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The Samyukta Saraswat

January 1973

CONTENTS

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. B. P. ADARKAR

Editorial — The Revival of

Saraswatism

Discovering the Saraswat Identity —

The Saraswats of Kashmir by Karmayogi Pt. J. L. K. Jalali

Executive Editor :

P. R. KAIKINI

Editorial and

Business Offices

4/418, Arun Chambers,

Tardeo Road, Bombay-34

Tel 371416

Printed by P. R. Kaikini

at Philpress, 28D Police Court

Lane, Fort, Bombay and Pub-

lished by him for THE ALL

INDIA SARASWAT FOUN-

DATION at 4/418, Arun

Chambers, Tardeo Road.

Bombay 34.

Tel 371416

Leadership in Kutch and

Gujarat by Dr. Janardan Pandya 11

The Settlements of the Deccan by Shri K. K. Pai and Shri M. P. Pai 14

Saraswat Youth and the AISCO by Dr. D. V. Kerkar 17

Our Sacred Crest—by D. N. Nadkarni 19

Books for your attention 29

AISCO. The Testament of Faith 38

Saraswat Social Service Institutions of Kashmir — by Karmayogi Pt. J. L. K. Jalali 41

For Saraswats, A Challenging Future by Shri A. N. Bhatt 49

Kerala Saraswats—by N. Purushothama Mallaya 53

'ITie AISCO faces the future, by Shri J. S. Rao 67

Saraswats Unite to Serve Humanity by Smt. Sila Kaikini 74

The Gita to our Rescue by Shri S. V Pikale 75

The views expressed contributors are their own, and not

necessarily shared by THE S A M Y U K T A S A R A S W A T

4 THE SAMYUKTA SARASWAT, JANUARY 1973

SAHYADRIKHANDA, edited with Marathi Translation by

Vyakaranacharya Gajananshastri Gaitonde.

326 pages, with 4 - colour jacket Rs. 25/-

Sacred, and of engrossing interest to all Saraswats.

The original story of Shree Parashuraina's settlement of Saraswats and their Kula

Deva as in Goa.

DHARMA - BODH,

by Vyakaranacharya Gajananshastri Gaitonde. . . Rs. 4 /-

Brahmanical faith and practices cogently explained in simple Marathi, with Stotras in

simple Samskrit, and information about Saraswat Kula Devatas.

LAW OF INCOME TAX IN INDIA, by S. V. Pikale, B.A., LL.B., Advocate,

Supreme Court and H. C. Banavali, M.A., LL.M., Advocate.

BY THE SAME AUTHORS— (1) Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959; (2) Central Sales

Tax Act, 1956; (3) Goa Daman Din Sales Tax Laws.

SHREE KATYAYANI

PUBLICATIONS 4/418, Arun Chambers, Tardeo Road, BOMBAY-34.

TELEPHONE : 371244

THE SAMYUKTA SARASWAT, JANUARY 1973 3

January 1973 Vol. I No. 1 THE SAMYUKTA SARASWAT

EDITORIAL

THE REVIVAL OF SARASWATISM

The SAMYUKTA SARASWAT is the

official mouthpiece of the All-India

Saraswat Foundation and its parent body,

the All-India Saraswat Cultural Organi-

sation. We have much pleasure in pre-

senting this first issue of our Journal so

as to coincide with the Inaugural Func-

tion of the AISCO, which is being held

on December 23, 24 and 25, 1972. In

doing so, we hope and pray that the

foundations of Saraswat revivalism,

which is the principal aim of the above

two organisations, apart from the aims

of national regeneration and international

spiritual and cultural progress, will now

be well and truly laid.

The question uppermost in the minds

of both friends and critics alike will be,

as it has been jn the past, the question

of "communalism,” viz., why, in this late

twentieth century and in a country

already affected by the communal virus,

it becomes necessary to sponsor a new

"communal” organisation. Elsewhere in

this issue, this question has been

directly as well as indirectly answered

by some of the contributors. We would

like to draw the attention of readers also

to our Avedan-Patra of January 21, 1972,

in which the aims and objects and the

future programme of the AISCO have

been succinctly and clearly outlined.

However, it may be worthwhile to attack

this central issue right at the outset and,

perhaps, once for all, so far as the entire

movement of Saraswat revivalism is con-

cerned.

First of all, we would like clearly to

state that according to our way of think-

ing, we Saraswats are human beings

first, with obligations towards other

peoples and other nations on this globe

for the maintenance of international

peace and order and promotion of univer-

sal welfare. Secondly, we are Indians and

Hindus, owing allegiance to our mother-

land and our dharma. Thirdly, and no

less important, we are Saraswats with

duties towards our community and to our

ethos, which have survived for centuries

not only the ravages of time but also

communal and religious persecutions at

the hands of alien peoples and religions.

Having made this triple system of duties

and obligations clear, we must add that

the allegiance in each of the three cate-

gories is equally sacred and important

to us and that there is no essential con-

flict between them. No doubt there may

occasionally be marginal conflict here

and there, but by and large, it has been

and it should be possible to maintain a

reasonable balance in our attitude

towards the three entities, viz., the world,

the nation and the community. In fact,

such a balance Is bound to strengthen

not only the community but by implica-

tion the nation and perhaps the world.

Moreover, in the case of India, the

real crux of the so-called Communalism

centres round the twin problems of the

Hindu-Muslim conflict and Untouchability

— both of which have been the legacies

of history. The former has nothing to do

with “community” in the proper sense of

the term but is entirely an inter-religious

matter. On the other hand, the latter is

mainly a class issue, as even Mahatma

Gandhi used to say, arising from the


professional nexus. By abolishing comm-

unities or castes, it will not be possible

to get rid of either of these twin pro-

blems of communalism which are a

festering sore in the body politic of

India. Thus, when our leaders speak of

the evils of communalism, they have the

above two evils mainly in view and their

remarks have very little relevance to

community life as such. Therefore, so

far as the Saraswat community is con-

cerned, there is no reason to have any

guilt complex: nor is there any reason

for the critics to cavil at our efforts to

elevate the community by reviving our

ethos for the good not only of our

own members but of the nation as well.

In this context, we can do no better

than draw the attention of our readers to

a recent book by Shri K. Guru Dutt, en-

titled Community and Communion, in

which the author most conclusively

proves by reference to modern research

In sociology and psychology and with

impeccable logic that “community’’ and

"caste” are not the same and that

community life does not involve any

“communalism.’’ Not only this but he

goes further and illustrates with an ex-

haustive study of the Bhanaps or Chic-

rapur Saraswats how a community by

maintaining its own individual ethos can

bring about its uplift. This is not a soli-

tary instance. There are innumerable

other small and big communities, such

as the Parsis of Western India, the

Kashmiri Saraswats, the Ayyangars, the

Nagar Brahmins, the Syrian Christians

of Kerala, the Nambudri Brahmins, the

Chettiars and Mudaliars, et al., which

have brought success and glory to them-

selves and to the nation by preserving

their respective cultures, by fostering

family life, by forming institutions o'?

mutual assistance for promoting the

health, education, employment and the

economic status of their constituents,

and above all, by strengthening their

ethical and other values of life. There

have Indeed been occasional lapses

from ideals, especially in respect of

nepotism and “casteism", but which

system or way of life is ever perfect ?

And, in any case, what are the alterna-

tives ? As Shri Guru Dutt points ou t :

“In huge modern societies, the crowd’

never breaks up it has no groups to

return to, nothing to introduce sanity

arid order and discipline into its over-

excited mind, worked by propaganda

and advertisement through the giant

mass-media. There is the pheno-

menon of human beings being reduced

to (mere automatons and) robots mano-

euvred by the commissars of totalitarian

regimes.” It is clear that in totalitarian

regimes, the human automatons have to

function within the straitjackets of edicts

issued by high authority, while in our

old-fashioned societies, community life

with its freedom, its creativeness and its

boundless group energy, is capable of

producing the most fruitful results.

A Saraswat cultural revival can be a

movement of great importance not only

to the community itself but to the nation

and perhaps to the rest of the world. In

substance, such a revival will doubtless

be a revival of Aryadharma, which has

been the basis of India’s culture and

spiritual life. From the most ancient

times, e.g., from Vedic times right up to

our own days, Saraswats have played a

most prominent part in our nation’s

affairs, in politics, in administration, in

learning, in diplomacy, in statecraft and

in warfare and military strategy. Cen-

turies ago, there was a collapse of the

Hindu Aryan civilisation after the histori-

cal drought of 12 years, which led to the

initiation of 60,000 Brahmin sages on

the banks of the river Saraswati near


Kurukshetra, by the Saraswat Muni.

Since then the Aryan civilisation was

spread in many parts of India, where-

ver the Saraswats migrated. They

brought culture, prosperity and political

stability to various regions and helped

to build the nation. Parashuram, the

greatest Saraswat of all, venerated for

ages as an Avatar, was not only a demi-

god, but a leader of men, a great and

powerful warrior, a terror to all evil-

doers, and above all, a constructive

statesman and coloniser.

The revival of Saraswatism in its

essentials, in. our view, is a necessity

today, when we find the country torn by

dissensions, demoralised in various

ways by the elements of corruption

which have crept into public life, and

weakened by internal and external

calamities. We Saraswats have done it

before and there is no reason why we

should not or cannot do It once again.

We feel that at this juncture, it is not

merely the words of the Vedas and

Vedanta, but their spirit, which is the

spirit of Aryadharma, the spirit of yajna, i.e., devotion to the higher ideal of life

and personal sacrifices for the good of

the community and the nation, which

assume great importance. Saraswatism,

born in the heart of Aryavarta, on the

banks of the river Saraswati and in the

vicinity of Kurukshetra, is indeed the

essence of the Hindu way of life, and

for centuries, we Saraswats and our

sister communities, some of whom (e.g.

the other Panchagaudas) evolved out of

our migration, throughout the land that is

India, have been the custodians of all

that is sacred to the people. We must,

therefore, revive those essentials of

Saraswatism — particularly those which

would be in tune with the modern times

and would appear to be necessary for a

social renaissance and the uplift of

moral standards. This means that we

must first do some introspection and re-

form and organise our own community

and then, secondly, spread and propa-

gate the essentials of Saraswatism

throughout India and the rest of the

world. These are two distinct steps, but

there is no doubt in our mind that we

must attend first to the former objective.

We must reiterate here what has al-

ready been said in our documentation,

including the constitution of the AISCO

and the trust deed of the Saraswat

Foundation, viz., that our movement is

cultural and not communal (in the narrow

sense of the term). We might go even

further and say that the movement is

spiritual, because it will cater for the

spirit of the nation. On the other hand,

it will not be religious (in the narrow

sense of the term again), but will strive

to inculcate those high ideals of life

which fired the imagination and permeat-

ed the life of our forefathers, the ancient

Aryans of India. There is a great danger

today of the collapse of our civilisation,

based upon Aryadharma, if the leaders

of our intelligentsia do not awaken to the

need of re-building the Aryan Hindu

culture, which seems to be on the verge

of rapid disintegration and decay, owing

to the onslaughts of debasing alien cul-

tures and mores of life and conflicting

centrifugal social forces in the country

itself. May the Saraswats take the lead

in a new movement which will emphasise

that man does not live by bread alone,

but that there are higher issues and

values of life, which bring great social

and spiritual advantages of welfare and

happiness! Let it not be said by future

historians that we Saraswats failed in

our duty to ourselves, our nation and

the world !


Announcing

THE SARASWAT SANMARG SERIES of tracts and books

He who looks at the marvellous harmony in the anatomy of the universe, as well as his own, is inclined to deflate his ego and devalue his

individual interests. He seeks the path of social harmony, which is indeed the Saraswat Sanmarg.

The cultivation of this way of life is the objective of the All India Saraswat Foundation. Contemplation of the harmony is the object of the Saraswat Sanmarg series of publications.

1. OUR SACRED CREST D. N. Nadkami

An essay on the Crest of the AISCO and the All India Saraswat Foundation, as a Symbol of the Saraswat ethos Rs. 2

2. COMMUNITY AND COMMUNION: The Saraswat Experience

K. GURU DUTT

An illuminating treatise on the nature of Indian communities and their creative role in the national life.

Rs. 5

Published by

THE All INDIA SARASWAT FOUNDATION 4/4I8, Arun Chambers, Tardeo Road,

BOMBAY-34

Editorial Note


DISCOVERING THE SARASWAT IDENTITY

Consolidation of the Saraswat ethos as a

worthy prototype for the national ethos calls for

a dose study of the cultural elements common to

all the regional groups of Saraswats throughout

the country. The principal elements of the culture

of any society include language, religious beliefs

and practices, food habits, social customs,

domestic habits, attitude to wealth, level and

trend of education, mythology, and knowledge of

history, including the history of the social group

concerned. A study of Saraswat Culture involves

an evaluation of the life of each territorial group,

and then of the community as a whole, in all

these aspects.

Self-awareness of a community, implying con-

sciousness of the common identity and a fair

knowledge of the community‟s history, is thus

essential to the-development of its culture and its

ethos. In the case of the Saraswats, this is a field

in which a great deal of work awaits to be done.

As matters stand, the territorial groups have little

knowledge of one another. Even within a group,

a good deal of ignorance and misconception pre-

vails about its own history and even identity.

Among the Dakshini Saraswats, better known

as Gowd Saraswat Brahmins, there are still those

who believe that the followers of the Chitrapur

Math are a distinct and separate community.

There are others who assume that the G.S.B‟s

consist only of the followers of the four Maths

Kavle, Kashi, Gokam and Chitrapur. The fact is

that there are five G.S.B. Maths, including the

Dabholi Math of the Kudaldeshkar sect; and

there are other sects which acknowledge the

Shankaracharya of Sringeri as their Pontif.

It has been the privilege of Saraswat social-

service institutions like the G.S.B. Temples Trust,

the Saraswat Vidyarthi Sahayyak Mandali and

the Saraswat Brahman Samaj to hold these sects

and sub-sects together and to nurse the Dakshini

Saraswat identity. A study of the regional and

sectarian institutions of Saraswats thus becomes

an essential feature of the search for the Saraswat

ethos.

Taking first things first, “Samyukta Saraswat"

proposes to stimulate an understanding of the

historical background of the present territorial

groups of Saraswats. A beginning is made with

the three articles which follow, relating respective-

ly to the Saraswats of Kashmir, Gujarat and the

Deccan.

These articles, not being intended to be either

comprehensive or conclusive, are excellent open-

ing statements on subjects with plenty of scope

for development. And they all come from persons

with the authority of keen interest, deep study

and mature judgment.

It is hoped that these esteemed contributors‟

interest in the “Samyukta Saraswat” and its

mission will grow, that they will follow up their

presentation of their respective themes, and that

others with similar advantages will also follow

suit.

Attention is invited, meanwhile, to a well

authenticated history of the Saraswats of Kerala

prepared by Shri N. Purushothama Mallaya as a

paper for presentation at the Inaugural Session

of the AISCO, and to a similar paper prepared

by Pt. J. L. K. Jalali on Saraswat Institutions in

Kashmir, both of which are reproduced elsewhere

in this issue.

There has been a difference of opinion among

scholars regarding the precise location of the

original home of the Saraswats, as also the exact

period or periods of their dispersal throughout

the country. Scripture, tradition and legend are

the principal sources of such inferences as may be

reasonably drawn. While these inferences perhaps

lack the definitive quality demanded by history,

they are not by that reason any the less relevant

in a cultural evaluation. Legend and tradition re-

present a spirit and an attitude which have with-

stood the ravages of time.

Patient research in ancient and medieval inscrip-

tions and in classical literature can help to

produce a plausible outline of the cultural course

of each of the present territorial groups, up to the

advent of European influence in India. Material

for research in relation to the subsequent period

is distinctly richer.

Substantial work on the.se lines has been done

already. In regard to Dakshini Saraswats, an

enormous amount of material has been uncovered

and collected notably by Prof. A. K. Priolkar


Grams CUTDIAMOND

and the late Dr. P. S. Pisurlekar, to which Shri

Vinayak Narayan Dhume of Kumbharjuva, Goa,

has recently added his quota. The task of present-

ing a connected story of fact, legend and infer-

ence, with a variety of cultural information,

mainly about Dakshini Saraswats, was first

accomplished by Mathastha Ganesh Rama-

chandra Sharma two decades ago. It has been

recently repeated by the late Shri V N. Kudva.

Much research work remains to be done, how-

ever, mainly on the lines already indicated by the

efforts of Prof. Priolkar and Dr. Pisurlekar.

The rich collection of microfilms of documents,

manuscripts and old books in the Portuguese

archives in Lisbon, gifted by Dr. Pisurlekar

to the Bombay University‟s Centre of Post-

Graduate Study at Panaji, is believed to be a

promising source of authentic strands of Dakshini

Saraswat history.

For the layman, information concerning the

historical background and at least some aspects

of the culture of Dakshini Saraswats is not so

scanty. Handy books on the subject are

(i) “Saraswat Bhooshan” (Marathi) by Pt.

Ganesh Ramchandra Sharma, published by

Popular Book Depot, Bombay; (ii) Shree Shanta-

duiga Tonple Centenary Commemoration

Volume (Marathi), issued by the Shree Shanta-

durga Seva Samiti, Bombay; (iii) “History of the

Dakshinatya Saraswats” (English) by Shri V. N.

Kudva, published by the Samyukta Gowd

Saraswat Brahman Sabha, Madras; and (iv)

“History of the Shree Mangeshi Temple"

(Marathi) by Shri V. N. Dhume, published by

Timaji Kakodkar at Margao, Goa. Information

concerning the Kula-Devatas and Gotras of

Dakshini Saraswats is given in Shri Gajanan

Shastri Gaitonde‟s “Dharma Bodh" (Marathi),

published by Shree Katyayani Publications,

Bombay; while an exquisite pen portrait of the

Chitrapur sect is drawn by Shri K. Guru Dutt in

his illuminating treatise on "Community and

Communion” (English), of which a second edi-

tion is just issued in the Saraswat Sanmarg

Series of the All India Saraswat Foundation. In-

cidentally, the four books last mentioned, which

are recent publications, are reviewed in this issue.

“Samyukta Saraswat” looks forward to readers

coming up with additions to this bibliography,

evaluation of the published material, and similar

information concerning other Saraswat groups

such as those in U.P., West Bengal, Kashmir,

Punjab. Gujarat and Cutch.

WITH BEST COMPLlMENTS FROM

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Saraswat Identity — I

THE SARASWATS OF KASHMIR By

Karma Yogi J. L. K. Jalali,

President, The All State Kashmiri Pandits Conference

The Kashmiri Hindus called Kashmiri

Pandits are the Saraswat Brahmans of

Kashmir. I have before me the Census Re-

port of the Jammu and Kashmir State for

the year 1901, in which the sub-castes of

the Saraswat Brahmans of the State, parti-

cularly Jammu, have been shown as 32, and

the Kashmiri Pandit is one of them. Now

that the Saraswats of India are uniting in

one body, it is very necessary to know

which classes of Saraswats are to be found

in which part of the country, so that one

has a clear idea about the magnitude of their

numbers, their socio-economic status and

stability, their contribution to the deve-

lopment and progress of the country, apart

from their political contribution for the

attainment of the nation's independence as

also for the maintenance of solidarity of this

largest democracy in the world as the grea-

test power in South-east Asia.

Though a minority in Kashmir, the

Kashmiri Pandits are an incalculable asset

and make the State a Saraswat stronghold in

the north of the country. They claim their

descent from the great Sage Kashyapa, who

got the satisaras, the lake of the goddess

Sati (Uma), desiccated and then inhabited

by immigrants from Bharat. In course of

time, the immigrants divided themselves

into six clans (or gotras) headed by the

sfiges Dattatreya, Bharadwaja, Mudhgale,

Pathadeva. Upamanyu and Dhuma, and

with the passage of time got further sub-

divided into 133 gotras through inter-ma-

rriage and intermixture with other Brah-

mans.

Here in Kashmir a curious historical

label of religious hue is to be found among

them; and it would only amuse the reader

to know that when in the beginning of the

fourteenth century under pressure of for-

cible conversion by Sultan Sikandar, the

Iconoclast, the Kashmiri Pandits fled to the

plains of India, and were followed by hordes

of emigres under successive reigns, the

“eleven houses or families'‟ that somehow

managed to remain behind under cover,

and their descendants, came to be known as

. to distinguish them from those

who later returned after Sultan Zainulabidin

announced religious tolerance and freedom

of faith and conscience and remitted a part

tax on Hindus and were called

Bhanamasis” Apparently Bhammasis

would be those who adopted the solar

calendar; but in Kashmir both the Malmasis

and the Bhasnamasis follow the lunosolar

calendar; and this label of so-called

distinction is only in evidence at the time

the intercalary month is scheduled to fall

(every three years), and the adhikamasa is

observed at different intervals by the two.

Its presence is more marked if and when the

intercalary month falls (as this year) in

Magh or Phagan. and the two Shivratri

(Herat) festivals and two New Year‟s Days

fall at intervals of one month.

Saraswat Contribution

The Kashmiri Hindus were the dynastic

rulers of Kashmir, though non-Kashmiris

at times also occupied the throne. But from

the middle of the fourteenth century. Isla-

mic ascendancy coupled with mass prosely-


tisation reduced the three million Hindu

majority of Kashmir to much less than a

hundred thousand which fell and rose with

every ebb and flow of the political tide.

The converts to Islam, who form the majo-

rity now, are in fact the very Pandits whose

blood flows in their veins; and that is main-

ly responsible for the proverbial secularism

of Kashmir, notwithstanding the fanatic

excesses that have at times accentuated the

socio-economic insecurity of the Hindus. It

is incontrovertible that it is this Pandit who

has made Kashmir what it is now at a great

personal and social sacrifice. For example,

when the Pathan rulers of Kabul out-herod-

ed the former Muslim monarchs and gover-

nors in their tyranny, oppression and ex-

ploitation in Kashmir,' it was the Kashmiri

Pandit, Birbal Dhar, who hostaged his son,

Rajak Dhar, with Maharaja Ranjit Singh,

Lion of the Punjab, and persuaded him to

invade and occupy Kashmir to rid the

Kashmiris of the intolerable excesses of the

foreigners in the first quarter of the nine-

teenth century. After the Dogra occupation

of the Valley as a part of the State of

Jammu and Kashmir, it was the Kashmiri

Pandit who substantially contributed to the

rehabilitation of its depleted economy either

as an officer of the Government or as an

assistant in the office or in the field “settl-

ing” the mountainous frontiers of Ladakh,

Baltistan and Gilgit.

While Kashmir is known as “the Paradise

on Earth” and tourists from all parts of the

globe come and enjoy its scenic beauty, its

trout-fishing and snipe-shooting, the Kash-

miri Pandit has emblazoned its cultural fir-

mament. Despite the vicissitudes of time, he

has given the world a Philosophy of Posi-

tivism (Vishvasya Jivitam Satyam praks-

shaikatmakashcha sah) in contradistinction

to the Vedantin‟s Neti which has even

now attracted scholars and savants, seekers

and searchers from the different parts of the

world to have a taste of the Pierian Spring

of knowledge and spiritual beatitude. The

great Acharyas, Vasugupta, Somananda,

Utpala, Abhinavagupti (and now Rajanaka

Lachmanjoo Swami), the great sages and

saints, Yogini Lalleshwari, Rupa Bhawani,

the powerful Rishi Peer Swami Krishna

Kar, Mahatma Prasadji (Great Bab), the

great scholars, poets and rhetoricians,

Kaiyat, Mammat and Bana, the great Poet-

Historian Kalhana, the linguistic-magician-

author of Kalpadruma, Sahib Kaul, the

beatific Karma Yogi Paramananda and the

devotional poet Krishna Razan are some of

the ever bright luminaries whose effulgence

has flood-lit Kashmir and its people over

the centuries.

The goddess Uma has been the presiding

deity of Kashmir yaiva Uma saiva Kash-

trtira (She who is Uma is herself Kashmira),

and Shakti-worship, notwithstanding the

philosophy of Shaivism, has been the do-

minant underlying substratum on which all

other edifices have been superimposed,

sometimes improvised temporarily, some-

times enduringly. And this is still extant in

one form or another, as the several god-

desses like Sharika, Rajna, Jwala, Tripura.

Durga, Chandi, Sheetala, Kali, Hari and

others, who are worshipped by the Kash-

miris, stand as guardian angels spread out

in the Valley of Kashmir. Unfortunately the

goddess Sharada, the embodiment of wis-

dom and learning who guarded the nor-

thern frontier of the Valley, has now been

cease-fired ‟ along with the Sharadi fort

out into the so-called Azad Kashmir under

the illegal control of Pakistan. Sharada is

still with us all the same and represents our

traditional culture.

To Remember and Respect

In the politico-administrative field, in the

line of monarchical rulers, there have been

kings and queens and among them Emperor

Lalitaditya stands out as the flaming orb of

Kashmir s greatness, economic prosperity,


industrial growth, trade expansion, foreign-

state domination and suzerainty over feuda-

tories and colonial settlements. With China,

Iran, etc., he had established diplomatic

relations and his grandson, Javapida Vina-

yaditya, extended Kashmir‟s sway over the'

Gauda (Bengal) kings. Ranaditya, Pravar-

sena, Avantivarman, Shankarvarman, Meg-

havahana, Harsha, Yashaskara, Yasho-vati,

Sugandha, Didda, Kotarani and others are

some of the kings and queens whose ex-

ploits will in due course be recorded in the

pages of this journal with a view to acquain-

ting the reader with what contribution they

(and their professional experts) have made

in the building up of Kashmir and its past

in the context of Mother India. In the

Kashmir of today, no more do we find kings

and queens; but nonetheless there are minis-

ters, administrative heads, business mag-

nates, leaders of note, great scholars and

others whose social, political, economic and

cultural contribution to the State and society

cannot go unnoticed. During the pre-popular

regimes there have been great personalities

like Chaudhri Mahesh, Nand Ram, Birbai

Dhar, Tilak Munshi, and Nila Kaul Jalali

(better known as Nilanag after Maharaja

Ranbirsingh invested him with this title),

while the last of the Dogra rulers, Maharaja

Harisingh, elevated Ramchandra Kak to the

Prime Ministership of the State of Jammu

and Kashmir. In the popular regime now

there have been many important Kashmiris,

of whom the name of the author‟s cousin,

Shri Durga Prashad Dhar, ex-Minister of

Kashmir and now Chairman of the Policy

Planning Committee of the External Affairs

Ministry of the Government of India, de-

serves to be mentioned. The names of some

of the past stalwarts and pillars of the

Kashmiri community, such as Pandit

Motilal Nehru, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru,

Kailashnath Katju and others are too well-

known to need special mention. Moreover,

the jewel of India, Jawaharlal Nehru —

whose memory we treasure—and his illu-

strious daughter, Indira Priyadarshini, have

been the crowning glory of Kashmir and of

India.

Saraswat Identity — 2

LEADERSHIP IN KUTCH AND GUJARAT By

Dr. Janardan Pandya, M.A., Ph.D.

The origin of Saraswat Brahmins is

traced in Puranas, Mahabharata and in the

Rigved Bhasya of Sayanacharya. Mahama-

hopadhyaya Pandit Shri Dayaram Khatau

Sharma has given in his book “Raghuvanshi

Ratnakar or Adarsha Itihas” varied opi-

nions about the origin of Saraswat Brahmins

in ancient stories of Puranas and as stated

in Rigved Bhasya of Sayanacharya. Sayana-

charya in his book “Rigved Bhasya” has

stated as follows “In the assembly of

Brahma, Durvasa Rishi, while reciting the

Vedas, had mis-spelt some words and for

this mistake Devi Saraswati liad ridiculed

him. Durvasa Rishi had shown his anger by

saying that she had inherited human nature

and she would have to take birth in the

liuman world. Hearing this. Saraswati Devi

became grieved (vexed) and asked to be

pardoned by Durvasa Rishi. Durvasa showed

mercy to her and said that Dadhichi the son

of Charan Rishi. would accept her as his

wife and she would give birth to a son who

would be known as Saraswat Rishi and then


she would be free from human bondage and

her son, Saraswat Rishi. would establish the

Saraswat Brahmin race.”

