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Chitpavan
The Chitpavan Brahmin or Konkanastha Brahmin is a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin community inhabiting Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra. Initially working as messengers and spies in the late seventeenth century, the community came into prominence during the 18th century when the heirs of Peshwa from the Bhat family of Balaji Vishwanath became the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. Until the 18th century, the Chitpavans were held in low esteem by the Deshastha, the older established Brahmin community of Maharashtra region. As per Jayant Lele, the influence of the Chitpavans in the Peshwa era as well as the British era has been greatly exaggerated because even during the time of the most prominent Peshwas, their political legitimacy and their intentions were not trusted by all levels of the administration, not even by Shivaji's successors. He adds that after the defeat of Peshwas in the Anglo-Mahratta wars, Chitpavans were the one of the Hindu communities ...
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Maharashtrian Brahmin
Marathi Brahmins (also known as Maharashtrian Brahmins), are communities native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. They are classified into mainly three sub-divisions based on their places of origin, " Desh", "Karad" and "Konkan". The Brahmin subcastes that come under Maharashtra Brahmins include Deshastha, Chitpavan (Konkanastha), Saraswat, Karhade, and Devrukhe. Geographical distribution Maharashtrian Brahmins are native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. However, their training as priests, expertise in Hindu laws and scriptures, and administrative skills have historically led them to find employment in all corners of India. For example, in the 1700s, the court of Jaipur had Maharashtrian Brahmins recruited from Benares. This community had in turn migrated to Benares after the fall of Vijayanagar empire in southern India. The greatest movement of the community took place when the Maratha Empire expanded across India. Peshwa, Holkars, Scindia, and Gaekwad dynastic leaders ...
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Deshastha
Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Brahmins are also concentrated in the states of Telangana , Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Author Pran Nath Chopra and journalist Pritish Nandy says, "Most of the well-known saints from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were Deshastha Brahmins". The mother tongue of Deshastha Brahmins is either Marathi or Kannada. Some Deshasthas who settled in Telugu states also adopted Telugu as their mother tongue. Over the millennia, the Deshastha community has produced Mathematicians such as Bhāskara II, Sanskrit scholars such as Bhavabhuti; Bhakti saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Sripadaraja, Eknath, Purandara Dasa, Samarth Ramdas and Vijaya Dasa; Logicians such as Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha. The traditional occupation of Deshastha Brahmins i ...
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Kulavruttanta
A Kulavruttanta or a Kul-vrttant ( mr, कुलवृत्तांत; IAST: Kula-vr̥ttānta; ), is a genealogical almanac and biographical dictionary, a format of genealogical record keeping predominantly found in the Indian state of Maharashtra. History Kulavruttantas are categorically published by family name, or surname, and are usually in Marathi. They usually document various aspects of that particular family's history, heraldry, the etymology of their name, ancestral land holdings, migration maps, and religious traditions. The genealogical charts are usually sectioned based on each ''gharana'', or branch, of the family; these are then followed by biographies of individuals within those gharanas; and followed finally by indices of births, deaths and marriages within the family. Kulavruttantas have been historically attributed to the genealogical history of Chitpavan brahmins. The Bhat family, during their rule of the Maratha confederacy, are usually credited for c ...
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Balaji Vishwanath
Balaji Vishwanath Bhat (1662–1720) was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Bhat family who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire during the 18th century. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha Emperor Shahu to consolidate his grip on a kingdom that had been racked by civil war and persistently intruded on by the Mughals under Aurangzeb. He was called ''the Second Founder of the Maratha State''. Later, his son Bajirao I became the Peshwa. Early life and career Balaji Vishwanath Bhat was born into a Marathi Konkanastha Chitpavan Brahmin family. The family hailed from the coastal Konkan region of present-day Maharashtra and were the hereditary Deshmukh for Shrivardhan under the Siddi of Janjira. He went out in search of employment to the upper regions of western ghats and worked as a mercenary trooper under various Maratha generals. According to Kincaid & Parasnis, Balaji Vishwanath entered the Maratha administration during the reign of Samb ...
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Chitpavani Konkani
Konkani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily in the Konkan region, along the western coast of India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution, and the official language of the Indian state of Goa. It is a minority language in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat & Damaon, Diu & Silvassa. Konkani is a member of the Southern Indo-Aryan language group. It retains elements of Vedic structures and shows similarities with both Western and Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. The first Konkani inscription is dated 1187 A.D. There are many Konkani dialects spoken along and beyond the Konkan region, from Damaon in the north to Carwar in the south, most of which are only partially and mutually intelligible with one another due to a lack of linguistic contact and exchanges with the standard and principal forms of Konkani. It is also spoken by migrants outside of the Konkan proper; in Surat, Cochin, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, K ...
