Desahta Brahmin

Deshastha Brahmins (Marathi: देशस्थ ब्राह्मण), (Kannada:ದೇಶಸ್ಥ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರು) are the original and the oldest Hindu Brahmin sub-caste from the Indian state of Maharashtra.[1][2][3][4] "Deshastha", in Sanskrit, means "an inland dweller" (desha = inland, -stha = dweller) living in the interiors of Maharashtra.[5] The literal meaning of the word Deshastha is "residents of the country".[6] Over the millennia the community has produced the Sanskrit scholar Bhavabhuti in the 8th century,[7] the greatest Indian mathematician, Bhaskaracharya II, whose work on calculus pre-dates Sir Issac Newton by half a millennium[8][9] and the most revered[10] of the Marathi philosophers, Dnyaneshwar in the 13th century.

As the original brahmins of Maharashtra, they were traditionally held in the greatest esteem and considered themselves superior to other brahmins.[4][11][12] They have produced Maharashtra's greatest literary figures between the 13th and the 19th centuries.[13] All of the Peshwas during Shivaji's time were Deshasthas[14] which is when the foundation of the Maratha Empire was laid.[15] The hitherto ritually, socioeconomically[16] and brahminically inferior[17] Konkanastha acheived parity with the Deshasthas in the nepotistic era that followed the passing of the Peshwai in Konkanastha hands in 1713.[18][19][20][21][22][23] During this era the Konkanastha unleashed social warfare against the Deshasthas,[24] ruining and disgracing Deshastha Brahmins.[25] Since then, despite being the traditional religious and social elites of Maharashtra, the Deshastha Brahmins have failed to feature as prominently as the Konkanastha.[4] Deshastha brahmins constitute 60% of the total brahmin population in Maharahstra[26] which itself stands at 4% of the population of Maharashtra.[27]

Contents [hide]
1 Further sub-sub-caste classifications
1.1 Castes claiming to be Deshasthas
2 Demographics
3 History
3.1 Occupational history
3.2 Association with Pathare-Prabhus & early migration to Mumbai Island
4 Society and culture
4.1 Ceremonies
4.1.1 Birth ceremonies
4.1.2 Initiation munja ceremony
4.1.3 Wedding
4.2 Religious rituals
4.2.1 Death rituals
4.3 Festivals
4.4 Women
5 Social and political issues
5.1 Konkanasthas reach socioeconomic parity
5.2 Agrarian land reform
5.3 Treatment of Dalits
5.4 Anti-Brahminism
5.5 Relationship with the Kokanastha community
6 Surnames and families
7 Prominent Deshasthas
8 See also
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links

[edit] Further sub-sub-caste classifications

Maharashtra, the state in India where majority of Deshastha liveMajority of Deshasthas speak Marathi, one of the major languages of the mainly northern Indo-Aryan language group. Deshasthas fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of Brahmin community in India. Other brahmin sub-castes in the region are Karhade Brahmin, Devrukhe, Chitpavan (Konkanastha) and Goud Saraswat Brahmin but these sub-castes only have a regional significance.[2] Deshastha brahmins are further classified in two major sub-sects or shakhas based on the veda they follow for religious ceremonies. The Deshastha Rigvedi perform religious rituals from the Rig Veda and the Deshastha Yajurvedi who use the Yajur in their rituals.[28] The Yajurvedis are further classified in to two groups called the Madhyandins and the Kanavas. The Madhyandin is a sub-group of Sukla Yajurvedi Brahmins.[29] The word Madhyandin is a fusion of two words Madhya and din which mean middle and day respectively. The are called so because they perform Sandhya at noon.[6] Almost without an exception the several regional groups of the Madhyandin Brahmins lie indistinguishably mixed up with the Marathas.[30] Kannav Brahmans were traditionally located in and around Nasik and they call themselves Prathamshakhis or followers of the first branch of the White Yajurved.[31]

There is a significant Deshashta population in the state of Karnataka and here the sub-classification of Deshastha brahmins is based on the type of Hindu philosophical system they follow. These are the Deshastha Madhva[32] Brahmins who follow the teachings of Madhvacharya and the Deshastha Smartha[33] Brahmins who follow the teachings of Adi Shankaracharya. The surnames of these North Kanataka based Kannada speaking Deshastha brahmins can be identical to those of Maharashtrian Deshastha brahmins (e.g., Kulkarni, Deshpande, Joshi, etc.).

