The Journey

Migration of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins to Goa

Many Gaud Saraswat Brahmins also refer to the legend of Shri Parashurama to explain how their ancestors arrived in Goa. Set forth in the Skhanda Purana, it is said that Shri Parashurama was a brahmin lad who was a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. To avenge his father's death, Shri Parashurama killed all the warriors and kings in India during that time period. He then wished to cleanse himself of this horrendous crime by retiring to a land of peace. Therefore, the sea granted him a boon: it would recede as far back as he could throw an axe from the Western Ghats. By receding, the sea would offer Shri Parashurama the land he had requested. Shri Parashurama then filled the land with all of the brahmin caste members from the Gulf of Cambay to Cape Comorin. Part of the land became known as Goa, and the people that Shri Parashurama placed in this region were referred to as the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins.

Once the migrants arrived in Goa, they occupied various plots of land and organized their community. The immigrants were comprised of ten gotras, or clans. Settling primarily in the Sasasthi (Salcette), Tisrade (Tissuary), and Bardesh (Bardez) regions of Goa, these founders produced magnificent fields of rice on their new land. However, the cultivation of the land was probably forced upon the lower caste natives of Goa who were traditionally given a percentage of the crops. Some time after these founders developed the lands and villages of this region, other groups of brahmins left their homes in the north and came to settle in Goa as well. The second wave of immigrants were representatives of the Kaundinya, Vatsa, and Kaushika gotras. For the most part, these immigrants decided to live in two villages of Sasasthi named Kuthalor or Kushasthat (Cortollim) and Keloshi (Quelessam). Consequently, the representatives of these two gotras came to be known as Kushasthalikars and Keloshikars. The exact date of their migration is unknown, but the representatives of this batch contributed to an integral part of the history of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins in Goa. By the eighteenth century, there were either nineteen or twenty-one gotras in the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin caste. Therefore, it is presumed that other groups of migrants arrived in Goa some time after the second batch. 

Migration of Shenvis 

The Kushasthalikars and Keloshikars were members of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins who belonged to the smarta persuasion. Those who represent this persuasion primarily engage in the worship of the following five deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya, and Ganesha. The Kushasthalikars and Keloshikars of Goa were collectively referred to as the Shenai or Shenvi (learned) due to their increased interest in pursuing secular employment in addition to maintaining their land. They primarily sought professional careers in the fields of teaching, writing, and accounting. It is important to note that these terms (Shenai or Shenvi) are used in the Maharashtra region today in reference to any Gaud Saraswat Brahmin; however, in the regions south of Goa, these terms are generally used to identify only the smarta Gaud Saraswat Brahmins. 

Although the lifestyles of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins could have continued in this manner, it was not able to due to military forces outside of Goa. The Bahmani raids in 1351 apparently encouraged several Shenvi families to migrate to the Kanara district in Karnataka, which is located to the south of Goa. By the seventeenth century, it was evident that a considerable number of Kushasthalikar and Keloshikar families had migrated and eventually settled in Kanara. Once they had migrated to the Kanara district, the Shenvis were not able to sustain their unity with the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins they had left behind in Goa. Therefore, this group broke away from the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and eventually formed their own caste, called the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins (also referred to as Bhanaps after one of their popular caste members). 

Source: NAKC 1996 Souvenir, Aarti Maskeri PA USA