Society of Goa | Goa State PSC (GPSC) Preparation - GPSC (Goa) PDF Download

 Page 1


 
SOCIETY 
The role played by the society in shaping the 
civilisation and Culture of every region is of considerable 
importance. The contribution of the society towards the 
development of art, architecture, sculpture, religion, 
philosophy, literature and music cannot be underestimated. 
Therefore, a brief survey of the society of the region of Goa 
is necessary. 
The society is divided into four varnas were mainly the 
Brahmins, the elite class, engaged in priestly duties. In 
social hierarchy Kshatriyas occupied the next position and 
this class was the mainly of the rulers and the warriors. The 
third varna was of Vaishyas (mercantile community). The fourth 
and the lowest varna was of Shudras. This constituted mainly 
of servants. 
The works of Indian History published during the early 
decades of this century suffered on account of two 
assumptions. Most of the writers assumed that the society in 
early India remained more or less static and occified. 
Secondly, it was believed that Varna system was rigid and it 
registered only marginal change. However, recent studies have 
shown that there were social and economic conflicts between 
the Vardi;s. 1  On the basis of the available data an attempt is 
Page 2


 
SOCIETY 
The role played by the society in shaping the 
civilisation and Culture of every region is of considerable 
importance. The contribution of the society towards the 
development of art, architecture, sculpture, religion, 
philosophy, literature and music cannot be underestimated. 
Therefore, a brief survey of the society of the region of Goa 
is necessary. 
The society is divided into four varnas were mainly the 
Brahmins, the elite class, engaged in priestly duties. In 
social hierarchy Kshatriyas occupied the next position and 
this class was the mainly of the rulers and the warriors. The 
third varna was of Vaishyas (mercantile community). The fourth 
and the lowest varna was of Shudras. This constituted mainly 
of servants. 
The works of Indian History published during the early 
decades of this century suffered on account of two 
assumptions. Most of the writers assumed that the society in 
early India remained more or less static and occified. 
Secondly, it was believed that Varna system was rigid and it 
registered only marginal change. However, recent studies have 
shown that there were social and economic conflicts between 
the Vardi;s. 1  On the basis of the available data an attempt is 
made here to study the ancient and medieval society of Goa. 
Brahmins of Goa.  
The earliest reference to the Brahmins in Goa occurs in 
Siroda copper plate of Bhoja ruler Devaraja which is 
palaeographically dated to c. 400 A.D. This copper plate 
refers to Indraswami, Govindaswami of Bharadvaja gotra 
receiving donations from the King Devaraja. 2  In the copper 
plates of the 5th and 7th century A.D. a few more names of 
Brahmins are mentioned. But the copper plates are silent about 
region from which they are migrated. Another copper plate 
mentions that a Brahmin was well versed in SZmaveda. 3  The 
evidences to the presence of the Brahmins in the ancient 
society of Goa is about two centuries earlier to that of. 
Dakshina Kannada. 4  
Sahyidrikhanda. (here after referred to as SKH) refers to 
the Banav- asi Kadamba ruler Mayuravarma bringing Brahmins from 
Ahichchatra and settling them in his kingdom. 5  The historicity 
of this event has been doubted earlier. However, some scholars 
considered it as a historical event. 6  Devaraja the Bhoja ruler 
was contemporary of Mayuravarma. Therefore, during this period 
Brahmins had already migrated to this coastal track. Some 
scholars argue that Indraswami and Govindaswami might have 
been Jains, as they wanted to retain their social status they 
did not leave the gotra tag of Brahmins. 7  But Jains clinging 
Page 3


 
SOCIETY 
The role played by the society in shaping the 
civilisation and Culture of every region is of considerable 
importance. The contribution of the society towards the 
development of art, architecture, sculpture, religion, 
philosophy, literature and music cannot be underestimated. 
Therefore, a brief survey of the society of the region of Goa 
is necessary. 