[edit] Castes claiming to be Deshasthas
The Golak or Govardhans are originally from the Pandharpur-Barshi area who follow the customs of the Deshasthas and claim to be Deshasthas. The other brahmins do not accept this and the Deshasthas did not drink or eat with them.[12][34] Golak or Govardhan are considered degraded because they sold their cows instead of rearing them.[34] The caste headman is generally some one with a smattering of Sanskrit and is called a Vedia. They are the earliest settlers in and around Nasik.[31] Golaks are divided in to Kunda Golak and Randa Golak both of whom are descendants of illegitimate offspring of Brahmins.[35] The Kunda Golak are the offspring of the adultery between a Brahmin father and a Brahmin woman who is not his legally wedded wife. The Randa Golaks are similar to the Kunda Golak in their origin with the difference that their first female parents were Brahmin widows.[36] Both do not accept new illegitimate brahmins in their caste. Traditional occupations of both Kunda and Randa Golaks are generally shopkeepers, astrologers and cultivators. They are sometimes also called Gomukha Brahmins. The Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmins are treated as a separate and distinct caste from the Yajurvedi Madhyandina and Kannavas Brhamins by several authors including Malhotra, Karve and Wilson.[37][36]

[edit] Demographics
Deshastha brahmins are a part of the 4% of the total brahmin population in Maharashtra[27] and they constitute 60% of the total brahmin population in Maharahstra.[26] Traditional social studies and recent genetic studies show Deshastha brahmin to be ethnically indistinguishable from the population of Maharashtra.[38][39] The Deshastha brahmins are sporadically distributed all through the state of Maharashtra ranging from villages to urban areas.[40][4]


A Deshastha coupleMarathi speaking Deshastha can also be found in large numbers outside Maharashtra such as in the cities of Baroda and Tanjore which were a part of or were influenced by the Maratha Empire. The so-called Deshasthas of Tanjore are actually a mix of Deshastha brahmins and the Marathas of the Kshatriya caste. This is because the two castes were isolated from their distant mother-country of Maharashtra and that caused the sub-division separating the castes to vanish.[41][42] Todays Marathi speaking Tanjore population are descendants of the Marathi speaking immigrants who immigrated to Tamil Nadu in the 17th and 18th centuries.[43] The Deshastha brahmins of Baroda are immigrants who came from the Deccan for State service during the rule of Gaikwads.[44] Similarly, Deshastha brahmins can also be found in other formerly Maratha ruled cities of Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, and Dhar.[citation needed] Other cities with deshastha population include Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Chennai and Coimbatore.[citation needed]


Former captain of the Indian cricket team, Rahul DravidIn spite of the fact that they are from Deccan plateau, many Deshashtas migrated to the coastal city of Mumbai during British Rule in search of administrative and clerical jobs. Girgaon, Dadar and Vile Parle were stronghold for their population at that time.[citation needed] There was also migration to other cities like Pune and Nagpur or Maratha ruled cities outside Maharashtra like Indore.[citation needed] A second wave of migration took place after the formation of Maharashtra state (in 1960) when many families settled in the greater Mumbai metropolitan area and particularly Thane, Navi Mumbai and Dombivli.[citation needed] These new migrants predominantly found work in the service sectors like government, teaching (education), railways, banking/insurance and engineering.[citation needed] Few Deshastha also succeeded in starting their own industries in Mumbai. Examples include Garware Polymers, Parkhe Paper Mills and Sudha Kulkarni-Murthy’s Infosys in 1981. During last few decades, many Deshasthas have started industries in other cities of Maharashtra like Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and Nagpur; those are in the fields of IT, Ethanol, Rubber, Engineering Equipments etc. Brahmins have been migrating overseas in search of higher education and employment for number of years now. A large number educated Brahmins including deshasthas have moved abroad to USA, UK & other countries like Australia.[citation needed] Indeed, a simple search of surnames of Maharashtrian families in US will reveal mostly brahmin (all sub-groups) or CKP names. The rate of migration has increased fourfold after start of IT boom in 1990.[citation needed] However, economic slowdown in 2009 and other reasons like marriage or desire to see their children raised in Indian environment motivated many of them to return back to India in cities like Pune, Bangalore and Mumbai etc.[citation needed] There are thousands of Deshasthas working temporary in US on H1B visas and on Work Permit in UK.[citation needed]

[edit] History

Dnyaneshwar
Tantia Tope, the general of 1857 War of independenceDeshastha are the Maharashtrian Brahmin community with the longest known history.[1][2] While the history of Maharashtra before 12th century is quite sparse, Deshastha history is well documented because, quite literally, the history of the Deshastha Brahmins is older than their mother tongue of Marathi which itself originated in 1000 AD.[45] Deshastha history can be narrated by a chronological listing of prominent Deshasthas from history. Such is listing is given below.