Sanswat Brahmins resided on the bank

of the Saraswati in Punjab and were wor-

shipping Goddess Saraswati. They were

originally known as sons of Devi Saraswati

and Punjab at that time was known as

Saraswat Desh. During a drought in the

Punjab. Saraswat Rishi worshipped Sha-

kambhari Devi and saved her by restarting

the learning of the Vedas,

The Saraswat Brahmins migrated from

Punjab to Kunikshetra, Matsya, Panchal

and Kanyakubja. They established them-

selves in places north of the Vindhyachal

and they were known as Kanyakubjas,

Gauds. Uthals and Maithilis. Those who

resided in the places south of the Vindhya-

chal mountain are known as Andhraites,

Dravidians, Karnatakis, Maharashtrians and

Gurjars.

The history of Saraswat Brahmins was

traceable up to the Rajput era. Brahmins

have contributed much to the prosperity of

that era. The Afghans and the Iranians

envied the rise and prosperity of the Rajputs

and they invaded various places from Punjab

to Kashmir. During this period, Maharaja

Ramsaran Dev was ruling over Punjab and

Kashmir. In the fifth century. Ramasaran

Dev lost the battle in Punjab to the Afghans

and the Iranians and the Saraswats escorted

Rajput families safely to the area of Sindh.

The Saraswats were more numerous than

the Rajputs and they actually managed the

affairs of the State.

In Sindh the kingdom of the Rajputs was

divided into two parts, Sumra and Samavam-

sha. The Lohanas established themselves in

the kingdom of the Sumras and Saraswats

did so in the Soma kingdom of Nagarsamai-

ya. Due to conflicts between the Sumras

and Lohanas, Chachdev captured the nor-

them part of Sindh and the Saraswat

Brahmins ruled over Sindh for 75 years. From Sindh to Kutch

The Turks captured from Chachdev the Somavams kingdom of Sindh. One of Somavams came down to Kutch and with them came the Lohanas and One batch came and established itself in Kathiawad and another in Kutch.

Somavamsi Modh and Manai power from Solanki and Chawda in Kutch.

The Turks gave regional management to

the remaining Saraswats and Lohanas In

Sindh, the Lohanas were managing the local

Government till the defeat of Mir Rustom

in Samvat 1819 by the British. In Kutch

also, the Lohanas were managing the local

affairs till the Somavamsi reign of Shri

Lakhpatji of Jedeja.

The Saraswats helped Jamshri Kud Ghar-

ji to capture power in Kutch and he in

return gave them the position of purohits of

Somavamsa and till today the Saraswats are

the purohits of Kutch Jadeja.

In the seventeenth century, Rakhenagar

captured the power from the Jadejas and

established permanent rule in Kutch. He

captured Kutch with the help of the Suba

and Kalo Joshi were Dewans of the Nawab

of Ahmedabad and at that time Morvi was

given to him by the Saraswats. Rudho Joshi

at Morvi. They gave Morvi to the Hindu

kings to stop cow slaughter and harassment

from the Nawab. Rav Shri Khengarji called

brave Saraswats to Kutch and gave

Bambhadai to Kalo Joshi and Bayad to

Rudho Joshi. The Saraswats were classed

as brave and self-respecting persons. Their

services were utilised by Deshalji to have

a temple like that of Dwarkadheesh, and a

temple of Trivikramaraiji was built at

Narayansarovar.


In Samvat 1900 the Saraswats were in

service as Talatis and in the revenue depart-

ments. They not only enlightened the histo-

rical place of Narayansarovar but also gave

to the region poets, literary men, pleaders

and musicians as well as advisers.

The Saraswats, 700 in number,

fought with the Sindh Army of

Godeji and gave their lives for the

preservation of Kutch; and this his-

toric event was known to every vil-

lager, and even today a monument

(Pado) to Mulji Lakhani, the leader

of brave Saraswats, stands as evi-

dence to that glorious Sacrifice at

the mouth of Jhara-Dungapur,

Kutch.

After 1819 the Saraswats and other sects

became subordinates and some of them were

serving in the kingdoms of Kutch rulers and

others became farmers and purohits.

Bombay Settlement

When the Kutch people came to know that

Bombay harbour in the south was expand-

ing, the Banias, Bhatias and Lohanas went

to Bombay and started business in cotton

and grains. Parties of Boda .Toshi and Valii

Narsi who were the chief business commu-

nities of Bombay came from Kutch, Anjar

and Sandhan.

The Saraswats started their career in the

field of learning and went to Dwarka,

Bombay and Kashi and acquired high

degree and proficiency in knowledge of

Sanskrit and other languages. In Ayurved,

Rasayan Sastra, Astrology, Yajna, etc., the

Saraswats have predominated. Pandit

Pitambarji is known to many for his noble

and pious life. Some of the Saraswats

migrated and others perferred to serve in

Kutch.

From this historical reference one can

easily understand that Saraswats have been

heroes and selfless people. They looked not-

to their own interest but to that of the pro-

vince as a whole.

In independent India the Saraswats have produced learned people, scholars, litera- teures, poets, scientists, businessmen and judges.

In the beginning of the 20th century the

Shri Kutch Deshiya Saraswati Brahman

Mahasthan was formed and educational and

social activities were started, and buildings

have been purchased by it in De Souza

Street at Vadgadi in Bombay. For free

Sanskrit education a Pathshala has been

established in that building and the Trust

of the Mahasthan has also been formed and

the Bal Gangadhar Tilak Pustakalaya from

the Madhavji Tulsidas Joshi Trust was

started for students.

In Kutch-Anjar, a Saraswat Brahmin

Boarding House has been established from

donations from Sheth Kanji Jadavji.

The Saraswats of Kutch have started also

their social, educational and religious activi-

ties at Mulund and they have constructed

their own building known as Saraswati Wadi.

It has been said that Saraswat Brahmins

have rendered social, political, religious and

educational services to the people and the

States from the Vedic age till the Peshwa

rule.


Saraswat Identity — 3

THE SETTLEMENTS OF THE DECCAN By

Shri K. K. Pai and Shri M. P. Pai

It is generally agreed that Saraswats in-

liatnted Aryavartha also known as Brahma-

vartha, a piece of fertile land bounded in

the north by river Drisadvati and in the

south by river Saraswati. It is believed that

they migrated from Central Asia and it is

very likely that they came from the Polar

region when that part of the land became

unihabitable due to climatic changes. Geo-

logists are of the opinion that 10,000 years

ago, the Polar region had an equable climate

and an eternal spring was in existence there

for thousands of years.

River Saraswati

No trace of this river is to be found any-

where in India though it is recorded that the

river had its source at Plaksha Prasravana

in the Himalayas and then flowing through

Kurukhetra and the present Rajasthan region

it joined the Arabian Sea near Dwarka.

There is no such river answering this descrip-

tion, not even the bed of this river is to be

seen in the course described. However, it

is likely that the migrating Aryans must have

named several rivers on their route as

Saraswati. This name seems to have cap-

tured their imagination. Achaenenian

Emperor Darius 521-481 B.C. — in his

inscription refers to river Haraquati (Sans.

Saraswati‟) and also to river Harayu

(Sans. „Sarayu‟) in Western Afghanistan.

Haraquati is presently known as Argand-

Ab

In Rigveda there is a reference to

Saraswati, and one gets an impression that

this is a celestial river or possibly an eflul-

gent glow of light at the horizon which

battled with the fearful darkness in the Polar

region.

The sloka in Rigveda is as follows

“Utsaya Nah Saraswati Ghora Hiranya-

vartani Vratagni Vasti Sustutim 6-61-7”

It is also possible that a clan of Aryans

who performed the Saraswat Yajna and

worshipped Saraswati Devi might have

been called Saraswats, This was a Yajna of

migration and the performance of which

brought them to Bharatadesha through the

northwest frontier. The details of the Yajna

are to be found in various scriptures.

Ancestors :

Mythologically Saraswat Muni, son of

Dadhichi, has been referred to as the

Ancestor of all the Saraswats. 'The legend

tells us that these Saraswats lived in

Aryavarta happily pursuing their Vedic

studies but were unfortunately overtaken by

a severe famine and all the Saraswats

migrated from Aryavartha. Saraswati Devi

seems to have asked Saraswat Muni to stay

on the banks of the Saraswati river and

sustain life by eating fish, and when the

famine disappeared to give back the Vedas

to the survivors of the clan.

Historians agree that Bhargawa Rama

(Parashurama) son of Jamadagni and

Renuka was a Saraswat. He seems to have

waged twentyone wars to exterminate the

wicked Kshatriya kings and having given

away the land to Brahmins he left northern

India and migrated to the south. It is possi-

ble that he took the sea route from one of


the ports from Saurashtra and landed in

South India in the present Goa, It is interest-

ing to note that an island near Goa was

named by him as Revati Dweepa and a hill

as Gomantaka and another place as

Kushasthali in Goa. All these names are

also existing in Saurashtra. There are

several references to various Saraswat

Brahmins coming down south from northern

India and settling in various places starting

temples and seats of learning and it is they

who brought the vaidik form of worship to

South India. Suttanipata of Budhist canon

makes mention of a Vedic scholar, Bavari,

living in Asmaka country in Dakshinapatha.

It is stated that a number of his disciples

travelled north to meet Lord Buddha who

had by then become very famous by his

teachings. The great Apasthambha, who

lived on the banks of the Godavari in 400

B.C. and has been credited with having

written Shrauta Grahya and Dharmasutra,

was also living in South India. There is

reason to believe that these two intellectual

giants were Saraswats.

Ashoka had his edicts in South India

carved in the Brahmi lipi. If the people in

the locality were unable to read this script

he would have certainly got them written up

in the local language. This again goes to

show that the people who could read this

script were already existing in South India

posterior to Ashoka.

Outside India, in the lands adjoining to

our country, Saraswats lived in Parad,

Phallava, Sumer, Asura, Kamboja etc, and

were all following the Vedic Dharma. Their

language was very near to Sanskrit and there

was a close intercourse between the people

of our country and those people. There is

plenty of evidence to show that the king

who ruled Mecca (in those days Mukthe-

swara) was a Saraswat king and the Shiva

temple was in existence till the temple was

converted into a mosque by the followers

of Islam. This is a significant fact as time

and again people have come from middle

east and settled down in South India by sea

route whenever they found persecution there

was unbearable. One such example is the

arrival of Navayats of Bhatkal who came in

large numbers and settled down and it is

interesting to note that their language is akin

to Konkani though it differs in many ways

from the actual Kankani spoken in the

region of Bhatkal. Chitpavan Brahmins

must have also belonged to the Saraswat clan

as evidenced by their high learning and they

are also following the Vedic Dharma and

they too migrated in the distant past to South

India as they were unable to stand the per-

secution in the middle eastern countries.

Plenty of evidence has been collected by

research scholars in history to show that the

Pallava kadamba and Ganga rulers of

south India were .Saraswats It is possible

that the apabramsha of word „Ganga‟ became

Konga, from which the name Konkan must

have been derived for the coastal strip of our

country extending from Thana to Trivan-

drun

The Guru of Sri Adi Shankaracharya,

Govinda Bhagawat Padacharya and his

Guru Srimad Gowda Padacharya were un-

doubtedly Saraswats. The question whether

Shankaracharya himself was a Saraswat or

not needs a lot of research. Shankaracharja

was a worshipper of Shakti and he installed

the idol of Kamakshidevi in Kanchipura and

composed the beautiful Anandalahari and

soundaryalahari, which makes us believe

that he too must have been a Saraswat.

According to Sri N. Venkatraman. nine of

the gurus who adorned Kanchi Kamakoti

"Peetam in the past were Saraswat. The

famous Mandana Misra who became a disciple of Shankaracharya

Saraswat.


Temple). In

iHere seem to have

Temples dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and

Maheshwara. out of which two temples are

not in existence at present and the third one

is ouF of Saraswat hands.

Vijayanagara Kingdom &

Role of Saraswats :

It is very interesting to note that Chaunda.

Madhava. a Goan Saraswat who was in the

court of Vijayanagara King has played a

great role in founding and strengthening

the vijayanagara kingdqm. Chaunda

Madhava was a great scholar, administrator

and a man of character and there are several

edicts where the Vijayanagara kings have

extolled his qualities. He was the son of

Chaundabhatta and Machaladevi belonging

to the Angirasa Gotra. Subsequently,

another Goan Saraswat played a great role

in the administration the Vijayanagara

Kingdom and he happened to be the Minister

of Harihara. His name was Veera Vasantha

Madhava. Veera Vasantha‟s son,

Bachanna, ruled over Goa and Tulunad and

in Tulunad we find several edicts in

Bachanna‟s name. The Sri Subramanya

Temple at Kuke Subramanya received land

grants from Bachanna in the year Shaka

1329.

Saraswats in South Kanara :

It is commonly believed that the Saraswats

came to South Kanara District after the

Portuguese conquest of Goa but there is

plenty of evidence to show that they were

in different parts of the District of South

Kanara much before the Portuguese conquest

of Goa. The late Sri Govinda Pai was of

opinion that the famous Sri Madananteshwar

temple was in the hands of Saraswat

Brahmins in the Shaka year 1215. in the

year 1225, Bankideva II made land grants

to one Vamana Shenabhava. This means

Brahmins were in South

Kaimra District posterior to Shaka 13th

century. The people were closely associated

with the ruling dynasties of Tulunad. Alupa

kings of Tulunad were assisted by the

Saraswat brahmins in performing daily

pooja in the various temple Influence of

Saraswat form of worship is to be seen

in many of the temples. It is interesting that

out of three famous ancient Saraswat

temples of South Kanara, one is situated in

Manjeshwar (Sri Madanantheswara temple),

THesewnd in Karangalpady (Shiva temple)

gnd the third in Gollerkeri (Ganapathi

Nireshalva (Hoige Bazaar)

been three Saraswat

Saraswats in Maharashtra :

We know that many Saraswats played a

great role in the Maharashtra kingdom and

names of Pitambar Shenoy, Rama Kamati,

Sabaji Chature and Jivaji Ballal Bakshi are

all great names.

In the limited scope of this paper it is

not possible for us to dilate on this topic.

All that we would say is that one feels

very proud when one looks back to the con-

tribution made by Saraswats spread over the

country particularly in Dakshinapatha in

founding empires, in giving excellent ad-

ministration and popularising the Vaidik

form of worship. They played a great role

in the national life in those days and played

it very well indeed !

We are grateful to Sri Basti Pundahka

Shenoy for permitting us to quote freely

from his beautiful book published in

Kannada “Review of Konkani and Marathi

and Ancient History of Saraswat Brahmins”

W'e have also referred to “History of

Dakshinathya Saraswats” by the late V. N.

Kudva, I.C.S. in writing this paper.

THE SAA«YUKTA SARASWAT, JANUARY 1973 17

Since the dawn of history, scholarship and

expertise in all arts and sciences have

been a charactenstic of Saraswats, votaries

of Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning.

The imparting of learning has also been a

passion of Saraswat life. Under modern

conditions, this passion has been expressing

itself in the promotion of Schools and

Colleges and the organisation of schoiar-

ship societies to render financial assistance

to needy students. There are a number of

Saraswat scholarship societies, mostly pro-

ducts of local initialive and therefore seg-

mentary in their fields of operation.

The generously motivated article given

below suggests the liberalisation of Saraswat

student assistance under the unitary control

of an All India Saraswat Educational Trust

with a nation-wide network of branch offices.

"Samyukta Saraswat” will welcome the.

views of persons actively engaged in the

conduct of scholarship societies.

SARASWAT YOUTH AND THE AISCO By

Dr. D. V. Kerkar, M.D., D.G.O., Margao, Goa

The All India Saraswat Cultural Organi-

sation has definitely taken a timely and bold

step in trying to bring together Saraswats

from the different Maths in the Deccan as

well as from different parts of India. The

success or failure of such a venture apart

from the initial success would depend upon

how the youth of our community responds

to this new programme.

Saraswats even after a very exhaustive

survey are a comparatively small community.

Gone are the days when Saraswats enjoyed

a privileged position for just being

Saraswats.

Many a young Saraswat of today basking in

the glory of the past achievements of his

community finds himself harassed at every

possible step from college admission to

securing a job „for belonging to an advanc-

ed community‟, and is often frustrated.

Poor economic resources coupled with the

middle class urge “to keep up appearances”

compel many to discontinue their education

and seek a petty white-collar job. The

future of the community will depend upon

how we look after these impressionable

angry Saraswat young men.

In a Welfare State, health and education

are primarily the responsibility of the

Government. In an economically backward

country like ours, it will be expecting too

much of the state to carry out any one of

these responsibilities fully or even adequate-

ly, The small Saraswat community could set

an example and give a lead in making up

for the inadequacy of state action. Health

and education of the community should be

looked after with community funds and

should cease to be individual liabilities.

At the moment 1 shall restrict myself to

education only. City dwellers may not be

fully aware of the problem of economic

backwardness of Saraswats in rural areas.

There are very few parents there who can

afford to give their children the best educa-

tion that the children are capable of. Edu-

cation of even young children is a burden to

quite a few, and there are those who find

education of any kind to be a luxury they

cannot afford. The need for a community

organisation to look after education, there-

fore, becomes imperative. With the availa-

bility of sincere and dedicated workers and

excellent administrative talents in the com-

munity, the proper management of such an

organisation will not be difficult. This is a

modest proposal.


It is suggested that an AH India Saraswat

Educational Trust be created within the

AISCO, with regional and divisional

branches spread over the country. This

should finance the education of any student

on a mere application and not on the basis

of certified poverty. At present there are a

few organisations which give help to “poor”

students. Given to the cult of keeping up

appearances, a very small percentage of

really deserving or needy students try to get

help from these institutions. The compul-

sion to produce an array of certificates from

different sources to prove the inability of

one‟s parents to look after the education of

their children is, to say the least, insulting

and derogatory to self-respect. This trauma

to the impressionable young people can and

should be spared. Without putting the aspi-

rant in such an embarrassing position, eco-

nomic help for education should be granted

on request alone. The reimbursement of this

help should not be insisted upon. Saraswats,

brought up in an instinctive tendency to al-

truism and honesty, will feel morally bound

to replenish the funds. I personally feel con-

fident that within a short time the resources

of the trust will increase many fold and

those helped by this trust in time of their

need will devote themselves to the progres-

sive betterment of the institution.

While taking care of the needy and the

average, the trust should encourage by

awards and scholarships the excellence in

the youth in any sphere, curricular or extra-

curricular.

All India talent competitions should be

organised every year, predominance being

given to athletics and games. Such competi-

tions held in regions and divisions will have

their logical culmination in an All-India

Meet. Similar activities will draw the

Saraswat youth together, develop iheir

talents and draw them towards the AISCO.

With the spread of education, it is

common to find a high school within a few

miles of any village. University educaUon

however is beyond the reach of many of

those who do not stay within a reasonable

distance from a college or university. The

expenses of lodging and boarding alone are

prohibitive and beyond the means of average

parents. Subsidised youth hostels near as

many educational centres as possible are the

need of the moment. The Saraswat Educa-

tional Trust should make a good beginning

in this direction.

One is justly proud of the many Saraswat

temples ; neat, clean and well maintained;

but 1 am not aware of any that is contribut-

ing substantially towards the education of

the Saraswats. Agrashalas and Dharmashalas

are being built with community funds by

the temple trustees and a lot of money is

spent over these buildings. Will it be possi-

ble to construct these Agrashalas and Dhar-

mashalas so that they can be utilised as

hostels or classrooms during the major part

of the year and thus serve the community

and the nation better ?

I entertain no doubt about the vast re-

sources needed to implement the All India

Saraswat Educational Trust scheme even on

a humble scale. Finances for such a scheme

will necessarily have to be raised from the

community. Swamijis and Saraswat temples

should give a fixed percentage of their

income to the trust. Any event or occasion

worth celebration and commemoration

should remind the members of the Saraswat

community to donate to the funds of

“AISET” Titles like „Guardian of Youth‟,

„Friend of Youth‟, „Guide of Youth‟, should

be awarded to the donors contributing large

sums to the trust. If the “AISET” concept

is accepted in principle, details can always

be worked out by those experienced in the

line. It is truly said, “It is good to give

when asked, but better still when not

asked!”


Yajna in Life and Culture

The crest of the AISCO and the All India Saraswat Founda- tion symbolises the spirit of Saraswatism and indicates the Saras- wat way of life. An essay on the implications of the symbol, written by Shri D. N. Nadkarni, is published as a booklet in the Foundation’s “Saraswat Sanmarg Series” of publications, announced on page 6 of this issue. In view of the vital significance of the subject, a substantial portion of the essay is reproduced below.

OUR SACRED CREST:

(By D, N. Nadkarni)

If the All India Saraswat Cultural Organi-

sation were to do no more than popularising

its crest, it would achieve a great deal more

than reasonable optimism expects of it. The

AISCO crest, designed by the Preparatory

Committee in an evidently inspired moment,

depicts a Yajna or sacrificial fire with the

Pranava Om superimposed and bearing the

motto “May sacrifice be

attained through sacrifice.” A more felicit-

ous emblem could hardly be wished.

The crest has the negative virtue of avoid-

ing dissent as well as the positive virtue of

practical idealism. It epitomises the what

and the why of the AISCO as well as of its

ambitious creation, the All India Saraswat

Foundation.

The bewildering stresses and strains that

the country is passing through, are symptoms

of an inner crisis of faith, of a confusion in

the popular concept of the meaning and

purpose of life. At the root of the political,

economic and social upheavals is a wavering

of the spirit. The situation calls for an

appeal to the true genius of India; and that

genius is found in the inspired utterances

of the seers of the Vedas.

“Back to the Vedas” is a familiar slogan,

used in earnest as well as in derision. It is

a misleading slogan. For, the minds of the

ancient rishis are not only abreast of modern

thought but far ahead of it. It is medieval

thought that is crusted and out of date. A

revival of Vedic wisdom, a re-reading of the

Veda in the modem context, and a scrap-

ing-out of the layers of excrescence that

have

piled up on the popular mind through the

ages: that is the national need at this

moment. That is the core of the AISCO‟s

objectives, for the task may well be claimed

to be a peculiarly Saraswat privilege.

The genesis and pristine character of

Chaturvarnya, the Order of the Four Divi-

sions of Society, as recorded in the

Brihadararryaka Upanishad (I; IV; 11-15),

make it the responsibility of the Brahmanas

to guard the social structure of the nation


and to step in to correct any imbalances

that may emeige. At the present time, it is

the responsibility of all Brahmanas as a

class, of those, that is, who claim or own up

to the Brahmanical heritage, to think out,

plan and initiate measures, within the limi-

tatioos of their present condition, to set

right the loosened and shaking cultural

structure of Indian society. And, to the

extent that this process involves a modernis-

ed revival of Vedic wisdom, it is possible for

a vigorous Saraswat patriotism to claim pre-

cedence in the responsibility. Whether fact,

fable or legend, the story goes that the

Saraswats saved the Veda through a long

period of devastating famine. Opportunity

beckons to the Saraswats today to accept

that story as an allegory, and to substantiate

the allegory with their actions.

NOTHlNG SECTARIAN HERE

That is the message of the crest of the

All-India Saraswat Cultural Organisation and

of the Saraswat Foundation. A primary

virtue of the design lies in the fact that it

rises above sectarian dogma and, indeed, is

valid for all sects. The divergent theologi-

cal and metaphysical beliefs within the

Saraswat fold itself are reconciled. It is

valid to the Dwaitin as well as to the

Adwaitin, to the Vaishnavite as well as to the

Shaivite. It proclaims a universal ideal and

a universal means of attaining it. Its mes-

sage is not for Saraswats alone, but for the

nation; indeed, for all humanity.

The “Om” in the crest proclaims that

universality. The Pranava is a symbol of

Truth, of the Eternal Verity in existence.

The Gita (VIII-13) calls it “Brahman in a

single syllable” It is capsuled Reality.

The Katha Vpanishad (1-2-15) carries this

vivid description or definition of Om: “The

Goal which all the Vedas repeatedly pro-

claim, which motivates all austerities, in

pursuit of which men practise Brahmacharya,

that Goal I declare to you in brief. It is Om.”

At the mention

of

Om, therefore, the

pettiness in human thought and action

vanishes, and men‟s minds are attuned to

the sublime and the beautiful. The inscrip-

tion of this inspiring symbol in the AISCO

crest is conclusive assurance that the AISCO

is motivated by the quest for national and

universal wellbeing, and not by any paro-

chial ambition of sectarian Saraswat pro-

gress. It is no wonder, therefore, that the

very first major action of the AISCO, taken

within a few weeks of its own formation,

was the creation of the non-sectarian All

India Saraswat Foundation, dedicated to the

service of the nation and of humanity.

SYMBOL OF HARI-HARI

The substance of the crest is the repre-

sentation of Yajna. The theological signi-

ficance of Yajna is not without its interest

to the Saraswat mind.

“Yajna is Vishnu,

Protector of all that

lives, ‟ says the Maitrayani Upanishad. The

Taittiriya Samhita (1-7-4) re-affirms the

statement. Sacrifice is Vishnu or the

Supreme.

Vishnu makes His appearance when the

Yajna is complete. The reign of peace and

plenty is an expression of the Grace of

Vishnu. But the Grace of Vishnu is not

earned until the offering to Rudra is com-

plete.

The sacred flame of Yajna is Rudra. He

is the God of destruction, of the perennial

mutation of all that has name or form. He

is therefore God of evolution as well as of

revolution. The Shiva-Linga we worship


represents the flame of the sacrifcial fire,

and the base, of the Linga represents the

“Vedi” or “Havana-kunda”. The word

“linga” means „"symbol”. The Shiva-

Linga is a symbol of the sacred fire, or

Yajna.

The theological concept of Yajna is the

unison of Hari and Hara. The philosophi-

cal concept is also the same. The Grace of

Vishnu is nothing less than “happiness un-

touched by sorrow” The oblation to Rudra

is nothing less than all that the sacrificer

has and is. The one is conditional on the

other. In adopting the Yajna symbol for

its crest, the AISCO proclaims the Saraswat

ideology of self-sacrifice for the benefit of

society at large. That is Yajna. That is the

worship of Hari-Hara.

HIE NATURE OF YAJNA

Yajna is the central theme of the Vedic

way of life. The Vedic mantras have a dual

implication: ritual-cum-physical, and psy-

chological-cum-philosophical. And, though

they give the impression of a miscellany,

they converge into a logical, practical and

noble way of life. All references to the

ritual Yajna in the Vedas thus carry, and

are intended to carry, far-reaching psycho-

logical, philosophical and sociological impli-

cations. The ritual yajna is a symbol and

reminder of the philosophical concepts and

psychological disciplines which are the inner

yajna.

The spiritual and ethical significance of

the ritual yajna itself is made plain by the

Chhandogya Upanishad (III-17-4) with the

declaration that “austerity, charity, upright-

ness, nonviolence and truthfulness are the

dakshina" or gifts with which the yajna is

to be completed; in other words, that the

ritual yajna is an occasion for a renewal of

the resolve to pursue these virtues.

The Gita uses the word yajna in the psy-

chological and sociological senses alone. No

ritual is implied. Any doubt on this issue

that may be relevant to the Third Chapter

is dissolved by the Fourth which, in ten lucid

verses (24 to 33), enumerates a variety of

psychological and social disciplines as

yajnas. For example,

“Some others offer their sense organs like

ears as oblation to the fire of discipline.”

No ritual can possibly be meant in references

of this kind.

The Vedas and the Upanishads are replete

with the concept of yajna as the Law of

Life. The Shaiapatha Brahmana (9-4-1 -11)

sums up the concept.

“All sentient beings live on yajna.” Men,

like the gods, being endowed with intelli-

gence, are called upon to adopt yajna, that

is, self-sacrifice, as a deliberate way of life.

