Chitpavan Konkanastha Brahmins

Chitpavan / Kokanastha Brahmins
Chitpavan / Kokanastha Brahmins
Classification	Brahmin
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Marathi, Chitpavani Konkani
Populated states	Maharashtra
Subdivisions	-

The Chitpavan, Chitpawan, or Konkanastha Brahmins (कोकणस्थ ब्राम्हण) are a brahmin community of Konkan, the coastal belt of western Maharashtra. Sometimes they are affectionately referred to as Kobra (short for KO-nkanastha BRA-hmin). (Since Konkanastha is actually a general geographic label, meaning "Native of Konkan" in Sanskrit, the name Chitpavan is preferable. In this text, however, the names Chitpavan, Konkanastha, and Kobra are used interchangeably. Chitpavan Brahmins' origins are unknown, since they are distinctly physically different from other Hindu castes. They are easily recognised by the certain characteristics such as fair skin, light-coloured eyes (blue, green or grey), sharp nose, distinct jawline, and sometimes have light brown hair.

The Kobras gained prominence during the reign of Shahu in the 18th century and since have established themselves firmly in the Indian social hierarchy. In 1713, the fourth Chattrapati Shahu appointed a Chitpanvan Brahmin from Kokan, Balaji Vishwanath Bhat, as Peshwa or prime minister. After the death of Shahu from 1749 to 1761, the Peshwas enjoyed de facto status till battle of Panipat. Afterwards, with exception of Madhavrao, all other peshwas remained ceremonial head of Maratha confederacy like their master Chattrapati. The Bhumihar Brahmins of Eastern U.P. and in the state of Bihar, Mohyal Brahmins in the state of Punjab, Namboothiri Brahmins in Kerela, Havyak Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh, Anavil Brahmins of Gujarat also have the same lineage and are similar to Chitpawans in custom, tradition, practices, temperament and hold Bhagvan Parshuram in high esteem.

History & Theology

Origins

There is no mention of them in Indian history prior to the reign of the Peshwas because they did not hold any powerful position in the political structure and were content more or less in performing clerical jobs unlike their counterpart of desh who were performing religious duties.

The earliest reference to the Chitpavans in Indian literature can be found in the Sahyadri Khand, a section of the Skanda Purana. It may have been composed sometime during 8-12th century by a scholar from a rival group.

The following is the summary of the legend from Sahyadri Khand. Parashurama, the sixth avatara of Vishnu was so defiled by the slaughter of the Kshatriyas that Brahmins refused to perform any ceremonies for him. At that time the bodies of fourteen persons happened to be cast ashore by the sea which then washed the foot of the Sahyadri hills. These "corpses" Parashurama purified, by burning them on a funeral pyre or chita, and restored them to life. He taught them the Brahmin rituals, and made them perform ceremonies to free them from guilt. Parashurama wished to give these new Brahmins some land; and since the Deccan had already been given to other Brahmins, he prayed to the God of the sea to spare him some of his domain. Initially the sea god did not agree to retire. Hence, Parshurama decided to throw a Bramhastra (missile) on the sea to render it dry. Then the scared sea god agreed to retire as far west as the Bramhastra would hit the waters from the crest of the Sahyadris. The arrow was shot and reclaimed a belt of land about thirty miles broad. The banks of the Vashishthi, about forty miles north of Ratnagiri, were set apart for the new Brahmins, and in memory of the process by which they had been purified they were called Chitpavans ('chita - pavan', meaning 'pyre purified' in Sanskrit (it could also mean a 'pious mind' 'chit - mind,pavan - pious) and their settlement Chitpolan. After establishing this settlement, Parashurama retired to Gokarna in North Kanara. Much to speculation, many scientists from Europe conducted Y DNA tests from various communities connected to these set of Brahmins and found that, the Y Chromosome was rare, found only in Konkanastha Brahmins and it directly matched DNA prominent among Southern Europeans. Particularly, the French, Greeks, Italians, Iberian people and the Irish. To a lesser extent in Southern England. Many still carry the original Y DNA Haplogroup type in Ireland and France. Not to forget the Konkanastha Brahmins. It is noted that, the first to arrive on the Coast of this region, must have been Fair to medium height, well built with light brown to red hair and possessed Greyish to Green eyes, which is still found in many descendants of the first visitors.

Rise to power

Until the rise of Balaji Vishvanath Peshwa, who belonged to Chitpavan Brahmin sub-caste, they held a low position and were known chiefly as clerks in the Deccan. Even after several generations of living in the Deccan, with strict attention to Brahmin rituals and austere life, other classes of Brahmins refused to eat with them. One story is that when Bajirao II, the last of the Chitpavan Brahmin Peshwas (1796-1818), was in Nasik he was not allowed to go down to the Godavari river using the same flight of steps as the priests from the local Trimbakeshwar temple.