8th century: The great Sanskrit scholar Bhavabhuti was a Deshastha brahmin who lived around 7 AD in the Vidarbha region of central India.[46] His works of high Sanskritic poetry and plays are only equalled by those of Kalidasa. Two of his best known plays are Mahāvīracarita and Mālatī Mādhava.
12th century: The greatest Indian mathematician Bhaskara II or Bhaskaracharya II who made many contributions to mathematics. His known for Lilavati which is a work on quadratic equations. He also contributed to the field of calculus.
13th century: Mukund Raj is said to be the first poet who composed in Marathi.[47] He is know for the Viveka-Siddhi and Parammrita which are metaphysical, pantheistic works connected with orthodox Vedantism. He lived around 1200 AD.
13th century: The greatest of all Bhakit saints, Dnyaneshwar universally acclaimed for his commentary on the Bhagvad Gita lived in this century.[47]
16th century: Eknath published an extensive poem called the Eknathi Bhagwat followed by the Bhavartha Ramayana, the Rukmini Swayamwara and the Swatma Sukha.[47]
17th century: Dasbodh and other works from the next great Deshastha saint, Samarth Ramdas were seen in this century. Ramdas was was also the spiritual adviser of Shivaji and was a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin named Suryopant from the village Jam on the Godavari.[47]
17th century: The Kashi-educated Sanskrit scholar Vaman Pandit who came from the Satara district and initially composed in Sanskrit but later switched to Marathi upon the urging of Ramdas. His is known for his commentary on the Bhagvad Gita called the Yathartha Dipika. He was the first poet to use the Sanskrit sloka format in Marathi.[47]
17th century: Other well know Deshatha literary scholars in this century were Mukteshwar and Shridhar.[47]
17th century: Kamalakara was the forward-looking astronomer-mathematician who studied Hindu, Greek and Arabic astronomy. His most important work was the Siddhanta-Tattvaviveka. He agreed with Ptolemaic notions of the planetary systesms. He was the first and the only traditional astronomer to present geometrical optics. Kamalakara proposed a new Prime Meridian which passed through the imaginary city of Khaladatta and provided a table of latitudes and longitudes for 24 cities in and outside of India.[48]
18th century: Mahipati, Amritaraya, Anant Phandi and Ramjoshi.[47]
In 1713 Balaji Vishwanath Bhat was appointed as the fifth Peshwa and the seat of Peshwa remained in Konkanastha hands until the fall of the Maratha Empire. In order to obtain the loyalty of the powerful Deshastha Brahmins, the Peshwas established a system of patronage for Brahmin scholars.[49]. Most of the Shivaji's principal Brahmin officers were Deshasthas.[15] Deshasthas played major role in armies and administration of the Maratha Empire which is evident from the warriors like Neelkanth Sarnaik, Keso Narayan Deshpande and Annaji Dato Sabnis so on.[citation needed] Seven out of eight Ashtapradhan of Raje Shivaji were Deshasthas.[citation needed] Even after the fall of Maratha Kingdom to British a few Deshastha-ruled states remained nominally independent until 1947. Major among these were, Prant-Pratindhi of Aundh-Satara, Bavadekar of Gagan-Bavda (Kolhapur)and Panditrao of Bhor.[citation needed]

Some Yajurvedi deshastha brahmin families have been living in North Konkan since the 12th century along with Pathare Prabhus. Despite living in Konkan they are still considered ‘Deshastha-Yajurvedis’ rather than Kokanastha (belonging to Konkan).[citation needed]

[edit] Occupational history
The traditional occupation of the Deshasthas was that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies. Other traditional occupations included village revenue officials, academicians, astrologer, administrators and practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine.[50] Deshasthas who study the vedas are called vaidika, astrologers are called Jyotishi or Joshi and practitioners of medical science are called Vaidyas, reciters of the puranas are called Puraniks. Some are also engaged in farming. In the history of Maharashtra's politics, Deshasthas have held posts of Panditrao (Ecclesiastical head) and Nyayadhish (chief justice).[citation needed] The Deshasthas were the natural leaders during the time of Shivaji and his two sons.[41] Indeed, all of the Peshwas (chief minister) during Shivaji's time were Deshasthas[14] which is when the foundation of the Maratha Empire was laid. In the year 1896, the Deshasthas are recorded as having been the great Pandits in almost every branch of Sanskrit learning.[6] This may be due to their long tradition of sending their brightest students to the holy city of Kashi for religious and legal studies.[citation needed] The Deshasthas are a progressive community and some of the them have taken to white collar jobs.[50] In modern times, Deshastha occupations range from being factory workers, clerks to being doctors, lawyers, teachers, administrators, IT professionals and engineers.[citation needed] Deshastha women are also acquiring higher education and as a result can be found in high ranking professions.[citation needed] Around 2%[citation needed] of the Deshastha population is still living in interior rural Maharashtra area with relatively poor earnings and poor life style. This fraction of community is not educated but literate.[citation needed]

