Melukote Sthanikas

An article on Melukote Sthanikas is available below

https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-hindu/20170106/282926680072022

There were four sthanikas- Tiruvanatapura dasar (Vasista gotra, Jaiminisutra, Samaveda sakha); Malakara dasar (Koundinya gotra, Bodhayanasutra, Yajurveda sakha); Tirukkurungudi Dasar (Vasistha gotra, Jaimini sutra, Samaveda Sakha); and Yatiraja Dasar of Elayattangudi (Bhargava gotra, Jaimini sutra, Samaveda Sakha).

Do the Chozhiyas still recite in the Jaminiya fashion ? Or have adopted the Kauthuma recitation style ?

The sthanikas seem to be chozhiya vaishnavas based on their sutras - Bodhayana and Jaimini

There is also a 5th Chozhiya

Sadagopa Dasar (Bharadwaja gotra, Jaimini sutra, Sama Sakha) was in charge of vahanas

The non-chozhiya (Apastamba, Drahyayana)  have different functions (The Araiyar is wrongly mentioned to belong to Jaimini Sutra)

 Tiruvali Annan (Sadamarshana gotra, Apastambha sutra, Yajurveda Sakha) was to carry out orders of the Jeer of Yatiraja matha. Poretru Nayanar from Anbil (Maudgalya gotra, Drahyayana sutra, Sama Sakha) was in charge of gold and silver vessels belonging to the temple and also temple accounts. Tirunarayana Perumal Araiyar (Vadhula gotra, Jaimini sutra, Yajurveda Sakha) was in charge of Astothara and Sahasranama stotra reciting and also musical rendering of pasurams, on the lines of the vinnappam seivar of Srirangam

Interestingly the Chief priest is from the Kanva Shakha (Same as Srirangam ?)

Mahrashtra Brahmans in Varanasi

This article provides some sense of the scholarship of Maharashtra Brahmans who had migrated to Varanasi. The eminent families were Bhattas, Devas, Sesas, Puntambkars, Caturdharas, Bharadavajas atleast the Bhattas and the Puntambekars belonged to the Desastha Rigvedi section. That was a long time ago, religious and philosophic scholarship declined subsequently, the chitpavan and karhada sects took the the leadership in subsequent times.

https://kashcidvipashcit.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/speaking-from-sivas-temple-banaras-scholar-households-and-the-brahman-ecumene-of-mughal-india-rosalind-ohanlon/

Vishwamitra gotra and Ambalavasis

In Kerala, the thread wearing Ambalavasis such as Nambisans have vishwamitra as their gotra, I dont know if they have the concept of a pravara such as Vaiswamitra, Daivarata, Owdala or Vaishwamitra, Madhuchandasa, Dhananjaya. The Varmas (Kshatriyas) also mostly have vishwamitra as their gotra. Was this simply because Vishwamitra is the seer of the Gayatri and these communities didn't study the veda beyond Gayatri mantra ?

South Kanara Brahmin Family Names

South Kanara (Dakshina Kannada & Udupi) is home to a few subsects of brahmins Shivalli, Kota and Koteshwara that have a few distinct family names (surnames). Elsewhere in Karnataka amongst the pancha dravidas the surnames are generic for e.g., the surname Bhat may be the surname adopted by a family that were traditionally priests or ritualists, Shastri or Acharya maybe titles acquired by a family at some point in time. Hegde amongst the Havyakas would be the surname of a Laukika family, the same is the case with Rao in other communities.

The Kota surnames are Karanth, Mayya, Holla, Navada, Hande, Tunga, Herala, Urala. Each of these surnames denote a single family that has divided over time. Karanth  from the village of Karathattu, Hande from Handattu, but the origin of Tunga, Mayya, Navada, Herala is not clear. Is Urala from the term Uralar used in Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the members of the sabha that managed a temple.

From

http://irgu.unigoa.ac.in/drs/bitstream/handle/unigoa/3521/Q_J_Mythic%20Soc_92(3n4)_2001_169-184.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Kota : This village is situated between Kundapura and Brahmavar in the Udupi taluk. Gramapaddhati mentions the brahman families like Tunga, Hol|a, Karanta, Herala, Hande, Navada, Basari, Hebbara and Orala. These families are stated to have been distributed in the following adhivasa of Kota.6 Karatattu (Chirapadi) - Karanta; Parampalli - Hebbara and Holla; Karakadu (Karkada) - Navada; Haratattu - Mayya, Herala; Kotattu - Tunga; and Handattu - Basari, Hande.

The Koteshwara are probably numerically the smallest amongst the the three and are followers of Vadiraja who is supposed to have rehabilated them. I have no clue about how the origin of their surnames Hathwar, Biliya, Gota. They are not mentioned by Gramapaddhati which is also interesting.

The Shivallis are numerically the strongest, have followers of all the three vedas amongst them although the followers of the taittiriya are very few and jaiminiyas are even fewer (single root family ?). Their surnames are in somewhat documented in http://shivallibrahmins.com/family-names/list-of-all-shivalli-family-names/

Deshasth Rigvedis & Rudradhyaya

If Deshastha Rigvedis use the Yajurveda Rudra which version do they choose ? The madhyandina or kanva or the taittiriya - The answer for Rigvedi Chitpavans/Karhade is easier - they have hiryanyakeshi Chitpavans to learn the Taittiriya Rudra from ?

