Saryupareen Brahmin


Saryupareen Brahmins, also known as Sarvarya Brahmins or Saryupariya Brahmins, are North Indian Brahmins residing on the eastern plain of the Sarayu near Ayodhya. Saryupareen families, such as the Tiwari, Tripathi, Pandey, Mishra, Shukla, Dwivedi and Dikshit, were involved solely in the research and analysis of Vedas and other religious texts, performing yajnas and other religious practices. These families did not perform "pujas" for benefactors and did not take "dakshinas" against such prayers. Hence, they were considered to be solely devoted to the quest of learning about the Vedas and spreading knowledge rather than benefiting in any way through benefactors. Along with the other Pancha-Gauda Brahmin communities, the Saryupareen traditionally preserve the customs and traditions as prescribed by ancient Hindu canons. In the 19th and 20th national convention of Kanyakubja Brahmins by Kanyakubja Mahati Sabha, in 1926 and 1927 respectively, it appealed for unity among Kanyakubja Brahmins whose different branches included Sanadhya, Pahadi, Bhumihar Brahmin, Jujhoutia, Saryupareen, Chhattisgarhi, and different Bengali Brahmins.
The Saryupareen generally dwell in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh with a significant amount of them concentrated in the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh known as Purvanchal. There are also minority Saryupareen communities in Mauritius, where Bhojpuri is a commonly spoken language and the Caribbean.

Vanshavali (Branches)

"Kanyakubj Vanshavali" mentions five branches of Kanyakubja Brahmins as Saryupareen, Sanadhya, Bhumihar Brahmin, Jujhautiya and Prakrit Kanaujia:
These five branches make up the Kanyakubja Brahmin class, a subset of the overall Brahmin caste.

Classification

Main groups

These Brahmins are divided into three categories- Paitiha, also known as Pankti Paavan ; Jatiha,, and Tutiha.
The Paitihas are classified into three main groups. The three main groups consist of the disciples of three gotras: Gargya, Gautama, and Shandilya; the Garga rishi and his disciples were the first to study the Yajurveda in their ashrams. They were followed by the Gautama rishi and the Shandilya rishi. These three groups are the most highly regarded amongst Saryupareen Brahmins.
Jaitha are classified into Vashishta, Krishnatraya, Kashyapa and Bharadwaja gotras.
Tutihas are classified into many groups, the main ones being Parashara, Vashishta, Upamanyu, Sankrithi, Agastya, and Kaushika.

Other gotras

The Krishanatraya, Ghritakausika, and Margeya gotras are called the mishrit gotra.
Up to 261 gotras are mentioned in some sources.

Notable personalities

Religion, Sanskrit and spirituality