masons. In the finest period of Indian art, particularly between eighth and ninth century, they claimed and enjoyed a social status in the community, equal to Brahmans. The art of engraving & sculpture had attained a high stage of development. It was exclusively cultivated by Panchals who wore sacred thread & considered themselves as Vishwakarma Brahmans. The craftsman being deeply versed in national epic literature always figured in the history of India as missionaries of civilization, culture & religion. The intellectual influence being creative & not merely assimilative was at least as great as that of the priest and the author".[2]
Panchal are known as the missionaries of civilization, culture and religion because they spread the Hindu religion to the whole world through their art, which included stone and ceramics, musical instruments, religious statuary, and metal-work. Ernest B. Havell says, “The northern quarter of (Patliputra) was assigned to Brahmans and certain of the higher craftsman such as the armorers, ironsmiths and workers in precious stones. The association of skilled craftsmen with the Brahman and the Kshatriya castes is additional evidence that craftsmanship did not hold an inferior status in Indo Aryan society."[3] The stapathi or master builder is described in the Shilpa Shastra as officiating at religious ceremonies which preceded the laying out of the Indo Aryan town or village and some of the metal workers and carpenters of the south of India still retains as their caste indication the name Acharya which denotes a teacher of religion.
The Vedic lineage made them to create their own priesthood within their community. They wear five layer sacred thread .(yajna)However because of Chathurvarnya in the medieval period, their social status which was previously equal to that of the Brahmins had gone down. Brahmin political manoeuvrings diminished the social status of the Vishwakarma, though they fought against this Brahmin superiority.
Viswakarmas were the people who have designed and created the figures / images of various Hindu Gods & Goddesses, various Implements & Appliances of various metals, Ornaments in Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper, etc., various types of Musical Instruments, all sorts of Motifs, Patterns and Designs of the Indian /Hindu origin, and ofcourse, Houses, Palaces, Temples, Forts and other constructions including Dams and Ponds, etc.
Vishvabrahmins acharya are divided into five gotras or clans, each Rishi's name is mentioned in the Yajurveda. (4.3.3)
The five gotras are further divided into a total of 25 sub-clans called upagotras
"Panchals have the Brahmanic sanskars, or sacraments, and perform their ceremonies according to the Vedic Ritual. Frequent attempts were made in the days preceding British rule to deny them the rights to these Brahmanic privileges; but when the decision of pandits, or religious advisers when referred to, was in their favor." - James Hastings[5]
The Peshwas belonged to the Chitpavan Brahmin caste and were actually late migrants to India, having arrived from the Middle East and Central Asia. The Peshwas competed with the Panchals, who saw themselves as being the original Brahmins and first builders of the Aryan Vedic civilization.
Nelson Hindu Law, Page 139-140 states - "The refusal of many castes in ancient times to accept the Brahmins as their pastors and masters would seem to have bred a hereditary feud between castes. The origin and history of the feud at present are wholly unknown but it seem to me to be not improbable that the feud sprang from rivalries and contentions between the supporters and adherents of Brahmins on one hand and those of the goldsmiths and other artificers on the other hand. In south of India the goldsmith’s appear to have strenuously resisted the aggressive supremacy of Brahmans and have, for ages, claimed for themselves the right to be priests and spiritual guides styling themselves as Acharyas (religious teacher) by wearing the sacred thread.
Meharban, a British collector, in his book ‘Bombay Gazetteer’ states in Solapur Vol XX page 125: "Panchals are composed of five classes: goldsmiths, bronzesmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters and masons. They consider themselves equals, if not superior, to the local Brahmins. Their family priests, who are members of their own community, are held in high respect. They gird their boys with the sacred thread at the age of seven to nine years. A feast called the Brahmins' feast or Brahma Bhojan is held where kith and kin and members of the caste are invited."
In Andhra Pradesh, Vishwakarmas are called Vishwabrahmins or Vishwakarma Brahmins.
Vishvabrahmins or Kamaalar or Aachari/Achariyar or Aasaari/ Aachariyar /pathar/sathpathi in Tamil Nadu form several occupational subdivisions.