They were relatively unknown outside Konkan until the 16th century. Later the ruler of Maratha kingdom Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj appointed a Chitpavan Brahmin, Balaji Vishwanath Bhatt as his Peshwa or Prime Minister in , aroung 18th century. It was the first time a Brahmin of Konkan origin held an important position in Deccani politics in Maharashtra. Eventually, many Chitpavan Brahmins joined the service of Marattha kingdom and in due course called the plateau of Deccan their home.

Before the Peshwas, the community was predominantly found in the Konkan coastal belt of Maharashtra state of India but afterwards migrated to various parts of India. Today the community is found mainly in the state of Maharashtra particularly the Konkan coastal belt and the Deccan Plateau. They are also scattered in small pockets in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in a tiny percentage. Many of these DNAs' are also found among the Coorgis (a warrior caste in south India). Many of this community members have migrated to the Middle East Gulf States -particularly U.A.E. and also to U.K, Australia and U.S.A. Together, they form less than 1% of Total Indian population. It is known that the Konkanastha Brahmins are a homogeneous community. It was only after the late 18th century, that they began to form sub DNA groups. Originally the Menfolk may have taken to the natives' women as their wives and neglected their culture.

Article on Chitpavans by Linda Cox

Diaclaimer: This article was originally published in the February 22, 1970 issue of the Illustrated Weekly of India, which is now defunct. Original article does not carry any copy right notice, so it is being presented here.

Unheard of before 1700, the Chitpavan Brahmins of Maharashtra had come to dominate the fields of social reform, law, scholarship, government service and the arts by the nineteenth century. Their two names, Konkanasth and Chitpavan, suggest their origins. The first indicates the rocky, unyielding land in the Ratnagiri district of the Konkan, which they have traditionally farmed. All Konkanasths can trace their history as far as the Konkan. The name, Chitpavan, would seem to have come from the Konkan town of Chitpol.

When you spot a Maharashtrian with blue or green eyes, ten to one he is a Chitpavan. And his fair colouring suggests a foreign origin. A history of the Bene Israelis, who settled in the Kolaba district of the Konkan, claims the Chitpavans as fellow Jews who became separated from their shipmates. Other accounts have guessed at a homeland anywhere from Iran to just north of Sholapur.

As long as they remained in the Konkan, the Chitpavans were simply an obscure Brahmin community of farmers and priests. The land that they tilled afforded only a poor living to the Chitpavans. But money has rarely been their primary goal. Even today few are known for their wealth. They were neither the largest nor the purest in the Brahmin hierarchy the Deshasth Brahmins claimed to be that but their hard-headed outlook and intelligence readied them for a climb over the Ghats to power.

The change in fortune came when Balaji Vishwanath Bhat took a job with the Maratha Government in the early 1700s. Balaji Viswanath had a talent for making himself useful - so useful that, within seven years, Shivaji's grandson Shahu had appointed him Peshwa! When Balaji died in 1720, his son Bajirao succeeded him and thus began a century of rule by the Chitpavan Peshwas. Lured by the good fortune of their caste fellows, the Chitpavans migrated in large numbers to the Deccan, especially to Poona, the seat of the Peshwas. There they quickly rose in stature and influence, getting jobs as clerks, military men and diplomats and claiming economic privileges as well.

The end of power and glory seems to have come in 1818, when the British swallowed up the Maratha kingdom. But the Chitpavans have a remarkable ability to rise to the top in any situation. They were helped by the British decision initially to support traditional Indian society. Thus Brahmin privileges and leadership were left undisturbed for a time. The Chitpavans hastened to fill the same kind of clerical government jobs they had held before, this time for the Bombay Presidency instead of the Maratha Kingdom.

But, if they were willing to serve the British Raj, not all were happy with the state of things. They remained loyal servants of the Crown, until the moment came to strike. Wasudeo Balwant Phadke was one man who dreamed of restoring the Peshwa to his prime. In 1879 he left his job as an insignificant Government clerk to lead a motley group of Ramoshis in the countryside.. He was captured but not before inspiring a few fellow Chitpavans and giving the British a good scare.

