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=Brahmam-Deshastha=
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This article is an extract from <br/>

THE CASTES AND TRIBES <br/>

OF <br/>

H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS <br/>

BY <br/>

SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN <br/>

Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and <br/>

Middle Temple, London. <br/>

One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court <br/>

of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. <br/>

BOMBAY <br/>

THE TlMES PRESS <br/>

1920<br/>
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[[Category:India|B]]
[[Category:Communities|B]]

(Titles— Pant, Rao, Desai, Deshmukh, Deshpande, Kulkarni
The Deshasthas, who form the bulk of the Maratha 
Brahmans in the Nizam's territory, derive their name from the Desh, 
or the highland tract above the Western Ghats lying between the 
Narbada and the Krishna rivers. They claim to be the earliest 
settlers on the soil, having been brought from Aryawartha by 
Parshuram from whom, it is alleged, they received the land as a gift. 
They are generally of a darker complexion than the Kokanasthas. 
They have four sub-divisions — (1) Ashwalayan ; (2) Apasthamba ; (3) 
Madhyandinas ; (4) Kanvas or Pratham-Shakis ; deriving their names 
from the Shakhas they follow. The first two sub-divisions comprise 
one endogamcjs group and have no matrimonial relations with the 
other two suB-divisons. The Ashwalayanas are also called 
Rigvedis, the two together signifying that the members of the sub- 
caste are Rigvedis of the Ashwalayan Shakhas. The Apastambhas 
belong to the Taitirya Shakha of Krishna (black) Yajurveda who 
respect the sutra of Apaistambha. The Madhyandinas derive their 
name from the fact that they reckon day from mid-day to mid-day, 
at which tirae they perform their religious ceremonies and offer 
Sandhya, i.e., their daily adoration to the goddess Gayatri. They 
are Shukla Yajurvedis (white) of the Madhyandin Shakha. The 
Kanwas are also known as Pratham Shakhis because they are the 
first Shakha of the white Yajurveda. Some of the Deshasthas are 
Samvedis, or Samaka, but, having lost their special shakha, they 
now intermarry with the Rigvedis. 

==Internal Structure==

The exogamous sections or gotras of the 
sub-caste are very numerous and are of the eponymous type. In the 
Nirnaya Sindhu, by Kamalaker Bhatta, the Brahmans of Western 
India are represented as having primarily sprung from seven gotras 
founded on the seven Rishis— Bhrigu, Angirasa (embracing the 
Gautamas and Bharadwajas), Atri, Vishwamitra, Kashyapa, Vasishta, 
and Agasti, which have now branched and sub-branched innumer- 
ably. Unlike the Kokanasthas, they have no surnames, their family 
names being based upon the place of their residence, or the calling 
they pursue. The rule of exogamy u ^the same as prevails among 
the Kokanasthas. In addition to one's own gotra, the Madhyandinas 
avoid their maternal uncle's goira in inatrimonial alliances. The 
Rigvedi Deshasthas, on the other hand, allow a man to marry his 
maternal uncle's daughter and the Kanwas go a step further and 
recognise a man's marriage with the daughter of his elder sister. 

==Religion==

In matters of religion, the Deshastha Brahmans are 
either — (1) Smartha, or the followers of Shankeracharya, or (2) 
Vaishnavas, of the sect of Madhwacharya, the founder of Dwaitism 
(Duism), which identifies Vishnu with the supreme spirit as the pre- 
existent cause of the universe, and which separates the_ Jivatma from 
the Paramatma, or the principle of life from the Supreme Being. A 
few of the Deshasthas are ShakKtas, or the worshippers of Shaktis 
(female energies) and carry out their abominable practices in secrecy. 

The Smarthas perform Sandya devotion every morning and 
evening, pay daily homage to Pitras, or Manes, and worship all the 
gods of the Hindu pantheon, especially the five principal ones 
(Pancha))atan) — Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, Ganpati and Devi. Their 
sectarian mark is vibhuti (cow-dung ashes), which they smear in three 
transverse streaks on their foreheads and which, after the puja is 
over, they replace by a sandal spot. 

The Madhvas pay devotion to Vishnu alone, worshipping him 
daily in the form of Shaligram (fossil ammonite). Unlike the Shri 
Vaishanavas (followers of Ramanuja), they are friendly disposed 
towards the Shaiva sects. Their sectarian mark is a smear of ' 
gopichandan (ochre) on the forehead in two perpendicular linep, 
running from the nose to the root oFthe hair, with a central line of 
charcoal, divided in the middle by a circular turmeric patch at the 
centre. When being initiated, a Madhva is marked on the shoulders 
and on the breast with the shankha or conch shell, the chakra or 
wheel, and other emblems of Vishnu, the stamp used being of red 
hot iron.* With Shaktas the favourite object of v/orship is Durga 
or Shakti (female energy) in whose essence it is considered all 
existence is concentrated. • 

The patron deities of the Deshasthas are Bhairoba of Sonari, 
Shri Bhavani of Tuljapur and Mahur, Khandoba^ of Jejuri, Shri 
Narsinha and Shri Vyankat9sh of Tripati. Each Deshastha family 
has its own family or patron deity worshipped with great ceremony 
either on the Paurnima (the '1 5th) of Chaitra (March-April) or on the ^ 
15th of Kartika (October-November). The members of the sub- 
caste observe all the Hindu fasts and keep all their festivals. 

==Occupation==

With respect to their occupation, the Deshastha 
Brahmans may be divided into two classes. (1) Grinasthas or house- 
holders and (2) Bhikshuks or religious mendicants. The former 
include Government servants, merchants, money-lenders, bankers, 
land-holders and village accountants. Some of the land-holders, such 
as Deshmukhs, Deshpandes and Patels, are hereditary farmers holding 
permanent tenures. Other are occupancy and non-occupancy ryots. 
Their titles are Pant, Rao. Desai, Sir-Desai, Deshmukh, Sir- 
Deshmukh,' Deshpande, Sir-Deshpande, Mokasi, Kulkarm, Pali!, 
&c. Their aliases are: — Baba (father), Bhau (brother), Dada 
(brother), Kaka (uncle), Mama (maternal uncle), Jatya, Aba, 
Appa and Anna. The Bhikshukas comprise Vgiidiks (reciters of the 
Vedas), Shastris (expounders of the laws), Puraniks (readers of the 
Purans), Joshis (astrologers), Vaidyas (physicians), Haridasas (reli- 
gious preachers) and' Brahmacharis (religious students). The 
Bhikshukas act as famjly priests to their own caste as well to the 
inferior castes. They are vegetarians, abstain from all intoxicating 
liquors, and eat only from the hands of those who come up to their 
own standard of ceremonial purity.