Daivadnya

The Daivadnya Brahmin, (also known as Sonar or Panchal or Vishwa Brahmin), is a community from Goa and Karnataka, who claim to have descended from Vishwakarma. Although they claim themselves to be Brahmins and some sources mention them as Brahmin as well, these claims are mostly not accepted by others including local Brahmin castes. They are native to the Konkan and are mainly found in the states of Goa and Damaon, Canara (coastal Karnataka), coastal Maharashtra, and Kerala. Daivadnyas in the state of Maharashtra and Karnataka are classified by National Commission for Backward Classes as an Other Backward Class.

Daivadnyas are a subgroup of Sonars (Gold Smiths) and hence they are called as Daivadnya Sonars or Suvarṇakara or simply Sonar. Daivadnya Sonars in Maharashtra claim to be Brahmins and call themselves as Daivadnya Brahmins however this is not accepted by other Brahmin communities of Maharashtra. The Poona government of the Peshwa era did not accept the claim either but the Bombay Sonars continued with the claim. However, Oliver Godsmark, a researcher on late colonial and early postcolonial South Asia, considers them a subcaste of the Brahmins that were originally from the coastal regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa. They are popularly known in Goa as Shets. This word is derived from the word Shrestha or Shresthin