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Saraswat BrahminsThe Saraswat Brahmins claim descent from a Brahmin caste listed in the ancient Vedanta as inhabiting the Saraswati River valley in what is now Pakistan. Their actual origins and their arrival in their present location are shrouded in mystery. Several distinct groups of Saraswat Brahmins exist—for example, the Shenvis or Goud Saraswats and the Chitrapur Saraswats. Unlike most Hindu upper-castes, the Saraswats eat fish. The traditional religion of the Saraswats was a strict Shaivism, i.e., monolatrous devotion to Shiva, with each sub-caste being led by a different spiritual guru. In more recent centuries, the religious tradition has become more eclectic. Many Gowd Saraswats are Vaishnavas loyal to mutts/maths that have adopted the dvaita philosophy of Madhvacharya. Other saraswats such as the Chitrapur community follow a Smartist tradition. There are 4 key maths or religious sub-sects in the Saraswat tradition - Kashi, Gokarna, Kavle & Chitrapur math. Of these Kashi math is dominated exclusively by the Gowd Saraswats of Kerala & Dakshin Kannada/udipi Districts of Karnataka,and Gowd Saraswath of Uttar Kannada, Goa, and Southern coastal Maharashtra follow Gokarn as well as Kavle math, whereas Chitrapur math is the preserve of the Chitrapur Saraswats. The different saraswat groups are usually endogamous. A number of Konkani Christians claim to be of Saraswat descent. While a small percentage of all Indian Christians, they dominate the Catholic Church hierarchy in the country. This perhaps reflects the importance of caste even outside Hinduism in India. Another factor could be the ancient tradition among Saraswats of children being encouraged to embrace religious vows or sanyasa. Prominent Saraswat Brahmins include Guru Dutt, Prakash Padukone, Shyam Benegal, Leena Chandavarkar, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, T A Pai, K V Kamath, Sunil Gavaskar, and Sachin Tendulkar.
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