Gauḍa brahmins

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").

History

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.^{[citation needed]}

Sub-divisions of Gauda brahmins

At present the chief branches of Gauḍa brahmins are:^[3][4]

• Ādi-Gauḍa (in Ādi-Gauḍa region mentioned above).
• Deś Wāli Gauḍa (in Madhyadeś).
• Pachāde Gauḍa (western Gauḍa brahmins).
• Śri Gauḍa (originally from Kashmir, now in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Malwa).

Other minor branches of Gauḍa are :

• Pārik (from Parāśara).
• Dāyamā/dadheech brahmins (from Dadhīca).
• Bāḍe Prabhāva Wāle (from Gautama).
• Khaṇḍelwāla (from Khārika).
• Sārsvata (from Sāra, distinct from the Sārasvata brahmins).
• Sukuwāl (from Sukumārga).
• aadi gaur vashistha madhyandini sakha dholpuriya [Bangal----hastinaur{U P}-----dholpur{Raj}-----jevar tappal{U P}----sikri kalan brahmin ghaziabad]

Organisation of Gauda brahmins : Deśwāli & Pachāde gotras

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[5] 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 ^[6] (figures following each gotra indicates the number of śāsanas associated with that gotra) :

1. Agniveśa Bhārdvāja 21
2. Agastya 15
3. Aghmarṣaṇa 5
4. Angirā 16
5. Aja 5
6. Atri 36
7. Anāvṛika 5+
8. Anūpa 4
9. Ambarīṣa 5
10. Ayāsya 5
11. Avyaya 5
12. Āngirasa 19
13. Ātreya 11
14. Āṣṭāyana Kauśika 16
15. Ālampāyana 7
16. Āśvalāyana 4
17. Āṣṭiṣeṇa 4
18. Āpastamba 5
19. Āptavāna 5
20. Āsuri 4
21. Uplamya 8
22. Upamanyu 10
23. Utathya 4
24. Uddālaka 5
25. Udvāha 5
26. Ṛtu 11
27. Aurva 5
28. Kāñcana 8
29. Kaśyapa 24
30. Kapila 5
31. Kalpiṣa/Kalpiśa 5
32. Kardama 5
33. Karṇa 5
34. Kātyayana 10
35. Kāṇḍava 10
36. Kāśyapa 9
37. Kṛiṣṇātri 16
38. Kṛiṣṇātreya 9
39. Kuśa 14
40. Kutsa 8
41. Kuśika 8
42. Kautsa 10
43. Kauṇḍinya 19
44. Kauśika108
45. Gāliva 6
46. Gautama 42
47. Garga 18
48. Gṛitsamada 5
49. Gobhila 5
50. Citra 5
51. Cyavana 4
52. Jamdagni 13
53. Jamdagni Kauśika 11
54. Jātukarṇa 10
55. Jāvāla 5
56. Jaimina 5
57. Dakṣa 5
58. Dālbhya 11
59. Devrāta 10
60. Dhṛidha 7
61. Dhanañjaya 5
62. Dhṛita Kauśika 10
63. Dhaumya 8
64. Parāśara 34
65. Pāṇina 4
66. Patañjali 5
67. Pārāśara 25
68. Pulastya 15
69. Pulaha 12
70. Paulastya 6
71. Paulaha 5
72. Bodhāyāna 5
73. Bhardvāja 84
74. Bhārdvāja 186
75. Bhārgava13
76. Bhṛigu 15
77. Manu 8
78. Marica 11
79. Mādhyandini 4
80. Māṇḍavya 5
81. Mārkaṇḍeya 5
82. Mitravaruṇa 5
83. Mudgala 22
84. Maitreya 11
85. Yājñavalkya 7
86. Yāska 5
87. Rohita 5
88. Laugākṣi 5
89. Vatsa 75
90. Vyāghrapāda 5
91. Vātsāyana 5
92. Vāmadeva 5
93. Vāsuki 4
94. Vilva 6
95. Viśvāmitra 9
96. Viṣṇu 7
97. Vītahavya 5
98. Śakti 11
99. Śākalya 10
100. Śhāndilya 31
101. Śunaka 3
102. Śaunaka 5
103. Sānkṛitya 5
104. Sāvarṇi 6
105. Suvarṇa 5
106. Saukālīna 4
107. Sauparṇa 5
108. Saupāyana 5
109. Hārita 25
110. Sānkhāyana Kauśika 11
111. Apara Vasiṣṭha 41
112. Para Vasiṣṭha / Vṛiddha Vasiṣṭha 84
113. Divā Vasiṣṭha 27
114. Purva Vasiṣṭha 62
115. Uttara Vasiṣṭha 39.

śāsana

Sum total of all existing śāsanas as given above is 1690, but some śāsanas are found in more than one one gotra;^[7] 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 :

1. Bhardvāja  :84 + 186 Bhārdvāja
2. Vasiṣṭha  : 41 Apara + 84 Vriddha + 27 Divā + 62 Purva + 39 Uttara
3. Kauśika  :108
4. Vatsa  : 75
5. Parāśara  :34 + 25 of Pārāśara
6. Gautama  :42
7. Atri  :36
8. Śāndilya  :31
9. Kaśyapa  :24 + 9 of Kāśyapa
10. Bhṛigu  :15 + 13 of Bhārgava
11. Hārita  :25
12. Mudgala  :22
13. Agniveś Bhārdvaja  :21
14. Kauṇḍinya  :19
15. Garga  :18

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.