The right life is a series of sacrifices. Indeed,

the three ritual sacrifices that the Brahmana

is expected to perform every day are a sym-

bol of the self-sacrifice that every man is

expected to perform during the three stages

of his life. Thus the Chhandogya

Upanishad (3/16/1-7) divides man‟s life

into three spans of yajna. The first 24 years

are “Pratah-Savana”, the morning sacrifice.

The next 44 years are the Mid-day Yajna.

The last 48 years are the third or Evening

Sacrifice. Thus the man who consciously

leads a life of yajna lives 116 years. “Human

life is Yajna.”

Yajna or self-sacrifice is a law of nature,

a law of life, and therefore a primary, in-

escapable Dharma. “Man was created with

Yajna.” declares the Gita (111-10):

Yajna has three aspects: self-restraint, self-

denial, and service of others. „ What is known


as Yajna is Brahmacharya (or self-restraint)

itself,” announces the Chhandogya Upa-

nishad (8-5-1):

The Gita (IV. 26-32) spells out several

examples of yajna in all three aspects :

sacrifice of the senses in the lire of self-

restraint; sacrifice of wealth in the fire of

self-denial; and the sacrifice of possessions,

including wealth and talent, in the fire of

altruistic service, ending up with the annihi-

lation of the ego in a dedication of life to

humanity.

PERVASIVENESS OF YAJNA

The idealist form of Yajna is the Brahma-

Yajna, performed in the faith that all is in

reality Brahman. Self-sacrifice, according to

the Gita (IV-24). is thus a process of Jnana

or Self-Realisation

“The sacrifice is offered to Brahman, the

oblation is Brahman, it is offered by

Brahman in the fire that is Brahman; thus

he who is fully engrossed in this act (of

sacrifice) which is Brahman, must needs

pass on to Brahman.” To know this, is

Jnana, the “Realisation of the Self”, which

is the aim of all spiritual aspiration and the

goal of all human life.

Self-denial for the universal good is also,

according to the Gita, an expression of

Bhakti. For, all those acts and things

which, in Chapter IV of the Gita, are com-

mended to be performed in the spirit of

sacrifice, are again commended in Chapter

IX to be surrendered to God as an expres-

sion of Bhakti

It is plain, therefore, that the two acts or

processes, of sacrifice and of surrender, are

spiritually identical. Yajna, then, is Bhakti.

The rationale of self-denial as a form of

sacrifice and the rationale of surrender to

God as an expression of Bhakti are the same.

God pervades all. "Brahma havih" as the

Gita puts it : all that you can offer as obla-

tion is itself Brahman. The Isha Upanishad,

in the celebrated aphorism from which it

lakes its name, says the same thing somewhat

differently: „„All this, whatever moves in

this world, is enveloped by God.”

Even as Yajna is a process of Jnana Yoga

and Bhakti Yoga, it is also a process of

Karma Yoga

“This world of men suffers bondage from

all action save that which is done for the

sake of sacrifice; therefore, O Son of Kunti,

perform all action without attachment.”

(Gita, 1II-9). Yajna, thus, is a safety mea-

sure against the chain-reaction of Karma;

which means that it is an instrument of

Karma Yoga or Anasakti Yoga. Note,

incidentally, the implication of the advice to

Arjuna. The implication is that detachment,

as a form of self-denial, is Yajna. And this

is re-affirmed in the next (Chapter (IV-23):

“Of the free soul who has shed all attach-

ment, whose mind is firmly grounded in

knowledge, who acts only for sacrifice, all

Karma is extinguished;” that is, its power of

chain-reaction is destroyed.

Yajna, then, is the ground of all the three

great Paths of Salvation: Jnana Yoga.

Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. It is the

Dharma which ensures Moksha. Without it,

there is no Moksha. It has to be the first

concern of those concerned with man‟s ulti-

mate destiny. No wonder that Yajna was

the mainstay of life in the Vedic age.


THE SOCIOLOGY OF YAJNA

Even so, were the insurance of Moksha

the only claim to be made for Yajna, its

use in the crest of the All India Saraswat

Cultural Organisation would have been a

measure of doubtful propriety. For, the

direct and primary concern of the AISCO

will be rather with the development of Artha

and Kama than with Moksha. The AISCO

will look for ways and means of betterment

of the economic, social and cultural con-

ditions of Saraswats and of their place in the

national life. The Saraswat Foundation will

do the same for a wider public. Their

interest in spiritual advancement will be only

incidental to that search.

Yajna will not let down the AISCO or

the Foundation. The crest is assured of

vindication. For, the sages of the Vedas

and Upanishads had discovered in Yajna a

synthesis of the three compelling and ap-

parently incongruous ambitions natural to

man, Artha and Kama and Moksha, the

urge for physical, emotional and spiritual

fulfilment.

Because yajna or self-sacrifice was the

Vedic way of Life, it was a full life, both

personally and socially. Yajna here is a

process of discipline, detachment and distri-

bution, not of renunciation. It is not basi-

cally the way of Sannyasa, except the

Sannyasa accepted as the fourth and final

“ashrama” or stage of the “shata-kratu",

the man who lives a hundred years in the

spirit of yajna; or of the one who takes to

Sannyasa from a compelling inner urge for

self-expression, the same kind of urge which

brings forth great poets or great musicians.

It is worth digressing here to point out

that the Vedic concept of Sannyasa itself

was not quite the same as that of later ages.

The Vedic Sannyasin was not an anchorite.

Not even the man of God-realisation was

expected to withdraw from the world. He

led a vigorous, active life of usefulness to

mankind. The Mundaka Upanishad which

treats of Sannyasa and, indeed, derives its

name from the Sannyasins' practice of shav-

ing the head, makes this explicit statement;

“Sporting in the Self, delighting in the Self,

a man of action all the same, such a one is

the greatest among the knowers of

Brahman.” (III-1-4)

Great seers of the Upanishads, like

Yajnavalkya, were happily married men

who earned and gave and also saved. The

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (I-IV-3) reports

Yajnavalkya‟s dictum that “the vacant part

of man is completed by the woman;” that

man and wife together make a rounded

personality

Sex was by no means taboo in the Vedic

way of life. The Gita, indeed, gives the

stamp of divine identity to the “procreative

passion: ”

Men are urged to produce wealth, not to

shun it. The Taittireeya Upanishad lays

down the “vrata” or social discipline in this

respect. “Wealth should not be disparaged;

that is social discipline do not

forbear to earn wealth; that is social disci-

pline Step up economic produc-

tivity; gather more wealth; that is social

discipline.” (The word used in the text is

“anna”, literally meaning “food” But the

word “anna” and the relevant words

”pacha” meaning cooking and “ada” mean-

ing eating are employed in Vedic literature

as well as in the Gita in the larger sense of

wealth and its use.)

In the context of worldly pleasures,

yajna consists of obedience to Dharma.


personal and social. The Gita, again, en-

nobles disciplined enjoyment, “treasures

not

averse to Dharma" are of divine origin;

In the economic context, too, yajna con-

sists of obedience to Dharma, in adopting

the Dharmic attitude to wealth and posses-

sions. It is an attitude of “anasakti” or

detachment, not of indifference or abhor-

rcnce. The first two books of the

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, especially the

celebrated Yajnavalkya-Maitreyi Dialogue,

lay the foundation of the Gandhian theory

of the Trusteeship of Wealth, to which the

Mahatma is believed to have been inspired

by the Isha aphorism, “Find your enjoy-

ment in a spirit of detachment; covet not

what ought to be another‟s”

It is a form of Voluntary Socialism.

Precepts like “Atithi-Devo-Bhava” are

derived from this concept : “Look upon

the needy as God Himself.” This voluntary

socialism of the concept of Yajna is pres-

cribed both on moral and practical grounds.

While the “gathering of wealth” is encour-

aged, hoarding and meanness are denounced:

“The lone eater is the lone sinner” (Rig

Veda X-117-6). He who uses his wealth

for himself alone leads a life of sin. That

is the moral rule of the Veda. The Gita

(III-13) confirms the rule. “Those who

cook for themselves alone, feed on sin.”

On the other hand, “those who enjoy

what remains after the performance of

sacrifice (giving to the needy) are freed from

all sins.” (Gita, III -13). The residue of

sacrifice is called “amrita” or elixir of eter-

nal life. The Marm-Smriti as well as the

Gita uses the word “amrita” in that sense.

Thus, the Gita (IV-31).

“Those who live on amrita, that is, the

residue of sacrifice, attain to eternal

Brahman.”

As wealth must be shared, so too must

knowledge and skill be shared with those

who need them. That is yajna of a high

order. The Manu-Smriti (4-28) calls it

Brahma Yajna :

At the same time, if you are capable of

building up your own knowledge and skills,

it is your duty to do so. Self-improvement is

“Swaadhyaaya Yajna” (Gita, lV-28). Indol-

ence and indifference make a man an

“ayajna”, a wrong kind of man.

Yajna thus functions in the realm of

culture, too. Virtues like humility and non-

violence are yajna, as they involve a process

of self-restraint :

“Yajna is humility.” (Yajur-Veda 13-8).

“Non-violence is Yajna.” (Shatapatha

Brahmana, 1-2-4).

As a life of yajna is commended on ethical

and cultural grounds, it is also commended

on the practical consideration of material

and social advancement. The moral law

offers the best rule of worldly achievement.

Thus, the individual who practises yajna is

better off than the one who does not:

“Those who do not perform yajna (do

not give away in the spirit of yajna) go to

ruin even if they are liberal in their spend-

ing” {R ig Veda 1-33-4)

“People who do not perform yajna are

humbled and repulsed in any competition

with people who do perform yaina.” (Rig

Veda, 1-33-5).


The Gita has the last word on the subject

(lV-31) ; “This world itself is not for the

non-sacrificer. What hope for him, then, of

a higher world ?”

A nation or a community of people lead-

ing an organised life of sacrifice will “attain

the highest good” (Gita. III-11):

CALL TO CONSCIENCE

What is the sanction, what is the urge,

behind the call to the life of yajna ?

It would be a poor yajna that is perform-

ed in blind obedience to the Veda. For, the

Veda countenances no Commandments,

execept from the Acharya to the initiated

pupil. The Vedas, the Upanishads and the

Gita inform, reveal, exhort and warn; they

do not command. Their truths are announc-

ed to the human intelligence, and it is up to

every man to accept them or to pass them

by. The human will, the most precious of

God‟s creations, is to be exercised, strength-

ened and illumined in freedom; it is not to

be weakened, bent or suppressed by subordi-

nation. The reins of man‟s destiny must be

held by his own free and healthy will.

So it is that the Gayatri Mantra, the most

sacred of all Mantras and the pass-word of

Brahmanism, asks not for the salvation of

the soul but for illumination of the intelli-

gence

“We absorb in our intellect the supreme

light-energy of the god Savitr, that he may

inspire and Stimulate our intelligence.”

The Gita confirms this primacy of the

intelligence. “Mere action, O Dhananjaya,

is far inferior to (action flowing from) the

Yoga of intelligence. (Therefore) take re-

fuge in the intelligence.” (II-49)

Openmindedness, contemplation and equ-

animiiy are cardinal conditions of this

Buddhi Yoga or recourse to the intelligence.

Gita, II -42, 44, 48). Dogmatism, bigotry

and blind obedience are un-Vedic attitudes.

Faith itself must stem from conviction, not

hang on blind belief. Uniquely among the

great religions of the world, Vedic wisdom

proclaims that primacy of the human intelli-

gence and freedom of the human will, from

which the modem ideology of Liberty and

Democracy is derived.

Any possible doubt on this score is set at

rest by Shree Krishna. That is a lesson of

the Gita which merits more attention than

it generally receives. The Divine Song took

shape, not because of Arjuna‟s “vishaada”

or depression, but in response to his insist-

ent appeal for a commandment or directive.

Right at the beginning of the soul-stirring

dialogue, Arjuna beseaches Shree Krishna:

“Tell me for certain wherein lies my good.”

(II-7)

Shree Krishna‟s response is a dissertation

on life and death and honour. That does

not satisfy Arjuna, who repeats his appeal

for a directive which he can blindly obey.

“Tell me decisively the one thing by which

I can attain to the highest good.” (III-2)

And Arjuna does not stop with a mere

appeal. Being aware of the impropriety of

blind belief in matters of the spirit, he

hastens to create that relationship between

Shree Krishna and himself which alone

would make command and obedience legiti-

mate : the Guru-Shishya relationship. “I am

Thy disciple. Direct me. who seek refuge in

Thee.” (II-7)


The point is that even so, Shree Krishna

hands out neither a directive nor a comm-

sndment. On the other hand, having led his

“beloved friend” Arjuna into “the mystery

of all mysteries” of existence, and having

given him the unprecedented privilege of a

glimpse of Cosmic Reality, the Lord yet calls

upon him to use his own judgment to decide

what is good for him :

“Thus have I explained to you the most

mysterious of all mysterious knowledge.

Ponder over it thoroughly, and then act as

you will.” (XVIII-63).

A genuine inner conviction, not formal

outward conduct, is what matters. Sacrifice

must therefore emanate from a free, healthy

and illumined intelligence. The self-sacrifice

of fools and fanatics is not Yajna. Rabble-

rousing and mass indoctrination are offences

against God who made the human intelli-

gence as man‟s instrument of approach to

the divine.

The inspiration to a life of yajna must

therefore come from a free intelligence, from

a clear understanding of Dharma or the Law

of Life, as a result of “pondering over it

thoroughly.” The Taittireeya Upanishad

makes this clear

“Sacrifice is actuated by a refined under-

standing based on sound knowledge; and so,

too, are duties.” Mahatma Gandhi called it

the “inner voice” The common, and comm-

only ill-used, name for it is Conscience.

The Life of Yajna, then, must derive its

sanction from the conscience of man; and

its driving force, as in all noble endeavour,

from Faith. And the faith, in this case, is

in the divine origin of the conscience itself.

The Yajna in the crest of the Saraswat

Cultural Organisation derives its propriety

from this call to conscience. For, what is

culture but an outward expression of an

inner grace ?

THE BADGE OF THE SARASWAT

Discipline, Detachment and Service are

the three major components of this Yajna.

All other virtues flow from this combination.

Service rendered as Yajna extends to all

living beings, and becomes an act of dedi-

cation, of surrender to God. The nature of

the individual is transformed in the process.

All trace of selfishness vanishes. Life

becomes a continuous yajna. The last linger-

ing weakness is the awareness of the yajna.

That, too, must go. The feeling, the satisfac-

tion, the exaltation of yajna must be con-

signed to the flame. That is the supreme

yajna. That is the culmination and fulfil-

ment of the life of sacrifice. Of men who

accomplish that ultimate Yajna, the Gita

(lV-25) says that “They offer Sacrifice

itself as oblation to the Fire of Brahman.”

What the Gita commends to the individual,

the Rig Veda commends to societies of men.

Accept the concept of sacrificing Sacrifice

itself, and mankind will be transformed into

a race of supermen. That is the law implicit

in creation, and it is set out plainly in the

most popular of all Rig Vedic mantras, the

Purusha Sookta :

“The gods worshipped Yajna with yajna;

and that became the primary Dharma. Those

great souls who perform such Yajna attain

to the realm of the Sadhya gods of yore.”

That is the ideal invoked by the pictorial

part of the crest of the AISCO. The inscrip-

tion set below it places the idealism on the

practical plane.


“May sacrifice be attained through sacri'

fice.” The reference is not to the culmina-

tion of yajna, but to the process of progres-

sive realisation of yajna through constant

effort at self-discipline and self-sacrifice.

The quotation is from the climax of the

Rudraadkyaaya, usually known simply as

“Rudra”, the mantra now employed in the

“abhishek” of the Shiva Linga. The Rudraa-

dhyaasya is part of the Taittireeya Samhita.

It was of course a mantra for a ritual

Yajna, Even now, “Maha Rudra” and

“Ati-Rudra”, consisting of multiple repeti-

tions of the “Rudra”, are occasionally per-

formed with "havana” or the sacred fire.

The “Rudra” is a mantra of invocation and

prayer based on a recognition of the divine

in all existence and in all experience. The

context of the present quotation runs thus

It is a prayer for the “attainment”, that

is, for the perfection, of life, the vital airs,

the sense organs, the mind and the spirit,

through Yajna or self-discipline; and for the

progressive development of the self-discip-

line itself through the practice of self-discip-

line. The refinement and perfection of the

senses, the mind and the vital airs through

the yajna of self-control are also referred to

in the Gita (IV-26, 27, 29).

The prayer in the “Rudra” is for the

clarity of mind to see the path of yajna, and

for the strength of will to adhere to it. It is

also a prayer for “Krama-Mukti”, for

the progressive realisation of man's

mission on earth. “The consummation

of all right endeavour is enlightenment.”

(Gita, IV-33). “Sacrifice is inspired by an

enlightened understanding.” (Tait. Up.,

2-5-1). Therefore, every act of self-sacrifice

adds to the sacrificer‟s enlightenment which,

in turn, inspires further and larger self-

sacrifice. That is “Krama-Mukti”, a progres-

sive course of Mukti. That is also the

process asked for in the prayer to Rudra :

“May sacrifice be attained through sacrifice.”

There is humility in this approach, born

of a recognition of the need for divine inter-

vention for human progress and salvation.

It is not given to mam to reach his destiny

by his own effort alone. The Grace of God

is essential, Grace itself does not come as

a whimsical gift. It comes in response to

prayer.

It is important, here, to appreciate the

nature of prayer. Prayer is not only to be

thought, said and sung. Prayer must be

lived. Mere supplication is not prayer. The

spirit of humility which supplication im-

plies, and the spirit of the objective of the

supplication, must alike permeate the

thought and conduct of the supplicant.

Then alone is the supplication a prayer,

and win ensure divine response. Shree

Krishna has made this clear beyond doubt.

(Gita, IV-11).

“As men approach Me, in that spirit do

I respond.” It is only when heart and mind

are of one accord in guiding a man‟s life

and disciplining his conduct, that supplica-

tion becomes the soul‟s prayer and evokes

a response in kind, the Grace of God. It is

thus that the Shwetashwatara Upanishad

declares that man can realise his destiny

only by a “a combination of the power of

self-discipline and the Grace of God”

The invocation in the “Rudra" is prima-

rily for this power of self-discipline which

is an essential qualification of prayer. As

prayer evokes Grace, and Grace in turn


inspires prayer, the distinction between the

two tends to fade away. Prayer and Grace

become one. Bhakti which initiated prayer.

Karma which gave prayer its vitality, and

Jnana which is the light of Grace, are then

seen to be not only inseparable but in

reality the same.

For most of us, whose aims and ambi-

tions in life do not reach up to that denoue-

ment, it is enough to regard the "Rudra"

as an invocation to God to kindle and feed

the flame of human conscience. With divine

aid, small conscientious self-denials lead

to major ones, and the Yajna of self-

restraint and self-denial becomes the man's

compulsive prakriti or nature; so that he

works and sweats without sorrow, and is

happy with the "amrita" or remains of his

yajna, freely giving of his time and talent

and earnings for the benefit of humanity.

Such a man has no fear for his position in

society. As said earlier, he is assured of

victory in the competition inevitable in any

social order. (Rig. Veda, 1-33-5). And he

attracts the unqualified assurance given by

the Gita (III.II) to all men of yajna, “you

shall attain the supreme good.”

This law and this goal of human existence

are symbolised in the crest of the All-India

Saraswat Cultural Organisation which, in

turn, -has passed it on to the All India

Saraswat Foundation. The adoption of the

crest implies a commitment to live up to it,

to demonstrate the beneficent power of pra-

yerful sacrifice to give light and strength to

a troubled nation. How far the AISCO and

the Foundation will succeed in this objec-

tive, one does not know. The sponsors, how-

ever, may go ahead in the confidence that

their effort is immune to frustration :

A beginning made in the cause of Dharma

can never come to nought. That is the

assurance of the Gita (II-40). The seed of

sacred intentions is never destroyed. It may

take time to sprout. But some day it will

inevitably grow into a tree that gives shade

and fruit.

The crest, meanwhile, is by itself an

achievement. It embodies a faith which the

Saraswats may well be proud to be known

by. For, as the Gita asserts, the essence of

the human personality is faith; and a man

should therefore be identified by his faith,

rather than by his works. (XVII-3)

What is true of theindividual is also true

of a social group.

May the Saraswats be worthly of being

identified by their Organisation‟s Crest.

May it be given to them, in an ever increas-

ing measure, to continue their tradition of

service of their fellowmen. May it be given

to them, more and more, to feed the Flame of thereby to invoke the Grace of Vishnu to settle on this troubled land


BOOKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION

A SOURCE BOOK RECLAIMED

SAHYADRIKHANDA edited with Marathi

Translation by Gajananshastri Gaitonde. 1972.

Shree Katyayani Publications, 603, Arun Cham-

bers, Tardeo Road, Bombay 34. Pp. 326. Rs. 25/-.

This learned production by Gajanan-

shastri Gaitonde, based upon prolonged and

thorough research work, deserves to be

warmly applauded. Luckily it coincides with

the Inaugural Function of the All India

Saraswat Cultural Organisation, and we

must also congratulate our enterprising

Vice-President, Shri S. V. Pikale, for hav-

ing lent his support to its publication and

made its appearance possible.

For some obscure reasons, in which inter-

caste jealousies seem to have played some

part, the Sahyadrikhanda portion of the

Skandapurana had been suppressed and

ignored by those who were handling Sanskrit

works. It was an irony of fate or good for-

tune that a Goan Christian scholar, Dr. J.

Gerson Da Cunha, should have been the

first to bring out a scientifically reconstruct-

ed edition, in which the text was drawn

from fourteen MSS from various parts of

India, with the variae lectionis relegated to

the footnotes. Gajananshastri, who acknow-

ledges his debt to Dr. Da Cunha, goes

further and has now given us, a solid piece

of work, after a still wider research all over

India.

Sahyadrikhanda is a source document for the history of the Saraswats who were settled by Parashurama, the seventh incarnation of the Hindu divinity, in the region adjoining the Sahyadri mountain range; and it is also primar ly the life-story of Parashurama himself, and of his illustrious father, Jama- dagni, and mother Renuka. It is a most

thrilling chapter in the history of the Saras- wats who owe so much to Parashurama, especially during the period of migration from their northern homes to southern and western India.

The Marathi translation is beautiful and

impeccable. This is a book which every

Saraswat should possess both for the San-

skrit text and the translation. — B. P. A.

„„A GEM OF A BOOK” COMMUNITY AND COMMUNION by K.

Guru Dutt. Foreword by Shrimat Parijnanashram

Swamiji. 1972. Published by the Author.

Bangalore.

Second Edition Published by The All India

Saraswat Foundation, Arun Chambers,

Tardeo Road, Bombay 34, Price Rs. 5.00

This little book, subtitled “The Saraswat

Experience” is indeed a gem of a book. The

author, Shri K. Guru Dutt, who has had a

distinguished official career and has also de-

votedly served many causes, apart from

being a reputed author of many bocks, has

successfully attacked the problem of caste

and community and given a convincing

answer to the question whether, living with-

in a community and promoting its social and

cultural life, we incur the stigma of “comm-

unalism.” India has had a tradition of

V arnashramadharma, with its inevitable

appendages of castes and sub-castes. — a

tradition which is inherent in the Hindu way

of life and which shows no signs of any

decay of abatement. The question arises

whether this tradition is helpful or harmful

to our social and national life. It is a super-

ficial conclusion that our caste system breeds


communalism in the country. Indeed, in

India communalism is most rampant in the

sphere of the Hindu-Muslim polarisation

and in the treatment of the Untouchables.

This is what our leaders have in mind when

they condemn communalism, but it would

be illogical to conclude that we could deal

with these major aspects of communalism by

abolishing all castes or communities.

There is so much in this book with which

the reviewer agrees that perhaps it may be

as well to give a few quotations. According

to Mr. Dutt, “the convergence of much

modem thought points to the recognition

of the role of small vital human groups as

the only bridge between the two extremes”

of authoritarian collectivism and extreme

individualism. “The disintegration of the

small community in a mass-production

society is confronting the modern West with

its gravest problem that of finding a sub-

stitute.” “There is the phenomenon of

human beings being reduced to the role of

robots manoeuvred by the comm-

issars of totalitarian regimes.” “Community,

communication and culture form a closely

interlinked constellation of ideas, which

provide the key to the understanding of

human behaviour at all levels.”

In Chapter II, Mr. Dutt examines the

divergent views of Mahatma Gandhi and

Pandit Nehru about Vamashram and rightly

comes to the conclusion that Nehru‟s ideo-

logy is “seeking to establish a stranglehold

on our social and cultural life, under the

guise of a “socialistic pattern of society”

On the other hand, Gandhiji‟s attitude to-

wards Vamashram that it “defines man‟s

mission on this earth” and that it was

necessary to weed out untouchability rather

than destroy caste altogether, wins his

approval. He further endorses the Gandhian

approach to caste by saying : “I am ventur-

ing to suggest that the principle of „comm-

unity‟ is diametrically opposed to that of

„communalism‟ (casteism) which consists

in the exjrfoitation of caste sentiment ex-

clusively for economic and political ends."

The author proceeds to discuss the con-

cept of Dharma and gives us a learned

analysis of the Hindu Aryan way of life. The

argument here is so condensed and thought-

provoking that considerations of space alone

prevent us from quoting more from the

book. In the last Chapter on “The Saraswat

Outlook”, Mr. Dutt illustrates his views by

reference to the Bhanap institutions of

the Chitrapur Saraswats and their way of

life and conclusively proves that community

life can be culturally and socially beneficent

and helpful to national welfare and growth.

The Foreword by His Holiness Swami

Paraijnanashram quite rightly concludes

that the book “is a great revival of our

ancient sentiments to suit modern condi-

tions”. — B.P.A.

DAKSHINATYA SARASWATS HISTORY OF THE DAKSHINATYA SARAS-

WATS. By the late Shri V. N. Kudva, ICS.

Samyukta Gowda Saraswata Sabha, Madras.

Pp. viii + 367. Rs, 30/-,

This brilliant book written by the late Shri

V. N, Kudva, CIE, ICS and published post-

humously, nearly a decade after its produc-

tion, by the Samyukta Gowda Saraswata

Sabha of Madras, must rank as one of the

finest works on the subject of the history of

the Saraswats. It is an authentic, scholarly

and throughgoing piece of research and fills

a distinct gap in the English literarure on

the subject, comparable only to the well-

known Marathi work, Saraswat Bhushan,

written by Shri Ganesh Ramchandra Sharma,

some years ago. Although it mainly relates

to the history of the Dakshinatya (Southern)


Saraswats, however, there are some chapters

of general interest, e.g.. Chapter I on the

“Original Home of the Saraswats” and

Chapter XXI on “The Saraswats of the

North.” Moreover, every part of the book

evinces a deep study of the historical and

archaeological data as well as a balanced

view of the religious and cultural activities

of the Southern Saraswats since they left

their ancient home on the banks of the

Saraswati.

In Chapter I, relating to the original

home of the Saraswats, the author contents

himself with quoting various authorities, but

the selection of the sources of information is

skilful and the conclusions quite plausible.

He approvingly quotes Pandit Govind

Narayan Mishra that the Saraswats migrat-

ed from the Punjab to Kanyakubja, to

Gauda (or the Gangetic valley), to Mithila

and to Utkal — so that the Brahmins of

the latter regions, the so called Panchagaudas,

were none else but Saraswats themselves in

their origin. The routes of Saraswat migra-

tion to these and other parts of India and

the later settlements are succinctly analysed.

Chapters II, III and IV deal with Konkan

and Goa, the dynasties which ruled over

Goa, the Portuguese conquest and the per-

secutions and the subsequent exodus of the

Saraswats from Goa. The story of the

religious persecution of the Hindus, the de-

molition of hundreds of their temples and

the destruction of the sacred Konkani litera-

ture is very well told in these chapters and in

Annexure I. Shri Kudva states (p. 342)

“In 1560, all the Brahmans were expelled

from the Portuguese territories. They were

given a month‟s time to sell their movable

and immovable properties to the Christians

and it was ordered that persons who continu-

ed to stay were liable to be punished with

life-long slavery.” Evidently, even Idi Amin

could not have learnt much from the Portu-

guese in this matter!

