The Saraswats are a sub-group of Hindu Brahmins who trace their ancestry to the banks of the Sarasvati River. Saraswat Brahmins are one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities residing to the north of the Vindhyas..
They were spread over a wide area in northern part of the Indian subcontinent. One group lived in coastal Sindh and Gujarat, this group migrated to Bombay State after the partition of India in 1947. One group was found in pre-partition Punjab and Kashmir most of these migrated away from Pakistan after 1947. One branch, known as Goud Saraswats, are now found along the western coast of India (Also called Konkan coast).