Even before Phadke's attempt, the British distrusted the Chitpavans. Montstuart Elphinston, first Governor of the Bombay Presidency after the land of the Marathas was acquired, described them venomously as an "intriguing, lying, corrupt, licentious race of people". Perhaps his bitterness stemmed from learning of a plot reported by a British officer: allegedly some Chitpavans were planning to murder all the Europeans in Poona and Satara. While the British sputtered over this, the Chitpavans quietly acquired the western education which had become the key to success in changed Maharashtra. Soon they were flocking into the new fields of law, journalism and western scholarship.

The effects varied. Some were dazzled and attracted by the new ideas. Students of Deccan College in Poona chose, in 1892, as a motto for their literary quarterly:

Stepping westward seems to be, A kind of heavenly destiny.

This was later changed.

Among social reformers was D. K. Karve, who established a home and school for young widows. Encouraging widow marriage, he practised as he preached by marrying a widow himself. Many, like M.G. Ranade, debated and wrote in favour of widow marriage and raising the age of consent. Whether it was by devoting their life to service in G. K. Gokhale's Servants of India Society or sacrificing their life by murdering a British officer, the Chitpavans have rarely been slow to act. They have used their pens to stir the fires of social reform and nationalist feeling. Lokamanya Tilak and Shivram Mahadeo Paranjpe both landed in jail for their pains. Vishnushashtri Chiplunkar wrote Our Country's Condition -to attack British rule on the one hand and Mahatma Phule's non-Brahmin movement on the other.

Yet some of the strongest resistance to change has come from the very same community. Jealously guarding their Brahmin stature, the orthodox among the Chitpavans were not eager to see the Shastras challenged, nor the conduct of the Brahmins becoming indistinguishable from that of the Sudras. In any case resistance to change is not surprising from a group that benefited so much from the status quo. The Chitpavans were on top, so why move? The vanguard and the old guard clashed many times. Ranade and other reformers were forced to offer penance for breaking purity rules. D. K. Karve was ostracised. Even Tilak made a visit to Varanasi so that he may not be excommunicated.

Diverse as the community was, it shared one thing : the memory of the Peshwas. Ever since Balaji showed up in the Maratha Court , the Chitpavan have had a hand in government. This tradition was carried on by men like Justice Ranade and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Both urged peaceful reforms in British policy. Ranade and another young Chitpavan intellectual, G. V. Joshi formed the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha in 1870 as a representative body to recommend changes to the Government. And moderate like Gokhale and Ranade led the Congress in its early ventures in political reform.

But there was another side to the Chitpavan's political activity: terrorism. The Chapekar Brothers formed the Society for the Removal of Obstacles to the Hindu Religion. One of the obstacles, apparently, was Plague Commissioner Rand, and on a June night in 1897 he was "removed".

Other conspiracies brewed, sometimes among students of Fergusson College, which had been established by such eminent Chitpavans as Tilak, V. S. Apte and Gokhale. Another pair of young brothers Vinayak and Ganesh Savarkar, planned with their friends ways of overthrowing the British. When Ganesh was convicted of writing inflammatory verse, in 1909, the District Magistrate of Nasik was murdered in revenge. Twenty-seven men were convicted as members of the conspiracy. Most of them were Chitpavans.

If any man reconciled the opposing elements in this diverse community, it was Bal Gangadhar Tilak. A revered public figure, he was at one and the same time orthodox and revolution. Though not against all social change, he opposed British social legislation, insisting that it must come from the people. Tilak was a master in drawing the masses into political movements. He revived the Ganapati celebration and renewed people's interest n Shivaji, making both vehicles of political action.

For two centuries, the Chitpavans stayed a step ahead, always moving fat enough to retain positions of power. But, with Tilka's death in 1920, history passed them by. The Congress Party, which Tilak had so greatly influenced, became the party of Gandhiji. Discontented Maharashtrian Brahmins now began to leave the Congress and non-Brahmins quietly took their places in the 1930s and 1940s. When Independence came, the Chitpavans found the Congress dominated by non-Brahmins. Though they were among the leaders in other parties, democracy was bound to belittle minorities. The Brahmins -one or two per cent of the population - could not hope to carry much weight politically.

Nathuram Vinayak Godse was probably the last of the Chitpavan terrorist and certainly the most infamous. When the news of his assassination of Gandhiji reached Maharashta violence was directed against the communalist Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh, but, to many observers, the riots were essentially anti-Brahmin. Once for all, the idea of a unified society content with Brahmin paternalism was exposed as a myth.

