Chitpavan Brahmins

Chitpavan/Kokanastha Brahmins
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesMarathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Chitpavani Konkani.
Populated statesKonkan (Coastal Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat)
Chitpavan Brahmins practising Bodan, a rite performed on important occasions like birth or marriage

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.[1][2][3]

As per Jayant Lele, the influence of the Chitpavans in the Peshwa era as well as the British era has been greatly exaggerated because even during the time of the most prominent Peshwas, their political legitimacy and their intentions were not trusted by all levels of the administration, not even by Shivaji's successors. He adds that after the defeat of Peshwas in the Anglo-Maratha wars, Chitpavans were the one of the Hindu communities to flock to western education in the Bombay Province of British India.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kumar2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Guy Delury. India, the Rebel Continent. p. 183. The name Chitpavan had been given to them by the other local jatis of Brahmins a little mockingly, since they tended to look down on the Chitpavans
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Griffiths2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Singh, R.; Lele, J.K. (1989). Language and society: steps towards an integrated theory. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 34. ISBN 978-9-00408-789-7. The extent of the real chitpavan influence in the socio-polity of Maharashtra, during this period, has been vastly exaggerated. Even under the most ambitious and effective peshwas, the established local power structure, from the major Maratha chieftains down to village headmen, did not trust Peshwas' political intentions and doubted their legitimacy. This was particularly true under Shivaji's feuding successors.