Part II of the book, comprising Chapters

V to IX, is mainly historical and covers the

history of the Saraswats in North Konkan,

in Maharashtra and in Belgaum, Dharwar

and Tanjore; in Kanara and Karnatak

including the Keladi Kingdom, and in-

Kerala. It shows what a prominent and dis-

tinguished part the Saraswats played in the

politics, administration and commerce of

these regions throughout the pre-British

period. This is followed by Part III with

instructive and most interesting chapters on

the religion and faith of the Saraswats, their

Kuladevatas and tutelary gods, sub-divisions,

surnames, religious Maths and temples. In

Part IV, there is a scholarly chapter on the

Konkani language. The main conclusion

that emerges is that “Konkani is a sister

and an elder sister of Marathi” (p. 220).

The final Chapter XXI, on the Northern

Saraswats, sheds considerable light on an

obscure subject. Four Appendices and three

Annextures on various interesting topics add

to the value and authority of the book.

Altogether, this work is the best single

contribution in English we have come across

on the history, religion and culture of the

southern Saraswats and deserves to be read

by all Saraswats interested in the comm-

unity‟s glorious past.

B.P.A.

Marathi

SACRED HISTORY

SHREE MANGESH DEVASTHAN—SAMAGRA

ITIHAAS, by Vinayak Narayan Shenvi Dhume;

published by Timaji Shenvi Kakodkar, Margao,

Goa; 192 pages, plus 14 pages of art plate;

price Rs. 8.00

The concept of Kula Devata or Deity of

the Clan is a unique feature of the life of

Dakshini Saraswats, more commonly known

as Gowd Saraswat Brahmins or G.S.B‟s.


There are some two-score Kula Devata

temples, most of them in Goa and a few in

Goa‟s neighbourhood, and the entire G.S.B.

population is shared between them, each

family owing allegiance to one of them. The

allegiance is traditional and unalterable. The

families and individuals thus attached to

each temple are known as the kulavis of that

temple and of the Kida Devata. Although

they are public temples for all purposes,

their management is generally in the hands of

the kulavis.

Anatomy of Faith

The Kida Devata system cuts across the

deistic and metaphysical difference within

the G.S.B. fold. Nagesh. Ramnath, Raval-

nath, Katyayani. are Shaiva deities claiming

Madhvan Vaishnav G.S.Bs. as their

kulavis. Many Advaitin Shaiva G.S.Bs., on

the other hand, have a Vaishnav deity like

Mahalakshmi or Mahalasa for their Palavi

or auxiliary Kida Devata.

Faith in the Kula Devata is not quite

the same thing as spiritual faith in God.

There is an easy familiarity in the relation-

ship which makes it possible to describe the

Kula Devta as an onmipotent and omni-

scient grandfather or grandmother. In joy,

in danger and in grief, the mind turns to the

Kula Devata. The most trivial of domestic

problems and life‟s most momentous ones are

alike referred for solution. And the kulavi

goes about life with the warm confidence

that he is under a benign and special pro-

tection.

Every Kula Devata temple has its own

technique of Kowl or prasad, that is, a

method of consulting the Deity. Employ-

ment and business deals, the son‟s education

and the daughter‟s dowry, personal health

and domestic peace — all problems that the

householder is heir to, are brought up for

guidance and aid. And the guidance, often

contrary to the dictates of obvious evidence,

invariably turns out to have been right and

beneficient Neither does the

always wait to be appealed to. Thwe are

those who gratefully acknowledge having

been warned of danger or of error, or having

been guided to the cure of an unyielding

malady, by messages conveyed m

even by more tangible methods. This

reviewer gratefully records that he has been

a beneficiary of this phenomenon of unmerit-

ed compassion. He also contritely confesses

that he is even now paying the penalty for

his foolish failure to abide by the prasad

advice on an important question.

The whole point about the Kulavi-Kula

Devata relationship is that this guidance and

these intercessions are not regarded as

miracles. They evoke gratitude and piety

and humility, but not amazement, because the

Kulavi expects them of his Kula Devata.

They are his privilege by virtue of his being

born a Kulavi, even as it is his natural duty

to worship his Kula Devata. A G.S.B.

home without a picture of the Kula Devata

is an exception, and even anglicised young

couples, when they set up their homes, find

an odd corner for such a picture.

Story of a Culture

It is curious, in these circumstances, that

there is very little literature on the histories

and the glories of these temples. Or, perhaps,

it is not so curious, after all. For, to the

G. S.B., the Kula Devata is not only a

living Presence; it is a perennial Presence.

History implies acceptance of the conditions

of time in relation to the past and, by

implication, to the future; which is some-

thing from which the pious mind instinctive-

ly recoils. As for the glories, one knows

them in one‟s life; so, what is there to learn?

And yet, if knowledge of the history of

one‟s own society is an essential ingredient

of culture, definitive histories of the Kula

Devata temples are an elementary responsi-

bility of those interested in Saraswat culture

and its promotion. All G.S.Bs. have there-


fore reason to be grateful to Shri Dhume

for having set an example with this History

of the Mangeshi temple.

It is not irrelevant to observe that Shri

Dhume is neither a writer nor a researcher

by profession or by vocation. He is a pious

man who lives a few miles away from the

Mangeshi temple and is seen in the palan-

quin procession at the temple every Monday

night almost without exception. He has also

served a few years as an office-bearer in the

Managing Committee of the temple. The

inspiration of piety alone accounts for the

arduous researches that have yeilded the

wealth of material he has collected, and the

order and lucidity with which it is presented.

Fully Informative

The outstanding feature of this book is

that it vindicates the pretentious-sounding

claim in its title, that it is a “complete

history” of the Mangeshi temple. Folklore

and legend, the Sahyadri Khand and the

Mangireesh Mahatmya, the results of re-

searches of Prof. Priyolkar and Dr. Pisur-

iekar, have been duly utilised. The author,

however, has relied substantially on the re-

searches he has himself made. He has done

the most obvious thing in examining the

temple‟s own records, with some illuminat-

ing results. He has gone through such re-

levant official records as the Portuguese left

behind them on the Liberation of Goa. He

has also had access to the reports and books

written by Jesuit Missionaries of the Six-

teenth century, on their proud achievements

in destroying Hindu temples in Goa and

converting the local heathens to “the true

path”, and to the corresponding reports of

the Portuguese civil and military authorities

which backed the Jesuit zeal.

A comprehensive story of the Mangeshi

temple has emerged from this material, and

it has been told simply and concisely. And

to that story, the author has been able to

add a great deal of other information. We

are told, for instance, not only where the

Mangeshi temple precisely was before the

Unga was shifted to escape the Jesuit attack,

but what farm lands it owned. We now know'

not only the year when the present temple

was constructed, but also the date of the

building contract, the amount of the contract

and the contractor's name. We have a full

list of the temple‟s present properties, of the

Poojas and festivals, of the temple‟s re-

tainers and their functions. The regulations

governing the temple management, includ-

ing elections to the Managing Committee,

are included. For the first time in print is

given the full technique of obtaining the

Deity‟s protection and guidance by the

process of prasad.

For the Pious

The book would be more than worth its

price only for the excellently reproduced

photographs of the Unga of Shree Mangesh,

of the various kavachas used, and of the

Upa-Devatas in the temple.

Kulavis of Mangeshi will do well to read

this book with reverent care. It will repay

others, too, to read it. For the author and

the publisher, it has been obviously a labour

of love. For, the production values including

the art plates and the five-colour jacket,

offered for Rs. 8 less trade commission, can

leave no margin of profit to the publisher

and therefore no scope for monetary re-

ward to the author. But both will earn the

gratitude of their fellow Saraswats and,

doubtless, the Grace of Shree Mangesh. — D. N. N.

Marathi

EVERYMAN‟S GUIDE TO

BRAHMANISM DHARMA-BODH, by Vyakaranacharya Gajanan-

shastri Gaitonde: published by Shree Katyayani

Publications, 603 Arun Chambers, Tardeo Road,

Bombay 34; 92 pages; price Rs. 4.00.

Whatever be the sins that history may

attribute to the Brahmins, there is no gain-


saying that Brahmanism is not merely the

corner-stone but the very foundation of

Indian culture. Therefore, if this Secular

State of ours does mean to become a class-

less state as well as a casteless state, the

wiser course would be to extend and univer-

salise Brahmanism than to eliminate the

Brahmins.

The inspiration for such a course of

national orientation can be best provided by

the Brahmins themselves. And, if the

Brahmins mean to provide that inspiration

and leadership, they can do no better than

to submit themselves to a course of intros-

pection and re-education.

This course of introspection and self-

education is necessary even without the

noble ambition of national orientation. It is

needed for the self-preservation of Brahmins

as a social and nationally useful commu-

nity. For, the struggle for economic survival

and security has bred a neglect of religion

and an indifference to rites and rituals

which are exercises in the transformation of

religious beliefs into the believer‟s way of

life.

The time has come for Brahmins to lake

a fresh look at their religious beliefs and

practices, and to make a conscious effort

at integrating them in their normal life. In

this, .the small and amazingly well-organised

Chitrapur Saraswat community has set a

convincing example. In a planned and pro-

gressive promotion of religious practices

over the last forty years, with the Chitrapur

Math as the centre of veneration as well as

of inspiration, the Chitrapur Saraswats have

demonstrated not only that the active pur-

suit of religion is not incompatible with

modernism but that it actually enriches

culture and social life and even clears the

path to real economic well-being.

A Simple Guide

In this context. Shri Gajananshastri

Gaitonde and his Publishers have rendered

a signal service, not only to Brahmins but to

Hindus generally. Dharma-Bodh is design-

ed to encourage the believing Brahmin to

become a practising Brahmin. The essen-

tials of Brahmanical beliefs are here enume-

rated and explained; and so are the essen-

tials of Brahmanical practices. Theism, the

concept of Karma and transmigration of

the soul, the significance of the Gayatri

and of Sandhya-Vandan, the rationale of

idol worship and the place of Ganapati in

the Pantheon, the samskaras or ritual dedi-

cations at the various significant stages of

life, the Brahmanical habit of humility and

perpetual self-education through observa-

tion of nature; all these are explained with

remarkable brevity, lucidity, cogency and

simplicity which make the book both easy

and interesting. The techniques of essen-

tial rituals and the text of the mantras

essential in them are also given with a

sense of selectivity which obviates the

objection that modern life leaves no time

tor religious performances.

Books on the subjects treated in

“Dharma-Bodh” are by no means lacking,

in Marathi at any rate. There are learned

treatises, with full text and translation, on

the samskaras, on pooja, on Sandhya Van-

dan. But they are generally too complete,

too literal, and therefore too abstruse to be

of practical use to the busy layman. And

even among such books there is hardly any

that holds within its covers the whole range

of subjects that Shri Gajananshastri has

managed to combine into a compact guide

to Brahmanism. It is the sign of a profound

scholar, that his erudition does not appear

on the surface and make the common

reader halt in his reading. Shri Gajanan-

shastri is such a scholar.

The Kida-Devatas

To this beautiful little hand-book of

Brahmanism, the Shastri has added an

Appendix of great interest to Dakshini


Saraswats. He has listed the Saraswat Kula

Devatas, with the present as well as pre-

Portuguese location of each temple, the

family names of the kulavis. and the

dhyana or invocatory mantra of each deity.

It is plain that this information has been

laboriously compiled with personal visits to

many of the temples. It is plain, too, that

the compilation is not altogether complete,

although the Shastri has listed as many as

39 Kula Devatas, more than twice the num-

ber in Shri Ganesh Ramachandra Sharma‟s

monumental “Saraswat Bhushan” Here is

a very generous base for definitive research.

Another valuable appendage is a choice

collection of stotras or songs of prayer.

Attention may be drawn particularly to two

stotras, both composed by Shri Gajanan-

shastri himself, one addressed to Shree

Shantadurga and the other to Shree Katya-

yani. The pious will heartily agree that four

rupees, which is the price of the book, is

not too much price for these two stotras

alone. They are inspired compositions, ex-

pressing a simple faith in felicitously sim-

ple Sanskrit which almost any educated

Hindu will understand.—D.N.N.

THE ETERNAL VERITY

A NEW CONCEPT THE TRIAD OF TIME, SPACE AND

MATTER, by Pt. J. L. K. Jalali; published by

Kala-Kendra, Srinagar; 113 pages; price Rs. 7.50.

Pt. Jalali is held in high esteem among

Kashmiri Pandits as a Karma Yogi. He is

a sound scholar in metaphysics and in

Kashmir‟s cultural history. He is author of

many books, including one in Sanskrit

verse.

The present little volume is not just

another book, and its subject is not one of

those standard topics which give endless

scope for learned disputation. We are here

presented with an altogether new and revo-

lutionary metaphysical concept; indeed, a

new Religion.

This new concept or religion did not come

to the author in a flash of inspiration or as

a Revelation. It grew on him in long years

of milling over the spiritual posers of cer-

tain events in his secular life.

Pt. Jalali proclaims that Time (Kaala)

is the ultimate verity of life and all exist-

ence, the “One-without-a-Second”; and

that space and matter are real, too. and

are auxiliary to Time.

The Vedantic theory of the unreality of

all that has “name and form” is denied.

The conceptual and terminological pattern

of Vedantic thought is. however generally

retained. The concept of Sat. Chit and

Ananda, the Vedantic approximation to the

identification of Brahman-Atman, is here

attributed to Time. The places of Purusha

and Prakriti, or Shiva and Shakti (which

is the parallel used by the author) are

given to Time and Space. The place held

by God in all theistic faiths is given to

Time. “Time is not a dead, lifeless God.

He is a living God. He is all-pervading,

all-enveloping” (p. 33). Again: “ ..what

happens in this universe or elsewhere hap-

pens by the Will of the Great KALA

(TIME)” (p. 71). The three Gunas

(Sattva, Rajas, Tamas) are accepted. Man

is allowed a free will within limits which

are indicated. It is held that nothing new

happens in life; that every event is a repeti-

tion of an old one in a new form, as the

Hydrogen Bomb being a new form, perhaps,

of Arjuna's weapons. Einstein's Theory of

Relativity is stated to be in conformity

with this concept of Time. A distinction is

made between “finite-infinity” and

“infinite-infinity''

Two clear advantages are claimed for this Religion of Time. It is a positive reli-


gion. There is none of the vexatious nega -

tive approach of the Vedanta; no “Neli,

Neti” Secondly, it lays down a clear path

of human conduct, without the confusing

conundrums that Vedanta revels in. "The

Notary of KALA has a dear cut path be-

fore Me. He has not to get himself lost

in the labyrinth of non-knowingness.

Realisation comes by following that path

in the way indicated to him”.

The prospect, indeed, is tempting. This

leviewer spent long hours trying to place

Time in his old mental temple of God.

Habits of thought die hard, and it is com-

paratively easier to learn than to unlearn.

The ideas of Brahman which is "anir-

vachaneeya” (beyond description),, and of

God who is "kaalaateeta” (beyond time),

are not easily dislodged. And the process

of unlearning is not helped by the manner

in which the new religion is here presented.

Refutation of accepted beliefs must now at

least supplement this presentation of the

Truth as the author sees it. That will be

for the benefit of us the common people,

whose beliefs stop at what their common-

place minds can grasp. Significant response

can come, meanwhile, only from the

author‟s peers, from men of pure heart and

a vigorous mind trained to that degree of

one-pointed contemplation which moulds

their judgments in the realm beyond the

rnind. Despite the author‟s rejection of nega-

tivism, the Upanishadic warning that „'the

Atman is not to be apprehended by defini-

tions nor by intellectual perception nor by

scholarship may well apply to the appre-

hension of Koala.

— D. N. N.

YAJNA, THE MODERN NEED OUR SACRED CREST By D. N Nadkarni

(The All India Saraswat Foundation, 4/418,

Arun Chambers, Tardeo Road, Bombay-34;

Rs. 2/-)

The booklet under review is the first to

be launched in the Saraswat Sanmarg Series.

It is highly appropriate that elucidation of

the rationale of the crest, adopted by the

AISCO and AISF, forms the substances of

the maiden publication in this Series. In

adopting the Yajna symbol for its crest, the

AISCO proclaims the Saraswat ideology of

self-sacrifice for the benefit of society at

large. The booklet spells out the far-reach-

ing implications of the concept of Yajna and

its immense relevance for our tangled times.

It will not do to merely hail the pictorial

Yajna symbol as the Badge of the Saraswat.

As the author rightly says (p. 29), “the

adoption of the crest implies a commitment

to live up to it, to demonstrate the benefi-

cent power of prayerful sacrifice to give

light and strength to a troubled nation.” The

sacred crest should be vindicated in action

by all who swear by it. This means that the

Saraswat fraternity, in particular, needs

first and foremost a clear grasp of the many

facets of Yajna in our life and culture, for

understanding alone paves the way to mean-

ingful action. The booklet answers this need

very well.

The author says (p. 11), “No attempt

is made here to present a thesis on Yajna.”

The arid scholar may not regard the booklet

as a thesis, but the lay reader, amply re-

warded by his reading, cannot but look up-

on it as a highly illuminating thesis on a

modest scale. Within a small compass of

thirty pages the author has summed up all

the essentials of Yajna with handy quota-

tions from the Gita, Upanishads and Vedic

hymns to buttress his point.

On page 12 we read, “If the All India

Saraswat Cultural Organisation were to do

no more than popularising its crest, it would

achieve a great deal more than reasonable

optimism expects of it.” The society

at large is becoming a bundle of

self-seekers everywhere and it is, in-

deed, high time that utmost effort is

made to highlight the Vedic ideal


from

B. M. INDUSTRIES

of Sacrifice, not in its outmoded ritual

setting, but in the modern context. The

author has fared extremely well in his wide

exploration of the symbolism of Yajna. In

Gita we reach the high watermark of the

Yajna symbolism. The author, Shri

Nadkarni, dives again and again into Gita

to come up with fresh insights into the

psychological, sociological and philosophi-

cal implications of Yajna.

Shri Nadkarni has a gift for eloquent elu-

cidation and is steeped in our Vedic lore.

The reviewer fondly hopes that the AISF

will bring forth many more booklets by him

to interpret the Vedic—and hence the

Saraswat— Ideals of Sanatana Dharma.

— V. RAJAGOPAL BHAT

Best Compliments

from

BOMBAY-34.


In January, 1972. the AISCO proclaimed formation at the present stage of

itself to the Saraswat world. The "Aave- development paper is now

dana Patra” then issued was a testament of with the added confidence from

faith. It spelt out the ideology and aims of Saraswat response during the last

the AISCO, and the imperative need for its months.

AISCO: THE TESTAMENT OF FAITH

“In our devotion to our families, in the

generosity of our charity, in our spirit

of progress, we do homage to God

Saraswat” (Rg Veda. VII—96—4).

THE All-India Saraswat Cultural Orga-

oisation (AISCO for short) was

founded in Bombay on November 19, 1971,

and is registered under the Registration of

Societies Act and the Public Trust Act.

The AISCO is more than an institution.

It is a movement of Saraswat Revivalism.

It is a national movement and a nationalist

movement.

Too long have we Saraswats forgotten our

heritage and our history. We know little of

the Saraswat prowess in the arts of war

and of peace, which has enriched the annals

of the nation. The absence of that back-

ground has made us indifferent to Saraswat

achievements of our own time.

We have forgotten that we are a nation-

wide clan, dedicated by faith and by tradi-

tion to the cause of national advancement.

We have all but abandoned our ancient

Vedic idealism of a full life of purposeful

and voluntary socialism, and are drifting to

the purposeless domain of a privileged and

alienated individualism. Even the regional

and sectarian splinter-identities assumed in

our decadence have become insupportable.

The altruistic genius characteristic of

Saraswats now only skims over the surface

of the national life.

All this needs to be changed. It must be

changed for the good of the Saraswat and

the good of the country.


The Saraswat

There is need for revival of our pride in

Saraswat heroes of the past and the present;

for authentic accounts of Saraswat achieve-

ments in national defence, statesmanship,

scholarship and the arts.

There is need for stimulation of the

Saraswat ethos, so that Saraswats may

meaningfully take their due place at the

vanguard of the nation‟ cultural life.

There is need for revival of Saraswat self-

awareness, so that Saraswats of all India

may take collective responsibility for the

weak and handicapped elements among

them, wherever found.

And, to achieve these ends, there is urgent

need for clarification and dissemination of

the pristine Vedic faith of the Saraswats,

that well reasoned body of practical ethics

which alone offers a firm bridge bet-

ween the eternal verities of life and the

demands of the modem machine age.

The AISCO is an expression of a live ap-

preciation of these needs. It is a movement

designed to influence every Saraswat house-

hold from Srinagar to Madras and from

Bombay to Calcutta.

Preparations for the first few measures in

that process are already under way. They

include : —

1. An AISCO journal

Quarterly”

2. An all-India

Saraswat Cultural

Con-

vention, to be held at

an early conve-

nient date.

3. Survey of the religious and social

customs and manners of Saraswats of

different regions throughout India,

with a view to cultivation of a closer

mutual understanding.

4. Survey of the voluntary social service

institutions of Saraswats, including those of regional and sub-caste groups throughout India, with a view to dis- closure of organisational gaps in the fulfilment of the community‟s obliga- tion to the weaker elements within it.

5. Compilation of an All India Saraswat

Directory and Who‟s Who.

6. Research in the significant contributions

of Saraswats in various fields of

national life and growth.

7. Research relevant to a concise enun-

ciation of the Saraswat Faith, based on

the personal and social ethic of the

Veda interpreted in terms of modern

psychological and physical conditions,

as the ground of the Saraswat Way of

Life.

This is only the beginning of a long, ardu-

ous task and effort. It is also the beginning

of what, God willing, may well turn out to

be a new chapter of glory in the Saraswat

annals of national usefulness.

This hope is derived from a confident

expectation of a massive response from

Saraswats of all sects and regions to the

AISCO aims and ambitions.

The AISCO counts on the benign blessings

of the illustrious Swamijis of the four great

Maths; on the active co-operation of all

Saraswat institutions, large and small, reli-

gious and secular; and on the whole-hearted

association of all persons whose talents and

public spirit have earned them a position of

influence in the community. And so, the

AISCO looks forward to counting a mem-

ber in every Saraswat household throughout

the country.

Membership of the AISCO is open to

Saraswats of all sects and regions, as well

as to Saraswat institutions. A wide range of

membership is offered, as shown below : —


Bombay,

21st January, 1972.

Class of Membership

Founder Member

Patron

Fellow

Life Member

Ordinary Member

Fee for

Individuals

Rs. 5,000 in lump

Rs. 1,000

Rs. 500

Rs. 200

Rs. 20 per year Fee for

Institutions

Rs. 5,000 in lump

Rs. 2.000

Rs. 1.000

Rs. 500

Every member shall be entitled to a tree

copy of the “Saraswat Quarterly”; and,

through it, access to the results of researches

conducted by the AISCO. Every member,

too, shall have the privilege of being a dele-

gate at all Conventions organised by the

AISCO.

The aims and efforts of the AISCO merit

the active participation of every thinking

Saraswat. It hardly need be emphasised that

a movement of Saraswat Revivalism will

strengthen the roots and branches of all

healthy Saraswat institutions. The promo-

ters of the AISCO are not unaware of the

short-lived career of past efforts at consolida-

tion of Saraswats on a national scale. The

last such serious effort was made a little over

four decades ago. It did not last long,

because the time was not ripe for it yet. The

metamorphosis which the national social

structure is rapidly undergoing at the present

time dictates the need for the AISCO. In

another decade, it may well be too late.

The promoters of the AISCO are drawn

from all walks of life : industry, business.

administration, scholarship, fine arts, the

liberal professions, and plain clerkship.

None of them is a politician or professional

agitator. An acute awareness of the national

crisis of faith which has affected the Saraswat

way of life was alone responsible for bring-

ing them together. Their faith in the

Saraswat Dharma has spelt out the consti-

tution of the AISCO. And, in their pledge

to do all they can to place the AISCO on

the path of fulfilment, they draw their con-

fidence from the divine assurance in the

Gita,

“Here no effort undertaken is lost; no

frustration befalls. Even a little of this

righteous course spells deliverance from

great peril”.

B. P. ADARKAR

President,

AISCO.


The formation of the All India Saraswat

Cultural Organisation (AISCO and the formu-

lation of its aims and objects earned a quick and

warm response of welcome from Saraswat intel-

lectuals and leaders from many parts of the

country. Among the first to extend their welcome

and offer their wholehearted co-operation was

Karma Yogi Pt. J. L. K. Jalali of Kashmir. As

thinker, author, social worker, and a natural

leader of men, Pt. Jalali is held in reverence

among Kashmiri Saraswats and is President of the

Kashmir Pandits Association.

In pursuance of the AISCO aim of promoting

communion between the various territorial groups

of Saraswats, Pt. Jalali prepared a Paper on

SARASWAT SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN

KASHMIR, for presentation at the Inaugural

function of the AISCO in Bombay on Decem-

ber 23, 24 and 25, 1912,

Although numerically a small minority, the'

Saraswats of Kashmir, styled Pandits, have a

long tradition of leadership in Kashmir's life and

culture. In general education, women's education,

health service, refugee relief, Saraswat leadership

has paved the path of progress.

Pt. Jalali has told the story of this leadership

in the service of the people, with a wealth of

significant details. The Paper is reproduced here.

SARASWAT SOCIAL

SERVICE

INSTITUTIONS OF

KASHMIR BY

Karma Yogi Pt. J. L. K. Jalali

K A L O H A M ( I A M TIME)!

I am a Kalavadin, but as a Saraswat I must

first offer my salutations to and invoke the

blessings of goddess Saraswati in the words of

Devapala, the commentator of the Grihya-Sutras

of the Kashmiri Saraswat Muni Laugakani

(I bow with full faith and devotion to the full-

bosomed young goddes Saraswati, who dispels

the darkness that sometimes envelopes the Intell-

ect, who makes one perceive the Real Truth of

this Ocean of the changing Universe, who with

her refined understanding and intelligence makes

one exert and put in right effort to acquire wealth

and prosperity). May that great Goddess of the

Saraswats be benignant and shower her choicest

blessings on this Conference and the members

v/ho have so assiduously planned, worked and

organised this Inaugural Function with the sole

desire of drawing together and consolidating a

large part of the population of our vast country

to arouse in them the sense of duty as patriotic

citizens, as fearless soldiers when inspired by

Vidura‟s inspiring exhortation

(Let no Indian mother give birth to a son who

has no anger, no courage, is not brave, and only

appeases the foe). Such sons have to fight the

enemy on the battlefield, and as honest civilians

when they have to administer the country, free

it from corruption, remove its chronic poverty,

contribute to its wealth, prosperity and economic

development, industrialize it or bring about the

green revolution to feed its teeming millions

right from Leh to Kanyakumari.

Friends, I have been asked to speak on a subject which on the very face of it appears to be prosaic but, in fact, is very interesting and important. One of the aims and objects of the All India

THE SAMYUKTA SARASWAT, JANUARY 1973

Saraswat Cultural Organisation is to “encourage and co-ordinate the activities of social service institutions promoted or conducted by the Saraswats, whether for the benefit of all Saraswats or a section of Saraswats or of the public at largo‟‟ As such it is but proper and obligatory that I comply with the wishes of the organisation I may tell you comrades, that it is we the


Saraswats who from the time of the Rigveda have

made a remarkable contribution in all possible

fields of development towards the progress and

advancement of the people, whatever the shape

of the world or whatever the form of the govern-

ment was. If it was anarchic or monarchic in the

past, if it became despotic or absolute at times,

and if it is democratic or popular today, the

government is after all a government, and the

Artha-shastra of the great Kautilya will continue

to hold good and apply to any government or

under any form of government admonishing the

rulers or the men in power to understandwell

and follow the fourfold injunctions of

how to run the admini-

stration, how to develop the resources of the

country and exploit the means of wealth, how to

circumvent and annihilate the enemy, how to

defend one‟s hearth and home, or how to protect

the nation from the machinations of designing

and scheming Machiavellis.

