Saraswat Brahmins

The Saraswat Brahmins form one of the most important groups of people who reside in Mangalore city of Karnataka. According to popular belief, the Saraswat Brahmins of Mangalore have got their name from the place of their origin. The predecessors of the Saraswat Brahmins used to dwell near the river called the River Saraswati.

This river does not exist any more but was once a part of the state of Punjab. It is also believed by many people that the community of Saraswat Brahmins has got its name from their spiritual guide, who was called Saraswat Muni. There were five major groups of Gowda Brahmins which were called the Pancha Gowda Brahmin sects.

The predecessors of the Saraswat Brahmin community constitute one of these five groups. All these people used to live towards the north of the Vindhyas. These Brahmins had faith in the Hindu deities Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Ganesha and Surya.

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