The Historical, Genetic, and Mythic Answer
The idea that âall Brahmins come from Kannaujâ is neat, flattering, and wrong. Kannauj is one important node in a much older, wider story. Brahmins do not descend from a single tribe or city. But they do share ancestry. That ancestry is older than Kannauj, older than caste, and visible in both texts and genes. To understand it, we must keep two truths in view at once: Brahmins have many regional origins, yet they descendâpaternallyâfrom a small circle of Vedic founders whose lineages spread across India.
This is the cleanest way to explain it without euphemism or ideology.
1. What the Kannauj Narrative Actually Refers To
When groups claim origin from KÄnyakubja (Kannauj), they refer to the medieval centre that produced, housed, and exported Brahminsâespecially after the Ghaznavid and Ghurid invasions pushed scribal and priestly families south and west. These migrants seeded communities in Maharashtra, Gujarat, the Konkan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra. Their prestige shaped memory: âcoming from Kannaujâ became a shorthand for ritual pedigree. But Kannauj was only one centre among many. It cannot explain the full map of Brahmin origins.
2. The Real Landscape: Many Independent Lineages Continue reading Where Do Brahmins Come From?