Note 84 — P (Continued) (continued 2)

“The Patnūlkārs,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,84 “say that they were originally Brāhmans, living in a town of Surat called Dēvagiri, in which twelve streets were entirely peopled by them. For some reason, of which they profess themselves to be ignorant, the residents of one of these streets were excommunicated by the rest of the caste, and expelled. They travelled southwards, and settled in Tirupati, Arni, and Vellore, as well as in Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Madura, and other large towns, where they carried on their trade of silk-weaving. Another story is to the effect that they were bound to produce a certain number of silken cloths at each Dīpāvali feast in Dēvagiri for the goddess Lakshmi. One year their supply fell short, and they were cursed by the goddess, who decreed that they should no longer be regarded as Brāhmans. They, however, still claim to be such, and follow the customs of that caste, though they refuse to eat with them. They acknowledge priests from among themselves, as well as from among Brāhmans, and profess to look down upon all other castes. In religion they are divided into Smartas, Vaishnavas, and Vyāpāris, some among the Smartas being Lingayats. Those who can write usually employ the Telugu characters in writing their language.”