Kokanastha

Chitpavan/Kokanastha Brahmins
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Primary mother tongue is Chitpavani (a dialect of Konkani) and Konkani but also have proficiency in native languages,
Populated states	Konkan (Coastal Maharashtra,Goa and coastal Karnataka); some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat

The Chitpavan or Kokanastha Brahmin (i.e. "Brahmins native to the Konkan"), is a Hindu Brahmin community from Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra in India. The community came into prominence during the 18th century when the Peshwa from the Bhat family of Balaji Vishwanath became the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. Under the British Raj, they were the first Hindu community in Maharashtra to flock to western education and as such they provided the bulk of social reformers, educationalists and nationalists of the late 19th century. Until the 18th century, the Chitpavans were held in low esteem by the Deshastha, the older established Brahmin community of Maharashtra region.

The community remains concentrated in Maharashtra but also has populations all over India and the rest of the world including the USA and UK.

There are two common mythological theories of origin among the Chitpavans. The more contemporary theory is based on the etymology of their name meaning "pure of mind", while an older belief uses the alternate etymology of "pure from the pyre" and is based on the tale of Parashurama in the Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana. The Parashurama myth of origin is identical to the myth that claimed by the Bene Israel of the Kolaba district. According to Bene Israeli myth, the Chitpavan and Bene Israel are descendants from a group of 14 people shipwrecked off the Konkan coast. One group converted to Hinduism as Chitpavan Brahmins, the other remained Jewish or Bene Israel.

Originally the myth pertained to Chitpavans only, but a certain section of society was obsessed with their lineage, hence furthered the name of Bene israel.

The Konkan region has witnessed the immigration of various groups, such as the Bene Israeli,and Kudaldeshkars. Each of these settled in distinct parts of the region and there was little mingling between them. The Chitpavans were apparently the last major community to arrive there and consequently the area in which they settled, around Ratnagiri, was both the least fertile and that with a relative scarcity of good ports for trading. While the other groups generally took up trade as their primary occupation, the Chitpavans became known as administrators.

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Wikipedia