“Social Service Institutions” is apparently a

limited field. But if we cover all the allied activit-

ies under it, I think it will not be beyond or out-

side the periphery of the subject. The phrase

“Social Service Institutions" tempts one to talk

of so many educational, welfare, religious, cultural

and social institutions, but my ambit is circum-

scribed by the limitations of a Pradesh (Kashmir),

which has not had the advantages of a State like

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West

Bengal, Gujarat or the Punjab. Though our con-

tacts with the Punjab have been intimate in the

past, the impact has been comparably not so

healthy and fruitful as one would have expected

it to be. Had I widened the scope of my survey

to include Northern India, it would have meant

and required personal tour to acquire first-hand

knowledge of Saraswat institutions as distinguish-

ed from non-Saraswat ones.

About Kashmir only 1 should have liked to talk of the whole State

of Jammu and Kashmir, but the information

from Jammu is not complete. In the Ladakh fron-

tier there is no private social service institution

of Saraswats. I would, however, take up Kashmir

first. If I were to count all the cultural and

religious bodies and organisations, both big and

small, it would swell this survey. So I shall deal

with only important institutions that would give

an idea of the kind of social service institutions

that we in Kashmir have been able to start, esta-

blish and organise with the limited means availa-

ble. These would comprise the educational, health

and socio-cultural institutions. which have come

into being during the present century or a little

earlier. I should have further liked to dwell on how

the Saraswats of Kashmir, your brethren in the

mountain-girt Valley in the faraway North, have

fared in the past, and how, notwithstanding the

vicissitudes of time, we have tried to preserve

the ancient Saraswat traditions for which we had

to pay dearly, so much so that about three million

of us have now been reduced to a small number

of less than a hundred thousand in Kashmir. The

sword and bayonet of proselytisation, abduction,

rape, mass killing, “sack-drowning” and “red-hot

panning” in the past and now forced migration

under economic pressure have done all that. I do

not want to go into details lest bitter memories

be revived which we had better forget in the

modem world, in the secular India of today.

Let me tell you, friends, that we are a small mi-

nority and with the Kashmiri Saraswats living

in Jammu and other parts of the country, we are

about 150,000 persons all told. At home, under

the stress and strain of the times we are putting

up a heroic fight not to be washed away by the

onrush of waters that sometimes cause cracks in

our social dykes of ancient build and make. But

now that we are an indivisible part of a bigger

whole, the byegone past will, I believe, be never

repeated.

Pioneering in Education Without digressing into history, let me come

straight to what we have done in educational and

other fields. It was in the beginning of the pre-

sent century that in order to counteract the overt

and covert activities of the missionary schools so

far as we Saraswats were concerned, the stal-

wart Kashmiri, Dayakishen Kaul, Private Secre-

tary to Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jammu &

Kashmir, persuaded Dr. Annie Besant, President

of the Theosophical Society of India, to approach

the great Brahmin and Indian leader, Pandit

Madan Mohan Malaviya of revered memory, and

ask the Banaras Hindu Educational Society to

open a Hindu High School in Srinagar. This

institution later developed into the first Hindu

College of Kashmir. Both the school and the

college were subsequently taken over by the

State and named Sri Pratap Hindu High School

and Sri Pratap Hindu College, respectively. Later

the word Hindu was dropped. It was in this

school and in this college that I had my early

education. Our college was affiliated to the Uni-


versity of the Punjab, and to take my examina-

tion in B.A. (with Honours) I had to run down

to Lahore (now in Pakistan) travelling by a one-

horse tonga stage by stage for about a week and

then board the train at Rawalpindi! The Hindu

High School had a few branches, and in one of

them (at Rainawari) I was being taught the

Nityakarmavidhi, Sandhyopasana, Snanavidhi, the

fortnightly Pakshagah, etc. The sermons given

every morning before the school bell tolled for

regular class work make me recall those boyhood

days with animation and elation; and I feel grate-

ful to those Head Pandits of the school for the

religious instruction I received then and the im-

pression their day-to-day discourses made on my

young mind. The same was the case with other

boys. It was a time when no girls went to school

and female education was taboo.

Hindu College started as an Intermediate Col-

lege. The father of our Union Plainning Minister,

Shri D. P. Dhar, was the first under-graduate.

The first four graduates produced by this college

in the year 1911—when it passed into the hands

of the Government — are no more. I still remem-

ber the grand dinner that was given by the first

Saraswat High Court Judge and Judicial Minister

of the State, Rai Bahadur Pandit Radhakrishen

Kaul Jalali, in honour of these Saraswat gra-

duates, when he commended them to the four

Ministers of the Maharaja with a personal

request to provide them with decent appoint-

ments in their respective ministries. But how they

were treated and what tribulations they had to

undergo is a matter of history which had better

be consigned to the archives of memory.

We have today another college in Kashmir which was started by the joint efforts of several Kashmiri Saraswats, 30 years ago, in which I also had a hand. For this the credit goes mainly to the late Pandit Sona Kaul Madan, who generously contributed to its finances and was the Chair- man of the Managing Committee for a number of years. The College was called the Hindu Col- lege. On the demise of the Father of the Nation, it was renamed Gandhi Memorial College. It is managed by a body of Saraswats only. This institution, though originally started to obviate the difficulties experienced by young Saraswat boys and girls of Kashmir in securing admission to the Government Colleges, has thrown open its portals to non-Saraswats and non-Hindus of the State and outside. At present there are over five hundred students on its rolls who receive edu-

cation in arts and sciences. A teachers‟ training department has also been added which produces trained teachers by the dozen and relieves the congestion in the Government Training Institutes. It, however, requires rehousing for which necessary steps are being taken. As a social service institution, it has rendered yeoman's service in the initial stages, and now with a grant-in-aid from the State Government, it is becoming self- supporting. The college is situated at Naml- chabal, Bagh Dilawar Khan, in the city of Sri- nagar. The Hindu High School at Shitalnath, the Lalded Memorial High School at Badiyar, the National High School at Karan Nagar are the other social service institutions run and managed by Saraswats. The institutions have kept their doors open for non-Saraswats also. Mention needs to be made of an institution which has now parsed into the hands of and is managed by the Saras- wats themselves. It is the Central School at Fateh Kadal, which was once the famous missionary school of the late Reverend (Canon) C. E. Tyndale Biscoe run by the Church Missionary Society of England. Canon Biscoe‟s school with its motto of “In All This Be Men” rendered such an exemplary service to the people of Kashmir that it is no exaggeration to say that such an institution has no parallel in the educational history of the State, let alone the mission it had in view. It produced long and short swimmers, high and long jumpers, gymnasts and athletes, rowers and paddlers, footballers and cricketers, and transformed the Kashmiri boy completely. When the Church Missionary Society wound up the school, the Central School was taken over and run by a band of devoted Saraswat workers and teachers who deserve every encouragement.

To encourage female education among Saras- wats, the veteran old leader, the late Pandit Hargopal Kaul, a lawyer by profession, was the first Saraswat who took the bold step of giving school education to his daughter, who later became a District Inspectress of Schools. Instead of appreciating his services to the community in this respect, doggerels and distichs were composed to condemn him for this “unorthodox” step. This admirable individual effort was later followed by the Women Welfare Trust, a Saraswat institution, which on the one hand encouraged learning and teaching of Hindi and on the other did its best to preserve the Saraswat traditions. The Trust schools are doing very useful work, and some 1500 girls are receiving modem education in arts and science in accordance with the syllabus of the Kashmir Board of Examinations and the University.


Women's Education

The first attempt to start a college for the

Saraswat girls of Kashmir was made by Pandit

Tribhuwan Nath Kaul, son of a Saraswat Con-

servator of Forests, and an Oriental College for

Women came into being wherein one of my

daughters volunteered to act as an honorary

lecturer. This college was later shifted from Tan-

kipora to Barbarshah and named Mahila Maha-

vidyalaya. Attached to the college is a school

where some six hundred girls are imparted edu-

cation-through the Hindi medium. Credit goes to

Shri Shambhunath Parimoo and his wife Shri-

mati Kamla Parimoo, who is now the Principal

of the Oriental College, for running this Saraswat

institution efficiently. Shri Shambhunath has also

organised the work of popularising the Rashtra

rthasha in Kashmir. The Kashmir Branch of the

Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti of Wardha is

responsible for producing some 8000 non-Hindu

passes in different examinations of the Rashtra

Bhasha. Both the Mahila Mahavidyalaya and

the Rashtra Bhasha Branch were presided over

and looked after for a number of years by one

of my friends, Shri Jagadhar Zadoo, a scholar

of repute.

Another institution of note is the Vishvabha-

rati College for Women at Rainawari, for which

Shri Prenuiath Thussoo, a devoted selfless worker,

and a few other Saraswat friends deserve appre-

ciation. This is also a Saraswat institution and is

looked after by a well-organised Managing

Committee. The Dharmarth Trust of Dr. Karan

Singh, Union Minister for Civil Aviation &

Tourism, has provided land for this institution

on which the buildings of the College stand in

beautiful surroundings. It is a well-disciplined

institution where Saraswats and non-Saraswats are

imparted education.

Sanskrit

To promote the learning of Sanskrit, a class-

fellow of mine, the late Pandit Parmanand,

founded the Rupadevi Sharada Peetha in the

name of his daughter, and created a Trust, of

which I was a member. In the beginning there

was a very poor response notwithstanding the

remission of tuition fee, grant of scholarships

and stipends, and supply of text-books free of

charge. Consequently, it had to be run as a full-

fledged college for girls under the University of

Kashmir, and Sanskrit is taught as one of the

subjects. Now that the Government of India is

encouraging the learning of Sanskrit, the Sharada

Peetha may revive its original plan and, if cir-

cumstances favour, it may become the Sanskrit

College for Women, provided there is an appre-

ciable number of girl students interested and

willing to opt for Sanskrit. I call it a real Saraswat

social service institution, which was established

by the donor with his personal savings. Though

originally intended for Saraswat girls only, it has

opened its portals to girls of other classes and

communities also. I am glad to say that with the

financial assistance given by the Government of

India and the grant-in-aid sanctioned by the State

Government, the institution has become self-

supporting, and the Saraswat Trust is wide-

awake to the needs of the institution and is

making it financially viable.

Saraswat Unani Let me now talk of another activity in the

realm of social service, rather of service to huma-

nity. I mean the private health centres established

by Saraswats. We have two hospitals in the city

of Srinagar, one at Karan Nagar and an-

other at Barbarshah. For the former, Dr. S. N.

Peshin, F. R. C. S., deserves credit and for the

latter. Dr. Onkar Nath Thussoo. The Karan Nagar

Hospital is called the National Hospital, the Bar-

barshah one is known as Rattan Rani Hospital

founded by Dr. Thussoo in the name of his first

wife. In this hospital Dr. Thussoo and his wife

Dr. Jagat Mohini work and run it as a private

social service institution. Both the hospitals serve

Saraswats and non-Saraswats alike and render as

much free service as possible. Dr. Peshin was

for some time the Director of Health Services in

the State Government. He has built another

hospital at Dehra Dun in Uttar Pradesh, which

is solely his personal concern, and he has put his

son who is also a qualified, foreign-trained doc-

tor in charge of this hospital. The Government

has its hospitals and dispensaries in Kashmir, but

all the same such private Saraswat institutions

have proved to be very helpful to Saraswats in

times of need.

There is a Unani dispensary which is the sole

enterprise of a well-known Saraswat Hakeem

(physician). Originally a sort of clinic during

the time of his father, the present physician in

charge. Pandit Shamlal Hakeem, is an expert in

his profession, and his consultations and advice

are free, and in many cases he treats poor and

needy patients free of all charges, including

medicines. His father, Sahaj Bhat, was a physi-

cian of repute. Shamlal claims his descent from


the renowned Shri Bhat, who is credited with

having treated and cured the tolerant, unbiassed

and secular king, Sultan Rainulabidin, of a

“septic carbuncle” in the fifteenth century; and

the king in token of his gratitude wanted to

remunerate the physician by grant of land as

jagir and other presents in cash and kind, but the

great Saraswat declined, and instead asked for an

order whereby the Kashmiris who had come out

of hiding and had been interdicted to put on the

holy mark on their forehead, or perform their

sacred thread (Mekhala or Upanayana), wedding

and other ceremonies openly, or had to pay poll-

tax, would be treated as free citizens. The king

granted his request, but instead of remitting the

jazia reduced it, and henceforth the Saraswats

once again performed their sacred ceremonies,

Hawans, yajnas, etc. But they were required to

have a non-Hindu “milk-father” or “milk-

mother” accompany the bride to the bridegroom's

house, and remain with her until such time as

the bride came of age and put off the ringing

anklets to become a full-grown housewife and

change her ornament-studded cap for the round

headgear superimposed by a long piece of muslin

hanging behind from head to foot. The king

appointed Shri Bhat as his personal physician,

and then raised him to the post of Afsar-aul-

Ataba (the Minister for Health). And even now

after over five centuries, every Saraswat remem-

bers him with deep admiration and respect for

his altruism and keen sense of duty towards his

brother Saraswats who had somehow survived

the sword of Sikandar the Iconoclast and his son

who had out-done him.

Refugee Relief

When under the overall command of the Pakistan

Army, the tribesmen of the North-West Frontier

Province invaded the State in 1947, thosands of

Saraswats living in the villages of Kashmir, who

had become helpless victims of massacre, arson,

rape and plunder, were displaced and they fled to

the city of Srinagar for refuge. I have seen with

my own eyes how miserable their plight was,

and what gruesome tales they had to tell me and

my friends. Their suffering knew no bounds.

Friends like Gopalkrishen and his band of wor-

kers joined hands to look after these refugees.

The Samaj Sudhar Samiti which had been

brought into being as a social reform body was

made to organise relief on a large scale, and the

Samaj made Herculean efforts to lodge and cater

to the needs of these displaced men, women and

children, who had been reduced to destitution and

whose homes and hearths had been destroyed.

This Samiti has been converted into a trust and

is rendering good socio-cultural service. Gopi-

krishen is now a Kundalini Yoga adept (though

not following the orthodox line); and 1 wish that

he gives up the trust and devotes himself solely

to this religio-spiritual service and sets an exam-

ple in complete detachment.

The Vidhawa Rakshini Sadan, and one or two

similar bodies are the institutions of practical

social service, which look after, provide work and

other employment to dozens of Saraswat widows,

indigent families, orphan girls, and such other

poor women as stand in need of help and assis-

tance. These Saraswat institutions deserve en-

couragement and financial subsidies to enlarge

their scope of work as the number attended to

by them at present is very limited. This sort of

relief is much needed for the protection of

Saraswat families who do not always find a ready

welcome at Government welfare centres.

Culture Let us now come to institutions that render

socio-cultural service to the Saraswats of

Kashmir. The great Saraswat, Swami Shivrama-

nand Saraswati, who had his nirvana forty years

ago, was an institution by himself. 1 cannot think

of him without deep respect and reverence. At the

feet of the Gopadri Hill, better known as Shan- karacharya Hill, a name given to the hill in

honour of Adi Shankaracharya's visit to Kashmir,

is a sacred spring of Bhagvati Durga. Here he

built a Matha where he had not only instituted a

free kitchen for the public but also for Sadhus

who came from outside, stayed at Durganag, and

instructed people through spiritual discourses,

kirtans, bhajans and otherwise. It was not a religious Matha only. It was a secular social in-

stitution which, as far as I remember, helped

many a needy and indigent person. After his

nirvana, the Trust set up by him failed to im-

plement his wishes. Now it has become a prize

for political exploitation. I wish the present

trustees (the original trustees. I am told, have

all died) make the Durganag institution a social

service institution in its true sense, so that it

serves the public faithfully, especially the Saras-

wats who come from outside during summer or

at the time of the Swami Amarnath pilgrimage

in August every year With the funds already in

reserve and the rents accruing mostly from

lodgings, shops, sites, etc., and with possibilities

of extension, the Durganag Trust can become a

very useful social service institution, that would


on the one hand render socio-cultural service to

the public and, on the other, maintain the Saras-

wat traditions so as to become a spiritual centre

for the uplift of mankind, in a larger sense.

A friend of mine. Dr. Radhakrishna Kaw, has

established a socio-cultural institute called the

Sharada Peetha Research Centre at Karan

Nagar. It was started in 1958 and is since then

being maintained by Dr. Kaw with his own

money. He has now constituted a trust for it and

1 am the Chairman of its Governing Council.

Dr. Kaw wants to convert it into an Interna-

tional Indological University. The Institute is at

present rendering culturo-educational service and

running Indological classes with the help of the

staff who work without any honorarium even. The

Institute holds weekly forums, issues the Sharada

Peetha Research Series containing contributions

on cultural, historical, educational, religious and

other subjects for the benefit of scholars and

savants in the State and outside as also in

foreign countries. Foreign scholars visit this in-

stitute from time to time. Apart from Indologi-

cal studies, the Institute propagates the doctrine

of Recognition, the Pratibhijna Branch of Kashmir

Shaivism. This Institute richly deserves encour-

agement as a Saraswat social service institution.

Another great Saraswat saint, Swami Lakshman

Joo, who is reputed as a Shaiva Yogi and Shaiva

scholar and is well known in foreign countries

also, is running a Shaiva Institute where he

delivers discourses on Shaivism for the benefit

of scholars and aspirants. Scholars from foreign

lands come and are initiated into it. His institute

is located at Ishbar village, P. O. Nishatbagh,

Srinagar. There are two other Shaiva institutes.

One at Fateh Kadal named after Swami Ramji,

and another at Karan Nagar, run by the disciples

of Swami Vidyadharji. These institutions are

doing very useful work in maintaining the

Saraswat traditions of Kashmir. Shaivism as

known and taught in Kashmir is what I call the

“Philosophy of Positivism”, in contradistinction

to the Vadantic philosophy of “Neti, Ned”, and

js based on the Shaiva Sutras as revealed to the

Saraswat Shaivist, Vasugupta, which begin with

and end with the 77th Sutra

This forms the basic Trika

(Shaiva) philosophy which is prevalent in

Kashmir since the ninth century.

In addition to the above, we have some reli-

gio-cultural bodies doing much useful work in

preserving the Saraswat cultural traditions, for

example, the Ganesh Prabandhak Samiti., the

Brahman Mahamandal (which as an affiliated body

of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan of Bombay is

promoting the learning of Sanskrit among

Saraswats and others). The Brahman Parishad,

the Alakeshwari Trust (disseminating the teach-

ings of Devi Rupa Bhawani through her Vakyas),

the Chakreshwar Sanstha of Hariparvata, the

Bhawani Ashram of Pukhribal, the Nagabal Com-

mittee of Ananthas, the Kotitirtha Samiti of

Baramulla, etc. Several other temple and shrine

committees of Saraswats in different parts of the

Valley are also contributing their mite in this

behalf, by seasonal performance of Hawans, cele-

bration of religio-cultural functions and days of

great saints, religious discourses, Vyakhyanas and

the like.

Social Reform When the first rumblings of a revolt by the

Muslims of Kashmir (and then of Jammu)

against the then ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh,

shook the state in 1931, and some of the old

inhibitions and social restrictions began to crum-

ble under the weight of cracking feudalism, the

first venture of our Saraswat young men was the

formation of a Sanatan Dharma Young Men‟s

Association, This Association, apart from its

socio-cultural work, was required to render help

and relief to the victims of the communal

excesses. As a result of the social awakening in

the community, the much-needed reform in our

social customs, dress and attire of our women-

folk, way of living, celebration of marriages,

Mekhalas (Upanayans) and other religious cere-

monies, etc., was taken up by the young men in

right earnest and given a start. To keep up the

tempo, a daily paper, “The Martand”, was run

which rendered wonderful service socially, cul-

turally, educationally and politically too in

awakening the community. The paper has of

late become defunct because of the short-sighted-

ness of a friend of ours, and in its place we had

to commission The Navjivan”. This association

(now known as the Sanatan Dharma Yuvak

Sabha, of which I happen to be the President at

present) with its socio-cultural paper is by itself

a social service institution inasmuch as it is

instrumental in helping coordination, cohesion

ana co-operation within the community in and

outside Kashmir, and maintaining even under

not wholly healthy and wholesome circumstances

traditional individuality intact dyked by the

will to live and exist as a Saraswat entity. I


should have wished that “The Martand‟‟ which

was bom in my house 39 years ago had been

revived. But now that “The Navjivan” is assidu-

ously exerting itself to render necessary social

service to the community in and outside Kashmir,

it has to be maintained in proper form. It is

an Urdu daily, because the official language of

the State is Urdu. I am now thinking of starting

an English weekly, because a local English daily

cannot successfully compete with the dailies of

Delhi and the Punjab, which flood the stalls in

Srinagar and other towns in Kashmir.

In Jammu, the city of temples, as it is generally

called, a Saraswat temple, which owes its birth

to my revered mother, Svargiya Shrimati

Devamali, was constructed in the fifties, at a time

when the Hon‟ble President of this session,

Shri Shiva Nath Katju, was building his Maha-

Kajna Temple at a place a few miles from

Allahabad. Therefore, I called my temple at

Jammu Sharika Mandir in the name of the

presiding deity of Kashmir, Bhagvati Sharika, the

eighteen-armed form of Goddess Uma, the divine

Consort of Lord Shiva, who was responsible for

the desiccation of the Satisar Lake and the emer-

gence of the Valley of Kashmir from under the

water. It was, therefore, that the Nilamalpurana

has s a i d ( S h e who is

Uma is Kashmira).

This Sharika Mandir is a socio-cultural centre,

where the Saraswats of Kashmir celebrate their

social, religious and cultural functions, and hold

weekly and kirtan meetings to keep their Saraswat

traditions alive. It will interest you to know that

the Navreh (the New Year‟s Day of the Kashmiri

Saraswats), which is celebrated on the first

Navaratra of Chaitra Shukla, is a special social

and religious function. It is followed by

Zangatrai on the third day of Chaitra which is

observed as a Women‟s Day. In Kashmir, women

invariably visit their father s house on this day

and collect Zang, (mangalam) in the form of

salt, loaves, sweets and money (as alagat). Since

1927, when I happened to be the President of the

Kashmiri Pandit Sabha at Jammu, these and other

functions are being celebrated regularly, in order

to maintain the historicity of the rites and customs

as laid down in the Nilamatpurana and other

Shastras. At Jammu, our Sabha invites the

womenfolk on Zangatrai and entertains them to

tea and sweets, and when they leave give to each

married woman a packet of salt as “Zang” (good

omen). Once we had gone a step farther and

added some money also. But this had to be given

up later.

In the city of Jammu, there is a home for the

destitute at Ved Mandir, which I believe is a

Saraswat social service institution. About other

institutions I have no authentic information.

Benediction Before I close I would like to tell you that as

a Kalavadin, with a new interpretation of Time,

I have started a centre at Srinagar, and call it

Kala-Kendra which in course of time is expected

to develop into a real social service institution.

It will be a socio-cultural centre where, apart

from explaining the new concept of Time, other

cultural activities will not be taboo. Only the

grace of the Great Kala is needed, and I am sure

He will be pleased to bestow it.

Friends, I have taken much of your time.

I thank you for your patience and the attention

that you have been good enough to give to what

I have said. How to repay you ? Only by this

prayer

Let all be happy! Let all be free of all pain !

Let all see good things ! I mean all Saraswat

brothers and sisters.

May we all hear good things by our ears,

O gods ! May we all see good things with our

eyes, O sacrificers ! May we with our strong and

healthy limbs please you, and live and enjoy life

that has been ordained by the Lord !

May we live together ! May we eat and enjoy

together ! May we do such healthy acts as will

make us strong and bold ! May all that we read

and study enlighten us to know the Real Truth '

May we all learn not to hate one another ! Peace.

Peace. Peace !


May the great and lucky Saraswats grow by 18. Shri Bhawani Ashram, Pukhribal, Hariparvat,

the grace of the Great Kala united by love and Srinagar.

affection, bound to one another by bonds of 19, Shri Sharika Chakreshwar Sanstha, Hari-

mutualism ! Kaloham !! parvat, Srinagar. 20. Samaj Sudhar Samiti, Chota Bazar, Srinagar.

21. The Sanatan Dharma Yubak Sabha, Shital-

nath,

Srinagar.

22. The Rattan Rani Hospital, Barbarshah,

Srinagar.

23. The Rupadevi Sharada Peetha, Raghunath

Mandir, Srinagar. List of Social Service Institutions of 24. The Sanatan Dharma Sabha, Udhampur.

Jammu. Saraswats of Jammu & Kashmir State Kotitirtha.

1. Brahman Mahamandal. Ganesh Ghat, 25.Baramulla, Kashmir. Srinagar 26. Unani Dispensary, Chinkral

Mohalla. Srinagar. 2. Gandhi Memorial College, Namchabal,

Srinagar 27. Shaiva Institute, Ishbar village, P.O. 3. Ganah Prabandhak Samiti, Ganpatyar, Nishatbagh, Kashmir.

Srinagar. 28. The Swami Ram Shaiva Ashram. Fateh 4. Geeta Sanstha, Somyar, Habbakadai, Kadal, Srinagar.

Srinagar. Swami Vidyadhar Shaiva Ashram, 5. Hindu Dharma Sabha, Jawaharnagar, Karan Nagar, Srinagar.

Srinagar. 30. The Seva Sadan, KraIkhud, Habbakadai, 6. Hindu High School, Shitalnath, Suthoo, Srinagar.

Srinagar. The Mahatma Prasadji Trust, Jalali Nivas,

7. Kala-Kendra, Jalali Nivas, Karan Nagar , Srinagar-10. 32- The Bhagwan Gopinath Trust, Kharyar,

8. Lalded Memorial Higher Secondary School 33 Srinagar. Badiyar, Srinagar. Bhairava Nath Trust, Chhattabal,

9. Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Barbarshah, Suthoo. Srinagar. Srinagar. Umadevi S. D. Sabha, Uma Nagri,

10. National High School, Karan Nagar, Achhabal P.O., Kashmir. Srinagar-10. 35. Vidhwa Rakshini Sabha, Habbakadai,

11. National Hospital, Chota Bazar, Karan Srinagar. Nagar Road, Srinagar. Women Welfare Trust, Kralkhud, Srinagar.

12. Sanatan Dharma Sabha, P.O. Handwara, Vishwa Bharati Women‟s College, Kralyar, Kashmir. Rainawari, Srinagar.

13 Sanatan Dharma Sabha, Nagabal, Anantnag, Kashmiri Pandit Sahayak Trust, Chota Kashmir. Bazar, Srinagar.

14. Sanatan Dharma Sabha, Hanad-Chawalgam Kashmiri Pandit Sabha, Sharika Mandir,

P.O. Kulgam, Kashmir. Jammu. 15. Sanatan Dharma Sabha, Sopore, Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandit Sahayak Sabha, . Batkhuh, Amritsar. 16. Sanatan Dharma Purohit Sabha, Bawan 41

(Mattan), Anantnag, Kashmir. The Kashmiri Sabha, Kashmiri Bhavan, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi.

17. Sharada Peetha Research Centre, 200 Karan 42. The Kashmiri Nagar. Srinagar-10 Delhi. Association, New


Saraswats „„are eminently suited to play a major

role in shaping the history of this land", says

Shri A. N. Bhat, voicing the universal response

of Saraswat intelligentsia to the formation and

the aims of the AISCO. Shri Bhat‟s brief and

eloquent paper, reproduced below, was prepared

for the symposium on AISCO organisation, as

part of the Inaugural Function of the AISCO.

FOR SARASWATS, A CHALLENGING FUTURE By

Shri A. N. BHAT, Bombay

When a man is hurled through time and

fate plays an undefinable game on him,

rarely does he remain unaffected. The

human entity called the Saraswat is an

exception. He is such a rare specimen of

Indian invincibility. The Saraswat '„voyage”

through the length and breadth of this land

seems to be over. His tribe has moved

across India for long. He stands today face

to face with his long-lost brother from east,

west, north and south. Perhaps, Saraswats

will be the last of the Indian communities

to stand up and reaffirm their identity.

