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4 different. These were generally known as Dravidasampradaya. So far as these habits of life, customs, practices and rituals tended to higher spirituality, they were adopted by the other Brahman communities of the peninsula-the Andhras, the Karnatakas, the Maharashtras and the Gurjaras. This accounts for peoples speaking Sanskritic dialects like Marathi and Gujarathi and people speaking nun-Sanskritic dialect like Tamil, Telugu and Kanarese being grouped together as Pancha Dravidas or the five Dravidas.

The Dravidas proper were the Tamil-speaking Brahmans. The use of the name for other Brahman communities is an instance of extension of its meaning and application. The term was extended to all Brahmans observing the Dravidâchârams, or Dravidasampradaya.

In North India the Brahmans, who did not