The society is divided into four varnas were mainly the 
Brahmins, the elite class, engaged in priestly duties. In 
social hierarchy Kshatriyas occupied the next position and 
this class was the mainly of the rulers and the warriors. The 
third varna was of Vaishyas (mercantile community). The fourth 
and the lowest varna was of Shudras. This constituted mainly 
of servants. 
The works of Indian History published during the early 
decades of this century suffered on account of two 
assumptions. Most of the writers assumed that the society in 
early India remained more or less static and occified. 
Secondly, it was believed that Varna system was rigid and it 
registered only marginal change. However, recent studies have 
shown that there were social and economic conflicts between 
the Vardi;s. 1  On the basis of the available data an attempt is 
made here to study the ancient and medieval society of Goa. 
Brahmins of Goa.  
The earliest reference to the Brahmins in Goa occurs in 
Siroda copper plate of Bhoja ruler Devaraja which is 
palaeographically dated to c. 400 A.D. This copper plate 
refers to Indraswami, Govindaswami of Bharadvaja gotra 
receiving donations from the King Devaraja. 2  In the copper 
plates of the 5th and 7th century A.D. a few more names of 
Brahmins are mentioned. But the copper plates are silent about 
region from which they are migrated. Another copper plate 
mentions that a Brahmin was well versed in SZmaveda. 3  The 
evidences to the presence of the Brahmins in the ancient 
society of Goa is about two centuries earlier to that of. 
Dakshina Kannada. 4  
Sahyidrikhanda. (here after referred to as SKH) refers to 
the Banav- asi Kadamba ruler Mayuravarma bringing Brahmins from 
Ahichchatra and settling them in his kingdom. 5  The historicity 
of this event has been doubted earlier. However, some scholars 
considered it as a historical event. 6  Devaraja the Bhoja ruler 
was contemporary of Mayuravarma. Therefore, during this period 
Brahmins had already migrated to this coastal track. Some 
scholars argue that Indraswami and Govindaswami might have 
been Jains, as they wanted to retain their social status they 
did not leave the gotra tag of Brahmins. 7  But Jains clinging 
4' 
to Brahmins gotra is only a later development of 10th century. 
Moreover, there are no evidences of Jainism in Goa belonging 
to the Bhoja and Konkan Maurya period. 8  Therefore, Indraswami 
and Govindaswami were Brahmins and not Jains. Even in later 
period the migration of the Brahmins continued. 9  The Brahmins 
of Goa are subdivided into S'graswats, KarhEdes, PEdhye 
Brahmins, Bhatt Prabhus and Kramavant Joshis. Though there is 
a separate chapter devoted to Chitap'avans in SKH,their 
settlements are found only in Sattari Taluka and they had 
hardly played any role in the social and cultural history of 
Goa.
10 
 Karhades, Padhyes and Chitapavans are called by the 
people of Goa as Bhatt and SEraswats as BEmans. Whenever, a 
local Goan uses the word Bhatt, it should be presumed that he 
is referring to the aforesaid Brahmins and not Saraswats 
a) SEraswats Brahmin.  
It would be appropriate to discuss Saraswats and other 
three subsections of Brahmins namely KarhEdes, Pi-dhyes and 
Bhatt Prabhus'. The population of SEraswats is more than other 
Brahmins communities. According to SKH and SKP, Saraswats are 
designated as Panchagaudas.  The former Purana further adds 
that the sage Parashurqma brought Saraswats to Goa. 11  Even 
if Parashur;ma is considered as a historical figure, the 
regionalisation of Brahmins had not taken place during his age 
and he had brought only Brahmins and not specifically 
Saraswats Brahmin.12 
Page 4


 
SOCIETY 
The role played by the society in shaping the 
civilisation and Culture of every region is of considerable 
importance. The contribution of the society towards the 
development of art, architecture, sculpture, religion, 
philosophy, literature and music cannot be underestimated. 
Therefore, a brief survey of the society of the region of Goa 
is necessary. 
