Brahmin
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Brahmin (
Traditionally, Brahmins are accorded the highest ritual status of the four social classes,
Origin as a social class
It seems likely that Kannauj and Middle country was the place of origin of majority of migrating Brahmins throughout the medieval centuries.[10] Coming from Kannauj is a frequent claim among Brahmins of Gujrat in areas distant from Madhyadesha or Ganges heartland.[11]
Generic meaning of the term "Brahmin"
The term Brahmin appears extensively in ancient and medieval Sutras and commentary texts of Buddhism and Jainism.[12] Modern scholars state that such usage of the term Brahmin in ancient texts does not imply a caste, but simply "masters" (experts), guardian, recluse, preacher or guide of any tradition.[13][14][15] An alternate synonym for Brahmin in the Buddhist and other non-Hindu tradition is Mahano.[13]
Patrick Olivelle states that both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature repeatedly define "Brahmin" not in terms of family of birth, but in terms of personal qualities.[16] These virtues and characteristics mirror the values cherished in Hinduism during the Sannyasa stage of life, or the life of renunciation for spiritual pursuits. Brahmins, states Olivelle, were the social class from which most ascetics came.[16] The term Brahmin in Indian texts has also signified someone who is good and virtuous, not just someone of priestly class.[16]
Purusha sukta
The earliest inferred reference to "Brahmin" as a possible social class is in the Rigveda, occurs once, and the hymn is called Purusha Sukta.[17] According to a hymn in Mandala 10, Rigveda 10.90.11-2, Brahmins are described as having emerged from the mouth of Purusha, being that part of the body from which words emerge.[18]
The Purusha Sukta varna verse is now generally considered to have been inserted at a later date into the Vedic text, possibly as a charter myth.[19] Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in the Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality".[19]
According to Vijay Nath, in the Markandeya Purana (250 CE), there are references to Brahmins who were born into the families of Raksasas. He posits that this is an indication that some Brahmins are immigrants and some are also mixed.[20]
Gupta era
According to Abraham Eraly, "Brahmin as a varna hardly had any presence in historical records before the Gupta Empire era" (3rd century to 6th century CE), when Buddhism dominated the land. "No Brahmin, no sacrifice, no ritualistic act of any kind ever, even once, is referred to" in any Indian texts between third century BCE and the late first century CE. He also states that "The absence of literary and material evidence, however, does not mean that Brahmanical culture did not exist at that time, but only that it had no elite patronage and was largely confined to rural folk, and therefore went unrecorded in history".[21] Their role as priests and repository of sacred knowledge, as well as their importance in the practice of Vedic Shrauta rituals, grew during the Gupta Empire era and thereafter.[21]
However, the knowledge about actual history of Brahmins or other varnas of Hinduism in and after the first millennium is fragmentary and preliminary, with little that is from verifiable records or archaeological evidence, and much that is constructed from ahistorical Sanskrit works and fiction. Michael Witzel writes:
Current research in the area is fragmentary. The state of our knowledge of this fundamental subject is preliminary, at best. Most Sanskrit works are a-historic or, at least, not especially interested in presenting a chronological account of India's history. When we actually encounter history, such as in Rajatarangini or in the Gopalavamsavali of Nepal, the texts do not deal with brahmins in great detail.[22]
Gauda and Dravida Brahmins
According to
- Sarasvata
- Kanyakubja
- Gauda
- Utkala
- Maithila
Subcastes of Gaur Brahmins are:-
Subcastes of Kanyakubja Brahmins are:-
- Jujhatiya Brahmin[28]
- Saryupareen Brahmin[28]
- Bengali Kulin Brahmin[28]
- Anavil Brahmins[29][30] ( Though they are generally not accepted a Brahmins)
- Khas Brahmins - Nepali Bahuns[28][31]
The Pancha Dravida Brahmins reside to the south of the Vindhya mountain range.[23] The term "Dravida" too has territorial, linguistic and ethnological connotations, referring to southern India, the Dravidian people, and to the Dravidian languages of southern India.[25] The Pancha Dravida Brahmins are:
- Karnataka (Karnataka Brahmins)
- Tailanga (Telugu Brahmins)
- Dravida (Brahmins of Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
- Maharashtraka (Maharashtrian Brahmins)
- Gurjara (Gujarati)[32]
Role in the society
Vedic duties
The
According to Kulkarni, the Grhya-sutras state that Yajna, Adhyayana (studying the vedas and teaching), dana pratigraha (accepting and giving gifts) are the "peculiar duties and privileges of brahmins".[33] John Bussanich states that the ethical precepts set for Brahmins, in ancient Indian texts, are similar to Greek virtue-ethics, that "Manu's dharmic Brahmin can be compared to Aristotle's man of practical wisdom",[34] and that "the virtuous Brahmin is not unlike the Platonic-Aristotelian philosopher" with the difference that the latter was not sacerdotal.[35]
The Brahmins were expected to perform all six Vedic duties as opposed to other twice-borns who performed three.
