Information About The Gowda Saraswat Brahmins Of The Konkan Coast
The Gowda Saraswat Brahmins [GSB] of the Konkan coast, are not restricted to Karnataka alone, and are spread over parts of Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bengal and Punjab too. Although a small community, they are a strong and well established, with a great network all over the world.
They believe to have originated from around the river Saraswati, which flows from the Himalayas to join the Arabian Sea. But for many a reason unknown, she [river Saraswati] remains a mystery and the only proof of her existence being photographs taken from the sky.
Konkan is infact derived from two Sanskrit words Kona[corner] and Ankana[demarcated area]. They call themselves Rajapur Saraswats from the Vedic times, where mention of the GSB has been made in the Rig Veda and Yajur Veda. Another popular belief is that Sage Parashuram brought them down to the South coastal region, only to protect them from the exploitation of the Kshatriyas up North.
Well versed in Sanskrit, they were known for their strong upholding of religious beliefs. But due to the supremacy of the Kshatriyas and other Muslim rulers, they were forced to practice their religion in secret, without upsetting the rulers. As a result many of them were forcibly embraced Islam. Even to this day, you find Konkani speaking Muslims in Northern Karnataka, mostly fishermen by profession.
The most authentic belief however is that Saraswat was the son of Maharshi Dadichi [and this clan are descendants of him] and it was the river Goddess Saraswati who brought him up. He was used to doing a lot of research as a young boy, for the river used to constantly dry up, and people had no other go but to go elsewhere in search of food and water. But Saraswat was detained by Mother each time, with the promise of food and water.
Hindus by nature, they perform most of the Hindu festivals along with their special ones like Karkala Teru and Kadai Teru [teru in Konkani means procession]. Their cuisine very unique includes a lot of coconut, coconut oil, tamarind and jackfruit. A sub-sect of the GSB the Satvik Brahmins, live very much on the lines of Jains, so not use underground grown vegetables like onions and garlic.
For some, the inclusion of fish which became a routine when the river dried up, inclusion of fish is not considered as a non-vegetarian food. For survival, fish was consumed and was called Sea Vegetable. Oysters too are called Samudra-Phalam or sea fruit!!
Very strange, but true and that is how the Gowda Saraswat Brahmins have been living down the ages!!
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