Upadhya

Amongst the Shivalli & Kota (?) brahmins of Udupi/Dakshina Kannada there a few with the surname Upadhya, they are primarily archakas (also referred to as shanti) - is their surname a shortening of Upadhyaya (which is also a surname used by a few) or does it have a different etymology ?  It could be a modification of Upa-aradhaka - which is the same as keezh shanti ?

Maharashtrian Rigveda Recitation Style

When I listen to Mahrashtrian pandits reciting the Rigveda - the recitation seems to be similar to the recitation of Madhyandina Shukla Yajurveda,

Maharashtra Rigvedins have a connection with Varanasi going back to the 1500/1600s, was the tradition in Maharashtra influenced by the Madhyandins in Maharashtra and/or Varanasi ?

Rigveda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3me4uzoFrp0 (4:29)

Shukla Yajurveda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaMFNsVRcIE (first mantra)

Madhyandina/Kanva amongst Tanjavur deshasthas

Some of you may know that there are lots of Maharashtrian Brahmins who settled in TN and AP perhaps in the 1600-1700 time period. They refer to themselves as Deshasthas.

They are mostly madhvas by sect with a small percentage of smarthas. The madhva section would have most likely migrated from the southern parts of Maharashtra/Northern Karnataka where there are lots of Madhvas (even in modern day Solapur). The question is do we find any Madhyandinas or Kanvas amongst these maharashtrians settled in South India, are they all rigvedi (with a few families of Hiranyakeshi - if they were originally Chitpavans ?). Madhyandinas did have some political representation (e.g., Pant Pratinidhi) so we should expect to find some representation in the south but curiously it seems to be absent, unless they changed their Shakha later on.

Deshastha and Krishna Yajurveda

In Maharashtra, yajurvedi invariably means Shukla Yajurvedi and further within that classification, it mostly refers to the Madhyandinas who are numerically much more superior and economically much better of than the Kanva shakhis.

There is a section called Tirgul who are thought to have migrated from the Andhra/Telengana region and accordingly belong to the Krishna Yajurvedi (apastamba) section. Because of their main occupation of Betel leaf farming, they were meted out inferior treatment (something to do with killing insects as their profession demanded them to)

But the question is were there Krishna Yajurvedis of the Apastamba section who were endogamous with the Deshastha Rugvedis ? the gazzetteers seem to suggest so, but I haven't met anyone in practice who is from the Krishna Yajurvedi section.

Note: The maitrayaniya and charak sections technically belong to the Krishna Yajurveda, but have remained endogamous in historical times.

Devrukhe origins

The Devrukhes and Chitpavans both share the rare Hiranyakeshi Shakha but are exogamous, historically the Devrukhes were treated as inferiors, but the common shakha does intrigue me.

Chitpavan v/s Kokanastha

In Maharashtra Kokanastha is used to refer to the Chitpavans. I think this is a misnomer - in the Konkan you have Devrukhes and Karhades who should qualify as Kokanastha too, but this maybe a reflection of the dominance of the Chitpavans in Konkan or maybe they were the first sect to settle in the Konkan ?

Single Veda subsects

Typically brahmins in South of the Vindhyas have multiple veda shakhas in a single subsect, however in some of the subsects all families belong to a single shakha.

For e.g., in Maharashtra you have the Deshastha Rugvedi. Then you have the Madhyandins and the Kanvas who call themselves Deshastha Yajurvedi and Deshastha Kanva shakhi, although I feel there is no need for them to add the deshastha qualifier as there are no Shukla Yajurvedins amongst the brahmins of the Konkan.

The Karhades also all belong to the same shakha (Rigvedi) - were they originally Deshastha Rugvedi who migrated towards Konkan & Goa ?

In Dakshina Kannada - you have the Kota & Koteshwara who are all Rigvedi.

Sauramana Upakarma

In Tulunadu, Rigvedins observe Upakarma according to the Solar calendar i.e., shravana nakshatra in Simha masa elsewhere it is observed in the lunar Shravana month on the day of the shravana nakshatra.There are a few rigvedins amongst the Havyakas, atleast in Haivanadu, I don't what their practice is.

Vishwamitra & Angirasa Gotras in Tuluva

In Tuluva nadu, the most common gotras you will find are Vishwamitra & Angirasa, so much that sagotra may be very hard to avoid nowadays.

Vishwamitra has two pravaras

Vaishwamitra, Oudala, Daivarata
Vaishwamitra, Madhuchandasa, Dhananjaya

Angirasa has three pravaras, some folks may use Gautama, Bhardwaja and Harita as gotra names.

Angirasa, Aayasyasa-Gautama
Angirasa, Barhaspatya, Bharadwaja
Angirasa, Ambarisha, Yuvanashva

I am not sure if intermarriage between these pravaras is possible, I remember reading it is possible amongst the Angirasas.

The next gotra in the order of popularity maybe Bhargava.

But the high prevalance of Vishwamitra and Angirasa does baffle me - is there an explanation. Another observation is that in Tulunadu & Haivanadu - we do not find gotra names such as Kaushika, Koundinya, Shandilya, Parashara, Gargya and so on. Some of these such as Kaushika, Koundinya are related to Vishwamitra, Vashishta (the pravara for Vashista mentions Vashista), Kaushikas use a different pravara from Vishwamitra which is something I dont get. Nevertheless you dont find the variety of Gotras in Tulunadu that you find up the ghats.