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Concept
Chitpavan Brahmins
Summary
The 'Chitpavan Brahmin or the Konkanastha Brahmin' is a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin community inhabiting Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra. Initially working as messengers and spies in the late seventeenth century, the community came into prominence during the 18th century when the heirs of Peshwa from the Bhat family of Balaji Vishwanath became the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. Until the 18th century, the Chitpavans were held in low esteem by the Deshastha, the older established Brahmin community of Karnataka-Maharashtra region.
As per Jayant Lele, the influence of the Chitpavans in the Peshwa era as well as the British era has been greatly exaggerated because even during the time of the most prominent Peshwas, their political legitimacy and their intentions were not trusted by all levels of the administration, not even by Shivaji's successors. He adds that after the defeat of Peshwas in the Anglo-Maratha wars, Chitpavans were the one of the Hindu communities to flock to western education in the Bombay Province of British India.
The Chitpavans are also known as Konkanastha Brahmin.
The etymology of their name is given in the chapter citpāvanabrāhmaṇotpattiḥ i.e. “Origin of the Citpāvan brahmins” in the Hindu Sanskrit scripture Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana. According to this chapter, Parashurama, who could not find any Brahmins in Konkan, found sixty fishermen who had gathered near a funeral pyre near the ocean shore. These sixty fishermen families were purified and Sanksritized to Brahminhood. Since the funeral pyre is called Chita and pure as pavana, the community was henceforth known by the name Chitapavan or "purified at the location of a funeral pyre". However, 'Chita' also means 'mind' in Sanskrit and the Chitapavans prefer "pure of mind" instead of "pure from the pyre". One scholar suggests that the author of the current version was a Deshastha Brahmin and there were earlier suggestions of similarity with the Sadbodhacintāmaṇi published by the Daivadnya community.
Official source
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