Audichya Brahmin
Encyclopedia
The Audichaya Brahmin are a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...

 found in the state of Gujarat in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Origin

The word audich in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 means northerner, and the Audichaya are said to have come from North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

 to Gujarat on the invitation of Mulraj Solanki, the ruler of Anhilpur Pattan between 955 to 966 AD. These Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 families were originally from different regions of North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

. They are now a Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

 speaking community. Audichya Brahmins are also settled in the southern parts of Rajasthan in and around the Aravali mounain range and speak the Marwadi language.

Clans

The community consist of a number of clans or gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...

s. There main gotras are the Vatsa, Bhargava, Dalabhya, Dron, Maunas, Gangayan, Sankratrutya, Sankruit, Panlastva, Mandakya, Shaunak, Bharadwaj, Kaudinya, Artio, Krushnatri, Swetatri, Chandratri, Gautam, Kutsas, Anfiras, Vashishta, Upmanu, Udvah-Audvah, Parashar, Laugashi, Kashyap, Shandilya, Gabhil, Pipplad, Udalak, Audalal, Garga, Kaushik, and Hirnyagarbh.

In Audichya Brahmins Audichya Sahasra and Audichya Tolak are the two sections. Sahasra were in a group of 1000, and Tolak were in a small group. In principle they had differences. They were invited by Siddharaj Jaysinh, for rituals during Sahasra Ling Talav ( a lake created by the rular Siddharaj which has 1000 Shaiv lings surround it). These 1000 Brahmins group known as Sahasra group were donated land and the Tolak didn't opt for were in small group

Marital rituals

Audichaya Brahmans practice endogamy at the community level and exogamy at the gotra level. The community is characterized by and internal social hierarchy with those belonging to Siddhpur occupying the highest position, followed by those of the Sihor
Sihor
Sihor is an ancient, historical medium sized town, a municipality in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Placed along the river Gautami, this erstwhile capital of the Gohil Rajputs, surrounded by hills is situated about 20 km from Bhavnagar...

-Kathiawar region and the Zalawad region. However, Sihor Sampraday Audichya Brahmins have been the same group that of Siddhapur Brahmins, and their position is considered higher in Saurashtra and Gujarat. Formerly, these sections had commenced relations but did not exchange brides. Now these restrictions are not observed. But they follow Sapinda and Pravar exogamy.
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