CONTENTS:- Foreword; 1. Introduction; 2. Early Indian historical tradition; 3. The Gramapaddhati; 4. The identification of the places and their antiquity; 5. The Sahyadri Khanda; 6. The function of tradition;
DESCRIPTION
This book Brahmanas of South India attempts to present the critical analysis of traditional historical literature pertaining to significant caste groups, Brahmanas of South Western India. The work employs historical, sociological and anthropological methodology of critique of traditional Brahmanical literature. The study is based on analysis of two literary sources, Gramapaddhati, and Sahyadri Khanda. This study of literature is corroborated by the extensive fieldwork undertaken in thirty-two Brahmanical villages which at present belong to Karnataka and Kerala. The work asserts the presence of strong historical tradition among the people of South India in the pre modern period. This opus attempts to demonstrate the value of caste puranas to reconstruct the social history of a region.