Adhyayan (Study Vedas) |
Yajana (performing sacrifice for one's own benefit) |
Dana (Giving Gifts) |
Adhyapana (Teaching Vedas) |
Yaajana (Acting as Priest for sacrifice) |
Pratigraha (accepting gifts) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brahmin | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Kshatriya | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | No | No | No |
Vaishya | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | No | No | No |
Actual occupations
Historical records, state scholars, suggest that Brahmin varna was not limited to a particular status or priest and the teaching profession.
The
According to Haidar and Sardar, unlike the Mughal Empire in Northern India, Brahmins figured prominently in the administration of
After the collapse of Maratha empire, Brahmins in Maharashtra region were quick to take advantage of opportunities opened up by the new British rulers. They were the first community to take up Western education and therefore dominated lower level of British administration in the 19th century.[49] Similarly, the Tamil Brahmins were also quick to take up English education during British colonial rule and dominate government service and law.[50]Eric Bellman states that during the Islamic Mughal Empire era Brahmins served as advisers to the Mughals, later to the British Raj.
Other 20th-century surveys, such as in the state of Uttar Pradesh, recorded that the primary occupation of almost all Brahmin families surveyed was neither priestly nor Vedas-related, but like other varnas, ranged from crop farming (80 per cent of Brahmins), dairy, service, labour such as cooking, and other occupations.[56][57] The survey reported that the Brahmin families involved in agriculture as their primary occupation in modern times plough the land themselves, many supplementing their income by selling their labour services to other farmers.[56][58]
Brahmins, the Bhakti movement and Social Reform movements
Many of the prominent thinkers and earliest champions of the
Other medieval era Brahmins who led spiritual movement without social or gender discrimination included
Many 18th and 19th century Brahmins are credited with religious movements that criticised idolatry. For example, the Brahmins Raja Ram Mohan Roy led Brahmo Samaj and Dayananda Saraswati led the Arya Samaj.[72][73]
Outside the Indian subcontinent
Some Brahmins formed an influential group in Burmese Buddhist kingdoms in 18th- and 19th-century. The court Brahmins were locally called Punna.[76] During the Konbaung dynasty, Buddhist kings relied on their court Brahmins to consecrate them to kingship in elaborate ceremonies, and to help resolve political questions.[76] This role of Hindu Brahmins in a Buddhist kingdom, states Leider, may have been because Hindu texts provide guidelines for such social rituals and political ceremonies, while Buddhist texts do not.[76]
The Brahmins were also consulted in the transmission, development and maintenance of law and justice system outside India.