In an age when space is annihilated, when

identification through communities and

castes is getting ready to evaporate, the cult

of nationalism is getting out-dated, and even

when the world itself is shrinking, the idea

of regrouping in terms of clannish identity

is held up to ridicule. But there in man is

his psyche, based on a sense of belonging,

founded on the principle of the herd instinct,

built on his tribal existence of yore. If he

is divorced from one group, he relates him-

self to another. It is a necessary corollary

to successful and normal social existence.

The Saraswats are not regrouping them-

selves for chauvinistic or aggressive purposes.

Throughout their history, they have never

imposed themselves on others and they have

never been a thorn in the flesh of their neigh-

bours. They have never trodden on others‟

toes. They have carried across the country

the message of Indian culture more by

example of their community-living than has

been, done by any other group. They have

made no demands and founded no empires

in the past. They have carved no niches for

themselves. Nor do the Saraswats today lay

claim to river waters or village boundaries.

They are not going to agitate for steel plants

or fertiliser factories, for special privileges

or reserved seats or cabinet posts. They

have accepted life as it has come to them.

They do so even now. Here, then, is an

example for all other communities to emu-

late. It is more blessed to GIVE than to

take, to SERVE than be served. This pre-

cept is lived by the Saraswats through the

millennia.

The mantle of Brahminism settles lightly

on the Saraswats. In this they differ a great

deal from others. Their migratory habits

have given them a liberal outlook. Their

culture has co-mingled with numerous

other patterns of life in the country. The

Saraswat heritage is an amalgam of the

cultural spectrum of India. They are dis-

tinguished by their total culture of Indian

inheritance. Their outlook is alien to the

crass cussedness of caste hegemony.

At a time when caste is anathema, why

should there be another attempt to reorga-

nise one more group? This objection is

superficial. Man cannot live except in a

group. Let it be noted that the much-

maligned caste still flourishes in countries

far removed from the shores of India. Caste

is but a classification of labour, a division

of duties and responsibilities and an accept-


and of social commitments, although in its

degenerated form it can never be approved.

Surprisingly, such a pattern is practised in

the so-called classless societies. In the com-

munist society the party boss, the army

brass, the power-wielding bureaucrats form

the higher echelons of the social structure.

The proletariat remains the proletariat—the

shudra of the communist societies. The caste

IS more entrenched in capitadist societies

where the aristocratic gentry holds the

holier-than thou and touch-me-not attitudes.

This does not mean that our caste system is

justified in its present day corrupt form.

There is already much-needed rethinking on

the subject.

The Saraswats by their liberal outlook can

choose to play an important role in modern

India. They can act as a cohesive and link-

ing force between the Brahmin and non-

Brahmin sections. Their regrouping must

become a decisive force for national unity

and integration. Nature has endowed the

Saraswats with an abundance of talent.

Their charisma covers a lough and hard

core. These qualities are invaluable in

assuming a pivotal role for rebuilding our

nation.

That the Saraswats have survived the

vicissitudes of their kaleidoscopic history is

no doubt a point of merit to concede. But,

this point alone cannot be made a matter for

acclaim. The aboriginal too has survived

and he too can flourish his identity. The

Saraswats have carried on their shoulders,

throughout their sojourn, our ancient heri-

tage. Added to this, they have refinement

in their character and talent up their sleeves.

They are therefore, eminently suited to play

a major role in shaping the history of this

land. Let the Saraswats hitch their wagon

to a star. Let there be an aim in their

crowded life. Let this be the burden of

their future song.

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Trade and Temples have been the twin passions

of the Saraswats of that part of India's western

coast which is now known as Kerala. Wherever

they settled, a temple came up for the people's

use, and the local harbour flourished or a new

harbour was built.

Saraswats had settled in Kerala long before

their exodus from Goa in the fifteenth century

because of Muslim persecution and in the

sixteenth century because of Portuguese repression.

They specialised in local trade and in inter-

regional commerce, often to the point of mono-

poly, and they were leaders in overseas trade.

It was natural that they should be trade agents,

treasurers and financial advisers to local kings.

it was natural, too, that they should hold impor-

tant administrative positions.

In a paper prepared for the Inaugural Session

of the AISCO, the story of the Saraswats of

Kerala has been succinctly told with ample

authentication by Shri N. Purushothama Mallaya,

scholar, educationist and acknowledged leader of

Kerala Saraswats. Starting with legendary history,

the narrative ends with an appeal to Saraswats

of all India to give the Kerala Saraswats a help-

ing hand in their struggle to retain their cultural

links with their linguistic identity.

Shri Mallaya‟s paper is reproduced here as a

valuable contribution in the Search for Saraswat

Identity referred to at page 7 of this issue.

KERALA SARASWATS : Their contribution in the economic, cultural, religious, political, admini -

strative, educational and literary fields in Kerala History

By

N. Purushothama Mallava

Early History

Gowd Saraswat Brahmins or Konkanis,

as they are called by Keralites, are Aryans

in origin who lived on the banks of the now

extinct river Saraswati of the Punjab. As

they lived to the north of the Vindhyas,

they were distinguished by the appellation

of “Gowd”, meaning those belonging to the

Northern sect of Brahmins. Being eminent

scholars well-versed in Vedic lore, their

services were often requisitioned for per-

forming Yajnas by famous kings of yore.

They had established Gurukulas in Arya-

varta to teach and train the young. The

Brahmins of Bharat were divided into two

groups those to the North of the Vindhyas

being known as “Pancha Gowdas”, while

those to the South as “Pancha Dravidas”.

Saraswats, therefore, belong to the Pancha

Gowd group. Hence the name Gowd Saras-

wats. Migration

The spread of the cults of Mahavira and

Gautama Buddha in the sixth century B.C.,

and the terrible famine that prevailed in

about 297 B. C. for 12 years in Northern

India, brought about the piecemeal migra-

tion of Saraswats from the banks of the

Saraswati to other parts of India. Of course,

there is an account in the Shatapatha

Brahmana to say that the Saraswats left

their homes on the banks of the Saraswati

and migrated to the east and settled there.

Historians have recorded their migration

to Trihotrapur. the modern Tirhut division

of Bihar, where they spread Aryan culture

amongst the common people. Further, re-

ferences to this community are to be found

in the Bhagavata Puranu, the

Bhavishyottara

Purna and in the Shalya Parva in Maha-

tharata. They inhabited many parts of


Punjab, Kashmir, Sind, Rajputana and also

Saurashtra.

Their further migration from Bihar to

Gomantak is recorded in the „‟Sahyadri

Khand" of Skanda Purana (Uttaradha

1-47/48).

Legend

According to this, Sri Parashurama

brought the Gowd Saraswat Brahmins be-

longing to ten gotras from Trihotrapur and

established them in a place called Kushas-

thali in Goa which formed a portion of

land created by him. According to tradition,

Konkan, Tuluva and Kerala are the crea-

tions of Parashurama. It has been stated

that after the annihilation of the Kshatriyas

and in expiation of this sin as well as that

of matricide committed by Him at the bid-

ding of His father, Sri Parashurama went

on a pilgrimage to all tirtha kshetras and

got absolved of it. He summoned all the

great Rishis to perform Yajna. Saraswats

also participated in this Yajna. The Saras-

wats settled themselves in two western pro-

vinces of Goa, 66 settlements of 10 Gothras,

called „Sasasti‟ (the present Salcete) and

30 settlements called „Tiswadi‟, now known

as the de Goa. As a result they came to

be known later as Shannavikars or settlers

in 96 villages which name, in common

parlance, became Shannavaits and ultimate-

ly Shenvis as they are still called in Maha-

rashtra.

Derivation Konkani

As Goa formed part of Konkan Desh, the

name “Konkani” was applied to their

language and also to the people who settled

there. It is a fusion of two varieties of

Prakrits, the Paisachi Prakrit of Punjab and

Kashmir, and the Magadhi Prakrit of the

Aryans of North Bihar.

Origin of the Math

The Shree Gowdapadacharya Math at

Keloshigram (Goa) is the seat of one of the

religious heads of the Saraswat Brahmin

community. Its beginning can be traced

back to the great savapt of Sanskrit learn-

ing and philosophy, Shrimad Bhagawad-

Pujyapada Gowdapadacharya, author of the

celebrated Karika based on the mystical

lore of Mandukyopanishad. It will be re-

membered that Shrimad Adi Shankara-

charya took discipleship under Shree

Govinda Bhagawat-Pujyapada who had

come to Goudadesha and who in turn was

a disciple of Shree Gowdapadacharya. The

other disciple of Shree Govinda Padacharya,

Srimat Vivarananda Saraswati, was the first

Swamiji to consecrate the institution of the

Shree Gowdapadacharya Math at Keloshi-

gram in Goa. It was consecrated in or about

the year 810 A.D.

Gods

From the nature of Kuladevatas worship-

ped by Gowd Saraswats on their arrival in

Goa, it appears that they made no diffe-

rence between Vishnu and Shiva. The com-

munity at present consists of two sects,

Shaivites and Vaishnavites. The former are

under the spiritual jurisdiction of their Guru

whose chief monastery is at Kaivalya Math

or the Gowdapadacharya Math at Kavale

in Goa. The Shaivites are mostly found in

Bombay, Ratnagiri, Savantwadi, North

Kanara, Baroda, Indore, Gwalior. They

follow the adwalta school of Vedanta philo-

sophy.

The Gowd Saraswats of South Kanara and

Kerala follow the “Dwaita” philosophy

expounded by Shree Madhvacharya and

look upon Vishnu as the highest deity.

There are two Maths for Vaishnavites,

known as Gokarna Math with headquarters

at Partakali in Goa, and Kashi Math

Samsthan with headquarters at Banaras.

All questions social, religious and spiritual

affecting the Gowd Saraswats are settled by

their respective Gurus whose decisions are

final. The Vaishnava Saraswats of South


Kanara and Kerala belong to Kashi Math

Samsthan.

Origin of Kashi Math

“The Kashi Math Samsthan was establish-

ed before the month of Magha of Plava in

the Shaka era 1463, i.e., before the month

of January 1542 A.D. From the available

records in the Kashi Math it is possible to

trace the direct successors to the gadi of the

Kashi Math to Shrimad Yadavendra

Tirtha Shripada Vader. He hailed from

Cochin and was a Gowd Saraswat Brahmin

by birth. There is a copper plate record

given by Shrimad Surendra Tirtha Swamier

of Kumbakonam Math to Shrimad

Yadavendra Tirtha Shripad Vader of the

Samsthan and that was in the month of

Magha in the Shaka era 1463. There is also

a rayasam relating to the matter of the

copper plate given by the same Swamier to

his lay disciples.” (Desksha Smritimalika,

Venkateswara Temple, Mulki, South

Kanara, English section, p. 2).

The discovery of copper plate No. 8,

(one plate broken into two parts written in

Kannada language in Devanagari script)

preserved in the State Archives, Emakulam,

shows that the Swamiji of Kashi Math

Samsthan was recognised by Shrimad

Satyadisha Tirtha of Uttarradi Math as

equal in rank to that of the Uttaradi Math

and given permission to use all the para-

phernalia used in that Math. The plate

refers to Kashi Math Swamiji as “Moola

Samsthanadhipati” of the Madhvacharya

lineage. The copper plate bears the saka

era of 1603 (1681 A.D.). It was issued to

Shrimad Raghavendra Tirtha, the disciple

of Shrimad Upendra Tirtha of Kashi Math.

Occupations

It has to be mentioned that the Gowd

Saraswats were not merely of the priestly

class. Although religion was the touch-

stone of their character and culture, they

had embarked upon other ventures for their

livelihood as they were new settlers in

changing environments. They identified

themselves with the local population, deve-

loped trade, took active part in the admini-

stration of the estates of the rulers of

adjacent states and principalities. Though

strictly this was forbidden to Brahmins,

Manu has permitted them to take to trade

and other avocations if necessity of liveli-

hood compelled them to do so without being

deprived of their Brahminhood. But where-

ver they were, they built temples and

maths to serve small groups of their com-

munity. Such groups came to be known

as Daijtm or group of ten. Such temples

gradually developed into socio-religious

institutions of the community which had the

admiration of the rulers of the various

States who contributed land and other faci-

lities to the community to conduct their

peaceful avocation which not only helped

the settlers with much needed relief but

also enabled the original inhabitants lo bene-

fit from new and adaptable neighbours. Surnames

In the early days all men were called

„Pai‟ for father, and women „Mai‟ for

mother, out of respect. The name of Shenoi

{Shano means learned) came to be associat-

ed with Saraswats of Kushasthali and

Kelosi who were mostly accountants,

teachers or Government employees.

Kamaths were agriculturists, landholders;

Kuduvas grain collectors; Nayaks military

officers; Bhandary, a guardian of treasury;

Keni or Kim a person in charge of treasury;

Mahale or Mallaya a person in charge of

a Mahal or subtaluk; Prabhu the chieftain

of a village. Bhats were those who perform-

ed the duties of priests from among the

Daijans previously referred to. But what-

ever the surnames, all Saraswat Brahmins

were "sharmas" while declaring their names

in religious rites, ablutions, etc.


Subsequent History

The Saraswats had, of course, their share

of travails of history over the centuries. In

1294 A.D. in the wake of Allaudin‟s con-

quest of the Deccan, temples and houses

were pillaged and plundered. It was a cen-

tury later that the stout-hearted Saraswat

Brahmin, Madhav Mantri, joined hands with

the Vijayanagar Ruler, Sri Hari Hara II,

and ousted the Muslims from Goa.

The presiding deity of Vijayanagar kings

was Shri Venkateshwara. So the worship of

Shree Venkatachalapathy found itself cur-

rent among the Saraswats of Kerala and

South Kanara. In 1470 A.D., Bhamini

Sultan, Mohamed Shah III, carried plunder

and destruction into Goa, Forty years later,

the Portuguese supplanted the Sultan of

Bijapur who was then holding sway, and

they, in their turn, lost no time in calling

upon the Saraswat Brahmins to embrace

Christianity. A letter of the King of

Portugal Joao III to the Viceroy Joao de

Castro says: “We command you to dis-

cover by diligent officers all the idols and to

demolish and break them up in pieces where

they are found, proclaiming severe punish-

ments against anyone who shall dare to

work, cast, make in sculpture, engrave,

paint or bring to light any figure of an idol

in metal, brass, wood, plaster or any other

material, or bring them from other places;

and against those who publicly or privately

celebrate any of their sports, keep by them

any heathenish frankincense or assist and

hide the Brahmins, the sworn enemies of

the Christian profession. It is our plea-

sure that you punish them with that severity

of the law without admitting any appeal or

dispensation in the least.” (Sardar K. M.

Panikkar Malabar and the Portuguese,

pp. 186-87). The official figures show that

in all 280 temples of Bardez and 300 tem-

ples of Salcette were destroyed. Of course,

the Portuguese built churches in many

places where the temples stood.

As a result of a decree issued in 1559 A.D.

by King Joao III of Portugal threatening

expulsion of non-believers in Christianity,

especially Brahmins from Sasashti (Goa),

12,000 Saraswat families fled from the

Salcette District of Goa. About 4,000 went

north-east to settle down in Maharashtra

and Indore, and others went south to settle

in Karwar and South Kanara. (Rayasapatra

of H. H, Upendra Tirtha Swami of Kashi

Math. 1657 A.D. Record kept in Thirumala

Devaswom Temple at Cochin).

The Saraswat Brahmins who settled down

in Lotli, Bardes and Pedne in Goa (these

villages also later came under Portuguese

rule) and those who settled down in

Bhalavali in a village at Rajapur in the

district of Ratnagiri and Kudal in Savant-

wadi in Maharashtra and also those who

settled down in Mangalore and Cochin

forgot one another. They even ceased to

interdine and intermarry. This state of things

gave rise to many sub-sect among Saraswats,

namely, Pednekars, Kudaldeshkars and

Shanaipaikis, but in fact the members of

these sub-sect are all one.

Settlement in Kerala

The last of those who were expelled by

the Portuguese from Goa landed in Calicut

but were promptly driven out by the

Zamorin. And so they went to Cochin and

Travancore. This happened some time in

1560 A.D.

Fortunately, the Raja of Cochin at that

time, Keshava Rama Varma (1565-1601),

was the most celebrated King of Cochin in

Portuguese period. He gave the Konkanies

(Gowda Saraswat Brahmins) a rent-free site

in Mattancherry to build (1599) the now

famous Thirumala Devaswom Temple (A.

Sreedhara Menon: A Survey of Kerala

History, p. 290). But it was Vira Kerala

Varma (1624-1637) who gave the

Konkanies certain rights and privileges to be


enjoyed by them. The Thitooram which was

issued to this effect by the Raja inscribed

in a copper plate was issued in the year 286

of the Puduvaippu era i.e. 1627 A.D. (Cop-

per Plate Numbered 6, State Archives,

Emakulam.) There are pieces of evidence

to prove that stray members of the commu-

nity had their settlement in Cochin since the

early part of 13th century A.D. The Diwan

of Cochin in his letter addressed to

W. Cullen, British Resident of the then

States of Travancore and Cochin, states :

“The traditions that exist regarding the first

immigration of the Conkanis into Cochin

state that owing to certain religious disputes

they were obliged to leave their native

country Conkan with their idols in 1294

A.D'.and Travelling southward they came to

the territory of His Highness the Raja of

Cochin. having obtained grants of land and

assured promises of protection from His

Highness, they settled in Cochin and formed

themselves—into a community which they

named "the Conkanastha Mahajanam”

(Diwan's Diary, Vol. 144;/1858 dated 6-3-

State Archives, Ernakulam). The

them the Kudumb- Saraswats ies (field labourers by profession). 'Konkani-

sonar‟ or Daivajna Brahmans (goldsmiths),

„Vaniks‟ (mercantile community) and so on.

Again in the year 307 of the Pudu-

vaippu era, i.e. in 1648 A.D.. the Raja of

Cochin, Vira Kerala Varma, the Palluruthy

adoptee (1646-55), gave the community

under a “Thitooram” the civil and crimi-

nal powers to be exercised by (hem withm

a well-defined boundary called „ Sanketam”

they called their place of setdemant

“Gosripuram”, which is the derivation of

the word Goapuri. The then ruler of

Cochin Incorporated the word „Gosripura‟

in the third stanza of the Old Cochin

National Anthem „Gosriparipavana Bhoo-

vithu”.. But the community, as per Royal

Writ (Thitooram), enjoyed special rights

and privileges over other communities with-

in the “Sankelam”. Again, there still re-

ihains a plot of land in Cochin called

'"Sastiparamba” to commemorate the fact

that the Saraswats of Cochin belonged ori-

ginally "to Sasashti (Salcette). In „Sasti-

paramba‟ there is an old temple of Damo

dari, a „Kuladevata‟. After their settlement

in Cochin the Saraswats became supreme

fn trade and commerce. Sardar K. M.'

Panikkar writes in his Malabar and the

Dutch (p. 7): “The Moorish trading com-

munity was practically non-existent ia

Cochin and in its stead there had grown up

the “Canarenes”, a Hindu community from

Konkan Districts who worked as-the, agents

of the Portuguese. The Canarenes — or as

"we now call them the Konkanies—were

wholly dependent on their European mas-

ters, so that when the Portuguese went

away from Cochin they became equally

serviceable to the Dutch.” No doubt, their

influence during the Dutch period and the

early period of the British is evident from

the letter of Mr. W. Cullen, the British

Resident, to Mr. T. Pycroft, Chief Secre-

tary to Government, Fort St. George,

Madras, wherein it is stated “Every Euro-

pean house of business, .in the Company‟s

town of Cochin has these Conkanies in

their employment and they are their Chief

Managers and they have therefore great

influence.” Report submitted by W. Cullen,

M. General Resident to the Chief Secretary

to Government. Fort St. George, dated

20th Oct. 1856).

The Dutch had settled at the full tide of

Konkani predominance. They had ceded

to them the right of collecting income from

Mattancherry and Chellayi. to collect

farms and customs of Amaravati and to

conduct the affairs of Matlancherry and

Chellayi and of Konkani temples. It was

also stipulated that the Raja shall impose

no new demand on the Konkanies. that

they shall have full liberty to complain to

the Dutch Governor, if aggrieved, and


6

that the Raja shall not inteifere in any

matters of the temple without the know-

ledge and consent of the Company. Again,

an extract from „Travancore Archaeologi-

cal Series" No. IV & V. 1910 Edition, men-

tions the following facts regarding Konka-

nies made out of Paliyam plates of the

322nd year of the Pudu-Vaipu Era (22-3-

1663) in connection with the treaty made

with the Dutch East India Company by the

Raja of Cochin:

“The representatives of the Konkani Maha-

janam requested the ancestors of the Raja of

Cochin to take them (Konkanis) under their pro-

tection and also build for them a temple. There-

upon, a plot of land was given to them for the

latter purpose and also arrangements made for

the conduct of the festivals in the temple built

by them. The Raja now binds himself to pro-

tect these subjects as in old times. As in times

of his misfortunes these subjects amply helped

him with money, he promises further that in the

matter of protection and punishment the Kon-

kanis shall be treated just in the same manner

as the other Brahmanas.

“When the Konkanis first came to the Cochin

territory, they requested that they should be

protected by the kings of Cochin just as they

were by the kings of Kadamalayalam. In com-

pliance with this request, they were then

exempted from the succession fee. But then it

was the custom that when a Konkani died with-

out heirs, his property was taken charge of

jointly by the Raja's officers and the representa-

tives of the Konkanis and divided into two equal

parts, one of which went into the royal treasury

and the other to the temple of Tirumaladeva.

This custom shall be observed in future also."

(Travancore Archaeological Series, No. IV & V

(1910'ed.) T. A. Gopinath Rao.)

In Commerce

The role of the Saraswats in the com-

mercial field of Kerala deserves mention.

It is to be noted that most of the business

of Cochin and Travancore (Purakad)

passed through their hands.

Cannanore the commercial town of

North Malabar owed much to the Saras-

wats for its commercial development. The

actions of Muslim pirates inhabiting the

Cannanore coast brought about a situation

wherein the people had to die of starvation.

The people of Arakkal Raja earnestly

requested Babani Shenoy who happened to

ply his rice-loaded country craft in the seas

of Cannanore to sell their rice to Arakkal

Raja. He (Shenoy) did so and made

friends with the Raja who persuaded and

helped Shenoy to open „Pandikasalas‟ in

Cannanore. The Raja gave 5 acres of free-

hold land as a gift with a condition that he

should distribute it amongst his business

friends and community as a residential

colony.

The trade between Konkanis and Euro-

pean powers figured prominently in the

papers of the Malabar Council. Prof. A.

Das Gupta in his Malabar in Asian Trade

writes: “Baba Prabhu-the.-fore-

most among the merchants. _had— almost

monopolised the company‟s commodities.

The commanders of Malabar had treated

him gently, even when his payments were

not prompt. He was believed to have

enough political influence to bring about a

war between the Zamorin and the Dutch.”

Along with the Konkanis, the Jews, long

settled in Malabar, had quietly followed

their trade. The Rahabi family established

close business links with the dominating

family of the Prabhus. It was in 1695 that

David Rahabi, father of Ezechiel Rahabi,

first appeared before the Malabar Council

as the attorney of the great Baba Prabhu

to settle Baba‟s outstanding accounts with

the Dutch. A letter written to Baba by the

Malabar Council on 22nd March 1694 be-

gins “Your Honour‟s esteemed letter...,”

This quite typical of the letters written

to Baba Prabhu. Ezechiel‟s father David

Rahabi who had been a very good friend

of the Prabhus had left young Ezechiel in

charge of the Prabhus who had initiated

the young Jew to the “mysteries of busi-


ness”. It was found that there had been

partnership between Calaga Prabhu and

Ezechid Rahabi which started in 1752 and

for several years they appeared to have

undertaken several ventures together. But

unfortunately for Prabhu he was indebted

to Ezechiel and at the close of the year

1770 Ezechiel took over a warehouse of

Prabhu as part payment of the debt with-

out consulting Prabhu about it. But the

Governor requested Rahabi to return the

keys of the warehouse to Calaga Prabhu.

On his refusal, the Governor became furi-

ous and turning to Ezechiel said “You give

these keys to Prabhu this day as T ordered

or I shall know what to do with you”

it bid, p. 117). The keys were returned

and the Rahabis kept away from the dis-

puted warehouse till the Governor was gone

and Ezechiel was dead. But on 11th Novem-

ber, 1771 a sensational law suit began bet-

ween the three sons and heirs of Ezechiel

Rahabi and Calaga Prabhu‟ Mention was

there in the law suit of the names of the

Konkanis who were described as prominent

merchants of Cochin and who were exami-

ned as witnesses on the Rahabi‟s side and

they are, Baba Saraf, Aloe Saraf, Bikoe

Kienie and Rama Sinaij. Calaga then

entered into correspondence with the gene-

rals of Hyder Ali with the aim of humilia-

ting the King of Cochin and the Jewish

people of the town. The correspondence

was detected in the nick of time. “Had I

been late by a couple of hours”, wrote

Adriaan Moens to Batavia, “he would have

fled and joined Hyder‟s generals” In the

end, says Prof. A. Das Gupta, “Calaga

Prabhu-along with his eldest son Chorda

Prabhu was exiled to the Cape of Good

Hope. Thus the last known man of this

great Konkani family. whom Meons had

occasion to call a “restless spirit”, was one

first Indians to settle in _____________ South

Africa (I bid, p. 119).

Again Mr. T I. Poonen writes the

whole of the retail trade down to that in

the smallest articles was in their (Konka-

nis‟) hands” (A Survey of the Rise of

Dutch Power in Malabar, by T. I, Poonen,

p. 259). In the preface to the translation

of Grandhavari of Cochin published in

1916 mention is made of the Konkanis. It

says, “The Konkanis were for one thing

rich, and possessed so remarkable an apti-

tude for mercantile business that they

almost enjoyed the monopoly of all retail

trade in Cochin. They also rendered sub-

stantial services to the Dutch in furthering

their commercial activities and were often

employed as their chief agents or brokers.

For this reason their interests were jealous-

ly watched and safeguarded by the Dutch

who exercised civil and criminal jurisdic-

tion over the Konkani subjects” The Bata-

vian Diary of 1678 contains excerpts from

the long correspondence between two

groups of Saraswat merchants; of the two

groups of merchants one was headed by

Poilcar Naik and Baba Pattar, and the

other by Parimbala Naik and Waman Naik.

These two groups between them mono-

polised the entire trade on the west coast.

The „Mamorie‟ underlines the ascendancy

of the Konkanis in the trade of Malabar.

(Memorie of the "Secunde" Vosburge,

dated 11th April 1680, of Hauge Record

719.) The names of the various merchants

he mentions are almost all Konkanis. In

the supply of pepper to the Dutch mer-

chants, there was mention of a Konkani

Merchant Derwa Naik of Cochin besides

Fzechiel Rahabi. Also in an old given by

the Raja of Cochin to the Dutch Comman-

deur on May 18th, 1666 there was reference

to one Wittula Naik who was controlling

the daily expenses of the Raja on behalf of

the Dutch. The vessels from Cutch and

Porbandar employed the Konkani merchant

Naga Prabhu as their agent at Cochin.

Of course, the Konkani merchants mono-

polized trade in cloth too, and they had

consistently cornered all available “fanams”


6

—coins. “Anyone who wished to buy from

the company lost 6.30 percent in dealing

with Konkani Shroff”. At the progress of

the season only grey-haired Konkanis or

'Banias' were considered as persons “who

could tell which way the demand was like-

ly to jump”.

The dyeing industry in Kerala was also

brought by Baba Prabhu. The dyers were

first brought from Tuticorin. In 1766,

Govinda Pai appeared as the envoy of

Hyder Ali to search for the treasures of

the fugitive Zamorin in the Kingdom of

Cochin. Naranna Prabhu served as an

envoy from the Malabar Council to Cali-

cut in 1784 and it was he who saw on his

way the pepper vines and sandal trees be-

ing cut down by Tippu Sultan as the latter

thought that it was these commodities that

made the Europeans to wage war on him.

