Prabhu Communities

Last updated

The 'Prabhu caste' or Prabhu communities are a group of related Hindu castes belonging to the former ruling caste of soldiers and landlords of Northern districts of Konkan region in Maharashtra, India. There are four such castes, all having different ritual and social status within the caste system of Maharashtra, but all of them having traditions traced back to the 12th century which label them as endogamous subdivisions of Kshatriyas of Solar ans Lunar descent. They are Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu, Pathare Prabhu, Kanchole Prabhus and the Danved Prabhu.

Contents

Introduction

The Prabhu caste or group of Prabhu subcastes of the traditional pan-India Kshatriya caste are subdivided into many castes.

Some sources refer to them by their full name but some are ambiguous as to which specific Prabhu community they are referring to. In other sources, context can be used to identify the specific caste. In some sources, Pathare Prabhus and Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu's have been jointly referred to as Prabhu Communities.[ citation needed ][ further explanation needed ]

Details

Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) & pathare prabhu

The CKP are considered superior to the other Prabhu communities. They are a ritually high caste and are considered socially proximate to Maharashtrian Brahmin community. Along with the Saraswat, Deshastha and Chitpawan they have been considered as an "advanced caste" due to similarities in education and occupational status. [1] [3] [4] [5]

The Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) and Pathare Prabhu are considered intellectual classes (other than Brahmins) and have been advanced in education. Both have vedic upanayana (thread ceremonies or 'munj' in marathi) and their 'vedokta' or rights to study of Vedas and perform Vedic rituals has been formally approved by the Brahmin councils and ratified by the Shankaracharyas based on shastras. In case of Pathare Prabhus the formal approval was given by the Shankaracharya of Shingeri and in the case of CKPs by Brahmin councils of Pune, Banares, Bajirao II and the Shankaracharya of Karvir and Sanakareshwar Math (a Deshastha Brahmin). [6] [7] [8] [lower-alpha 1] [2] [9] [10] [ excessive citations ]

Kanchole Prabhus

The Drauv (or Dhurus) are also known as Kanchole Prabhus. It is said that they were part of the Pathare Prabhu community but were excommunicated for disobeying caste rules. The Kacholes made several attempts and appeals to the Pathare Prabhu caste to accept them back. The first was made in 1836, the second and third in 1881. In November 1881, 38 gentlemen from the Pathare Prabhu community confirmed the Kanchole's "purity of blood", similar religious beliefs, similar gotras and characteristics and professions, similarity in writings, status etc. Despite these proofs they were not readmitted due to rigid 19th century rules regarding caste pollution. [2] [ further explanation needed ]

Notable People

Notes

  1. ↑ quote on page 173:Rajvadyanchi Gagabhatti appendix 4, pp-1-21. The Shankaracharya's letter contains three documents which he produces verbatim, two from Banares Brahmins (1779, 1801) proving the CKPs vedokta and one from Pune Brahmins award Ratified by Bajirav II in 1796.

Related Research Articles

The Maratha caste is composed of 96 clans, originally formed in the earlier centuries from the amalgamation of families from the peasant (Kunbi), shepherd (Dhangar), blacksmith (Lohar), carpenter (Sutar), Bhandari, Thakar and Koli castes in Maharashtra. Many of them took to military service in the 16th century for the Deccan sultanates or the Mughals. Later in the 17th and 18th centuries, they served in the armies of the Maratha Empire, founded by Shivaji, a Maratha Kunbi by caste. Many Marathas were granted hereditary fiefs by the Sultanates, and Mughals for their service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pathare Prabhu</span> Hindu community in Maharashtra, India

Pathare Prabhu is one of the Hindu communities found mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Kulkarni is a family name native to the Indian state of Maharashtra and parts of Karnataka. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words. Kula means "family", and Karanika means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title given to the village record keeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayastha</span> Community of India

Kayastha or Kayasth denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally located—the Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus of Maharashtra, the Bengali Kayasthas of Bengal and Karanas of Odisha. All of them were traditionally considered "writing castes", who had historically served the ruling powers as administrators, ministers and record-keepers.

Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and North Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Brahmins are also concentrated in the states of Telangana (which was earlier part of Hyderabad State and Berar Division), Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Which was earlier part of Central Provinces and Berar) Historian Pran Nath Chopra and journalist Pritish Nandy say, "Most of the well-known saints from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were Deshastha Brahmins". The mother tongue of Deshastha Brahmins is either Marathi, Kannada or Telugu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitpavan Brahmins</span> Indian Brahmin sub-caste inhabiting Konkan region

The Chitpavan Brahmin or the Kokanastha 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 came into prominence during the 18th century when the heirs of Peshwa from the Bhat family of Balaji Vishwanath became the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. Until the 18th century, the Chitpavans were held in low esteem by the Deshastha, the older established Brahmin community of Karnataka-Maharashtra region.

Karhaḍe 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.

Deshpande is a surname native to the Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The surname can be also found in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Deshpande surname is found among the Deshastha Brahmins, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus (CKP).

Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) or historically and commonly known as Chandraseniya Prabhu or just Prabhu is an ethnic group mainly found in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. They held the posts such as Deshpande and Gadkari according to the historian, B.R. Sunthankar, produced some of the best warriors in Maharashtrian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marathi people</span> Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to western India

The Marathi people 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 Marathi-speaking state of India on May 1, 1960, as part of a nationwide linguistic reorganisation of the Indian states. The term "Maratha" is generally used by historians to refer to all Marathi-speaking peoples, irrespective of their caste; However, now it may refer to a Maharashtrian caste known as the Maratha.

Kotnis is the surname found in multiple communities in Maharashtra. It can belong to the Deshastha Brahmin, Saraswats or Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu(CKP).

Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB), also known as Shenvis are a Hindu community of contested caste status and identity. They primarily speak Konkani and its various dialects as their mother tongue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Maharashtra</span> Overview of the culture of Maharashtra (India)

Maharashtra is the third largest state of India in terms of land area and second largest in terms of population in India. It has a long history of Marathi saints of Varakari religious movement, such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath and Tukaram which forms the one of bases of the culture of Maharashtra or Marathi culture. Maharashtrian culture had large influence over neighbouring regions under the Maratha Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prabodhankar Thackeray</span> Indian activist

Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, was an Indian social reformer. He campaigned against superstitions, untouchability, child marriage and dowry. He was also a prolific author.

Marathi 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 subcastes that come under Maharashtra Brahmins include Deshastha, Chitpavan (Konkanastha), Saraswat, Karhade, and Devrukhe.

Gramanya refers to a dispute or discussion related to castes in Maharashtra in the past few centuries that related to supposed violation of the Brahmanical ritual code of behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maratha titles</span> Titles used by Maratha community of India

The following list includes a brief about the titles of nobility or orders of chivalry used by the Marathas of India and by the Marathis/Konkanis in general.

Gadkari is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. Gadkari surname is found among the Hindu CKP and Deshastha Brahmin communities.

Sakharam Hari Gupte was born in Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) family, and was the commander and tipnis (secretary) of Peshwa Bajirao I. For few years he worked under Peshwa Nanasaheb and then became the General of Raghunathrao Peshwa. He was responsible for conquering Attock on the banks of the Indus and repelling the Durrani ruler, Ahmad Shah Abdali out of India in the 1750s.

Parasnis or Parasnavis is a title and surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra and North Karnataka.

References

  1. 1 2 Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's communities-Anthropological Survey of India, VolumeIV. Oxford University press. p. 635. [ckp].. superior to the three other divisions namely Pathare Prabhus, Davaned Prabhu and Dhauv Prabhu
  2. 1 2 3 Vijaya Gupchup. Bombay: Social Change 1813-1857. p. 166,180,184,185,186. (page 166,185)The other intellectual class, the Prabhus were once again subdivided in the Chnadraseniya Kayastha Prabhu and the Pathare Prabhus
  3. ↑ André Béteille (1991). Society and Politics in India: Essays in a Comparative Perspective. Athlone Press. p. 48. Although the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu are non-Brahmins, they rank very high and might be regarded as being socially proximate to the Koknastha Brahman.
  4. ↑ Champa Aphale (1976). Growing Up in an Urban Complex. National Publishing House. p. 5. advanced castes among the maharashtrians viz. Brahmins. In this groups were also included families belonging to the chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu besides the three subscastes among the brahmins, viz. Kokanastha Brahmins, Deshastha Brahmins and Saraswat Brahmins. The reason for this was that, though non-Brahmins, these C.K.P. families were very much near the Brahmin families as regards their educational and occupational status.
  5. ↑ Kurtz Dr, Donald V (1997). Book Contradictions and Conflict: A Dialectical Political Anthropology of a University in Western India (Studies in Human Society, Vol 9). p. 68. ISBN   9004098283. ... CKPs. They represent a small but literate and ritually high caste.
  6. ↑ "The American Economic Review - Volume 96, Issues 3-4". Nashville, Tenn. American Economic Association. 2006: 1228. High castes include all the Brahmin jatis, as well as a few other elite jatis (CKP and Pathare Prabhus).Low castes include formerly untouchable and backward castes (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes, as defined by the government of India). Medium castes are drawn mostly from the cultivator jatis, such as the Marathas and the Kunbis, as well as other traditional vocations that were not considered to be ritually impure.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Utsa Patnaik; Terence J. Byres; K. N. Panikkar, eds. (2002). The Making of History: Essays Presented to Irfan Habib (Anthem South Asian Studies). Anthem Press. p. 197. ISBN   9781843310389.
  8. ↑ Milton Israel and N.K.Wagle, ed. (1987). Religion and Society in Maharashtra. Center for South Asian Studies, University of Toronto, Canada.
  9. ↑ KS Singh (1998). India's communities. Oxford University Press. p. 2083. ..the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu observe the thread-wearing (janeu) ceremony for male children. They cremate the dead and observe death pollution for ten days.
  10. ↑ Sulabha Brahme, Ashok Upadhyaya (2004). Agrarian structure, movements & peasant organisations in India, Volume 2. V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. p. 29. ISBN   9788178270647. Besides Brahmins, the other communities advanced in education are Kayastha Prabhu, Pathare Prabhu found mainly in the...
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.