The Saraswat Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin subcaste, who have spread from Kashmir in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara and Kerala in South India. The word Saraswat is derived from the Rigvedic Sarasvati River.
Shirali is a village in Bhatkal taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. Shirali is home to two prominent temples: the Chitrapur Math and the Maha Ganapathi Mahammaya Temple. The Chitrapur Math is the holiest temple of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community, and the Maha Ganapathi Mahammaya temple is the Kuladev to the Kamaths, Bhats, Puraniks, Prabhus, Joishys, Mallyas, Kudvas and Nayak families from the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community.
Chitrapur Saraswats are a small Konkani-speaking community of Hindu Brahmins in India. They are traditionally found along the Kanara coast and call themselves Bhanaps in the Konkani language.
Gaud Saraswat Brahmins are a Hindu ethno-religious community that is part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community that migrated to Konkan from Gaud, as per the Skanda Purana in ancient India. They belong to the Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana groups.They primarily speak Konkani and it's various dialects, as their mother tongue.
Shri Chitrapur Math is the central math for the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin sect and for Smartist Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Samaj. This Math is located at Shirali in the Bhatkal Taluk in North Kanara district of Karnataka and has been there since 1757. The other Maths of this community are located in Gokarna, Karla, Mangalore and Mallapur. All the Maths have the insignia of the saffron flag as shown right, below.
Shri Gokarna Math or Partagali Math is the first Goud Saraswat Mathas of the Dvaita order, a system established by Jagadguru Madhvacharya in the 13th century AD. This matha also called Partagali Jivottama and is headquartered in Partagali, a small town in South Goa, on the banks of the river Kushavati.
The Chitrapur Guru Parampara or Guru Heritage of the Chitrāpur Sāraswat Brahmins is the lineage of spiritual teachers (gurus), also known as Mathadhipatis who have led the community throughout its history.
Swami Parijnanashram I, or Adi Parijnanashram, was the first guru and Mathadhipati, or head of a matha, of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins. He is said to have been ordained by Lord Bhavanishankar in 1708 to guide the Chitrapur Saraswat community.
Swami Shankarashram I was the second guru and Mathādhipati of the Chitrāpur Sāraswats. He was ordained as the Mathādhipati in 1720 and served as the head till his death in 1757. He was the shishya (disciple) of Swami Parijñānāshram I.
Swami Parijnanashram II was the third Guru and Mathādhipati of the Chitrāpur Sāraswats whose reign was between 1757 and 1770. He was ordained as the guru by the elders of the community after Swami Shankarāshram I died without selecting a shishya (disciple). Normally it is the shishya who ordained by the guru, who succeeds as the guru of the community.
Swami Shankarāshram II was the fourth head guru or Mathādhipati of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community. His reign was from 1770 to 1785.
Swami Keshavashram was the fifth guru of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community, that is, the Fifth Mathādhipati (head of the Chitrāpur Matha) of the community. His reign was from 1785 to 1823, a period of 38 years. He became the head of the community after his teacher (guru) Swami Shankarāshram died in 1785.
Swami Vāmanāshram was the sixth guru of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community(6th in the Guru Parampara). His period of reign was for 16 years from 1823 to 1839.
Swami Parijnanashram III was the tenth guru of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community. He succeeded his teacher Swami Ānandāshram in 1966 after the latter died.
Chitrapur is a village in Bhatkal Taluka, Uttar Kannada District, Karnataka, India. The religious headquarters of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, is in this town. The town, initially a small village was improved upon under the guidance of the Saraswat swamis. The small village of Chitrapur was built according to the idea of town-planning with a road in the middle and houses and gardens on both sides. It became a miniature municipality with street lamps lit during the night and roads swept clean. The mathadhipatis also constructed the Shiv-Ganga Sarovar at Chitrapur, the erection of a storeyed building at Panchavati, starting of schools for boys and girls. They helped build a post office with quarters for the post-master and a vegetable market at Chitrapur. The Chitrapur Math has many ancient Hindu statues in a museum.
Saraswat cuisine is the cuisine of the Saraswat Brahmins from the Konkan region on the western coast of India. Saraswat cuisine differs within the Saraswat Brahmin subsects and within the Konkan-Canara region. Saraswat cuisine originally hails from the Konkan region including Uttara Kannada, Udupi district, Dakshina Kannada, Damaon, and Goa, India. Saraswat cuisine is popular served in many restaurants throughout the western coast of India, and especially in the cities of Bombay and Bangalore. Each variation has its unique flavour and makes uses of different vegetables and fruits available in the region. Saraswat cuisine is usually pesco-vegetarian, except acharyas and purohits who follow a strictly saatvik vegetarian diet. According the Saraswat folklore, fish meats are regarded as sea vegetables. Historically, they have refrained from eating any terrestrial animals in general.
Ananadasharm High School one of the oldest high schools in Uttar Kannada, was a private school located in Bankikodla-Hanehalli. The school was funded by M.N.Kulakrni, A. Kagal, D. M. Nadkarni and Datta master (Nadkarni) Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins from Bankikodla-Hanehalli and the local people. Kulkarni was a press owner in Mumbai and Datta master was the Headmaster of the English middle school then in Bankikodla. Later the school was converted to a high school in 1943. The school is now supported by the Karnataka state government.
Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, also known as Kavaḷē maṭha, located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa, is the oldest matha of the Smarthan Saraswat Brahman Samaj. It was founded by Gauḍapāda around 740 AD, whose student was Govinda Bhagavatpada, the guru of Adi Shankara, a highly influential figure in Hinduism. There is also a belief that Gauḍapāda himself established the Shri Gaudapadacharya matha when he lived in Gomantak (Goa). Thus, the matha came to be known as Shri Saunstan Gaudapadacharya matha. Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is not a polemical center established to influence the faith of all Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only Dakshinatya Saraswat Brahmins. The Peetadhipathi "head monk" is Śrī Gauḍapadācārya. Smartist Goud Saraswat Brahman Samaj and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin are its main disciples.
The Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is the foremost temple of Gowda Saraswatha Brahmins in and around Thalassery.