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Chiplun
Chiplun ( ͡ʃipɭuːɳ is a city in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the financial and commercial Hub of Ratnagiri, and the headquarters of Chiplun taluka. It is about 320 km south of Mumbai in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, on the Mumbai–Goa highway (NH-66). It has a long history and a strong cultural background. Recent decades have seen much industrial development in it and its and surrounding areas. Geography The city lies near the source of the Vashishti river. To the east of the city lie the Western Ghats and to the west lies Guhagar taluka which was carved out of Chiplun taluka. The region has a tropical climate. The 'rainy season' — the monsoon lasts normally from June until October. The Koyna Hydroelectric Power Project Stages III and IV are situated near Chiplun. Parshuram legend Chiplun was believed to have the first home of the ''Konkanasth'' or '' Chitpavan'' Brahmans.According to local folklore, after claiming Kon ...
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Sahyadrikhanda
Sahyādrikhaṇḍa or Sahyadri Khand, written in Sanskrit, and is considered as part of Skandapurāṇa.Shastri, P. (1995) ''Introduction to the Puranas'', New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, pp.118-20 One of its interpolated versions from 1700CE contains the legend of the origin of the Brahmin identities like Chitpavan Brahmins and Saraswat Brahmins while deliberately slandering authentic Brahmin communities like Karhade Brahmins. The ''Sahyadri-khanda'' includes disparate texts that date from 5th to 13th centuries, and have been organized as part of a single text relatively recently. Description There is an elaborate description about the creation of Paraśurāma kṣetra. In one place the land is stated to have been created by Paraśurāma by shooting an arrow, while in another place the land is created by throwing an axe. Experts in the field of Archaeology feel that the place where Parashurama's arrow landed is believed to be the present day Goa. The Kannaḍa version ...
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Bhat Family
The Bhat Peshwa family earlier known as Bhat family is a prominent Indian Chitpavan Brahmin family who dominated India for around 100 years in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Most of the members in this family were the Peshwas (prime ministers) in the Peshwa Era of the Maratha Empire, and Peshwa later became their family name. During their regime, most of the Indian subcontinent was under their control. The last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818. The territory was annexed to the British East India Company's Bombay Presidency, and he was pensioned Family tree First generation *Balaji Vishwanath was the first of a series of hereditary ''Peshwas'' (Marathi for Prime Minister) hailing from the Chitpavan Brahmin family who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire during the 18th century. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha Emperor Shahu I, grandson of Shivaji, to consolidate his grip o ...
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Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji of the Bhonsle, Bhonsle Dynasty as the ''Chhatrapati'' (Marathi language, Marathi: "The title "Chhatrapati" was created by Shivaji upon his coronation"). Although Shivaji came from the Maratha_(caste), Maratha caste, the Maratha empire also included warriors, administrators and other notables from Maratha and several other castes from Maharashtra. They are largely credited for ending the Mughal Empire, Mughal control over the Indian subcontinent and establishing the Maratha Empire. The religious attitude of Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb estranged non-Muslims, and his inability to finish the resulting Maratha uprising after a Mughal–Maratha Wars, 27-year war at a great cost to his men and treasure, eventually ensued Maratha a ...
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Peshwa
The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, under the Bhat family, they became the ''de facto'' leaders of the Maratha Confederacy, with the Chhatrapati becoming a nominal ruler. During the last years of the Maratha Empire, the Peshwas themselves were reduced to titular leaders, and remained under the authority of the Maratha nobles and the British East India Company. All Peshwas during the rule of Shivaji, Sambhaji and Rajaram belonged to Deshastha Brahmin community. The first Peshwa was Moropant Pingle, who was appointed as the head of the Ashta Pradhan (council of eight ministers) by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire. The initial Peshwas were all ministers who served as the chief executives to the king. The later Peshwas held the highest adminis ...
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Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland east of the coast has numerous river valleys and riverine islands among the hilly slopes leading up into the tablelands of the Deccan. The region has been recognised by name, since at least the time of Strabo in the third century C.E., and was a thriving mercantile port with Arab tradesmen from the 10th century. The best-known islands of Konkan are Ilhas de Goa, the site of the Goa state's capital at Panjim, and the seven islands of Bombay, on which lies the capital of the State of Maharashtra. Definition Historically, the limits of Konkan have been flexible, and it has been known by additional names like "Aparanta" and "Gomanchal", the latter being defined as the coastal area between the Daman Ganga River in the north and the Gangava ...
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