Pancha 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:
Karnataka (Karnataka Brahmins) Tailanga (Telugu Brahmins) Dravida (Brahmins of Tamil Nadu and Kerala) Maharashtraka (Maharashtrian Brahmins) Gurjara (Gujarati, Marwari and Mewari Brahmins)
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:
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:
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:
Smarta Konkanastha Karhade Varkari Madhyandin Vanas Karnataka Shashtika Nandavamshika Srivaishnava Telanga Srivaishnava Pratham-Shakhikanva Kirvant Sihavasai Nurcher Shenavi Govalkonde
References