Gangaputra brahmin applying tilak to a pilgrim

The Gangaputra Brahman are a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

community, found in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

in India.

History and origin

The community is an offshoot of the

Gauda Brahmins Gaur Brahmins (spelling variations: Gor or Gour), also Gauda Brahmins (spelling variations: Gaud, or God), also known as Adi Gauda/Gaur, is a group of Brahmin communities in India. The Gauda Brahmins are one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin comm ...

. ''Gangaputra'' in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

signifies ''sons of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

river''. The Gangaputra are associated with the river

, and their communities are located mainly along the banks of the river. These people were also known as the Ghatiya, because they occupied the piers of the

; ''ghat'' in

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

signifies ''pier''. The Gangaputra Brahmin are found mainly in the

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. ...

, Kanpur and

Shahjahanpur Shahjahanpur () is a municipal corporation, town and district headquarters of Shahjahanpur District in Uttar Pradesh, India. The city is between Bareilly and Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. History Shahjahanpur was established by Di ...

districts. Their main occupation is to officiate at the various holy occasions which occur along the river.''People of India'' Uttar Pradesh, Vol. XLII Part 2. A Hasan & J C Das, eds. p. 507

References

{{reflist Brahmin communities of Uttar Pradesh