The role played by the Saraswats in

Purakad (Porka) calls for special mention.

Perumbala Naik became the foremost of

the businessmen at that port. He had to

leave Porka for Trivandrum owing to some

ill-treatment received by him from the

King of Porka. But the King regretted his

actions and Perumbala Naik returned to

Porka after 4 years and plunged into big

business. His plan to construct a big har-

bour in 1732 at Porka alarmed the Dutch.

Another merchant who deserves mention is

Govinda Pai who had extensive inter-

national trade before the fall of Porka. He

succeeded Poko Moessa as the local ragia-

dore and greatly annoyed Commandeur de

Jang with his intrigues.

Further, it was the Thirumala Devaswom

that helped the Raja of Cochin by granting

him a loan for the restoration of the

Cochin territory devastated by Tippu Sul-

tan in the year 1790 A.D. The abstract of

the letter, I series No. 377/1, State Archi-

ves, Ernakulam, reads “His Highness

(Raja of Cochin) requests Dutch Gover-

nor‟s sanction for the issue of a loan from

Thirumala Devaswom for the restoration

of the country devastated by Tippu.”

Persecution

The year 1791 was marked by the terri-

ble persecution of the Konkanis at the

hands of Raja Rama Varma, known in

Cochin History as Saktan Thampuran.

Shortly after ascending the gadi the Raja

demanded a contribution of jaggery from

the Konkanis. On refusal, the Raja arrest-

ed a number of Konkani merchants and

ordered them to pay customs to the King

thereby violating the agreement which the

Dutch had made in the year 1772.

Letters were exchanged between the

Raja of Cochin and the Dutch Governor,

an abstract from which reads thus. “Owing

to H. H.‟s oppression of the Konkanis and

imprisonment of the T.D. authorities, the

Dutch have determined to station a military

detachment at Chellayi to protect them,

and insists on recall of H.H.‟s guard

stationed there and warns of the serious

consequences of the conduct of H.H.

(No. LXVI/1 State Archives, Ernakulam

dated 17-7-1771.) I series No. 379/5, State

Archives, Ernakulam, dated 26-7-1771 is a

reply communicating the conditions propo-

sed in negotiation with the Valiah Sarvadhi

Kariakar and two Sarvadhi Kariakars de-

puted by H. H., namely that the Dutch

will recall their detachment leaving only a

small guard near the temple site, provided

H. H. will not subject the Konkanis for

any new demand and summon them to

palace. I series No. 379/14—14-9-1771 is

a reply to H.H.‟s letter. The Dutch Coun-

cil informs the Raja that the Council will

not order the recall of Dutch detachments

unless H. H. gives a written assurance that

the Konkanis will not be molested by new

demands. I series No. 379/15 dated

16-9-1771 is a letter of warning given by

the Dutch to the Raja of Cochin. It states.


“H. H. will be held responsible for the loss

of Thirumala Devaswom by H.H.‟s injunc-

tion not to allow gathering of crops on

Devaswom Kanam fields, the Trustees be-

ing unable to appear before H. H. in the

present time”. But in disregard of the

warning, on 12th October 1791 the leading

merchants of the Konkani community were

massacred including Deweresa Kini Again,

the Raja caused three of the overseers of

Temple Thirumala Devaswom to be put to

death because they would not surrender to

him any part of the treasure belonging to

it, and also plundered the shops and car-

ried away the merchants‟ property. The

Dutch on seeing the Raja‟s atrocities sent

an army and attacked the King‟s Palace at

Mattancherry but were repulsed. Letter I,

Series No. 379/19, of the Dutch dated

15-10-1791 (State Archives, Emakulam)

“explains why guns were discharged against

Cochin Palace, viz, protection of the Kon-

kani subjects who, frightened by devastation

in Devaswom shops by H. H.‟s men, left

the country in ships for personal security,

some of these having been persuaded and

given shelter in Cochin Fort.” The Raja

plundered the temple of Thirumala belong-

ing to the community. Prof. Das Gupta

writes, “The loot was calculated at over

Rs. 1,60,000 from the temple alone.”

(Malabar in Asian Trade, p. 121).

The story that Sakthan Thampuran, Raja

of Cochin, demanded the head of Devaresa

Kini to be shown as “Kani” to him is re-

lated by Saastri Poy in his account given

later. He says that on that day the Sam-

bradi Menon (Secretary) of King of Cochin

came to the Pandyasala of Devaresa Kini

and said that for the money due to him,

pepper could be given in payment. He

then, apparently to speak very privately to

him. took him to a room in the Pandyasala.

"When engaged in conversation two or

three country boats sailed up and stopped

to the north of the godown. First stepped

out “Balia Gammaan” or captain of the

infantry, and a number of men with swords

drawn. The former entered the room where

Deveresa was talking with the Menon.

Menon pinned Devaresa down while two

men murdered him. The rest of the men

who were in the main hall murdered the

Konkanis whom they could catch hold of.

The head of Devaresa Kini was severed and

that severed head of Kini was exhibited

to the Raja as a first thing (Kani) the next

morning. “Among the murdered included

Krishen, Goga Kamath, Manuku Shenov

and the son of Ranga Pai. Of the remain-

mg, Saastra Pai, Morthu Patter were

wounded but Baboden fortunately escaped.”

(Ibid). The Thirumal Deity

Prof. Das Gupta further adds: “The

King of Travancore was exceedingly angry

to hear of the massacre. Both Dewersa and

Nagendra the son of Ranga Rov. were his

agents and between them took care of a

great deal of his money. He urged the

Dutch to take vengeance and, then, to pay

him a proper compensation. In fact he

went so far as to offer assistance. But the

English (Mr. Powney the English Com-

pany‟s agent) intervened, and the King of

Travancore had to withdraw from the dis-

pute. A face-saving compromise for the

Dutch was reached but the sense of older

security did not return.” It was not till the

English power was firmly established in

Cochin, says the Grandavari of Cochin,

“that the Konkanis and Christians became

finally free from molestations”

The persecuted Konkanis then fled.—to

Thuravoor and Alleppey in Travancore and

printed their grievances to the Raja

through Dewan Kesava Das who assured

them that he would bring about their return

to and stay at Cochin as before and in the

interim allowed them to stay at Alleppey.

At Alleppey they installed their God‟s im-


6

age, Thirumala Devar, which they took

care to preserve on the banks of the Allep-

pey canal.

Sakthan Thampuran then made vain at-

tempts to bring back Thirumala Deity

from Alleppey to Cochin. In reply to The-

tooram from the Raja of Cochin (16-7-1968

M.E./1792, State Archives, Ernakulam)

Dewan Chembaga Raman Kesavan of

Travancore states, “I dare say their (Saras-

wats‟) fears will be removed if your High-

ness, as I advised your Highness whilst at

Cochin, would send a Teetooram on the

subject to the Adhikaries, Mahajanams

and Sanyasi of the Therumala Devaru. The

Thetooram which your Highness may be

pleased to send them should be so written

as to assure them of your Highness‟s pro-

tection and dispel all further doubts from

their minds.” In reply to another Thetooram

from the Raja of Cochin, the Dewan of Tra-

vancore further writes (dated 13-8-968 M.E.

1792), “ ____ I will send for the Konkanies

and inform them of the contents of your

Highness‟s Thetooram and will endeavour to

persuade them to appear before your High-

ness”

The Raja also made attempts to get back

the Thirumala Deity through the Dutch

Government functioning at Cochin. In his

letter (No, 378/74, I series, dated 26-11-

970/1794 A.D., State Archives, Ernakulam),

the Raja of Cochin “requests the Commo-

dore to order that the Thirumala Devaswom

Fund kept as a deposit in the Secretariat

should be made over to Palliat Menon

(Prime Minister of Cochin) who will re-

ceive on behalf of Devaswom to make

arrangements for the proper conducting of

the temple ceremonies before the celebra-

tion of „Choroonoo‟ (ceremony of giving

the new-born child prince of Cochin to eat

for the first time with preliminary oblations

to fire”). The Raja further stated in his

letter that on consulting astrologers it

was found that the Cochin Royal family had

incurred the severest displeasure of the

Cochin Thirumala Deity.

After the death of Sakthan Thampuran.

Raja Kerala Varma who succeeded him

took keen interest in the image and wished

to get it back to Cochin. He even address-

ed a letter to Col. Munro 991 ME (1816 A.

D.) wherein he stated that “As the rheu-

matic and Hermein disease which we have

been suffering from, has grown more serious

now and since no visible cure has been

effected notwithstanding that several phy-

sicians have treated the disease and as, on

consulting astrologers, it turns out that we

have incurred the severest displeasure of the

Cochin Thirumala Deity and that the

disease will be cured if the Thirumala Deity

is returned to Cochin, consecration effected

and the poojas commenced. ” (State

Achives, Ernakulam). The Raja therefore

requested Col. Munro to use his good offices

for restoration of the image in question to

Cochin; but the request was turned down

by the then Resident as a result of the

urgent representation of the Travancore offi-

cers that the “presence of the Image was

considered to be intimately connected with

the prosperity of the Port of Alleppey,”

(Minutes of Consultation, dated 19-8-1858

(Political Department) by T, Pycroft,

Chief Secretary, Madras.)

It was only after the settlement of the

Cochin Konkanies at Alleppey that the

place began to develop into a centre of com-

merce. The Konkanies built „Pandikasalas‟

and started doing extensive business. It was

during the Prime Ministership of Dewan

Kesava Das who recommended the case of

Konkanies to the Raja of Travancore for

their stay at Alleppey, that the new Port

of Alleppey came into being with better

harbour facilities. The desperate Konkanies

of Cochin planned the recovery of the image

by hook or by crook. Ultimately, the image


was clandestinely brought back to Cochin

on the midnight of 8th February 1853. The

object was laudable, and it being 1853 there

was no risk of a head being lost. Since it

was found that the Raja of Cochin had his

hand in the robbery, the Maharaja of

Travancore put in a lengthy complaint with

the Governor of Fort. St. George through

the Resident, Trivandrum, for the restitu-

tion of the image in question, and the whole

matter was referred to the Hon. Court

of Directors, Madras, and a long-drawn-out

suit ensued between the two States of

Cochin and Travancore. The Konkanis of

Cochin got through all ordeals and finally

the idol was duly reinstated in the Cochin

temple itself. The Raja of Cochin then gave

them back all the properties and most of

the jewellery confiscated by his predecessor,

and the Konkanis started to re-build a

magnificent temple for the Thirumala Deity

in its present place in 1853 and completed

the work by 1881 A. D. This historical

image of Shri Venkateswara, according to

tradition belonged to the ruler of Vijaya-

nagar during the prosperous days of that

kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The temple today has one of the biggest

bells in India.

Role in Local Administration

The Saraswats also played an important

role in the administration of many local self-

Government bodies in Kerala. The chair-

manship of many Municipal Councils in

Kerala, namely, Tellicherry, erstwhile Mat-

tancherry Municipal Council, Alwaye,

Shertallai, Vaikom, etc., were held by Sa-

raswats. The first Mayorship of the Calicut

Corporation and the Deputy Mayorship of

Cochin Corporation were held by Saraswats.

Presidentship of Tripunittura and Eloor

Panchayats are even today held by Sara-

swats. The first woman Chairman of the

Municipal Council in India was a Saraswat

lady. Smt. Lalitha Prabhu. She was Chair-

man of the Tellicherry Municipal Council.

Adherence to Religion

One of the most important features of.

the community is their adherence to their

religion and the preservation of their reli-

gious worship by building not only chapels

for the Kuladevatas but also by the establi-

shment of big temples to cater to the needs

Of the larger community in important towns

"where they settled. The temples at Cochin,

Tripunitura, Alleppey, Purakad, Kayam-

kulam, Quilon, Turavoor, Kottayam,

Sherthalai, Emakulam, Kamakodam, Cran-

ganore, Cherai, Chenamangalam, North

Pravur, Tellicherry, Cannanore, Kasaragod,

Manjeshwar, Kumbala and Ullal and many

other belong to the Saraswat community.

Mention has to be made of the Anantes-

war temple at Manjeshwar dating from the

time of Madhvacharya who is known to

have visited it in or about 1293 A D The

present temple car was rebuilt in 1834 A. D.

it rises to a height of 71 ft.

A shrine of more than ordinary interest

which deserves mention is that of Udyanes-

wara which enshrines a Shiva Linga. Origi-

nally it belonged to the famous Namboodiri

temple in Mathilagam. It was destroyed by

the Dutch, The huge Linga was transported

by the Dutch to Cochin as they found it con-

venient to moor their ships in the outer seas.

At a later date the local Gowd Saraswats,

who recognised it as a Siva Linga, acquired

it from the British East India Company

and installed it with due solemnity and

piety in the vicinity of Cochin Thimmala

Devaswom. Another temple which is worth

mentioning is the Sree Venkatachalapathi

Devaswom at Parur which was destroyed by

Tippu Sultan in 1790. It was renovated in

1888 A.D. by the community with the help

of Sri Mulam Thirunal, the Maharaja of

T ravancore.

The Saraswats of Kerala have not discard-

ed their faith in their original deities. Shiva

and Shakti. whose shrines abound in many

places near their homes. Such temples con-


6

tain the images of Shanta-Durga, Damodar.

Nagesh, Mahalakshmi, Mhalasa, Santeri,

Kamakshi, Ramanath. according to the res-

pective gotms to which the Saraswats belong.

Other famous temples contain the idols of

Veougopala, Varaha, Vithoba, Narasimha,

vShree Rama, Dhanwantari, Narayana

Dever, Hanuman, Ganapati, etc.

Politics and Administration

It would appear from an agreement bet-

ween the Raja of Cochin and the Dutch on

3rd May 1681 that a Saraswat was the

Raja‟s Treasurer, Again, the Zamorin of

Calicut, Bharani Thirunal had a minister

called Bavan Pattar, The role of one Babha

in the political affairs of Kerala also calls

for notice, Perimbala, a Saraswat Brahmin

of Cochin, in his letters to the Governor-

General Rijckl of Van Goems of Dutch

India, says inter alia “ Your Excellency

ought to know that Babha and the King of

Calicoilam are both at war with seven Kings,

namely, the Queen of Travancore, the King

of Martinga, the King of Betimmeny, the

King of Porca, the King of Tekkankur, the

King of Berkenkur ‟ It was during the reign

of Marthanda Varma, the King of Tranvan-

core, that the settlement of lands, both wet

and dry, was effected. The classification of

lands under the main heads of Devaswom,

Brahmaswom, Danas, and Pandaravaka

was introduced by Mallan Sankaran, (A.

Sreedhara Menon, A Survey of Kerala His-

tory. p. 282).

Some Personalities to Remember

Two groups of merchants, one under

Policar Naik and Bava Pattar and the other

under Pariintrala Naik and Waman Naik,

between them monopolised the entire retail

trade on the West Coast. They also built

Panikasalas in Cochin and Purakad. Janar-

dana Pai owned a fleet of seven merchant-

ships and carried on extensive export trade

from the port of Purakad. The late Sri R. S,

Hari Shenov traded in timber, silk, dia-

monds. opium, etc., and earned for himself

fortune and fame throughout Cochin, Tra-

vancore and Malabar. He was a journalist

as well, and established Gosri Vilasom

Press” and edited a Malayalam paper call-

ed “Kerala Nandini”. He also started indus-

trial and agricultural concerns by founding

the “Kerala Karakousala Company” to co-

ordinate the production for export of coir.

He also floated the Mundathumkara Krishi

Vanibha Company which helped many un-

employed to earn a livelihood. He also rais-

ed farms to improve the cattle wealth of

Cochin by importing Karachi and Nellore

breeds of cattle.

Shri Manjeshwar Govinda Pai, on whom

the former Government of Madras conferr-

ed the title of Poet Laureate along with Shri

Vallathol Narayana Menon, has contributed

substantially to Kannada literature. As an

astronomer, mathematician, scholar, poet,

philosopher, dramatist, linguist and writer,

the services of Shri Govinda Pai are inestim-

able. He has been acclaimed by the entire

Kannada country as the patriarch of

Kannada literature, Sahitya Kushala Sesha-

giri Prabhu of revered memory earned un-

dying fame as a Malayalam grammarian and

a renowned Sanskrit scholar. Dr, N. V.

Mallaya earned a name as a research scholar

for writing a thesis on Temple Architecture

with special reference to Tantrasamuchchaya

and Hindu Iconography. Shri A. D. Hari

Sarma is almost a household name in Kerala

for his works in Malayalam. He has been

acclaimed by the Keralites as the Father of

the Samasta Kerala Sahitya Parishad a liter-

ary organisation founded in Kerala for the

promotion of the Malayalam language,

Thuravoor Shri Madhava Pai earned fame

in Kerala as one of the foremost among

those who brought the Library Movement

to Kerala, Smt, Ammulakka Shenoi and Shri

Narasimha Pai contributed mudi to Konkani

literature while Kamalambal of Ambala-

puzha composed the Ramayana in Konkani

in the „Ovi‟ style.


'This is what Mr. John Leyden (1775 —

1811), a British traveller, who travelled in

Kerala immediately after the fall of Tippu

Sultan, says with regard to Konkanis and

their language in Kerala; “The Konpani

Brahmins are considered as a distinct class

from the proper Maharashtra Brahmins and

these two classes affect to treat each other

mutually with contempt. The Kongani

character diflEers considerably from the

Maharathi; and Bhagavadam, Linga Purana,

Ramayana, Bharatha and other works are

translated into this language and written in

its appropriate character and the Brahmins

of this class profess to be in possession of

many other translations from Sanskrit as

well as of various original works among

which are the Vira-Bhadra-Charita and

Fafasu-Rama-Charita.” (John Leyden, Plan

for Investigating the languages, literatures.

Antiquities and History of the Deccan, 1807

- MS in British Museum).

Of Ayurvedic physicians the more pro-

minent were Ranga Bhat, Appu Bhat and

Vinayak Pandit. They gave testimonials of

efficiency in Konkani in Nagari script to no

less a man than the famous Commandeur

Henrick Van Rheeds, who published Hortus

Indicus Malabaricus in Amsterdam in 1678

in twelve volumes with profuse illustrations.

This is what Van Rheede in his passage on

„A discussion among Konkani Brahmins in

Kerala” (Between 1671 — 1674) says (Tr.

by Jose Pereira, Research Associate Ameri-

can Academy, Banaras from the original

Latin of Henricus Van Rheede Van Diaken-

stein Johannes Caserius and Amoldus Syen,

Hortus Indicus Malabaricus, Amsterdam,

(1679-1703) 12 vols):

“I often attended the most delightful entertain-

ment, which was of Brahmins (Pagan philoso-

phers) disputing among themselves and arguing

on the basis of arguments they had drawn from

the opinions, rules and harmonies of their tradi-

tion, and from the books of those of their ance-

stors who had excelled in learning. They would

argue, and each of them would defend his own

views most strongly, but with incredible modesty

-- of a sort one would wish to find in the most

cultivated of pagan philosophers — without any

bitterness, mental excitement and wi.hout the

neglect of the mutual respect due among those

holding divergent opinions. They follow their

ancient tradition and the first creators of the arts

with the miOst devout reverence, referring to the

latter their own opinions and received experiences,

v/hich they subject to do their authority. And in

what concerns medicine and botany, their teach-

ing is contained in verses, any first verse of which

begins with the proper name of a plant, and then

goes on most accurately to set forth its species,

properties, accidents, forms, paris, place, time,

medicinal qualities, use and other things of the

kind. All this is done with such skill that if any-

one mentions the name of a plant, a Brahmin can

tell you offhand all it has or can be said of it.

And though this method of teaching, which re-

quires a firm memory, seems to be the more diffi-

cult one, yet they impress these verses on the

memories of their young children, in between

their play and toys — as they say the memory

has greater vigour then; these verses are after-

wards most faithfully retained in the memories

of docile youth and of mature age. The invention

ol the first of these arts — say medicine or botany

— is held to be so ancient, as the authors of (he

books affirm, that with the most constant asser-

veration they assert that it was in existence before

the past four thousand years.

Education

Around the Saraswat temples grew Veda

Pathasalas and Sanskrit schools, Primary

and High Schools. There is a medical college

too at Alleppey founded by the Alleppey

T, D. Temple.

The Veda Pathasala maintained by the

Cochin Thirumala Devaswom is the oldest

standing Pathasala in Kerala. It was estab-

lished in 1877 A.D. Rigveda and its Shak-

hala Shakha are specialised in at this

institution.

Kerala is the southernmost reach of the

Saraswat exodus in India. It is their mother

tongue. Konkani. that makes them feel that

they are one with iheir brethren in the


6

With Best Compliments

from

COLLINS & CO BOMBAY-34

north. Their mother tongue helped them to

preserve their identity and culture. They have

played an important role in the emotional

integration of India. According to Mr. Frank

F. Conlon. Research Associate, Department

of History. University of Minnessota,

U.S.A., “They have traditionally been

practitioners of the art of „coming-to terms ;

of being able to assess the opportunities of

their changing environment, and then make

proper adjustments. They are one of those

communities in India that have served as a

„hinge‟ between West and East, North and

South, old and new. And it is that tradition

of „coming-to terms‟ which seems still worthy

of emulation these days, in a world where

the only thing that seems to be constant, is

the change.”

The Mother Tongue

In view of the changed circumstances of

the country, the community residing in

Kerala thought it fit to form an organisation

for the promotion and development of their

mother longue, Konkani, which binds them

together with that of the Saraswats of

Mysore and Maharashtra; else it was feared

that their identity would be lost for poste-

rity, as a result of the continuous infiltra-

tion of Malayalam, the regional language of

the State, into the body of the Konkani langu-

age, resulting in gradually adopting Mala-

yalam as their mother tongue. The persistent

efforts of the Konkani Bhasha Prachar

Sabha resulted in the Kerala Government

introducing Konkani as on additionai langu-

age in the primary schools. The community

has been recognised in Kerala as a linguistic

minority, and the State issued circulars to

all departments of the Secretariat to give

due representation to Konkani-speaking

people in the various District and high level.

Advisory Committees formed in the State.

The Centre has also agreed to give financial

assistance for the promotion of Konkani.

The Corporation of Cochin gave the

Konkani Bhasha Prachar Sabha 11 cents of

land in the heart of the City of Cochin for

building a “Bhavan” for the Konkani

language. The Sabha will soon be construct-

ing a three-storeyed building costing Rs.

450,000. It will become a meeting place for

all irrespective of regions. It is therefore the

duty of each and every Saraswat to contri-

bute liberally towards the Building Fund,

The consecration of the site, Bhoomipooja,

was performed by H, H, Srimad Sudheendra

Tirtha Swami of Kasi Math Samsthan, on

the 4th April, 1971.

It is thus to be noted that the Saraswats,

a miscroscopic community in Kerala, after

passing through several vicissitudes, have

been able to live with honour and credit for

several centuries, serving as a model to

others in various fields of activity, building

and maintaining, at great sacrifice, shrines in

many places in Kerala which gave them

shelter from Portuguese barbarism. They

have become a community that counts.


Fee for

institutio

ns

Rs. 5000

in lump

Rs. 2000

Rs. 1000

Rs. 500

Rs —

Founder-Member

Patron

Fellow

Life Member

Ordinary Member

Inauguration implies active functioning there-

after. There is no more preparation period for

the AISCO. Activity must spread in two direc-

tions simultaneously: towards achivement of the

aims, and towards completion of the constitu-

tional structure. The two are parallel directions.

The AISCO constitution provides for a grass-root

organisation intended to stimulate communication

between the Managing Committee and the Saras-

wat population.

No one is more keenly alive to the problems

involved in this dual development than Shri J. S.

Rao, the dedicated and indefatigable Secretary

of the AISCO, who has been at the heart of the

whole movement since its inception. It is therefore

natural that his should be the principal paper on

the subject for presentation at the Inaugural

Function. From that paper, which deals compie-

hensively with the origin, development and pro-

spects of the AISCO concept, only extracts

concerning the constitutional structure and future

development are reproduced here.

It is to be hoped that the subject will attract

wide attention, and that suggestions as well as

offers of participation will come up in generous

measure.

THE AISCO FACES THE FUTURE By

J. S. RAO, Bombay.

Organisational Set-up

The organisational set-up of the AISCO

is discussed under the heads of Membership,

President, Managing Committee, and

Governing Council below.

Membership (Articles 6, 7, 8).

(i) The membership is open to every

Saraswat Brahmin without distinction of

sect or region. It is also open to Saraswat

institutions. An institution for eligibility is

defined to include a firm, society or other

organisation whose membership consists

wholly or mainly of Saraswat Brahmins or

any of their sects or sub-sects. An institu-

tional member shall have the right to

nominate one representative who shall be a

Saraswat to act for it and participate in the

activities of the Organisation, and will have

the right to change the nominee from time

to time if necessary. Hie institutional mem-

bership is essentially envisaged as a scheme

for co-operation and co-ordination of activi-

ties of all Saraswat institutions in the country

by promoting a sort of federation of such

institutions. Members of the AISCO are en-

titled to receive free a copy of its official

journal as also the privilege to attend All

India Saraswat Cultural Conventions or

conferences convened by it.

Following categories of membershipare provided for in the constitution

Fee for individiuals

Rs. 5000/- in lump

Rs. 1000/-

Rs. 500/-

Rs. 200/-

Rs, 20/-


6

President : (Article 9)

The President of AISCO will be elected

by the members for a term of three years.

His dection will be governed by rules fram-

ed by the Managing Committee in this behalf.

A vacancy in the post of President

shall be filled by nomination by the Manag-

ing Committee from amongst the Vice-

Presidents.

The President shall have wide powers

including that of nominating 18 members to

the Governing Council and six members

to the Managing Committee.; to fill any

casual vacancy in the Governing Council or

in the Managing Committee; to preside at

meetings of the Governing Council and of

the Managing Committee; to decide all elec-

tion disputes and to exercise in any emer-

gency any or all of the powers of the Manag-

ing Committee, and to report such action

to the Managing Committee or the Govern-

ing Council within thirty days. The Presi-

dent may also direct in his discretion the

Secretaries to convene a meeting of the

Managing Committee or of the Governing

Council at any time.

Managing Committee (Articles 11, 12, 13)

The Management of the affairs of the

AISCO shall vest in the Managing Com-

mittee, which will hold office for three years.

The Managing Committee shall consist of

thirty members, namely, the President,

twenty-three members elected by the Govern-

ing Council and six members nominated by

the newly-elected President. Members of the

Governing Council shall alone be eligible

for election or nomination the President.

But failure of the President to fill any such

vacancies, however, shall not affect the status,

decisions or actions of the Conmiittee. It

shall elect from its own members eight

Vice-Presidents, three Secretaries and two

Treasurers. Its meetings shall be called by

the Secretaries on their own initiative or

when so asked by the President. Ten days‟

clear notice shall be given of a meeting of

the Managing Committee. The President,

however, may ask for an urgent meeting to

be convened at shorter notice. The quorum

for a meeting of the Managing Committee

shall be twelve. In the absence of a quorum,

the meeting will be adjourned to a later date

when business shall proceed without the need

for a quorum. The Managing Committee

shall meet at least once in two calendar

months. The President shall preside at ali

meetings of the Managing Committee. In

his absence, any one of the Vice-Presidents

elected by the members present shall

preside. In their absence, the members pre-

sent shall elect one of them to preside. FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

The functions, powers and duties of the

Managing Committee will be to take all due

steps and measures as may be conducive

to or authorised by or necessary for the

implementation of the aims and objects of

the AISCO as set out or implied in Article 5,

to prepare on the dose each year a Report

on all policies and activities along with

audited statements of accounts relating to

that year, to submit the to the Governing

Council and to present them to all members;

to frame Rules governing the triennial elec-

tion of the President as laid down in

clause (b) of Article 9; to map out zones

and organise zonal committees of members

for the for the propagation and pursuit of the aims

and objects and for elections to the Govern-

ing Council as laid down in Clause (d) of

Article 10, and to frame appropriate Rules

for these purposes; to make all rules framed

by it and any amendment of them known to

all members; to fill any casual vacancy of

the post of President as provided for in

Clause (c) of Article 9; to maintain a Roll

of Members; to appoint sub-committees or

Special Committees for study and advice on

any subject or subjects or for the implemen-

tation of any decisions; to conduct or cause

to be conducted by a suitable agency a perio-


dical publication as the official journal of the

AISCO, as provided for in Clause (k) of

Article 5 and to furnish a copy of each issue

to every member free of cost; to fulfil all

statutory obligations, including the filing of

returns with appropriate authorities; to bank,

invest, spend and/or donate moneys in

accordance with the provisions of the Con-

stitution and generally to conduct the

management of the AISCO with due care

and efficiency.

