Pancha Gauda

Collective name for the five main northern Indian brahmin communities: the
Gaudas and Kanaujias, who stretch
over most of northern India; the
Maithilas in the northern state of Bihar;
the Utkalas in the coastal state of
Orissa; and the Saraswats, traditionally
found in several widely separated locations. One group lived in the coastal
region of Sindh in modern Pakistan,
although after Partition in 1947 most
migrated to Bombay. Another group
was located in prepartition Punjab,
although here too they have tended to
migrate away from the part of Punjab in
modern Pakistan. A third branch, known
as the Gauda Saraswats, is found on a
narrow strip of coastline in the southern
Indian state of Karnataka.