Padhye Brahmin community hails from Goa, commonly known as " Bhatt", they speak a unique dialect of Konkani known as "

Bhati Bhasha {{unreferenced, date=June 2010 Bhati Bhasa is a dialect of Konkani spoken by Padye Brahmins of Goa who belong to the Karhade Brahmin group. This dialect is nasal and has many Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnol ...

Early history

The reference to Padye Brahmins is found in the section of ''Karahastrabrahmanotpatti'' of

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 17 ...

. It is commonly believed that Padye Brahmins are not different from the Karhades and are a section of Karhade Brahmins. However, even now Padye Brahmins have retained their identity.

Origin of the word ''Padye''

The name ''Padye'' is supposed to have its origin in the Sumerian word '' Patesi''. But it can be also concluded that 'Padhye' or 'Padye' is a corrupted form of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

word 'Upadhyay' which means a '

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Later history

With due course of time, they seem to have undergone thorough Sanskritisation and have been included into Brahminic fourfold system and attained status that of a Brahmin (i.e. during the rule of Yadavas and Kadambas in Goa when they were given lands by the monarchs and the title of ''Deshapati'' (now corrupted as ''Dessai'') was bestowed upon many of them). The Padyes from Goa and are believed to have migrated to Maharashtra, then returned to Goa a few centuries later. It is believed that the name Karhade comes from the place ''Karhatak'' (present day Karhad) in Maharashtra, where they lived. The ''Shiledar''s of

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

conquered south

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 ...

and got these priests with them back to Goa.

Mythological origins

Skanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumara literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, w ...

(Sahyadri Khanda) as well as

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text ...

are very harsh towards Karhade Brahmins and it is mentioned that they descended from the bones of camel and hence designated as Karhades."Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha)" -Ed. Dr. Jarson D. Kunha, Marathi version Ed. By Gajanan Shastri Gaytonde. Published by Shree Katyani Publication, Mumbai.

Later Brahminic classification

Padhyes later were included in to the

Pancha Dravida Pancha Dravida is one of the two major groupings of Brahmins in Hinduism, of which the other was Pancha-Gauda. In ''Rajatarangini'' Kalhana, in his ''Rajatarangini'' (c. 12th century CE), classifies the following five Brahmin communities as Pa ...

group of Brahmins and are now commonly considered a sub-caste of the

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 ...

Brahmin community, though not historically. They are essentially Rigvedi Brahmins and follow the Ashwalayana Sutra. Padhyes belong to 13

Gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra ...

s and are predominantly

Smarthas 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, ...

and worship different aspects of

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

Kuldevatas

Padhyes worship following deities as their

Kuldevta A kuladevatā (), also known as a kuladaivaṃ, is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism. Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion (''bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, and child ...

* Navadurga *

Vijayadurga Sri Vijayadurga is a Hindu Goddess of varying importance in Indian culture and tradition. She is said to have intervened in a battle between Shiva and Vishnuthem, and gone to Shankwali to kill the demons harassing the Brahmins there. When she de ...

* Aryadurga * Mahalasa *

Kamakshi Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरा सुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Lalita is a Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of supreme goddess Mahadevi ...

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...

* Santeri

Notes

References

*"People of India: Goa" - Page 107 by Kumar Suresh Singh, Prakashchandra P. Shirodkar, Pra. Pā Śiroḍakara, Anthropological Survey of India, H. K. Mandal - Social Science - 1993 - 283 pages * Gomantak Prakruti ani sanskruti Part 01 to 03 By B. D. Satoskar.. Page 160,161,162. {{Ethnic and social groups of Goa and Konkan Brahmin communities of Goa Konkani