remained inside, and hence two separate divisions arose, the outside group being the higher. It is said that the first Khedawal who came to the Central Provinces was on a journey from Gujarāt to Benāres when, on passing through Panna State, he saw some diamonds lying in a field. He stopped and picked up as many as he could and presented them to the Rāja of Panna, who made him a grant of an estate, and from this time other Khedāwāls came and settled. A considerable colony of them now exists in Saugor and Damoh. The Khedāwāls are clever and astute, and many of them are the agents of landowners and moneylenders, while a large proportion are in the service of the Government. They do not as a rule perform priestly functions in the Central Provinces. Their caste observances are strict. Formerly it is said that a Khedāwāl who was sent to jail was permanently expelled from caste, and though the rule has been relaxed the penalties for readmission are still very heavy. They do not smoke, but only chew tobacco. Widows must dress in white, and their heads are sometimes shaved. They are said to consider a camel as impure as a donkey, and will not touch either animal. One of their common titles is Mehta, meaning great. The Khedāwāls of the Central Provinces formerly married only among themselves, but since the railway has been opened intermarriage with their caste-fellows in Gujarat has been resumed.

Brahman, Mahārāshtra, Maratha.-The Marātha Brāhmans, or those of the Bombay country, are numerous and important in the Central Provinces. The northern Districts were for a period governed by Maratha Brahmans on behalf of the Peshwa of Poona, and under the Bhonsla dynasty of Nagpur in the south they took a large part in the administration. The Maratha Brahmans have three main subcastes, the Deshasth, Konkonasth and Karhāda. The Deshasth Brahmans belong to the country of Poona above the Western Ghats, which is known as the desh or home country. They are numerous in Berār and Nagpur. The Konkonasth are so called because they reside in the Konkan country along the Bombay coast. They have noticeably fair complexions,

1 Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarāt, p, II.

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good features and often grey eyes. According to a legend they were sprung from the corpses of a party of shipwrecked foreigners, who were raised to life by Parasurama.1 This story and their fine appearance have given rise to the hypothesis that their ancestors were shipwrecked sailors from some European country, or from Arabia or Persia. They are also known as Chitpāvan, which is said to mean the pure in heart, but a derivation suggested in the Bombay Gazetteer is from Chiplun or Chitapolan, a place in the Konkan which was their headquarters. The Peshwa of Poona was a Konkonasth Brāhman, and there are a number of them in Saugor. The Karhāda Brahmans take their name from the town of Karhād in the Satāra District. They show little difference from the Deshasths in customs and appearance.

Formerly the above three subcastes were endogamous and married only among themselves. But since the railway has been opened they have begun to intermarry with each other to a limited extent, having obtained sanction to this from the successor of Shankar Acharya, whom they acknowledge as their spiritual head.

The Maratha Brahmans are also divided into sects, according to the Veda which they follow. Most of them are either Rigvedis or Yajurvedis, and these two sects marry among themselves. These Brahmans are strict in the observance of caste rules. They do not take water from any but other Brahmans, and abstain from flesh and liquor. They will, however, eat with any of the PanchDravid or southern divisions of Brahmans except those of Gujarat. They usually abstain from smoking, and until recently have made widows shave their heads; but this rule is perhaps now relaxed. As a rule they are well educated, and the majority of them look to Government service for a career, either as clerks in the public offices or as officers of the executive and judicial services. They are intelligent and generally reliable workers. The full name of a Marātha or Gujarāti Brahman consists of his own name, his father's name and a surname. But he is commonly addressed by his own name, followed by the honorific termination Rao for Rāja, a king, or Pant for Pandit, a wise man.

1 Bombay Gazetteer, Satāra, p. 54.

Brahman, Maithil.

One of the five Panch-Gaur or northern divisions, comprising the Brahmans of Bihār or Tirhut. There are some Maithil Brāhman families settled in Mandla, who were formerly in the service of the Gond kings. They have the surname of Ojha, which is one of those borne by the caste and signifies a soothsayer. The Maithil Brahmans are said to have at one time practised magic. Mithila or Bihār has also, from the earliest times, been famous for the cultivation of Sanskrit, and the great lawgiver Yajnavalkya is described as a native of this country. The head of the subcaste is the Mahārāja of Darbhanga, to whom family disputes are sometimes referred for decision. The Maithil Brahmans are said to be mainly Sakti worshippers. They eat flesh and fish, but do not drink liquor or smoke tobacco.2

Brahman, Malwi.-This is a local class of Brahmans from Malwa in Central India, who are found in the Hoshangābād and Betul Districts. They are said to have been invited here by the Gond kings of Kherla in Betul six or more centuries ago, and are probably of impure descent. Malwa is north of the Nerbudda, and they should therefore properly belong to the Pānch-Gaur division, but they speak Marāthi and their customs resemble those of Maratha Brahmans, who will take food cooked without water from them. The Malwi Brahmans usually belong to the Madhyandina branch of the Yajurvedi sect. They work as village accountants (patwaris) and village priests, and also cultivate land.

Brahman, Nägar.-A class of Gujarāti Brahmans found in the Nimār District. The name is said to be derived from the town of Vadnagar of Gujarāt, now in Baroda State. According to one account they accepted grants of land from a Rājpūt king, and hence were put out of caste by their fellows. Another story is that the Nagar Brahman women were renowned for their personal beauty and also for their skill in music. The emperor Jahāngir, hearing of their fame, wished to see them and sent for them, but they refused 1 Bhattacharya, Hindu Castes and Sects, p. 47. 2 Ibidem, p. 48.