Pancha Dravida is one of the two major groupings of

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

s in Hinduism, of which the other was

Pancha-Gauda Pancha Gauda is one of the two major groupings of Brahmins in Hinduism, of which the other is Pancha-Dravida. In ''Rajatarangini'' According to Kalhana's ''Rajatarangini'' (c. 12th century CE), the Pancha Gauda group includes the following five ...

In ''Rajatarangini''

Kalhana Kalhana ( sa, कल्हण, translit=kalhaṇa) was the author of ''Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be d ...

, in his ''

Rajatarangini ''Rajatarangini'' ("The River of Kings") is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of India, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. The ...

'' (c. 12th century CE), classifies the following five Brahmin communities as Pancha Dravida, stating that they reside to the south of the

Vindhyas The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

: * Karnataka (

Karnataka Brahmins Karnataka Brahmins or Carnatic Brahmins are Pancha Dravida Brahmin communities native to the Indian state of Karnataka. Classification Karnataka Brahmins fall under the Pancha-Dravida, Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin communit ...

) * Tailanga (

Telugu Brahmins Telugu Brahmins are Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. History Origin theories According to the ''Aitareya Brahmana'' of the Rigveda, the Andhras left north India from the banks of the River Yamuna a ...

) * Dravida (Brahmins of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

) * Maharashtraka (

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 ...

s) * Gurjara (

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

, Marwari and Mewari Brahmins)

In the ''kaifiyat''s

The

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

-era ''

kaifiyat A ''Kaifiyat'' is a historical record, especially about a village or a town, from the Deccan region of India. Compiled in 18th and 19th centuries by village accountants, based on earlier records, the ''kaifiyats'' are a valuable source of local his ...

s'' (bureaucratic records) of

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in South India, southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bou ...

, which give an account of the society in the southern Maratha country, mention the following Brahmin communities as Pancha Dravida: * Andhra-Purva Desastha * Dravida Desastha * Karnataka Brahmins * Desastha The ''kafiyat''s classify the Gurjara Brahmins as Pancha Gauda. They also mention the following 16 sub-castes of the Pancha-Dravidas: *

Smarta The ''Smarta'' tradition ( sa, स्मार्त), also called Smartism, is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Mimamsa, A ...

Konkanastha 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 ...

Karhade Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Classification Along w ...

Varkari Warkari (Marathi: वारकरी; Pronunciation: �aːɾkəɾiː Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari) is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indi ...

* Madhyandin * Vanas * Karnatak * Shashtik * Nandavamshik * Srivaishnav Telang *

Srivaishnava Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

* Pratham-Shakhikanva * Kirvant * Sihavasai * Nurcher * Shenavi * Govalkonde

References

Brahmin communities Indian castes Ethnic groups in Nepal {{India-ethno-stub