The Chitpavan, Chitpawan, or Konkanastha Brahmins are a brahmin community of Konkan, the coastal belt of western Maharashtra. Sometimes they are affectionately referred to as Kobras. (Since Konkanastha is actually a general geographic label, meaning "Native of Konkan" in Sanskrit, the name Chitpavan is preferrable. In this text, however, the names Chitpavan, Konkanastha, and Kobra are used interchangeably.)
Although recent migrants to India, the Kobras have established themselves firmly and well in the Indian social hierarchy. They rose from clerical positions in the Maratha administration to become de facto rulers in Western Maharashtra. At the height of their power, they controlled more than a third of India, reaching as far as Delhi.
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