The society is divided into four varnas were mainly the 
Brahmins, the elite class, engaged in priestly duties. In 
social hierarchy Kshatriyas occupied the next position and 
this class was the mainly of the rulers and the warriors. The 
third varna was of Vaishyas (mercantile community). The fourth 
and the lowest varna was of Shudras. This constituted mainly 
of servants. 
The works of Indian History published during the early 
decades of this century suffered on account of two 
assumptions. Most of the writers assumed that the society in 
early India remained more or less static and occified. 
Secondly, it was believed that Varna system was rigid and it 
registered only marginal change. However, recent studies have 
shown that there were social and economic conflicts between 
the Vardi;s. 1  On the basis of the available data an attempt is 
made here to study the ancient and medieval society of Goa. 
Brahmins of Goa.  
The earliest reference to the Brahmins in Goa occurs in 
Siroda copper plate of Bhoja ruler Devaraja which is 
palaeographically dated to c. 400 A.D. This copper plate 
refers to Indraswami, Govindaswami of Bharadvaja gotra 
receiving donations from the King Devaraja. 2  In the copper 
plates of the 5th and 7th century A.D. a few more names of 
Brahmins are mentioned. But the copper plates are silent about 
region from which they are migrated. Another copper plate 
mentions that a Brahmin was well versed in SZmaveda. 3  The 
evidences to the presence of the Brahmins in the ancient 
society of Goa is about two centuries earlier to that of. 
Dakshina Kannada. 4  
Sahyidrikhanda. (here after referred to as SKH) refers to 
the Banav- asi Kadamba ruler Mayuravarma bringing Brahmins from 
Ahichchatra and settling them in his kingdom. 5  The historicity 
of this event has been doubted earlier. However, some scholars 
considered it as a historical event. 6  Devaraja the Bhoja ruler 
was contemporary of Mayuravarma. Therefore, during this period 
Brahmins had already migrated to this coastal track. Some 
scholars argue that Indraswami and Govindaswami might have 
been Jains, as they wanted to retain their social status they 
did not leave the gotra tag of Brahmins. 7  But Jains clinging 
4' 
to Brahmins gotra is only a later development of 10th century. 
Moreover, there are no evidences of Jainism in Goa belonging 
to the Bhoja and Konkan Maurya period. 8  Therefore, Indraswami 
and Govindaswami were Brahmins and not Jains. Even in later 
period the migration of the Brahmins continued. 9  The Brahmins 
of Goa are subdivided into S'graswats, KarhEdes, PEdhye 
Brahmins, Bhatt Prabhus and Kramavant Joshis. Though there is 
a separate chapter devoted to Chitap'avans in SKH,their 
settlements are found only in Sattari Taluka and they had 
hardly played any role in the social and cultural history of 
Goa.
10 
 Karhades, Padhyes and Chitapavans are called by the 
people of Goa as Bhatt and SEraswats as BEmans. Whenever, a 
local Goan uses the word Bhatt, it should be presumed that he 
is referring to the aforesaid Brahmins and not Saraswats 
a) SEraswats Brahmin.  
It would be appropriate to discuss Saraswats and other 
three subsections of Brahmins namely KarhEdes, Pi-dhyes and 
Bhatt Prabhus'. The population of SEraswats is more than other 
Brahmins communities. According to SKH and SKP, Saraswats are 
designated as Panchagaudas.  The former Purana further adds 
that the sage Parashurqma brought Saraswats to Goa. 11  Even 
if Parashur;ma is considered as a historical figure, the 
regionalisation of Brahmins had not taken place during his age 
and he had brought only Brahmins and not specifically 
Saraswats Brahmin.12 
Now it would be pertinent to discuss the original home of 
Saraswats, the probable route of migration and the period, of 
arrival and their settlements in Goa. According to SKH the 
original home of Sgraswats is Tirhut and this region comprised 
the district of Champgran, Darbhanga, Muruttapur and Sargri in 
North Bihar. 13  The section in which the Tirhut is mentioned 
has been tentatively dated to c. 1400 A.D. 14  Even after 
settling down in Goa, they had retained in their memory that 
k 	 they had migrated from elsewhere. 
