Pancha-Dravida

Pancha Dravida (lit. 'Five Dravida' from Sanskrit: पंच pancha) is one of the two major groupings of Brahmins in Hinduism, of which the other is Pancha-Gauda.

In Rajatarangini

Kalhana, in his Rajatarangini (c. 12th century CE), classifies the following five Brahmin communities as Pancha Dravida, stating that they reside to the south of the Vindhyas:^[1][2]

• Karnataka (Karnataka Brahmins)
• Tailanga (Telugu Brahmins)
• Dravida (Brahmins of Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
• Maharashtraka (Maharashtrian Brahmins)
• Gurjara (Gujarati, Marwari and Mewari Brahmins^[3])

In the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa

A fragment of the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa, featured in Hemadri's Chatur-varga-chintamani (13th century), quotes Shiva to name the following divisions of the Pancha Dravidas:^[4][5]

• Drāviḍa
• Tailaṅga
• Karnāṭa
• Madhyadeśa (identified with Mahārāṣṭra in variant readings)
• Gurjara

In the kaifiyats

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 Dravida:^[6]

• Andhra-Purva Desastha
• Dravida Desastha
• Karnataka Brahmins
• Desastha

The kafiyats classify the Gurjara Brahmins as Pancha Gauda. They also mention the following 16 sub-castes of the Pancha-Dravidas:^[6]

• Smarta
• Konkanastha
• Karhade
• Varkari
• Madhyandin
• Vanas
• Karnataka
• Shashtika
• Nandavamshika
• Srivaishnava Telanga
• Srivaishnava
• Pratham-Shakhikanva
• Kirvant
• Sihavasai
• Nurcher
• Shenavi
• Govalkonde