[edit] Association with Pathare-Prabhus & early migration to Mumbai Island
The Konkanastha Peshwa Baji Rao who coveted Vasai or Bassein sent an enovy to the Portuguese governor of Bassein. The governer, Luis Botelho insulted the envoy by calling Baji Rao a nigger.[51] The Peshwa deployed Chimaji Appa in the conquest of Vasai. This was a hard fought battle with the British supplying the Portuguese with advice and the Marathas with equipment. Pathare Prabhu Khanduji Mankar and Yajurvedi Brahmin Antaji Raghunath played important roles in the battle. After the victory in 1739, the Jagir of Vasai was promised to Antaji Raghunath but the promise was not kept by the Konkanastha Peshwas who instead harrassed the Yajurvedis. Fed up with the humiliation, the Yajurvedi brahmins migrated to Mumbai along with the Pathare Prabhus to work for the British.[52]

[edit] Society and culture

Renuka mata of Mahur, Dist. Nanded deity for many Deshastha familiesDeshastha — like all other Brahmins — trace their paternal ancestors to one of the seven sages, the saptarshi. This way they classify themselves into eight gotras, named after the ancestor rishi. Deshastha have two sub sects, Rigvedi and Yajurvedi. Inter-marriage between these sub sects was uncommon until recently, although there is no taboo against this.

Like most families in Maharashtra & other states of India, Deshastha families also have their own "unique" family deity, Kuladevata, usually the Goddess Parvati, known by different names such as Bhavani, Renuka, Amba, etc. Despite being the most popular deity amongst Deshastha and other Marathi people, very few families regards Vitthal or other popular Avatars of Vishnu such as Rama or Krishna as their Kuladevata. Balaji may be an exception though. A number of families have Khandoba and Balaji as their Kuldaiwat. Balaji is regarded as a form of Vishnu by most Hindus but as Shankar, for example, by the Lingayat community. The Kuldevta is invoked on auspicious occasions like weddings and initiation ceremony (munja or Upanayanam)[1] to obtain her blessings. Families also make pilgrimage to their Kuldevta temples after an auspicious occasion. The location of the Kuldevta temple may give a clue as to the original abode of a particular family because families may have chosen a particular temple as Kuldevta for geographical proximity.

Like most other castes in India, Deshasthas are a patrilineal society and children derive their group or caste association from their father.

By tradition, like other Brahmin communities of Southern India, Deshastha Brahmins are lacto vegetarian.[50] Milk and milk products such as curds are an essential component of the diet. The special dishes for Deshastha and some other Marathi communities may be the simple toor dal varan. Metkut is another Brahmin specialty. Deshastha use black spice mix or kala masala in the cooking. Traditionally, each family had their own recipe for the spice mix. However, this tradition is giving way to housewives buying the mixed spice pack directly from retailers. Puran poli for festivals and on the first day of the two day marriage is another Marathi Brahmin special dish.


Image of a Deshastha woman in the traditional nine yard sariDeshastha women traditionally wore a nine yard sari. The way they wore the nine yard sari was different from women of other castes. Unlike women from other caste groups in Maharashtra, Deshastha women traditionally do not cover their head with their sari. Men wore dhotis again in a "Brahmin way." For religious ceremonies men & boys wore a coloured silk dhoti called a "sovale". In modern times, women mostly wear the five yard sari. Nine yard sari is still worn for marriages and special poojas. Salwar kameez and Western clothes are popular amongst the young.

Despite decades of campaign against casteism, Deshastha tend to be mostly endogamous. However, marriages between Deshastha and other Maharashtrian Brahmin communities such as Karhade and Kokanastha, Devrukhe, GSB are common. Marriages between Deshastha and CKPs in urban area also take place in large numbers. Marriages between Maharashtrian Deshastha and Kannada Deshastha are also common, particularly in the border region of the two states. Marriages between Deshastha & other non-brahmin castes do take place in small numbers. Deshastha differ from Kokanstha in allowing cross-cousin marriages (a man marrying his maternal uncle's daughter). Due to concerns about genetic defects, this practice is dying out. Ironically, unrelated men and women of the same gotra are considered related and therefore marriage between people from the same gotra is considered incest.

[edit] Ceremonies
[edit] Birth ceremonies
Deshasthas are initiated into rituals at the time of birth. At that time, a horoscope is made for the child based on the position of the stars. Then the child undergoes the naming ceremony (barsa). During the ceremony the child's paternal aunt (father's sister) has the honour of naming the infant. In Gujarat, children are named according to the letter associated with a particular birth-sign (Ras in Marathi). However, this tradition is either not followed in Maharahtra or the name according to the ras is kept hidden in order to ward off possible black magic. When the child is one year old, the first cutting of the infant's hair (jawal) is a significant ceremony too.