A writer on the basis of the genealogy and chronology of 
Puranic sages has mentioned that Aryans reached Goa during 
2500 B.C. 15  This is based on preconceived notion. that 
Aryans and Saraswats were identical. Elsewhere in the same 
work the author has argued that Parashurama had brought only 
Brahmins and not Sgraswats. Therefore, equating Aryans and 
Sgraswats seems to be far-fetched. Aryans were not called 
Sgraswats then. The early reference to Panchagauda do not go 
beyond C. 700 A.D. 16  Therefore, the date of the migration of 
Saraswats to Goa suggested by the above scholar is not based 
on historical facts. However, it is more reasonable to suppose 
that the Saraswats of Goa migrated from North Western U. P. 
Punjab, Sindh, Kutch and Saurastra they   were recognised as 
local Brahmins from the remote past in the aforesaid region. 17 
 There is no agreement among scholars about the original home 
of Saraswats. 
Page 5


 
SOCIETY 
The role played by the society in shaping the 
civilisation and Culture of every region is of considerable 
importance. The contribution of the society towards the 
development of art, architecture, sculpture, religion, 
philosophy, literature and music cannot be underestimated. 
Therefore, a brief survey of the society of the region of Goa 
is necessary. 
The society is divided into four varnas were mainly the 
Brahmins, the elite class, engaged in priestly duties. In 
social hierarchy Kshatriyas occupied the next position and 
this class was the mainly of the rulers and the warriors. The 
third varna was of Vaishyas (mercantile community). The fourth 
and the lowest varna was of Shudras. This constituted mainly 
of servants. 
The works of Indian History published during the early 
decades of this century suffered on account of two 
assumptions. Most of the writers assumed that the society in 
early India remained more or less static and occified. 
Secondly, it was believed that Varna system was rigid and it 
registered only marginal change. However, recent studies have 
shown that there were social and economic conflicts between 
the Vardi;s. 1  On the basis of the available data an attempt is 
made here to study the ancient and medieval society of Goa. 
Brahmins of Goa.  
The earliest reference to the Brahmins in Goa occurs in 
Siroda copper plate of Bhoja ruler Devaraja which is 
palaeographically dated to c. 400 A.D. This copper plate 
refers to Indraswami, Govindaswami of Bharadvaja gotra 
receiving donations from the King Devaraja. 2  In the copper 
plates of the 5th and 7th century A.D. a few more names of 
Brahmins are mentioned. But the copper plates are silent about 
region from which they are migrated. Another copper plate 
mentions that a Brahmin was well versed in SZmaveda. 3  The 
evidences to the presence of the Brahmins in the ancient 
society of Goa is about two centuries earlier to that of. 
Dakshina Kannada. 4  
Sahyidrikhanda. (here after referred to as SKH) refers to 
the Banav- asi Kadamba ruler Mayuravarma bringing Brahmins from 
Ahichchatra and settling them in his kingdom. 5  The historicity 
of this event has been doubted earlier. However, some scholars 
considered it as a historical event. 6  Devaraja the Bhoja ruler 
was contemporary of Mayuravarma. Therefore, during this period 
Brahmins had already migrated to this coastal track. Some 
scholars argue that Indraswami and Govindaswami might have 
been Jains, as they wanted to retain their social status they 
did not leave the gotra tag of Brahmins. 7  But Jains clinging 
4' 
to Brahmins gotra is only a later development of 10th century. 
Moreover, there are no evidences of Jainism in Goa belonging 
to the Bhoja and Konkan Maurya period. 8  Therefore, Indraswami 
and Govindaswami were Brahmins and not Jains. Even in later 
period the migration of the Brahmins continued. 9  The Brahmins 
of Goa are subdivided into S'graswats, KarhEdes, PEdhye 
Brahmins, Bhatt Prabhus and Kramavant Joshis. Though there is 
a separate chapter devoted to Chitap'avans in SKH,their 
settlements are found only in Sattari Taluka and they had 
hardly played any role in the social and cultural history of 
Goa.