Organisation of Ādi Gauda

Ādi Gauḍas are differently organised than the main Gauḍas described above. There are 15 sakhas (divisions) among Ādi Gauḍas :

1. Māṇḍavya Gauḍa, also known as Māṇḍavya Śri Gauḍa and Mālavya Gauḍa .
2. Lambhita Gauḍa  : Some Māṇḍavyas later settled in Labhita town and were named Labhita.
3. Negama Gauḍa  :Negam was the son of a Gauḍa sage Citragupta. From Negam, this branch started.
4. Gautama : the descendants of Vedic sage Gotama are called Gautama Gauḍa Gauḍa.
5. Śri Harṣa Gauḍa : they lived along Sarayu river.
6. Gangāputra Gauḍa : Some Śri Harṣa Gauḍas settled along the banks of Ganges and were named accordingly.
7. Hariyānā Gauḍa  : They trace themselves to Ṛṣi Hārita whose asrama was in Hariyānā. It is not clear how Hariyānā came to be associated with Hārita ^[10]
8. Vasiṣṭha Gauḍa  : They claim descent from sage Vasiṣṭha.
9. Saubhare Gauḍa  : belonging to Saurabh region( where Saubhari dwelt Presently Vill.Sunrakh in Vrindavan, Mathura(perhaps Saubhari transformed into Saurabha due to linguistic change, ).
10. Dālbhya Gauḍa  : They claim descent from sage Dālbhya.
11. Sukhsena Gauḍa  : They claim descent from sage Hamsa neas Hamsadurga.
12. Bhaṭṭakeśwara Gauḍa  : They claim descent from sage Bhaṭṭa near Bhaṭṭakeśwara .
13. Suryadhwaja Gauḍa  : They claim descent from sage Surya near Sarmeśwara.
14. Vālmīka Gauḍa  : They claim descent from sage Vālmīki whose āśrama was believed to be at Ābugarh.
15. Māthura Gauḍa  : They claim descent from sage Māthura of Māthuri town (perhaps Māthurā).

Veda, Śākhā, Sutra, Āvantaka & Nūkha of Ādi Gauda

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. ^[11]

Organisation of Śri Gauda

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 (Malviya) 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.

Gotra, Tanka, Pravara, Āspada of Śri Gaudas

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.

Organisation of Śri Gaudas

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.

Traditional Areas of Gauda brahmins

A cursory look at some identifiable śāsanas of Deśwāli and Pachāde Gaudas reveals the traditional areas :

1. Baroḍā, Sindhutata, Sindhu, Khādar
2. Ajmer, Ajmeerh, Jaipur, Kota, Marusthal, Jodhpur, Sīkar, Pāli, Puṣkar, Jalor
3. Ujjain, Indore, Sāgar, Dhar, Ratlam
4. Hissār, Karṇāl, Kurukṣetra, Thānesar, Sirsā, Indraprastha, Haryānā, Pānipat, Faridābād, Bhiwāni
5. Bāghpat, Nandagrām, Merath, Rāmgarh, Pañcāla, Hāpur, Tilpat,Najibabad,Khari,Gandhaur (Bijnor), Sahāranpur, Khurjā, Mathurā, Rāmpur, Sambhal
6. Garhwāl, Pahāriā, Kalāt
7. Kānpur, Gomati, Prayāg, Kāśi, Nimikṣetra, Gorakhpur
8. Bhojpur, Gayā, Janakpur, Janaksthala
9. Gauḍa, Vanga

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.^[12] This latter view is supported by Matsya Purāṇa which linked "best brahmins" to the Gaudadesh of Śrāvasti near modern Goṇdā district.^[13]

Surnames

Chaubé, Mishra, Lata, Tiwāri, Dube, Gautam, Puthiā, Jani, Chaumoharia,Vashisth 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.^[14]

Surname in Ādi Gauḍa is known as Nūkha ^[11]

Customs and Practices

Gauḍa brahmins are mostly Yajurvedi and some are Sāmvedi too. Generally, upanayana accompanies marriage, and early marriage is preferred.^[14] 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.

Criticism

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.^[15] 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:^[16]

सृष्टियारम्भे ब्राह्मणस्य जातिरेका प्रकीर्तिता ।

Meaning : There was one caste of Brahmin in the beginning of Creation.

Notes

See also

• Brahmin communities
• Brahmin
• Hinduism
• Forward Castes
• Classification of Brahmins

References

• A History of Brahmin Clans (Brāhmaṇa Vaṃshõ kā Itihāsa) in Hindi, by Dorilāl Śarmā,published by Rāśtriya Brāhamana Mahāsabhā, Vimal Building, Jamirābād, Mitranagar, Masūdābād,Aligarh-1, 2nd ed-1998. (This Hindi book contains the most exhaustive list of Brahmana gotras and pravaras together their real and mythological histories).

External links

• The complete reference to Brahmins: No material from this site has been borrowed for this article.