Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin is a community hailing from the western coast of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, residing in the
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 ...
division of
Maharashtra and
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
. This community is also known as ''Kudaldeshkar Aadya Gaud Brahmin'', ''Kudaldeshkar'' and sometimes ''Kudalkar Brahmin''s. They speak
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
,
Malwani dialect of
Konkani.
History
![Maharashtra Districts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Maharashtra_Districts.png)
The Aadya Gaud Brahmins (आद्य गौड ब्रह्मण), who settled near the Kudal region, migrated from the region of Gudadesh (गूडदेश) near
Shravasti
Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...
(श्रावस्ती) in north India and not from Bengal. Fleeing from the invasion by
Muhammad of Ghazni in 1017 CE they migrated south and settled near
Kudal
Kudal is a census town in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on River Karli in southwest Maharashtara. Kudal is the fourth largest town in Sindhudurg after Sawantwadi, Malvan and Kankavli. As of 2011, the population is 16 ...
in the Konkan region. That is how they came to be known as Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmins. Kudaldeshkar literally translates to the one residing in the Kudal region. The area settled by them currently falls under Sawantwadi, Malvan and Vengurla talukas.
Amongst the settlers, one with the name Dev Sharma and his descendants established sovereignty over the region. They were also referred to as Samants. They were the mandalika (मांडलिक) (governor) of this region during the
Yadav dynasty. During the rule of Singhana I (CE 1105-1120), Maiendeva (माइन्देव), of the Samant lineage, declared himself independent and established his kingdom in that region, with Kuduwalapattan (कुडुवलपत्तन) (present day Kudal) as the capital. He came to be known as “Mang Mahipati
'' (मंग महिपति). He called himself “Samant kula yashobhanu mangalakhya maheshwar”. His descendants, of which some known names were Hemadeva, Bhairavdeva and Nagadeva, ruled that region for 400 years till it was overrun by the
Bahamani
The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan, rulers in 1461 CE. The Bahamani rulers established their own governor by the name of Prabhu, who was the descendant of the previous Samant rulers. The descendants of Prabhu continued to govern this region till 1640 CE when Lakham Sawant (लखम सावंत), a subordinate, revolted and overtook the control of this region. Lakham Sawant is the ancestor of the current royal family of Sawantwadi.
Philosophy
Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmins follow
Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; te ...
's
Advaita
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (l ...
school of philosophy, and have their own three centuries old
Matha
A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism. in Dabholi village in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The first pontiff of the Shreemat Purnanand Swamiji was initiated into
Sanyasa
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...
by Vishwananda Swamiji. The present 20th pontiff of the Math is Pradyumnanand Swamiji.
Language
The original language of Kudaldeshkars is Malwani. The
Malvani dialects of
Konkani are also referred to as a creoles between Konkani and Marathi. Today Malwani is more significantly identified as the principal language of Kudaldeshkars and also of the natives of the Sindhudurg district. There is no special script or text characters for Malwani and it is generally written in Devanagari. They also speak
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
in
Maharashtra, and
Konkani in
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
and
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. Malwani is also called ''Kudali'', originally known as Kudwali. Kudwal is the ancient name for 'Kudal'.
["Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti" by B.D. Satoskar, published by Shubhada Publication]
Diet
Since the community had its base in the Konkan area, food habits are naturally influenced by the sea coast. Their cuisine is of humid tropical nature, rice, spices, kokum, raw mangoes, cashew nuts and coconuts. The Malwani diets characteristics are well distinguished from Goan food. The cuisine contains a variety of spices blended with roasted coconut and coconut milk, the curries are made of finely grated coconut/coconut cream and coconut milk added to it. The Konkan region has Alphanso mangoes, and cashews, bananas, watermelons and pineapples also grow in abundance.
See also
*
Goud Saraswat Brahmin
Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd) are a Hindu Brahmin community of the north. The Konkani speaking Gaud Saraswat of Goa and southern India claim to be descendents of these Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of the north that migrated to K ...
*
Kudal
Kudal is a census town in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on River Karli in southwest Maharashtara. Kudal is the fourth largest town in Sindhudurg after Sawantwadi, Malvan and Kankavli. As of 2011, the population is 16 ...
*
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 ...
*
List of Goan Brahmin communities
{{Confusing, date=January 2011
List of Brahmin communities of Goa, India.
*Gaud Saraswat Brahmin
*Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin
*Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin
*Karhade Brahmin
*Chitpavan Brahmins
The Chitpavan Brahmin or Konkanastha Brahmin is a Hind ...
*
Rajapur Brahmins
References
External links
Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin Snehavardhak Sangh
{{Ethnic and social groups of Goa and Konkan
Brahmin communities of Goa
Brahmin communities of Maharashtra
Hinduism in Goa