10 
 Karhades, Padhyes and Chitapavans are called by the 
people of Goa as Bhatt and SEraswats as BEmans. Whenever, a 
local Goan uses the word Bhatt, it should be presumed that he 
is referring to the aforesaid Brahmins and not Saraswats 
a) SEraswats Brahmin.  
It would be appropriate to discuss Saraswats and other 
three subsections of Brahmins namely KarhEdes, Pi-dhyes and 
Bhatt Prabhus'. The population of SEraswats is more than other 
Brahmins communities. According to SKH and SKP, Saraswats are 
designated as Panchagaudas.  The former Purana further adds 
that the sage Parashurqma brought Saraswats to Goa. 11  Even 
if Parashur;ma is considered as a historical figure, the 
regionalisation of Brahmins had not taken place during his age 
and he had brought only Brahmins and not specifically 
Saraswats Brahmin.12 
Now it would be pertinent to discuss the original home of 
Saraswats, the probable route of migration and the period, of 
arrival and their settlements in Goa. According to SKH the 
original home of Sgraswats is Tirhut and this region comprised 
the district of Champgran, Darbhanga, Muruttapur and Sargri in 
North Bihar. 13  The section in which the Tirhut is mentioned 
has been tentatively dated to c. 1400 A.D. 14  Even after 
settling down in Goa, they had retained in their memory that 
k 	 they had migrated from elsewhere. 
A writer on the basis of the genealogy and chronology of 
Puranic sages has mentioned that Aryans reached Goa during 
2500 B.C. 15  This is based on preconceived notion. that 
Aryans and Saraswats were identical. Elsewhere in the same 
work the author has argued that Parashurama had brought only 
Brahmins and not Sgraswats. Therefore, equating Aryans and 
Sgraswats seems to be far-fetched. Aryans were not called 
Sgraswats then. The early reference to Panchagauda do not go 
beyond C. 700 A.D. 16  Therefore, the date of the migration of 
Saraswats to Goa suggested by the above scholar is not based 
on historical facts. However, it is more reasonable to suppose 
that the Saraswats of Goa migrated from North Western U. P. 
Punjab, Sindh, Kutch and Saurastra they   were recognised as 
local Brahmins from the remote past in the aforesaid region. 17 
 There is no agreement among scholars about the original home 
of Saraswats. 
The name by which these Brahmins have been designated 
clearly indicates that the river Saraswati. had played an 
important role in the life of these Brahmins. Even after the 
disappearance of the river, the Brahmins who had once 
inhabited the banks of river Saraswati retained the name of 
the region. There are evidences in history about the migration 
of the population from one region to another regions account 
of foreign invasions and sudden climatic changes. The recent 
researches in Archaeology have shown that the river saraswati 
dried in about c 1000 B.C. 18  
For the study of the migration of the Saraswats north 
India to the Deccan, the linguistics provides a corroborative 
evidence. The Indo-Aryan speech was spreading towards the 
south along the west through Rajasthan Malwa and Gujrat. The 
main line of Indo-Aryan linguistic expansion began from north 
to south from c. 500 B.C. 19  The Saraswats settled themselves 
in Rajasthan, Sindh and Gujrat. In ancient Gujrat there was a 
separate division called Slraswat Manda1. 2°  Moreover, there 
are many Konkani words which are found only in Gujrati. From 
this it is evident that Saraswats  had settled in Gujrat 
migrated to Goa. 21  Among the various Saraswats communities 
only in Kutch the honorific 'Shenvi' is the title of respect. 
This also indicates that the Saraswats from the Kutch regions 
might have migrated to Goa on account of Arab invasion in 8th 
century A.D.22