When the mobs had gone home, the problem of anti-Brahmin feeling remained. The Chitpavans were forced to seek new life-patterns for a world that was suddenly less friendly. Politically, the trend has been to stay away from the Congress. One scholar notes that Brahmin votes go to both 'Left' and 'Right' candidates but not to the Congress. Indeed, the Chitpavans have continued to supply political leadership on both sides of the fence - to the Communist and Socialist Parties as well as to the Hindu Mahasabha and Jana Sangh. Their national leaders include N. G. Goray of the Praja Socialist Party and S. M. Joshi of the Samyukta Socialist Party. V. D. Savarkar was for years leader of the revivalist Hindu Mahasabha.

How to tell a Chitpavan

A typical Chitpavan is usually fair of complexion, has a sharp nose and steel-grey eyes. He can be called handsome. Nanasaheb Peshwa (18th century), from a portrait that is available may be called best specimen of Chitpavan manhood. Nanasaheb's son Vishwasrao, when 18, was killed in the Third Battle of Panipat (1761). Kashiraj has described him as the most handsome among the Marathas; even in death he looked so handsome that Ahmedshah Abdali ordered his dead body to be brought before him - in order to have a look at his handsome person. The Chitpavans cannot be classed among the well-built communities of Maharashtra. Chitpavan girls possess good physical features but tend to took pale. A few historians and anthropologists are of the view that the Chitpavans came to India from Egypt, while others say they came from Greece. The Chitpavans are generally extremists, hence their behaviour is full of contradiction. A Chitpavan may sacrifice his life for his country but he will not easily part with his purse. That is why perhaps the Chitpavan community has produced a number of fiery patriots but not a single saint. Chitpavan's are generally assumed to be tidy, clean and industrious. Typical Chitpavan surnames are Abhyankar, Apte, Bapat, Bhide, Marathe, Phadke, Ranade, Tilak, Gokhale, Joshi, Ketkar,Paranjpe, Karve, Sathe, Bhate Chitale and At last Puranik's

Some traditional chitpavans are also know to tend to promulgating debatable issues of caste bias.

Eminent/Famous Konkanastha Brahmins

Literature/Scholars

Vasant Sathe (Ex. Union Cabinet Minister of India )
G. N. Dandekar (Go Ni Dandekar)
Prin. V.K. Joag (Modern Education Society)
Irawati Karve
Hari Narayan Apte
Gangadhar Gadgil
Shivram Ganesh Barve(satode valpoi Goa ..eminent freedom fighter
Shri. Ja. Joshi
Raghunath D. Joshi, Writer and Critic of Indian Philosophy
Na. Si. Phadke
Malti Bedekar, feminist and Marathi novel writer
Pandurang Vaman Kane (Bharat Ratna awardee)
S N Pendse (Shri Nā)
Vi Ka Rajwade (Itihasacharya Rajwade)
Vasant Kanetkar
Vinda Karandikar (Jnanapeeth Awardee 2003)
Madhav Vaze
Vishram Bedekar
Krishnaji Keshav Damle(Keshavsoot)
Wrangler Paranjpe
Durga Bhagwat, Writer, Scholar and Critic of Indological studies
Vivekanand Godbole, Historian (author of ``Subhey Kalyan", ``Hindu Sanskruti Anee Kalyan")
Ashok Gadgil, Scientist with LBL.
Kedar Joshi, Superultramodern Science / Philosophy
Narendra Karmarkar, renowned computer scientist at Bell labs who invented his own algorithm for linear programming for which he won ACM's Paris Kanellakis Award
Navakanta Bhat, Swarnajayanti Fellowship, 2004-2005, IISc
Dr.Prabhakara Joshi, Yakshagana Talamaddale performer, Critic, Scholar, Educator
Daji Nagesh Apte, Sanskrit/Jyotish scholar
Prakash M. Apte, Eisenhower Exchange Fellow USA 1988, Town Planner of new capital of Gujarat.

Politics/Social Reform =

Achyutrao Patwardhan
Anant Kanhere
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Balukaka Kanitkar
Bhai Vaidya
Bhausaheb Patankar
Chandrashekhar Hari Joshi
Chintamanrao Appasaheb Patwardhan(Padmabhushan, ruler of Sangli)
Dhondo Keshav Karve
Raghunath Keshav Khadilkar (Union Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation, Member of Parliament)
Veer Savarkar
R. N. Mandlik{Ramabhau Mandlik} (IS THIS PERSON A KONKANASTHA BRAHMIN ??)
Ganu Vaidya
Gopal Ganesh Agarkar
Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Gurudeo Ranade
Kakasaheb Gadgil
Krantiveer Chapekar
Krushnaji Gopal Karve
Laxmibai Tilak
Mahadev Govind Ranade
N. V. Tilak (Reverend Tilak)
N.G.Gore
Narubhau Limaye
Sane Guruji

