Re: [INDOLOGY] Brāhmaṇa and Savarṇa

[Madhav Deshpande]

The term savarṇa referring to the progeny of a Brahmin father and a
Kṣatriya mother does occur in Dharmaśāstra texts and in later Jātinirṇaya
texts.  See page 274 of the attached article by V N Jha on "Varṇasaṁkara in
the Dharma Sūtras: Theory and Practice".

Madhav Deshpande


On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:12 AM, <palaniappa at aol.com> wrote:

>       In an inscription of ca. 1009, Brahmin villages, Vaikhānasa
> villages, and Savarṇa villages are mentioned separately. (E. Hultzsch, the
> editor of the inscription corrects the reading of 'Cavaṇṇar' as 'camaṇar'
> and interprets them as Jains. This correction was not necessary.) There are
> other inscriptions where individuals mentioned as Savarṇa are listed with
> their Brahminical gotras and at least in one inscription a Savarṇa is
> described as belonging to Bhāradvāja gotra and Bodhāyana sūtra. One
> inscription mentions 32 Savarṇas being given 32 house sites as an agrahara.
> These Savarṇas seemed to have functioned as physicians. It is clear that
> they were Brahmins but are classified as separate from 'Brāhmaṇa'. K. V.
> Subrahmanya Aiyer mentions (without citing the specific reference)
> Yādavaprakāśa as explaining in his work Vaijayanti that Savarṇa was an
> offspring of a Brahmin father and a Kṣatriya mother. To me this explanation
> seems to be suspect. It looks like a section of Brahmins was willing to
> engage in professions such as being musicians, physicians, etc.,
> notwithstanding any objections from the orthodox Vedic Brahmins who  seemed
> to have reserved for themselves the designation 'Brāhmaṇa' (without any
> modifier), at least in the beginning.  Inscriptions also differentiate
> Brāḥmaṇa from Śiva-Brāhṃaṇa. (The Tamil epic Cilappatikāram mentions the
> music-loving Brahmins as having their own quarters separate from Vedic
> Brahmins.)  This is similar to the adoption of the Tamil classical dance
> form by the Brahmins in the 20th century. In spite of the earlier
> objections from orthodox Brahmins, that dance form has become very popular
> among all Tamil Brahmins nowadays. Tamil Brahmins serving as physicians
> also seem to have gained acceptance from the orthodox over time. I would
> like to know if 'Savarṇa' as a Brahmin was known to texts/inscriptions
> outside the Tamil region.
>
>  Thanks in advance.
>
>  Regards,
> Palaniappan
>
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-- 
Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics
Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
202 South Thayer Street, Suite 6111
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608, USA


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