Deshasta Brahmin
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Est. 20 lakh (2 Million)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|
Maharashtra • Karanataka, Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior, Indore, Ujjain, Dhar) Gujarat (Baroda) • Thanjavur • Delhi • United States • UK |
|
| Languages | |
| First language – Marathi (Majority) and Kannada | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
|
Karhade • Konkanastha • Devrukhe • Daivadnya Brahmin Goud Saraswat Brahmin•Thanjavur Marathi • Marathi people |
Deshastha Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. The word Deshastha derives from the Sanskrit deśa (inland, country) and stha (resident), literally translating to "residents of the country". The valleys of the Krishna and the Godavari rivers, and a part of Deccan plateau adjacent to the Sahyadri hills, are collectively termed the Desha – the original home of the Deshastha Brahmins.
Over the millennia, the community produced the eighth century Sanskrit scholar Bhavabhuti, the thirteenth century Varkari saint and philosopher Dnyaneshwar, and Samarth Ramdas. All of the Peshwas during the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Sambhaji's reign (before the appointment in 1713 of Balaji Vishwanath, the first Peshwa from the Bhat family) were Deshastha Brahmins.
Brahmins constitute four percent of Maharashtra's population, and 60 percent of them are Deshastha Brahmins. The second largest Maharashtrian Brahmin community, the Konkanastha Brahmins, who historically remained rather obscure because their native region, the coastal Konkan strip, was relatively distant from the great medieval cities, achieved parity with the Deshasthas only during the 18th century, after the post of Peshwa became effectively hereditary in the Bhat family of Konkanastha Brahmins.
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Wikipedia