Saraswat Brahmin

The Saraswats are a sub-group of Hindu Brahmins who trace their ancestry to the banks of the erstwhile river Sarasvati.

In Kalhana's Rajatarangini (12th century CE), the Saraswats are mentioned as one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities residing to the north of the Vindhyas. They were spread over a wide area in northern part of the Indian subcontinent. One group lived in coastal Sindh; this group migrated to Bombay State after the partition of India in 1947. Another group was found in pre-partition Punjab; most of these migrated away from Pakistan after 1947. A third branch, known as Goud Saraswats, are now found along the southern coast.

References

Brahmin

Brahmin is a varna (caste) in Hinduism specialising as priests, teachers (acharya) and protectors of sacred learning across generations.

Brahmins traditionally were responsible for religious rituals in temples, as intermediaries between temple deities and devotees, as well as rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers. However, Indian texts suggest that Brahmins were often agriculturalists and warriors in ancient and medieval India.

Vedic sources

It must be emphasised that attempts to interpolate references from the Rigveda with contemporary social groups that identify as "Brahmin" is entirely speculative.

Purusha Sukta

The earliest inferred reference to "Brahmin" as a possible social class is in the Rigveda, occurs once, and the hymn is called Purusha Sukta. According to this hymn in Mandala 10, Brahmins are described as having emerged from the mouth of Purusha, being that part of the body from which words emerge.

मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते
बराह्मणो अस्य मुखमासीद बाहू राजन्यः कर्तः
ऊरूतदस्य यद वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत

Brahmin (disambiguation)

Brahmin are traditional Hindu societies of India, Nepal and The Far East.

Brahmin may also refer to:

See also

Bethesda's "Fallout" Game series creature