[edit] Initiation munja ceremony

Munja Ceremony from 1970sWhen a male child reaches his seventh birthday he undergoes the initiation thread ceremony known as munja, vratabandha, or Upanayanam. From that day on, he becomes an official member of his caste, and is called a dwija (translated in English as "twice-born"). In ancient times, the boy was sent to gurukula to learn Vedas and scriptures. The boy was expected to practice extreme discipline during this period known as brahmacharya. He was expected to lead a celibate life, living on alms, and surviving on selected vegetarian saatvic food and observing considerable austerity in behaviour and deeds. Though such practices are not followed in modern times by a majority of Deshasthas, all Deshasthas boys undergo the sacred thread ceremony before marriage. Twice-born Deshasthas perform annual ceremonies to replace their sacred threads (called Jaanave in Marathi) with new ones on Shravan full moon day (Narali Pournima in Marathi).

[edit] Wedding
A Deshasthas marriage ceremony includes many elements of the traditional Marathi or Hindu wedding ceremonies. Briefly, it consists of Seemant poojan on the wedding eve. The dharmic wedding includes the antarpat ceremony followed by the vedic ceremony which involves the bridegroom and the bride walking around the sacred fire seven times to complete the marriage. Modern urban wedding ceremonies conclude with an evening reception.

Other ceremonies for different occasions include Vastushanti (entering a new house) and Satyanarayana Puja.

[edit] Religious rituals
Like most other Hindu communities, Deshasthas have a shrine called devaghar in their house with statues, symbols, and images of various deities. Satyanarayana Puja is also performed for special occasions. Ritual reading of religious texts called pothi is also popular.

In traditional families, any food is first offered to God as naivedya, and then eaten. Food is not consumed before this religious offering. In contemporary Deshasthas families, the naivedya is offered only on festival days.

Although many rituals that were practiced in ancient times are no longer followed, some traditions are continued to this day. The rituals, ceremonies, and Hindu festivals described below are also followed by other Marathi people or Hindu communities. Unique Deshastha traditions are mentioned where possible.

[edit] Death rituals
The other extremely important rituals for the Deshasthas are the death ceremonies. All Deshasthas are cremated according to Vedic rites, usually within a day of the individual's death. The death rites include a 13-day ceremony. The ashes of the departed are immersed at a confluence of two rivers (sangam) or the sea. Like all other Hindus, the preference is for the ashes to be immersed in the Ganga river or river Godavari. There is also a yearly shraddha that needs to be performed. These rituals are expected to be performed only by male descendants (preferably the eldest son) of the deceased.

[edit] Festivals
Deshasthas follow the Shaka (Saka) Hindu calendar. The following are just a few of the many festivals observed by Deshasthas.


Gudi Padwa Gudi or Victory pole
Gudi Padwa Gudi or Victory poleGudi Padwa: The year starts on the first day of Chaitra known as Gudi Padwa] which falls around March or April of the Western calendar. A gudi or victory pole is erected outside the house on this day. The special dish on the day includes shreekhand. Neem leaves are eaten on this day to ward off illness during the new year. Gudi Padwa, like Diwali Padwa and Dasara, is considered one of the three and half auspicious days of the Marathi calendar. Astrological charts need not be consulted for conducting important ceremonies, such as weddings, on these days. During Chaitra, women also hold a Haladi-kunku celebration. Chaitra is, however, considered inauspicious for weddings.
Ram Navami and Hanuman jayanti, the birthdays of Shree Ramchandra and Hanuman respectively are also celebrated in the month of Chaitra. Sunthawada/dinkawada, a snack usually eaten by new mothers is the snack of the day for Ram navami.
Narali Pournima - On this Shravan full moon day, Deshastha men change the sacred thread. In northern India, this day is celebrated as Raksha bandhan. Marathi people in general have adopted the Raksha bandhan tradition of sisters tying a rakhee on the wrist of their brothers. A special sweetened rice with coconut, called Narali Bhat in Marathi, is the special dish of the day.
Mangala Gaur- Pahili Mangala Gaur (first Mangala Gaur) celebration is one of the most important celebration for the new brides. On the Tuesday of the month of Shravan after her marriage, the new bride performs Shivling puja for the well being of her husband and new family. It is also a get-together of all women folks. It includes chatting, playing games, Ukhane (married women take their husband's name woven in 2/4 rhyming liners) and great food. They typically play Jhimma, Fugadi, Bhendya till the wee hours of the next morning
Janmashtami - Birthday of Lord Krishna on Shravan Vadya ashtami is observed with a fast. Gopalkala, a recipe made with curd (yoghurt) , pickle, popped millet (jondhale), chilli, salt etc. is popular , especially amongst kids.