Nathuram Godse (Hutatma Pandit Nathuram Godse)
Pandita Ramabai
Peshawas
Raghunath Dhondo Karve
Ramray Kelkar Maharaj
S.M. Joshi
Senapati Bapat
Shankarrao Soman
Shivram Paranjape (Kaal Karte Paranjape)
Shivajirao Patwardhan{Padmashri}
Sudhir Joshi
Swami Swaroopananda
Vasant Bapat
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (Swatantryaveer Savarkar)
Vinoba Bhave
Vitthalrao Gadgil
Wamanrao Joshi
Babarao Bhide

Industry

C.V. Joag (Bank of Maharashtra)
Chitale Bandhu (makers of fine sweets)
Dandekars (CAMLIN)
P. N. Gadgil (Bullionaires since 1832)
Waman Hari Pethe (Bullionaires since last 100 years)
Dadasaheb Velankar (coaching class owner)
Vikram Pandit
Mohan Vijay Vaze (Vaze Consultancy)
Mangesh Vijay Vaze (Vaze Consultancy)
Jayant Joshi (publishers of Pravasi Diary)
Sathe (Sathe biscuits and chocolates co.)
Mr. Mukund Bhogale MD, Nirlep Industries

Sport

Ajit Agarkar (Indian National Cricket team)
D. B. Deodhar (Cricket Maharshi Deodhar)
Hemant Kanitkar(Indian National Cricket team)
Hrishikesh Kanitkar(Indian National Cricket team)
Harsha Bhogle(International Cricket Analyst, Commentator, Television Host)

Medicine

Anandibai Joshi, first woman doctor of India
Ajit Phadke, urologist and surgeon of Bombay
RV Sathe, physician and Vice-Chancellor, University of Bombay
Ravi Bapat, surgeon at the K.E.M. Hospital
Sudhakar Sane, noted Surgeon and Forensic Pathologist
Santosh Karmarkar Pediatric surgeon, at Mumbai, Maharashtra
Govind Datar Pediatric Surgeon, at Pune, Maharashtra

Information Technology

Cinema/Theatre

Music

Typical Last Names

The List of Chitpavan last names enumerates all the last names found in the Chitpavan community. "Achari", "Acharya","Dixit","Patwardhan","Katke","Kapse","Kaketkar","Vyas","Puranik", "Sahastrabudhe","Bakshi",are some of the surname which were given as per the profession or as a "UPADHI", "REWARD", "BAKSHISI". This happened in between seventeen and eighteen's ,when Chitpavan community was at rising stage , they joined in the "ARMY" and won various territories, won "Debate" and become "Sahastrabudhe" ,learn Vedanta and become "Pandit", "Acharya","Dixit", took too many rewards and become "Patwardhan","Thorat","Bakshi" . Similar to this according to the occupation , "Achari","Devdhar", "Swayampaki","Wagh", "Heer", "Pandive", "Reshmekhar", "Pathekar" , "Sukhadkar","Harbude","Khangle","Khule","Rajwade","Mahabal","Rajmachikar","Nagarkar", and lot many Surname's were given as per the profession or as a "UPADHI" to Chitpavan community. This may or may not be in use today.

Typical First Names

Male names

Amod Amrith Amol

Aditya
Amay/Amey/Ameya
Anand
Anant
Ashok
Chandrashekhar
Chintamani
Gajanan
Gopal
Hrishikesh
Kedar
Mandar
Manish
Omkar
Parshuram
Prashant
Ranjan
Rohan
Shreyash
Shrikant
Shrirang
Sourabh
Swapnil
Tushar
Shridhar
Shantanu
Saurabh
Deepak
Vinayak
Ballal
Prasad

Female names

Aditi
Ashwini
Ketaki
Manjiri
Namrata
Prajakta
Purnima
Shruti
Vidya
Janhavi
Medha
Vanita
Nirmala
Amey
Varsha

Trivia

Sir Raghunathrao P. Paranjpe, grandfather of noted Hindi and Marathi film director Sai Paranjpe, was the first Indian Wrangler (Wrangler-Mathematics topper at Cambridge University, England). Sai, daughter of Sir R.P.P.'s daughter and a Russian father is a noted Hindi and Marathi movie and drama director, having given major hits like Chashme Baddoor, Katha, Sparsh, etc.

References

Chitpavanism - by Jagannath Dixit
Chitpawan - by Na. Go. Chapekar (1940, reprinted 1968)
Amhi sare chitpawan - by M.C. Dixit (2002)

External links