However, notwithstanding anything con-

tained in the above provisions of the con-

stitution, the first Managing Committee was

constituted by nomination which shall hold

office until relieved by a Managing Com-

mittee formed under the relevant provisions

of Articles 9, 10 and 11. The first Manag-

ing Committee shall take expeditious steps

including the framing of the relevant Rules

for the election of the President and for the

formation of the Governing Council of the

Managing Committee as provided for in

Articles 9, 11, 12, and 20; and it shall see

to it that these steps are completed within

thirty-six months from the date of the adop-

tion of this constitution. The first Managing

Committee shall appoint auditors annually

for the first three years of the AISCO. The

provisions of Clause (c) of Article 11 shall

not apply to the President‟s nomination to

fill any casual vacancy in the first Manag-

ing Committee.

Governing Council (Article 10).

Subject to the specific provisions of the

articles of the Constitution all general and

residuary powers of the AISCO shall vest in

the Governing Council. The Governing

Council shall hold office for three years and

shall consist of one hundred and fifty mem-

bers, consisting of the President, elected

under Article 9, one hundred and thirty-

one members elected by members of the

AISCO and eighteen members nominated by

the newly-elected President.

The election of one hundred and thirty-

one members to the Governing Council shall

be governed by rules made in that behalf by

the Managing Committee on the basis of

zones mapped out for the purpose. Any

member may, however, stand for election

from any zone. Casual vacancies in the

Governing Council shall be filled by the

President by nomination. The President‟s

failure to fill any such vacancies shall not,

however, affect the competence or vitiate the

decisions of the Council.

The Governing Council shall meet at least

once in every official year, and at any other

times that the Managing Committee or the

President may decide. The meetings of the

Council shall generally be held in Bombay,

but the Managing Committee may choose any

other venue for any meeting of the (Council.

Thirty clear days‟ notice of a meeting of the

Governing Council shall be given to its

members specifying the place, date, time and

agenda of the meeting. The President shall

preside at all meetings of the Governing

Council. In his absence the members present

shall elect a Chairman for the meeting from

amongst the Vice-Presidents. Thirty-five

members shall form a quorum for a meeting

of the Governing Council. In the absence of

a quorum the meeting shall be adjourned to

a later date when business shall be conduct-

ted without the need for a quorum. The

Secretaries of the Managing Committee

shall be the Secretaries of the Governing

Council. It shall be the function and duty

of the Governing Council to receive and

consider the Annual Report and audited

statements of accounts presented by the

Managing Committee; to consider the polic-

ies and activities of the Managing Comm-

ittee, and to make recommendations, to

appoint auditors; and to decide on such

other matters as may be placed before it by

the Managing Committee or the President,

or by a member of the Council.


MAJOR ISSUES — FUTURE

SET-UP

Membership

Should our organisation confine its acti-

vities to the membership of the AISCO or

should it be an organisation in the service

of the entire community ? Even if all social

service institutions, temples and business

firms and the members of the community

may not join as active members on its rolls,

it is in the fitness of things to allow and

provide for some participation and feeling

of involvement in its activities to the entire

community. If our organisation is in earnest

in solving the various problems facing the

community, it ought to co-operate and co-

ordinate its activities with all the existing

organisations and institutions of the commu-

nity, including these which may not be on

its rolls.

This may be done by having a new cate-

gory of membership, i.e.. Primary Member-

ship, which does not involve any big finan-

cial contribution, but prescribes only a

nominal fee of Rs. 1/- per annum. These

primary members may not enjoy all the

benefits, such as the right to have a free

copy of the official journal and of participa-

tion in the election of the members to the

Governing Council and other related mat-

ters. But they will have a say in the deter-

mination of the policies and programmes of

the AISCO. Their participation can be en-

sured at the all India level by convening

All-India Saraswat Cultural Conventions

periodically, say once in every three years,

wherein open sessions can be organised as

a forum for all Primary Members. The re-

solutions and decisions of these sessions

would be implemented by the AISCO.

The participation of the Primary Mem-

bers will also be ensured to a greater extent

and in a more active manner at the district

and local levels by permitting them to parti-

cipate in these meetings. In fact, all Saras-

wat institutions and temple representatives

should have representation even on the

Executive Committees of the District Units

of the AISCO. This may be ensured by

amendments to the constitution of AISCO

or alternatively, by incorporating appro-

priate provisions in the rules and regula-

tions of the district units which are to be

drawn up by the Managing Committee of

the AISCO. This will lay the foundations

of the AISCO at the grass-root level, give

a sense of belonging and participation to

the Primary Members who will form its

backbone and source of strength. It is possi-

ble to convene periodically open sessions of

the AISCO which they can attend and where

they may deliberate on matters of common

interest. They will thus represent the demo-

cratic element in our organisation in the

broadest terminology.

Should non-Saraswats, who are interested

in our cause, including institutions, be per-

mitted to have some sort of participation in

our activities ? Already, the definition of

the membership clause has clarified that a

person married to a Saraswat is a Saraswat

as also a person one of whose parents is a

Saraswat. Suppose there are outsiders who

would like to be associated with our cause

and take part in our activities. Should we

have a constitutional bar against their entry

or should we permit them to come in freely?

I think it is possible to devise a scheme

more or less akin to the Primary Member-

ship as a worthwhile proposition.

The Managing Committee

The Managing Committee to be effective

should normally consist of up to 13 active

members including the President.

However, a larger Committee may be

necessary, consisting of, say, up to 30 mem-

bers, to ensure proper representation to

every region and sect. It may be advisable


to nominate a Vice-President and a member

from the four Regional Committees on the

Managing Committee who would be very

active in organisational work in their region.

However, in this set-up, it may be necessary

to form a compact Steering Committee con-

sisting of not more than 7 active members,

who are based at the HQ to carry out the

decisions of the Managing Committee on a

day-to-day basis and to take quick decisions

during the intervening period between meet-

ings of the Managing Committee. The Pre-

sident and a few other active members of

the Managing Committee at the HQ alone

should be included in the Steering Com-

mittee, Necessary rules and regulations may

be framed regarding the scope and functions

of the Steering Committee,

Regional Committees / Local Units

In order to make the AISCO a truly re-

presentative, democratic body in every sense

of the term, it has been proposed to set up

district units wherein all areas having con-

centrations of Saraswats will be represented.

There will be four regions corresponding to

the four directions. Northern, Eastern,

Southern and Western, The units of each

region will together form a Regional Com-

mittee, These four Regional Committees

will form part of the Central Governing

Council by having proportional representa-

tion on it. These points have been included

in the constitution of the AISCO,

The various questions, that may arise

concerning the relationship between the

units, the Regional Committees and the

Governing Council at the apex are sought

to be tackled as and when they crop up.

Likewise, the limits of operation of each

unit of the Regional Committee will have

to be decided on the principle of organisa-

tional convenience and need not correspond

necessarily to the geographical, political or

linguistic boundaries. All this will be neces-

sary since the activities of the AISCO are

to be organised on an all India basis and the

volume of work at the HQ for co-ordination

and integration is likely to be enormous. Centralisation vs Decentralisation

As a first alternative, we may consider a

decentralised set-up, with the four Regional

Committees functioning autonomously in

the North, East, South and West, together

with their respective district units under

them. The second is to have a centralised

set-up, with the four Regional Committees

operating at the headquarters exercising

supervision through the Managing Com-

mittee and co-ordinating their work. The

aim will be to progressively delegate powers

and functions at the district level as this

becomes feasible as they gain in experience.

5, Unitary Vs. Federal Structure

At least in the initial stages, a unitary

set-up appears desirable until a new philo-

sophy of governance and consolidation

gains acceptance. The endeavour will be to

assist the various smaller organisations to

develop competence to tackle their financial

and organisational problems at their own

level. As and when a system of proper

central control and performance evaluation

norms are developed, delegation of powers

to the Regional Committees may be con-

sidered.

District Units and Central Headquarters The sine qua non of any efficient organisa-

tion is to ensure that its aims and ideals

permeate to the lower levels and win accep-

tance among the mass of the community

from the village level upwards. This will also

help to analyse the problems facing them

and to pass them on to the Headquarters for

advice and guidance as a first step in their

solution. Depending on the degree of popu-

lation concentration, an AISCO district

need not necessarily correspond to the geo-

graphical or political boundaries.


The sole criterion will be facility of

communication. Care may have to be taken

to sec that homogeneous units are constitut-

ed, having due regard, as far as may be, to

their language, customs, etc., so that their

functioning may be effective. One of ihe

important responsibilities of the Central

Committee will be to promote active parti-

cipation and cooperation among the various

sects and sub-sects in a given area, so that

the pyramidal system functions satisfactorily.

Thus, for example, the cooperation of the

Kashmiri Pandits Association and its mem-

bers may be more readily forthcoming, if

sought through the Association‟s good offices.

The AISCO‟s work can thus be better co-

ordinated and integrated at the national

level if the Association is granted full auto-

nomy rather than the heterogeneous district

units. Similarly, the cooperation of the

Chitrapur Saraswats will be more fruitful if

enlisted through their local sabhas and other

organisations.

7. District Units — Some Suggestions

(a) All social service institutions, tem-

ples, cultural organisations or groups should

be enrolled as members of the district unit.

(b) Every district unit should organise

periodical meetings, conferences, seminars

and symposia to sustain a close bond with

these institutions and promote understanding,

collaboration and coordination among them.

To make these functions more meaningful

and practically useful, the Regional Com-

mittee members should try and attend them.

(c) A district unit will be free to adopt

as official language the language spoken in

their area or English for purposes corres-

pondence, etc., with the HQ.

PERIODIC REPORTS

(d) A district unit should, as far as possi-

ble, bring all members of the Saraswat com-

munity within its fold and permit each vil-

lege or group of villages to elect one repre-

sentative on the district unit. This repre-

sentative should submit a monthly report of

the work and activities of the residents in

his area to the district unit, which in turn

should send a consolidated report to its

Regional Committee. The latter should

forward a general report on the work in its

region every month (in duplicate). The

Central Committee will then compile a

monthly or quarterly newsletter for publica-

tion in the AISCO Supplement to “The

Samyukta Saraswat”, the quarterly journal

published by the All-India Saraswat Foun-

dation in January, April, July and October

every year.

Until a proper set of rules is drawn up to

regulate the work and duties of district units,

the AISCO should go ahead with the forma-

tion of ad hoc district committees some of

which may later constitute the district units,

depending on their record of work.

(e) Members should be enrolled at the

district unit. Proper accounts should be

maintained and monies should be remitted

to the AISCO. Bank accounts may be open-

ed by each district unit. Also a proper

record should be kept of all expenses incur-

led in connection with promotional and such

other activities. The AISCO may in the

initial stages sanction certain funds to the

district units, later on these latter will be

expected to run their activities on a certain

percentage of funds raised by them in the

form of membership fees, donations, contri-

butions, etc. This may be done by holding

periodically cultural gatherings, annual day

functions, etc.

ORGANISATIONAL MATTERS

(f) As far as possible, major correspond-

ence and queries regarding organisational

matters such as issue of receipts for pay-

ments made, enrolment of membership, pre-

paration of various lists and other routine

queries about the people and requirements,

and other activities involving purely local


issues where their solution is within the

capacity and purview of the district units

should be entrusted entirely to the district

units only. It is sufficient if the H.Q. calls

for periodic summary reports from district

units in this respect. Even the queries

coming directly to the Central agency should

be forwarded to the district unit for follow

up action. Such a delegation of the work

to the district units will leave greater scope

for the H.Q. to deal with more important

work such as issue of proper directions, eva-

luation of the work of district units, and their

coordination and integration, as also provi-

sion of certain activities and expert infornia-

jtion and the studies necessary for the proper

functioning of such district units. This will

also give greater incentive to the district

units to work harder,

(g) Copies of “The Samyukta Saraswat”

and circulars may be distributed with advan-

tage by the district units. Aptive association

of members with the official journal will turn

the latter into a forum where all problems

and ideas may be posed and discussed fruit-

fully. That will make for a sense of parti-

cipation. This will be sought to be promoted

at the proper time by having language sup-

plements to the journal with the eventual

possibility of a journal in a regional language.

Alternatively, we may have special issue of

the journal, focussing attention on certain

problems or regions.

NEED FOR MASS CONTACT

(h) The distribution agency can be turn-

ed into a first-rate means of personal or mass

contact, if copies of the journal and other

literature are distributed in person by going

from door to door, as is the case with “The

Chitrapur Sunbeam”, the official organ of

the Chitrapur Math, through their local

sabhas. Incidentally, a lot of money will be

saved on postage and stationery. It will

make the district unit feel more useful and

responsible and will infuse more life in its

members and eventually lead to the establish-

ment of an intimate rapport between the

units and members of the community.

Each district unit will have a representa-

tive on the Governing Council besides being

represented on the Regional Committee. The

Governing Council should have also repre-

sentatives of social service, cultural and lite-

rary organisations. The President has, ac-

cordingly, been vested with powers to nomi-

nate 18 members on the Governing Council

to represent these interests. Social service

institutions, including temples and dharmic

bodies which form a separate category, are

also entitled to become institutional mem-

bers. As these are responsible for a major

portion of the community‟s cultural activi-

ties and represent the best traditions of the

community, a sizeable number of elected

seats should be reserved for them, say 25

to 50 per cent. This will ensure greater co-

operation from these bodies whom the

AISCO too will be able to assist in every

way. Even here the accent will be on the

democratic element of delegaton of functions

and powers.


By Smt. SITA KAIKINI, Bombay.

vity illumines the annals of our history and

shows the stuff of which we are made.

Coming to the present times, the first All

India Saraswat Conference was held at

Santa Cruz, a Bombay suburb, way back in

1926, and the late Pt. Motilal Nehru presid-

ed. My husband, then a mere lad of 14,

was one of the volunteers. Other names in

the Saraswat galaxy are too numerous to

recount, but I may list only such luminaries

as Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lala Lajpat

Rai, Jawaharlal Nehru, Tej Bahadur Sapru

and Kailash Nath Katju. Today we have

Smt. Indira Gandhi at the helm of national

affairs. She has shown once again the stuff

of which we Saraswats are made — both in

SARASWATS ; Unite to Serve Humanity

A lot is heard these days

of Saraswats

and the philosophy of Saraswatism. The

Saraswats are an ancient clan spread far

and wide whose origins are lost in the mists

of antiquity. It is well known that they are

descended from a sage Saraswat by name,

who lived on the banks of the Saraswati

liver which flowed through Kashmir. The

sage was a reputed repository of Vedic lore

and of all that was worthy of preservation

for posterity. The way he preserved this

lore and saved the race of Saraswats is too

well known to need repetition.

The world of today is a strange conglo-

meration of diverse elements. Look where

you will and you will see racial arrogance,

economic power, material affluence, ever-

increasing greed, military might and atomic

means of wholesale decimation. The things

that truly matter, the articles we value, the

things of the spirit — nobility, charily,

kindness, truth, beauty, goodness, renne-

ment — that constitute true culture are no

longer valued or cared for, the things that

endure when all is said and done. It is

Mammon that rules the roost.

At such a historic moment of universal

crisis of the human spirit, the men behind

the AISCO have done well to decide to

revive the spirit of Saraswatism that has

stood for the very best in human thought,

word and action in times bygone, in the be-

lief and hope that they can make some con-

tribution to the task of ultimately saving

humanity from fortuitcus, avoidable self-

destruction and save man from himself.

We Saraswats have great things to our

credit. In the Rajasthan region, there was

even a royal dynasty that ruled a modest

kingdom, well and wisely. In Kashmir, the

quiet heroism of a Saraswat prime minister

who made the supreme sacrifice of his life

to rescue his liege and monarch from capti-

peace and in war. The whole world has

applauded her genius, her imagination, her

grit, her indomitable courage and resource-

fulness. In her cabinet and inner circle there

arc a number of notable Saraswats who are

serving the country loyally and wholeheart-

edly.

Our movement is intended to arrest the

current drift towards purposelessness and

canalise the energies of all Saraswats along

the fruitful channels of national regenera-

tion, so that our country may once again

gain her supreme position in culture and

civilization, as once she did when people in

the West moved about in skins and barks

of trees,

I have confidence in the Saraswat genius

that it can “set the Thames on fire” only if

it organises itself better and applies the

shoulder to the wheel.

Let all Saraswats, wherever they live, in

India or abroad, rally round the banner of

the AISCO and march hand in hand for the

greater glory of man, thereby realising

Mahatma Gandhi‟s dream of all men being

brothers and Wendell Wilkies dream of

One World.


Shri S. V. Pikale counts among those who

have made an outstanding and distinctive contri-

bution to the promotion of the AISCO and the

organisation of its activities. Despite the exacting

demands of a successful practice as tax counsellor,

he is actively connected with numerous institu-

tions of public benefit — temples. Maths, school.

colleges, charitable trusts, the Servants of India

Society, and now the AISCO and the All India

Saraswat foundation.

No good cause, no public institution in diffi-

culty, looks to him in vain. Neither are there

half-measures in his cooperation. Even before the

AISCO was formed, he solved the Preparatory

Committee‟s primary difficulty by giving it a

furnished office without cost or rent. It still re-

mains the AISCO‟s as well as the Foundation‟s

office, and is free of rent. The AISCO has free'

access to the services of his office staff. He con-

ducted an intensive tour of Goa and the Kanara

Districts at his own expense, to propagate the

cause of the AISCO.

What is the urge, what is the secret, of this

way of life, a life of continuous strain and sacri-

fice? Shri Pikale provides the answer, characteris-

tically without an evident trace of autobio-

graphical reflection.

THE GITA TO OUR RESCUE By

S. V. PIKALE, Bombay.

Man is not a mere creature thrown up by

nature in the process of an evolutionary

gamble. He has a special purpose, a special

mission and a unique role to play in this

world. Man is essentially divine. The aim

of all human life is to achieve perfection and

this perfection is the outward manifestation

of his inner goodness and strength. The

Bhagavadgita is a spiritual storehouse for all

mankind. With repetitive reading and

thinking, it altogether gives a new dimen-

sion to life and existence. The Gita gives us

not only profound insights that are valid for

all time and for all religious life, but it con-

tains the classical presentation of the real

values of life and one‟s duties towards the

world. The Gita does not call upon us to

solve the meaning of life but to find out the

DEED demanded of us and to work, and so,

by action, to master the riddle of life.

The Gita bases its message of action on

a philosophy of life. It does not advocate

a fanatical devotion to the practical to the

abandonment of the dignity of thought. Its

philosophy of the practical is derived from

its philosophy of the spirit. Ethical action

is derived from metaphysical realisation. The

essential purpose of the Gita is to show us

a way out of bondage.

Kurukshetra was the Dharmakshetra —

the place where the ideals of real Dharma

were propounded. It is stated that the entire

Gita, i.e., all the 700 verses may not have

been propounded on the battlefield. Lord

Krishna only narrated to Arjuna the neces-

sity of doing one‟s duty and forget the con-

sequences. The real author of the Bhagvad-

gita is Lord Vyas. Lord Krishna uttered

it in a trance. It is stated that after the

Kurukshetra war Arjuna requested Shree

Krishna to repeat the Gita, as he had

forgotten the same. Shree Krishna replied

that He could not do so because at Kuru-

kshetra He had a particular Yogasamadhi

which prompted Him to declare the true

faith for all mankind. The Gita is the em-

bodiment of all the Vedas and the

Upanishads. The vedic science of spiritual

self-discovery is the life-saver for humanity

sliding down to destruction. Man has today

lost his hold on truth, morality, peace and

love. The Gita is the message of love. It is

the message of the rightful path of existence.

It is the path that leads man to calmness.


composure, humility, purity, virtue, courage, and tender piety. These are the essential

conviction and on abandonment of the self features of Hindu life and thought and the

and selfishness. Bhagvadgita is the organic unity of the same.

The method adopted is not of denial of

The teachings of the Gita are not present- self but penetration into the self. The

ed as a metaphysical system thought out by eighteen chapters of Gita show that all

an individual thinker or a school of thinkers, diverse paths of worship and prayers are

It is set forth as a tradition which has emerg- towards the same end.

ed from the religious life of mankind.

Swami Vivekananda has said that the Hindu The Gita is a part of the Bhismaparva of

Dharma has the power of assimilation, the the Mahabharata. Historically it dates back

power to appreciate and adopt what is good to the Fifth Century B.C. The Gita has

in other religions. The Swami by his forth- been recognised for centuries as an orthodox

right expositions proved to the world that scripture of the Hindu religion possessing

the Dharma was the most ancient and equal authority with the Upanishads and

that the essential healthy features of all the Brahma Sutra. The Upanishads contain

other religions of the world were found in different interpretations about the nature of

the Gita and the Upanishads. The Gita and the Absolute. The Brahma Sutra is stated

the Upanishads were not Brahmanical can- to be terse and obscure. The Gita gives a

nons aimed at Vamashram but the basic rational and consistent view,

factors governing life and existence.

The Gita has also been stated to be the

The Gita does not at any place preach any basis of the Budhist religion. The Bhagvda-

distinction between man and man. Nobody gita is a way of life and therefore it con-

is superior and nobody is inferior; every- tains practically all the values of piety,

body goes according to the Karma he does charity, duty and one‟s dharma.

in this world.

The Avatar of Lord Krishna was a full

The Gita is both Bramhavidya and incarnation with all the 16 facets of glory.

Yogashastra. It is a science of reality and In the Avtar of Rama, out of 16, the three

the art of union with reality. Purity of mind brothers had one each; and Parashurama the

and purity of heart is the cleansing of mind contemporary of Shri Rama had one, until

of all distractions and the purging of the Shri Rama met him at his Swayamvara at

heart from all corruption. Janaka‟s palace and overpowered him and

drew within himself the fraction of the divine

The period of Kurukshetra war was a power that he had. The other incarnations

confusing period in the annals of Hindu were for the suppression of evil. The

Religion. The cultural conflicts between the Avtars of Rama and Krishna were for the

Aryas and the Non-Aryas were raising their restoration of Dharma and fostering virtuous

heads. It was necessary to bring a synthesis living. Man is an amalgam of humanity,

of the conflicting and confusing elements animality and divinity. It is a tragedy that

and mtegrate the same into a comprehensive he cannot get rid of animality. In Ramayana

unity free and large, subtle and „profound, we have the Yoga Vashistha; in Krishna-

TheGita has integrated the vedic cult of yana we have the

sacrifice, the Upanishad teachings of trans-

cendent Brahman, the Bhagavata theism. There are many commentaries on the

samkhya dualism, yoga meditation and love Gita, the famous among them being Lord


Shankaracharya in the 8th Century. By far

the most important commentary on the Gita

is that of Lord Jnaneshwar of Alandi in

Maharashtra. Lord Jnaneshwar at the age

of 16, in coloquial Marathi or Konkani as

understood by the general masses at the time,

described the stages for the progress of man

from a mere animal to a supreme being,

including the incarnated Avatar. Lord

Jnaneshwar took Samadhi at the age of 21.

His famous words were that if one has

accomplished what is to be accomplished,

there is no purpose in living further in this

world.

Jnaneshwar stated that the Oita gave him

the full meaning of life. All the impurities

of mind and heart were cleaned and

Jnaneshwar found perfection and oneness

with God, When he found this perfection his

bliss was unbounded and it is at the moment

of this bliss that he took his Samadhi at

Alandi near Poona.

God is never born in the ordinary sense.

The processes of birth and incarnation which

imply limitation do not apply to him. When

the Lord is said to manifest Himself at a

proper time at a particular occasion, it only

means that it takes place with reference to

the finite being. The subjective and

objective processes of the world are only

the expressions of the higher and lower

natures of the supreme. Yet, in whatever

is glorious, beautiful and strong, God‟s pre-

sence becomes more manifest.

The author of the Gita mentions Lord

Krishna of history as one of many forms

along with his disciple Arjuna. The

Avatar is the demonstration of man‟s spiri-

tual resources and latent divinity, it is not

so much a fraction of divine majesty in the

limits of human frame as the exaltation of

human nature to the level of God by its

union with the divine. The theory of

Avatar is an eloquent expression of the

spiritual world. As God is looked upon as

saviour of man. He must manifest Himself

whenever the forces of evil threaten to

destroy human values.

Today we find ourselves surrounded by

the destructive forces of viciousness and vice

on all sides. The materialistic cult and a

belief in one‟s own superiority have reduced

us to a state of despair, and today man is

groping in the dark with no light to illu-

mine the future. It is in such moments of

such despair that the Bhagvadgita comes to

our rescue and restores in us the confidence

and strength required.

Volumes after volumes have been written

on the interpretations of the Bhagvadgita.

Lokmanya Tilak wrote a treatise of 1400

pages only on Karmayoga Sastra. Acharya

Vinoba Bhave considers the Gita as a mother

and his Gita is a famous poem dealing with

the glories of the teachings of the

Bhagavadgita. Mahatma Gandhi stated that

by religion he did not mean a formal reli-

gion. According to Gandhiji, religion is that

religion which underlies all religions and

brings us face to face with our Maker. The

Bhagvadgita does bring us face to face with

God,

"God is truth and life; God is morality:

God is fearlessness. God is the source of

light and life, yet He is out and beyond all

these. God is consciousness. He is even the

atheism of the atheist. He transcends speech

and reason. He is personal God to those

who need His personal presence. He is

almighty to those who need His touch. He is

simple to those who have faith. He is all

things to ail men. He is in us and yet above

and beyond us.”

I would like to end this article with a

famous quotation from the Gita:

"God‟s light dwells in the self and no-

where else. It shines alike in every living

being and one can see it with one s mind

steadied.‟


THE SAMYUKTA SARASWAT

Editor—in—Chief : Prof. B. P. Adarkar

Quarterly Publication of

THE ALL INDIA SARASWAT FOUNDATION

and

THE ALL INDIA SARASWAT CULTURAL

ORGANISATION (AISCO)

Published every January, April, July and October.

Single Copy, Rs. 4; Annual Subscription, Rs. 15:

3 Years‟ Subscription, Rs. 40.

FREE TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE AISCO

Published by


4/418, Arun Chambers, Tardeo Road,

BOMBAY-34

THE ALL INDIA SARASWAT CULTURAL ORGANISATION

4/418, Arun Chambers, Tardeo Road, Bombay-34 WB

Tel. 371416

MANAGING COMMITTEE

(as reconstituted in October 1972)

President:

PROF. B. P. ADARKAR

Vice-Presidents :

SHRI S. V. PIKALE. SHRI N. S. RAO, SHRI V. S. PAGE,

SHRI S. N. SOPORI, SHRI A. M. KAMATH.

SHRI MODU TIMBLO

Secretaries :

SHRI J. S. RAO, PROF. S. D. PUNEKAR,

SHRI D. N. NADKARNI

Treasurers:

SHRI C. D. JOSHI, SHRI S. K. NADKARNI

Members :

SHRI N. N. MISRI, SHRI AMRITLAL SATA.

PROF. V. N. ADARKAR, SHRI I. M. PAI,

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the samyukta saraswat vol 1no 1january 1973

Documents

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saraswat youth

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allindia saraswat foundation

india saraswat foun

bombay sales tax act

saraswats of kashmir

tardeo road