Clay Ganesh murti worshipped during GaneshotsavGaneshotsav- Festival of Lord Ganesh. Through, Lokmanya Tilak's efforts Ganeshotsav became a public celebration a century ago. However, Deshasthas families also install their own clay (called shadu in Marathi) Ganpati in their house on Ganesh Chaturthi. The private celebration can go on for 1½ days to full 10 days according to each family's tradition. A Modak (steamed rice dumpling usually with a jaggery/coconut filling) is a sweet prepared for this occasion, and is considered the favourite of Lord Ganesh. Ganeshotsav also incorporates the Gauri festival. Deshasthas install statues of the Gauri. Kokanstha brahmins on the other hand use special rocks as symbols of Gauri. In some families Gauri is also known as Mahalakshmi puja. It is celebrated for three days; on the first day, Mahalakshmi arrival is observed. The ladies in the family will bring statues of Mahalakshmi from the door to the place where they will be worshiped. They are settled at a certain location (very near the Devaghar), adorned with clothes and ornaments. On the second day, the family members get together and prepare a meal comprising of puran poli. This day is the puja day of Mahalakshmi and the meal is offered to Mahalakshmi and her blessings sought. On the third day, Mahalakshmi goes to her husband's home. Before the departure, ladies in the family will invite the neighbor-hood ladies for exchange of haldi-kumkum. It is customary for the whole family to get together during the three days of Mahalakshmi puja. Most families consider Mahalakshmi as their daughter who is living with her husband's family all the year; but visits her parents' (maher) during the three days.
Navaratri - This festival starts on the first day of the Hindu month of Ashwin. The nine-day festival of Durga culminates in Vijayadashami (Dasara). This is the one the three auspicious days of the year. Traditionally, stars need not be consulted for starting a new project on this day. People also exchange leaves of Apti tree as symbol of gold. During Navaratri women and girls hold bhondla, a singing party in honor of the Goddess. Some families also observe Navaratri in spring season in addition to the Navaratri observed in winter.

Replica fort as part of Maharashtrian Diwali celebrations in USAKojagiri Pournima (Ashwin Pournima) on autumn Full Moon night is celebrated with sweetened milk. The first born in the family is also honoured on this night.
Diwali - The festival of lights is celebrated over five days. The Deshasthas celebrate this in their unique style by waking up early in the morning and having and oil bath. People light their houses with lamps, and burst fire crackers over the course of the festival. Special sweets and savories like anarse, karanji, chakli, chivda (Bombay mix), ladoo are prepared for the festival. Colorful Rangoli are made in front of the house. Kids make a replica fort in memory of Shivaji, the great Maratha leader.

ChakliKhandoba Festival/Champa Shashthi: A six-day festival, from the first to sixth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Margashirsha, in honour of Khandoba is celebrated by many deshastha families. Ghatasthapana, similar to navaratri, also takes place in Deshastha households during this festival. The sixth day is called Champa Sashthi.
Makar Sankranti - This mostly falls on January 14] when the Sun enters Capricorn. In Maharashtra, the day is celebrated by giving and receiving sweets made of jaggery and sesame seeds called tilgool and halwa. During the exchanging of the sweets, people say to each other in Marathi "Til-gool Ghya aani God Bola" (rough translation: Please accept my til-gool & be friendly to me or Take sweet, talk sweet"). Special chappati with jaggery (gool poli) is the dish of the day.
Shivaratri - Worship day of Lord Shiva. The Lord Shiva is pleased with austerities, so no sweets are prepared. A chutney made the fruit of Kawath tree (curd fruit, elephant apple, monkey fruit, or wood apple) is the specialty of this day.

Puranpoli-Speciality of Deshastha familyThe festival Holi falls in Falgun, the last month of the marathi Shaka Calendar. Deshastha celebrate this festival by lighting a bonfire and offering puran poli to the fire. In North India, Holi is celebrated over two days with the second day celebrated with throwing colors. Maharashtrians and Deshasthas celebrate color throwing five days after Holi on Ranga-Panchami.
Deshasthas keep certain days for fasting. Some of the days Deshasthas fast are, Ekadasi, Chaturthi Shivaratri, Janmashtami & Hartalika for women. A lot of people fast during the week in honour of a particular god, for example, Monday for Shiva, Saturday for Maruti and Shani (planet Saturn), etc. A cursory look at a Marathi calendar will show dates for pilgrimage to various temples & shrines of various saints. A popular destination for Deshastha is the shrine of Sant Dnyaneshwar at Alandi in the month of Kartik November.