The mythical origins of Cambodia are credited to a Brahmin prince named Kaundinya, who arrived by sea, married a Naga princess living in the flooded lands.[80][81] Kaudinya founded Kambuja-desa, or Kambuja (transliterated to Kampuchea or Cambodia). Kaundinya introduced Hinduism, particularly Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Harihara (half Vishnu, half Shiva), and these ideas grew in southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE.[80]
The Chams Balamon (Hindu Brahmin Chams) form a majority of the Cham population in Vietnam.[82]
Brahmins have been part of the Royal tradition of Thailand, particularly for the consecration and to mark annual land fertility rituals of Buddhist kings. A small Brahmanical temple Devasathan, established in 1784 by King Rama I of Thailand, has been managed by ethnically Thai Brahmins ever since.[83] The temple hosts Phra Phikhanesuan (Ganesha), Phra Narai (Narayana, Vishnu), Phra Itsuan (Shiva), Uma, Brahma, Indra (Sakka) and other Hindu deities.[83] The tradition asserts that the Thai Brahmins have roots in Hindu holy city of Varanasi and southern state of Tamil Nadu, go by the title Pandita, and the various annual rites and state ceremonies they conduct has been a blend of Buddhist and Hindu rituals. The coronation ceremony of the Thai king is almost entirely conducted by the royal Brahmins.[83][84]
Modern demographics
According to 2007 reports, Brahmins in India are about five per cent of its total population.[51][85] The Himalayan states of Uttarakhand (20%) and Himachal Pradesh (14%) have the highest percentage of Brahmin population relative to respective state's total Hindus.[85] According to the Center for the Study of Developing Societies, in 2004 about 65% of Brahmin households in India earned less than $100 a month compared to 89% of Scheduled Tribes, 91% of Scheduled Castes and 86% of Muslims.[51]
See also
References
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At the top were the Brahmins(priests), then the Kshatriyas(warriors), then the vaishya(the merchant class which only in India had a place of honor in Asia), next were the sudras(farmers), and finally the pariah(untouchables), or those who did the dirty defiling work
- ISBN 978-3-03-028408-4.
The four varnas are the brahmins (brahmanas—priests, teachers); kshatriyas (ksatriyas—administrators, rulers); vaishyas (vaisyas—farmers, bankers, business people); and shudras(laborers, artisans)
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Varna are the four major social divisions: the Brahmin priest class, the Kshatriya warrior/ administrator class, the Vaishya merchant/farmer class, and the Shudra laborer class.
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The four varna groupings in descending order of their importance came to be Brahmin (priests), Kshatriya (warriors and administrators), Vaishya (cultivators and merchants), and Sudra (peasants and menial laborers)
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It is interesting to note here that the Brahmin groups of Marwar and Mewar belong to the Gurjara group of the Pancha Dravida division
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- ISBN 978-1-4724-1913-2, page 105, Quote: "In other words, according to Adi Shankara's argument, the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta stood over and above all other forms of Hinduism and encapsulated them. This then united Hinduism; (...) Another of Adi Shankara's important undertakings which contributed to the unification of Hinduism was his founding of a number of monastic centers."
- ISBN 978-0-85229-760-5, page 379, Quote: "Shankaracharya, philosopher and theologian, most renowned exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy, from whose doctrines the main currents of modern Indian thought are derived."
David Crystal (2004), The Penguin Encyclopedia, Penguin Books, page 1353, Quote: "[Shankara] is the most famous exponent of Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy and the source of the main currents of modern Hindu thought." - ISBN 978-0-231-10335-0, page 2, Quote: "The main current of Hinduism – if not the only one – which became formalized in a way that approximates to an ecclesiastical structure was that of Shankara".
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- ^ Trautmann, Thomas R. (1971). Kauṭilya and the Arthaśāstra: a statistical investigation of the authorship and evolution of the text. Brill. pp. 11–13.
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Sources
- Narasimhacharya, Ramanujapuram (1999). The Buddha-Dhamma, Or, the Life and Teachings of the Buddha. Asian Educational Services.
Further reading
- Baldev Upadhyaya, Kashi Ki Panditya Parampara, Sharda Sansthan, Varanasi, 1985.
- Christopher Alan Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen, and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770–1870, Cambridge University Press, 1983.
- Anand A. Yang, Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar, University of California Press, 1999.
- Orient Longman, Delhi, 1995.
External links
- Brahmins and Pariah, An appeal and record of colonial era conflict in Bengal
- The wisdom of the Brahmin, Friedrich Ruckert (translated from German by Charles Brooks)