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 Shet gentlemen from Goa, from late 18th to early 19th century (Courtesy: Gomant Kalika, Nutan Samvatsar Visheshank, April 2002) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Goa, Coastal and west Maharashtra, Coastal Karnataka and Kerala. | |
| Languages | |
| Konkani (majority), Marathi, Tulu and Kannada. | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Christianity |
The Daivadnya, (also known as Sonar or Panchal or Vishwa Brahmin), is a community from Goa and Karnataka, who claim to have descended from Vishwakarma. Although they claim themselves to be Brahmin, but these claims are not accepted by others including local Brahmin castes.[1][2][3][4] They are native to the Konkan and are mainly found in the states of Goa and Damaon, Canara (coastal Karnataka), coastal Maharashtra, and Kerala.[citation needed] Daivadnyas in the state of Karnataka are classified by National Commission for Backward Classes as an Other Backward Class.[5]
Daivadnyas are a subgroup of Sonars (Gold Smiths) and hence they are called as Daivadnya Sonars or Suvarṇakara[a] or simply Sonar.[b] Daivadnya Sonars in Maharashtra claim to be Brahmins and call themselves as Daivadnya Brahmins[6] however this is not accepted by other Brahmin communities of Maharashtra.[7] The Poona government of the Peshwa era did not accept the claim either but the Bombay Sonars continued with the claim.[4][8] However, Oliver Godsmark, a researcher on late colonial and early postcolonial South Asia, considers them a subcaste of the Brahmins that were originally from the coastal regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa.[9] They are popularly known in Goa as Shets. This word is derived from the word Shrestha or Shresthin[10][11]
- ^ ALINA KACZMAREK-SUBRAMANIAN (2020). "Caste and ethnicity in South India: A case study of the Konkani people in Kochi". Etnografia Polska LXIV, 2020, Z. 1–2. 64: 177. doi:10.23858/EP64.2020.009.
Nowadays when members of the caste group define themselves as a part of a particular caste, it also indicates their place in the hierarchical idealized order of varna. Thus, Goud Saraswat Brahmins and Sonar (Daivadnya Brahmins) would call themselves Brahmins, although not everybody would consider them as such
- ^ K. S. Singh (1998). India's Communities. Oxford University Press. p. 738. ISBN 9780195633542.
DAIVADNYA BRAHMAN: A community located in Goa and Karnataka, they claim that they are the descendants of Vishwakarma, the Hindu architect god. They are also referred to by terms like Vishwa Brahman, Panchal and Sonar.
- ^ Singh, K.S. (1996). Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles. Anthropological Survey of India. National series. Oxford University Press. p. 1218. ISBN 978-0-19-563357-3. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
DAIVADNYA BRAHMAN Synonyms : Sonar, Viswa Brahmin [ Karnataka ]
- ^ a b Christine E. Dobbin (1972). Urban Leadership in Western India: Politics and Communities in Bombay City, 1840-1885. Oxford University Press. p. 226. ISBN 9780198218418.
Among group which was seeking to advance itself both materially and in the caste hierarchy was the Sonar or gold Smith community. Their occupation attracted groups of various very varied social status, and for a long period recent recruits were not accorded the same status in the caste as older families. Those with the highest status in the caste were the Devangas, and, under the Peshwas, they had claimed to be Daivadnya Brahmins, because of their intimate association with temple worship. Though this claim was not recognized by the Poona Government in the eighteenth century, the Bombay Sonars persisted with it, and were encouraged by the prestige of their leader, Jagannath Shankarshet.
- ^ "Central List of OBCs - State : Karnataka".
- ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 99.
- ^ Irawati Karmarkar Karve (1968). Hindu Society: An Interpretation. Deshmukh Prakashan. p. 46.
Daivadnya Sonar in Maharashtra, belonging to the caste - cluster Sonar (gold-smith), has claimed to belong to the Brahmin varna by claiming to be Brahmins. This claim has not been accepted by the Brahmin castes.
- ^ Deepak Sarma (14 January 2008). Hinduism: A Reader. Wiley. p. 325. ISBN 9781405149891.
Not only has the Hindu made no effort for the humanitarian cause of civilizing the savages, but the higher-caste Hindus have deliberately prevented the lower castes who are within the pale of Hinduism from rising to the cultural level of the higher castes. I will give two instances, one of the Sonars and the other of the Pathare Prabhus. Both are communities quite well-known in Maharashtra. Like the rest of the communities desiring to raise their status, these two communities were at one time endeavouring to adopt some of the ways and habits of the Brahmins. The Sonars were styling themselves Daivadnya Brahmins and were wearing their "dhotis" with folds in them, and using the word namaskar for salutation. Both the folded way of wearing the "dhoti" and the namaskar were special to the Brahmins. The Brahmins did not like this imitation and this attempt by Sonars to pass off as Brahmins. Under the authority of the Peshwas, the Brahmins successfully put down this attempt on the part of the Sonars to adopt the ways of the Brahmins. They even got the President of the Councils of the East India Company's settlement in Bombay to issue a prohibitory order against the Sonars residing in Bombay.
- ^ Oliver Godsmark (29 January 2018). Citizenship, Community and Democracy in India: From Bombay to Maharashtra, c. 1930 - 1960. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-18821-0.
daivadnya: brahman sub-caste originally from coastal Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa
- ^ "Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti", Part-1, p. 224, B. D. Satoskar, Shubhada Publication
- ^ Williams, Monier, "Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries" (PDF), Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (in Sanskrit and English), retrieved 29 July 2009
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