Saraswat
Saraswats are
Brahmins who lived on the banks of the mythological river
Saraswati (Once flowed in n
orthern India, joining the
Ganga and
Yamuna in
Prayag). Saraswats are considered as one of the oldest and most widespread community in India, still preserving their own culture. There is a
Shivite as well
Vishnavite sect in Saraswats.
Around
1000 BC, river Saraswati started drying out, and they started migrating to other parts of India and thus forming sub communities. There are many sub-communities in Saraswats (few among them are):
# Gowda Saraswats (or Gauda Saraswats)# Chitrapur Saraswats# Rajapur Saraswats# Kashimri Saraswats (Kashmiri Pandits)# Punjabi Saraswats# Sind Saraswats# Kutch Saraswats# Rajasthan Saraswats# Catholic Saraswats (Saraswats from Gomantak who were converted to
Christianity during
Portuguese rule.)
One group of Saraswats who migrated to Gowda Pradesh (currently area from
Bihar and
Bengal) is called as Gowda Saraswats.
Gowda Pradesh was considered to be fertile land and
Rowda Pradesh that was geographically below Gowda Pradesh was not so fertile. After few centuries, due to some unavoidable reasons they again migrated to Gomantak Pradesh (currently
Goa). During Portuguese rule, inorder to avoid forced conversion to Christianity, they started migrating to Canara (
Karnatak), Kerala and Maharastra. Thus got spread all over west coast of India.
Gowda Saraswats speak the
Konkani language. They have 4 mutts:# Sri Goudapadacharya Kavale Mutt (Kavlem, Goa)# Sri Kashi Mutt (Varanasi, Uttara Pradesh)# Sri Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Mutt (Partagali, Poinginim, Goa)# Sri Chitrapur Mutt (Chitrapur, Bhatkal, Karnatak)
