Pancha Gauda section. In South India, all Brāhmans, except those who speak the Oriya and Konkani languages, are Pancha Drāvidas, who are divided into five sections, viz.: —
- 1. Tamil, or Drāvida proper.
- 2. Telugu or Āndhra.
- 3. Canarese, or Carnātaka.
- 4. Marathi or Dēsastha.
- 5. Guzarāti.
The Tulu-speaking Shivalli Brāhmans are included among the Carnātakas; the Pattar and Nambūtiri Brāhmans (see Nambūtiri) among the Drāvidas proper.
From a religious point of view, the Brāhmans are either Saivites or Vaishnavites. The Saivites are either Saivites proper, or Smarthas. The Smarthas believe that the soul of man is only a portion of the infinite spirit (ātman), and that it is capable of becoming absorbed into the ātman. They recognise the Trimurtis, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva as separate gods, but only as equal manifestations of the supreme spirit, and that, in the end, these are to be absorbed into the infinite spirit, and so disappear. Saivas, on the other hand, do not recognise the Trimurtis, and believe only in one god, Siva, who is self-existent, and not liable to lose his personality. Of Vaishnavites there are three kinds, viz., those who are the followers of Chaitanya, Rāmānuja, and Mādhvāchārya. Like the Smarthas, the Vaishnavites recognise Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, but Vishnu is supposed to be the chief god, to whom the others are subordinate.
"Vaishnavas," Monier Williams writes,[1] "are believers in the one personal god Vishnu, not only as the preserver, but as above every other god, including Siva.
- ↑ Religious Thought and Life in India.
