Padhye Brahmin community hails from Goa, they speak a unique dialect of

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

known as " Bhati Bhasha".

Origin and early history

Skanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' ( IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukhyapurāṇa'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parv ...

(Sahyadri Khanda) as well as

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' () is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text is also referred in medieval Indian literature as th ...

are very harsh towards Karhade Brahmins."A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara" By Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri Published by Institute Menezes Braganza, 1999, Original from the University of Michigan, Pages:50. According to Sahyadrikhanda, Karhades are fallen Brahmins from the polluted land of Karashtra, and made offerings to the wicked goddess Matrika. The text derives their name from the word Karashtra ("evil land"), as well as the words "donkey-bones" (khara-ashti), stating that they originated when some semen spilled on a heap of donkey bones. The reference to Padye Brahmins is found in the section of ''Karahastrabrahmanotpatti'' of Sahyadrikhanda. It is commonly believed that Padye Brahmins are not different from the Karhades and are a section of Karhade Brahmins. However, even now Padye Brahmins have retained their identity.

Origin of the word ''Padye''

The name ''Padye'' is supposed to have its origin in the Sumerian word '' Patesi''. Comparing Padye with some Sumerian word patesi was a hypothetical theory by Mr. Dhume , that he forgot that Upadhyaya , Chattopadhyay exist similar is Padhye . With due course of time, they seem to have undergone thorough Sanskritisation and have been included into Brahminic fourfold system and attained status that of a Brahmin (i.e. during the rule of Yadavas and Kadambas in Goa when they were given lands by the monarchs and the title of ''Deshapati'' (now corrupted as ''Dessai'') was bestowed upon many of them).

Later history and migration

The Padyes are from Goa and are believed to have migrated to Maharashtra, then returned to Goa a few centuries later. It is believed that the name Karhade comes from the place ''Karhatak'' (present day Karhad) in Maharashtra, where they lived. The ''Shiledar''s of

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

conquered south

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

and got these priests with them back to Goa.

Later Brahminic classification

Padhyes later were included in to the Pancha Dravida group of Brahmins and are now commonly considered a sub-caste of the Karhade Brahmin community, though not historically. Padhyes belong to 13

Gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

s and are predominantly Smarthas and worship different aspects of

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

Intercaste dispute and ritual status

Karhade and Chitpavan were regarded as inferior by Rigvedi Deshasthas, who refrained from interdining with them due to their perceived lower ritual status.Karhades who settled in Desh considered Padhyes, a subsection of Karhades as inferior.Padhyes were farmers and Khots.Deshasthas considered Chitpavans as inferior due to their menial origin.

Kuldevatas

Padhyes worship following deities as their Kuldevta * Navadurga * Vijayadurga * Aryadurga *

Mahalasa Mhalsa (Marathi: म्हाळसा IAST: Mhāḷasā), also spelled as Mhalasa or Mahalasa, महालसा is a Hindu goddess. Mhalsa is worshipped as the consort of the folk god Khandoba, a form of the god Shiva. In this tradition, she i ...

Kamakshi Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरसुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Lalita, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Rajarajeshvari, is a Hindu goddess, revered primarily within the Shaktism tradition and recognized as o ...

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

* Santeri *

Bhagavati Bhagavatī (Devanagari: भगवती, IAST: Bhagavatī), is an Indian epithet of Sanskrit origin, used as an honorific title for goddesses in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, it is primarily used to address the goddesses Sarasvati, Laks ...

Notes

References

*"People of India: Goa" - Page 107 by Kumar Suresh Singh, Prakashchandra P. Shirodkar, Pra. Pā Śiroḍakara, Anthropological Survey of India, H. K. Mandal - Social Science - 1993 - 283 pages * Gomantak Prakruti ani sanskruti Part 01 to 03 By B. D. Satoskar.. Page 160,161,162.

Bibliography

* {{Ethnic and social groups of Goa and Konkan Brahmin communities of Goa Konkani