Gowda Saraswat Brahmins

Gowda (also written as Gowd or Gouda or Gaud) Saraswat Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin community in India and a part of the largerSaraswat brahmin community. They are popularly referred to as GSBs. They are Konkani people and primarily speak Konkani orMarathi as their mother tongue.They claim their origin to the Brahmins who lived on the banks of the now extinct river Saraswati of Punjab. They derived their name from either the river Saraswati or from their spiritual leader Great Sage Saraswat Muni who lived on the banks of Saraswati. These Brahmins were one of the Pancha Gowda Brahmin groups who lived north of the Vindhyas. They belonged to Smarta tradition and primarily worshiped the five deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. Throughout the course of history, the Saraswat Brahmins have migrated to a variety of locations and are found mostly in Western coast of India.