Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "சித்பவன்" in Tamil language version.
They were not highly regarded by other Brahmans in ancient days and appeared to have been employed principally as spies and messengers
The extent of the real chitpavan infuence in the socio-polity of Maharashtra, during this period, has been vastly exaggerated. Even under the most ambitious and effective peshwas, the established local power structure, from the major Maratha chieftains down to village headmen, did not trust Peshwas' political intentions and doubted their legitimacy. This was particularly true under Shivaji's feuding successors.
Most of the Brahmin jatis like the Chitpavana,[..others.]Shenave, Konkani, ...etc., were, not many years ago, part of Sudra communities such as Vyadha, Billa, Beda, etc., and only recently been elevated to brahminness, and this, their own scriptures point to. Most of these groups, even now, eat meat and consume liquor and do not have vedokta [veda ordained] samskara.[...] All these make it clear that they are not pure Brahmins….(Cited in Nanjundaradhya 1969: 32–41)References to this debate and controversy are found in many journals of this period. Nanjundaradhya, M. G. 1969. Pg 337: Veerashaiva Vedadhikara Vijayam [The Victory of the Veerashaivas to Perform Veda-sanctified Rituals]. Mysore: M. Mahadevaiah.
chitpavans found employment easily under the Peshwas in diverse fields, from commanders in armies to clerks in the administration[...].A document of 1763-4 gives a list of 82 clerks of whom 55(67 percent) can be definitely identified as Chitpavans. In addition to their salaries, they were granted a substantial fringe benefit of being permitted to bring rice from Konkan to Poona free of Octroi duty.
His[Deshmukh's] family of Chitpavan Brahmans, one of the greatest beneficiaries of the Peshwa regime...
The true nature of these groups, said fearful Bombay officials, had been revealed in 1879 in the response of the region's politically active intelligentsia to the actions of W.B.Phadke, a chitpavan ex-government clerk from Pune.