Pancha-Dravida

Pancha Dravida (lit. 'Five Dravida' from Sanskrit: पंच pancha) is one of the two major groupings of Brahmins in Hinduism, of which the other is Pancha-Gauda.

In Rajatarangini

Kalhana, in his Rajatarangini (c. 12th century CE), classifies the following five Brahmin communities as Pancha Dravida, stating that they reside to the south of the Vindhyas:[1][2]

• Karnataka (Karnataka Brahmins)
• Tailanga (Telugu Brahmins)
• Dravida (Brahmins of Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
• Maharashtraka (Maharashtrian Brahmins)
• Gurjara (Gujarati, Marwari and Mewari Brahmins[3])

In the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa

A fragment of the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa, featured in Hemadri's Chatur-varga-chintamani (13th century), quotes Shiva to name the following divisions of the Pancha Dravidas:[4][5]

• Drāviḍa
• Tailaṅga
• Karnāṭa
• Madhyadeśa (identified with Mahārāṣṭra in variant readings)
• Gurjara

In the kaifiyats

The Maratha-era kaifiyats (bureaucratic records) of Deccan, which give an account of the society in the southern Maratha country, mention the following Brahmin communities as Pancha Dravida:[6]

• Andhra-Purva Desastha
• Dravida Desastha
• Karnataka Brahmins
• Desastha

The kafiyats classify the Gurjara Brahmins as Pancha Gauda. They also mention the following 16 sub-castes of the Pancha-Dravidas:[6]

• Smarta
• Konkanastha
• Karhade
• Varkari
• Madhyandin
• Vanas
• Karnataka
• Shashtika
• Nandavamshika
• Srivaishnava Telanga
• Srivaishnava
• Pratham-Shakhikanva
• Kirvant
• Sihavasai
• Nurcher
• Shenavi
• Govalkonde

References

1. James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z. Rosen. pp. 490–491. ISBN 9780823931804.
2. D. Shyam Babu and Ravindra S. Khare, ed. (2011). Caste in Life: Experiencing Inequalities. Pearson Education India. p. 168. ISBN 9788131754399.
3. Pandya, A V (1952). Abu in Bombay State: A Scientific Study of the Problem. Charutar Vidya Mandal. p. 29. It is interesting to note here that the Brahmin groups of Marwar and Mewar belong to the Gurjara group of the Pancha Dravida division
4. Rosalind O'Hanlon (2013). "Performance in a World of Paper: Puranic Histories and Social communication in Early Modern India". Past and Present (219). Oxford University Press / The Past and Present Society: 104. JSTOR 24543602.
5. Deshpande, Madhav (2010). "Pañca-Gauḍa and Pañca-Drāviḍa: Contested Borders of a Traditional Classification". Studia Orientalia. 108: 34.
6. Krishnaji Nageshrao Chitnis (1994). Glimpses of Maratha Socio-economic History. Atlantic. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-81-7156-347-0.