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 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 ( ...

communities in India. The Gauda Brahmins are one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities that lives in the north of the Vindhyas. Gaur Brahmins likely originated from

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Pur ...

region. Initially inhabiting tracts of land between the

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...

and

Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the In ...

rivers. Today they are most numerous in the western half of

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

, particularly in the states of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

as well as in the western parts 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 ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...

and a significant amount are present in other northern states of India as well. The Gaurs claim that the other four main divisions of North Indian Brahmins were originally Gaur, and have acquired their present designations of Saraswat Brahmins,

Kanyakubja Brahmin Kanyakubja Brahmins are a Brahmin community mainly found in northern India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, ...

Maithil Brahmin Maithil Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin community from the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent that comprises Tirhut, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia, Munger, Bhagalpur; Bokaro in Jharkhand and Santhal Pargana divisions of India and some adj ...

s and Utkala Brahmins by immigrating to the provinces where they are now domiciled. In Sir George Campbell's Ethnology of India, it is suggested that Gaurs may have derived their names from the Ghaggar-Hakra River, which, in ancient times, was a tributary of Saraswati and now discharges its waters into the

near

Firozpur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who di ...

. Adi Gaurs practise agriculture and their soil with their own hands and there is class class of Gaurs known as Taga Gaurs. Gaur Brahmin, those converted to Islam are know as Gaur Muslims or Garha Biradari. Gaur Muslims are entirely land owning and agriculturists.

References

See also