Kashyap Konkanast Brahmans

From PhalkeFactory

Parshuram needed to redeem himself- his furious killing of so many Kshatriyas had made him an outcaste, no Brahman was ready to perform any rituals for him. Parshuram went to fourteen corpses that had been washed ashore by the Sahyadris. The toes of that mountain were still licked by the sea back then. Some say that these were bodies of light eyed foreigners.

He burnt the corpses on the chita- the pyre, and thus, purified them. He then restored them to life, taught them all Brahmanical rituals ( including some to free them from guilt) and made Brahmans out of them. They were now the Chitapavan- purified by the Chita, or perhaps of pure minds- chita is also the mind.

He wanted to give them land,but the Deccan was already given to other Brahmans. So he asked the sea to let up some land. When his wish was not complied with, an enraged Parsuram threatened to use the Brahmaastra on the sea. The sea god finally relented and said that as much area as was covered by Shiva's flinging a weapon from atop the Sahyadri, would be his.

An area north of Ratnagiri, on both sides of the river Vashishti, was given to these Brahmans.

When they saw the expanse that seperated them from the water, the mountains knew they had grown old.