[edit] Women

Deshastha teenage girls from 1950s
Sudha Kulkarni-MurthyThe deshastha woman from the past is portrayed as woman draped in a nine yard saree. Such dress is becoming rare among deshastha women now. Traditional deshastha women, both married and unmarried wear a "kunku" (red dot, also known as kumkum/sindoor/bindi) on their forehead and married women always wear the mangalsutra. This is a sacred gold necklace tied by the bridegroom around the bride's neck and along with kunku serves the same purpose as the wedding ring to signify the married status of a woman. Being a patrilineal society, a deshastha woman becomes part of her husband's family after marriage and adopts the gotra/lineage as well as the traditions of her husband's family.

Decades ago, deshastha girls used to get married to the groom of their parents' choice by early teens or before. Even now girls are married off relatively early (late teens) by rural less educated Deshastha families, Also in the past, a Deshastha widow was never allowed to re-marry, while it was acceptable for deshastha widowers to re-marry. Deshastha widows at that time used to shave their heads and wear simple red sari. The woman also had to stop wearing the kunku/bindi on her forehead. Basically, widows had to lead a very austere life with little joy. Needless to say, divorces were non-existent. All of these practices have gradually fallen by the wayside over the last hundred years, and modern Deshastha widows lead better lives and younger widows also remarry.

Sudha Murthy was the first woman mechanical engineer from India. She also became first woman employee of Tata Motors. Her contribution in the formation of one of India’s most admirable companies, Infosys was much valuable in the early struggling years of the company in the early 1980s.

[edit] Social and political issues
[edit] Konkanasthas reach socioeconomic parity
The prominence of a brahmin in Indian society was directly related to his virtues, values and knowledge & practice of the scriptures. Manu's list of virtues of a perfect Brahmin according to De Nobili in order of importance were righteousness, truthfulness, generosity, almsgiving, compassion, self-restraint and diligent work.[53] Prior to the rise of the Konkanastha Peshwas, the Konkanastha Brahmins were considered inferior in a society where the Deshasthas held socio-economic and ritual superiority.[16] After the appointment of Balaji Vishwanath Bhat as Peshwa, Konkanastha migrants began arriving en masse from the Konkan to Pune[54][55] where the Peshwa offered all important offices to the Konkanastha caste.[13] The Konkanastha kin were rewarded with tax relief and grants of land.[56] Historians point out nepotism[18][19][20][21][22][23] and corruption[21] during this time. The Sahyadri Khanda which contains the legend of the origin of the Konkanastha has been carefully suppressed or destroyed by the Konkanastha Peshwas.[57] Crawford, an early Indologist describes how a Brahmin reluctantly produced the manuscript when he asked for it and that Baji Rao, in 1814, ruined and disgraced a respectable Deshastha Brahmin of Wai found in possession of a copy of the Sahyadri Khand.[25] The Konkanasthas were waging a social war on Dehasthas during the period of the Peshwas.[24] By late 18th century Konkanasthas had established complete political and economic dominance in the region. Richard Maxwell Eaton states that this rise of the Konkanastha is a classic example of social rank rising with political fortune.[55] Since then, despite being the traditional religious and social elites of Maharashtra, the Deshastha Brahmins have failed to feature as prominently as the Konkanastha in recent history.[4]

[edit] Agrarian land reform
Maharashtraian brahmins were absentee landlords and lived off the surplus without tilling the land themselves per ritual restrictions.[58] They were often seen as the exploiter of the tiller. The newly independent country enshrined in it's constitution agrarian or land reform. Between 1949 - 1959, the state governments started enacting legislation in accordance with the constitution implementing this agrarian reform or Kula Kayada in Marathi. The legislation led to the abolition of various absentee tenures like inams, jagirs, etc. This implementation of land reform had mixed results in different states. On official inquiry, it was revealed that not all absentee tenures were abolished in the state of Maharashtra as of 1985.[59]

[edit] Treatment of Dalits
Unfortunately, until recent times, like other high castes of Maharashtra and India, Deshastha also followed the practice of segregation from other castes considered lower in the social hierarchy. Until a few decades ago, a large number of Hindu temples, presumably with a Deshastha priest, barred entry to the so called untouchables. This practice died out due to the campaigns conducted by leaders like Veer Savarkar, Sane Guruji, K. B. Hedgewar and non Brahmin leaders like Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule. Legislation outlawing caste discrimination after Indian independence may also have played a part in eliminating the segregation and untouchability. Dr. Govande was a one of the supporter of Mahatma Phule. Mahadev Ambedkar another Deshastha bramhin had helped Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in latter's early schooling career. Babasaheb had expressed gratitude about his Ambedkar guruji many times in his speech.

