Pancha Gauda is one of the two major groupings of Brahmins in Hinduism, of which the other is Pancha-Dravida.
According to Kalhana's Rajatarangini (c. 12th century CE), the Pancha Gauda group includes the following five Brahmin communities, which according to the text, reside to the north of the Vindhyas:[1][2] The Sahyadri-khanda, considered a part of the Skanda Purana, also mentions the same classification as the Rajatarangini.
[3] For example, fragments of the Sahyadri-khanda, featured in Hemadri's Chatur-varga-chintamani (13th century), quote Shiva to provide this classification.
In the text, Shiva also provides an alternative classification of Pancha Gaudas, stating that the ancient sages made these divisions:[4] The Maratha-era kaifiyats (bureaucratic records) of Deccan, which give an account of the society in the southern Maratha country, mention the following Brahmin communities as Pancha-Gaudas[5] According to the kaifiyats, the Pancha Gaudas could be either Smarta, Vaishnavas or Bhagavats.
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