Vishwakarmas of Kerala are also known as Achary, Kammalar, or Viswa Brahmanar.[6] They exist in Tamil in two communities: one Tamil (primarily in Travancore), one Malayali.[7] They are classified into five sub-castes:[8]
A legendary carpenter of the Kerala Vishwakarma, Perunthachan, figures prominently in Kerala folklore.[9]
The Vishwakarma caste of south Karnataka is composed of several sub-castes.[10]
Most of these sub-castes do not intermarry and have a hierarchy among themselves.[10] All the above sub caste is varied according to various regions of Karnataka. All the sub-castes worships the goddess Kali, they are very similar to Brahmins in their ritual practices but few of them are non-vegetarians.[10] as some other Brahmin community eat Fish addressing it as "Jala Pushpam" (Flower from water).A small Sub-Caste in Koadgu called as Airi are also Vishwakarmas who came from Malabar region. Earlier they were goldsmiths, carpenters, blacksmiths and sculptors. They are non-vegetarians who follow customs and traditions of Kodagu.
The very ancient (14th century) and famous Sri Kali Temple situated at Shirasangi in Belgaum distirct maintained by the Viswakarma Brahmin community.
The Sankruthi Sahiti Prathishtana is a prominent organization from Karnataka working to bring the Vishwabrahmins back to a Vedic life style. G. Gnanananda, is running this organization and started Brahmshri shilpa gurukulam affiliated with Bangalore University at Chikballapur.
In Nepal the Vishvakarmas include the Kami, or Nepal blacksmith occupational caste, who use Viswakarma as a surname. Other artisan castes do not claim Vishvakarma status. Some of the Kami migrated from Nepal, and are known by names such as Biswakarma, Lohar and Sunar while in Champaran (Bihar) The Mahur or Mahulia say they came from the North-West Provinces, and the fact that all Hindus can take water from their hands renders it likely that they may have broken off from some comparatively respectable caste.
Vishwakarma Brahmins have a large presence in Madhya Pradesh. When the British founded the defense industry during the World War, lakhs of Vishwakarma Brahmins took employment in these factories. There is a legend that during the 1857 Indian uprising, the English noticed that the Rani of Jhansi was provided with arms and ammunition by the Vishwakarmas, who had achieved excellence in this field. Therefore when the arms and ammunition factory and the gun carriage factory was started by the English at Jabalpur, the Vishwakarms were the first to get employment in these factories.
Some of the profession practiced by Panchals and related last names are given below:
Panchals catered to the needs of chariots, horse carriages, furniture, home construction and agricultural equipment. The entrepreneurial Panchals developed designs and manufactured various parts, assemblies and sub-assemblies for cotton textile mills. They have been engaged in production of bobbins, shuttles, lattices, weaving looms and ancillary items of equipment for dyeing and bleaching, weaving looms, drilling rigs, water pumps, lathe machine, drilling machines and hand tools. With industrialization, Panchals adopted technical professions such as draughtsman, design engineer, architects, and shop floor and construction supervisors.
Vishwakarmas are widely spread in Maharashtra as Lohar, Kasar, Sutar, Tambat, and Patharwat (stone-smiths).
In the state of Goa and Konkan, Vishvakarmas are known as Charis who call themselves Vishwakarma Manu Maya Brahmins. Other artisan castes do not claim Vishvakarma status. Many artisans were converted and few immigrated during the Portuguese rule. Many who settled in Karnataka were temple builders and are called Gudigars. Others of the Shtapathis were converted and are now sometimes called Thavvayi in Konkani, which is a corrupted form of Sanskrit Sthapati.[11]
In Rajasthan, the Vishwakarmas are also known as Jangids and Suthar.[12]
Vishwakarmas in the state of Bengal have the last name of Kar or Karmakar.
Vishwakarmas in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Bihar have the surname of Vishwakarma, Panchal, Sharma, Mistry, Dhiman, Jangid brhamin, Taak, Kaushik, Lohar etc title. Panchal (ironsmith) and Mistry (house-builder) also known as Badhi or Badhai (carpenter).
In the state of Orissa, Vishwakarma Brahmins have the following surnames: Moharana (this title used by all Viswakarmas), Mohapatra (only Mayas - Kastakars), Ojha (only Manu -Lauhakars)e.g. cricketer Pragyan Ojha, Sutar (only Maya -Kastakars), Sahu (Maya -Kastakars & Viswajna -Swarnkars), Parida (Maya -Kastakar and Manu -Lauhakars), Choudhry (Only Maya -Kastakars), Karamkar (Maya and Viswanja), Das (Maya -Kastakars), Bindhani/Achary (Maya -Kastakars), Badhei (Maya -Kastakars), Mistry (Maya -Kastakars & Manu -Lauhakars), Mishra (Maya-Kastakars), Subudhi (Maya -Kastakars) and Martha (Maya -Kastakars), Mishra, Senapati, Behera.