Unlike other castes and tribes in India, Deshastha at present do not have a caste Panchayat to arbitrate in matters relating to disputes involving caste members. However in the past there have been instances of caste gathering to resolve disputes [2]

[edit] Anti-Brahminism

Former CM and Loksabha SpeakerManohar JoshiMaharashtrian brahmins were the primary targets during the anti-Brahmin riots in Maharashtra in 1948 following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. The rioters burnt homes and properties owned by brahmins.[60] The violent riots exposed the social tensions between the Marathas and the Brahmins.[61] However, in some instances, the rioters also killed their brahmin victims.[citation needed] It took years for them to recover from this situation.[citation needed] Some took it constructively and migrated to Cities in search of work.[citation needed]

In recent history, on January 5, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune was vandalized by 150 members of the Sambhaji Brigade, an organization promoting the cause of the Marathas.[62] The organization was protesting against a derogatory remark made by the American author James Laine on Shivaji's Parentage in his book Shivaji: A Hindu King in an Islamic Kingdom. BORI was targeted because Srikant Bahulkar, a scholar at BORI was acknowledged in Laine's book.The incident highlighted the traditionally uncomfortable Brahmin-Maratha relationship. Ironically, the Sambhaji Brigade destroyed a huge collection of books on Shivaji and damaged a portrait of him, which the BORI had received from the British Museum. Other items that were lost or damaged included:

A 15th century Ganpati idol
A Syrian clay tablet from 600 BC which was found in Maharashtra
A Kashmiri version of Mahabharata from 1000 AD
Professor Laine claimed this was all politically motivated for gaining political capital. Recently, the same organization demanded the removal of Dadoji Konddeo from the Statue of Child Shivaji ploughing Pune's Land at Lal Mahal, Pune. They also threatened that if their demands were not met, they would demolish that part of statue themselves.

Relationship with the Kokanastha community
After entry of Konkanasthas in Maratha empire, initially they were struggling to get administrative, military jobs. Most of the administrators in the government of Shivaji Maharaj were Deshastha Brahmins and CKP. Deshastha influence waned during the rule of Nanasaheb Peshwa(Especially during 1750s) except the posts of “Panditrao” (Minister related to Religious issues) and “Chief Justice“ remained in hands of Deshastha and other valuable posts like Phadanvis (Finance Secretary) Kotwal (Home Secretary) and other military rankings were dominated by Konkanasthas. This usurping of power by Konkanasthas from Deshastha Brahmins resulted in intense rivalry between the two communities resulting in each community trying to prove themselves to be better or superior than other community.

Pre-independence In his book Western India in the Nineteenth Century, Ravinder Kumar shows the common beliefs propagated by the communities to prove themselves superior over other

"the deshastha brahmins of maharashtra believed that they were the highest of all brahmins. Upon the Konkanastha, they looked down with scarcely veiled contempt as parvenus(A Parvenu is a person that is a relative newcomer to a socioeconomic class.), barely fit to associate on terms of equality with the noblest of dvijas. A Konkanastha who was invited to a deshastha home was a privileged individual, and even the Peshwa was denied the rights to use the ghats reserved for deshastha priests at Nashik on the Godavari."
"prior to the British conquest of 1818, the administration of Pune was dominated by the Konkanasthas, who possessed greater intellectual agility and political acumen than the deshasthas (according to them) and who were consequently able to exercise a more profound influence over the region. The community produced men of distinction in politics, in the field of scholarship and in the art of war like skilled diplomat Nana Phadnavis"
In colonial period of late 19th century Konkanasthas dominated political, social reform, education fields and media/journalism whereas Deshasthas dominated medical, administration, engineering, music and legal fields. Deshasthas have not produced any revolutionary freedom fighter till 1908. Whereas no notable Konkanasthas Saint/Writer was known during the same period. This situation had led cold war between two communities that who is more superior than other.

Post-independence Post Independence the rivalry between the groups has waned. Now both accept each other as vedic brahmins. Both the communities have produced many greats in field for arts, music, science, mathematics and literature. The coming together of the two communities is highlighted by number of inter-community marriages and inter-mixing of them at social, professional and political levels.

Surnames and families
Main article: List of Deshastha Brahmin surnames
A large number of Deshastha surnames are derived by adding the suffix kar to the village from which the family originally hailed.[8] So, for example, Bidkar come from town of Bid, Dharwadkar come from Dharwad, Karnataka etc. Some prominent Deshastha with kar surnames are marathi poet Kusumagraj (V. V. Shirwadkar). The names Kulkarni, Deshpande and Joshi are very common amongst Deshastha Brahmins and denote their professions.[65] For example, Kulkarni means revenue collector and Joshi means astrologer.