imported>Certes: tratidional->traditional - Fix a typo in one click

2021-08-02T22:16:38Z

tratidional->traditional - Fix a typo in one click

>Terrek: Correcting spelling: mariage->marriage

2021-05-03T21:54:52Z

Correcting spelling: mariage->marriage

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{{for|the community found in [[Rajasthan]]|Rajpurohit}}

'''Purohit''', in the [[Indian religions|Indian religious]] context, means ''[[chaplain]]'', ''family priest'' within the [[vedic priesthood]]. In Thailand and Cambodia, it refers the royal chaplains.

== Etymology: the foregoer of Vedic rituals ==
The word ''Purohit'' derives from the Sanskrit, ''puras'' meaning "front", and ''hita'', "placed". The word is also used synonymously with the word ''[[pandit]]'', which also means "priest". ''[[Tirth Purohit]]'' means the ''purohit'' who sit at the fords of the holy rivers or holy tanks and who have maintained the records of the forefathers of the Hindu family for thousands of years. Purohit can refer to a house priest.<ref name="michaelsharshav190">{{cite book|author1=Axel Michaels|author2=Barbara Harshav|title=Hinduism: Past and Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jID3TuoiOMQC&pg=PA190 |year=2004|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-08952-2 |pages=190 }}</ref>

== Origin: the royal priesthood of ages ==
''Rajpurohit'' was an ancient term for a priest who acted for royalty, carrying out [[ritual]]s and providing advice. In this sense, it is synonymous with ''rajguru''. [[Hermann Kulke]] and [[Dietmar Rothermund]] note that, "There is much evidence in ancient texts that there were two ideal types of Brahmins in those days, the royal priest or advisor [''rajpurohit'', ''uprohit(Upreti)'',''rajguru''] and the sage (''rishi'') who lived in the forest and shared his wisdom only with those who asked for it."<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of India |first1=Hermann |last1=Kulke |author-link1=Hermann Kulke |first2=Dietmar |last2=Rothermund |author-link2=Dietmar Rothermund |edition=Fourth |publisher=Routledge |orig-year=1986 |year=2004 |page=5 |isbn=9780415329194 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPVq3ykHyH4C |access-date=25 December 2012}}</ref> They are generally found in States of [[Rajasthan]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Uttarkhand]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], and [[Gujarat]], [[Punjab]], [[Haryana]], [[Himachal]]. Their origin is in [[Kannauj]], Uttar Pradesh. The term's modern use in this sense has been described by [[Sumit Sarkar]] as a "self-conscious archaism".<ref>{{cite book |title=Beyond Nationalist Frames: Postmodernism, Hindutva, History |first=Sumit |last=Sarkar |author-link=Sumit Sarkar |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780253342034 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XaDVarGyzZsC |page=73 |access-date=25 December 2012}}</ref>

The violent conflict between [[Vasishtha]] and [[Vishvamitra]], two of the most famous prelates of the Vedic age, for the post of ''purohit'' in the court of king Sudas, show how much importance was attached to the office in those days.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nesfield|first=John C.|date=1887|title=The functions of modern brahmans in Upper India|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=fbugAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA275&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ3OLu_pjwAhXWgtgFHckgB-AQ6AEwBnoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=Purohit&f=false|journal=[[Calcutta Review]]|publisher=[[University of Calcutta]]|volume=84-85|page=275}}</ref>

== Duties ==
The duties of the ''purohit'' is to perform rites or ''[[yajna]]'' and Vedic sacrifices such as ''[[ashvamedha]]'' in favour of a sponsor.

Since Vedic times the sponsor of the sacrifice, or ''yajamāna'' was only a distant participatn while the ''hotṛ'' or brahman took his stead in the ritual. In this seconding lay the origins of the growing importance of the ''purohita'' (literally, "one who is placed in front"). The ''purohita'' offerd sacrifices in the name of his sponsor, besides conducting other more domestic (''[[Kalpa (Vedanga)|gṛhya]]'') rituals for him also. The ''purohit'' can mediate for his sponsor "even to the extent of bathing or fasting for him"
<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nesfield|first=John C.|date=1887|title=The functions of modern brahmans in Upper India|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=fbugAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA275&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ3OLu_pjwAhXWgtgFHckgB-AQ6AEwBnoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=Purohit&f=false|journal=[[Calcutta Review]]|publisher=[[University of Calcutta]]|volume=84-85|page=291}}</ref> and the ''purohit'' in some ways becomes a member of the family.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Channa|first=V.C.|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=qlCAAAAAMAAJ&q=Purohit&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjfjc-rgJnwAhWt63MBHcuEDxU4FBDoATADegQIABAC|title=Studies on Man: Issues and Challenges (Dharma and Karma)|date=2000|publisher=Kamla-Raj Enterprises|isbn=978-81-85264-24-0|language=en|page=276}}</ref>

The ''purohit'' is traditionally a hereditary charge linked to a royal dynasty, a noble family, a group of families, or a village.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nesfield|first=John C.|date=1887|title=The functions of modern brahmans in Upper India|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=fbugAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA275&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ3OLu_pjwAhXWgtgFHckgB-AQ6AEwBnoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=Purohit&f=false|journal=[[Calcutta Review]]|publisher=[[University of Calcutta]]|volume=84-85|page=275}}</ref> As one purohit is tied to a certain family of number of families, the divison among a new generation of the duties of a first ''purohit'' has sometimes given rise to conflicts. Thus, in 1884, a hereditary ''purohit'' whose right had been contested by his older brother was given right to officiate in his village as well as damages and fees by the Appelate Civil Court in India.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kernan|first=Justice|date=1884|title=Ramakristna (Plaintiff), appelant vs. Ranga and antoher (First and Second Dependants), respondents|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=IZRDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA427&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ3OLu_pjwAhXWgtgFHckgB-AQ6AEwAHoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q=Purohit&f=false|journal=The Indian Law Reports|volume=7|pages=424}}</ref>

== Geography ==
=== India: the dwindling presence of the Vedic priesthood ===
[[File:Hindu Priest - Ram Chandra Goenka Zenana Bathing Ghat - Kolkata 2012-10-15 0778.JPG|300px|thumb|A Tirth Purohit at the Ram Chandra Goenka Zenana Bathing Ghat, [[Kolkata]].]]
The office of ''purohit'' was one of great honour in the Vedic times in India, but by the end of XIXth century, it had become insignificant.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nesfield|first=John C.|date=1887|title=The functions of modern brahmans in Upper India|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=fbugAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA275&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ3OLu_pjwAhXWgtgFHckgB-AQ6AEwBnoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=Purohit&f=false|journal=[[Calcutta Review]]|publisher=[[University of Calcutta]]|volume=84-85}}</ref>

In the 1970s, the ''purohit'' had been reduced to "rudimentary religious tasks".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=D. B.|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=K98EAAAAMAAJ&q=Purohit&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKxf2LhpvwAhWUX3wKHSDRAaQ4ChDoATACegQIARAC|title=From Hierarchy to Stratification: Changing Patterns of Social Inequality in a North Indian Village|date=1975|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-560473-3|language=en|page=132}}</ref> Along with the loss of the [[Privy Purse in India|privy purse]], the Maharajas of India lost their princely status<ref>{{Cite news|date=1971-12-03|title=India's Maharajas Face Loss of Princely Status|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/03/archives/indias-maharajas-face-loss-of-princely-status.html|access-date=2021-04-26|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and the role of the ''purohit'' as royal chaplains declined even more.

To this day, however, the [[Pareek|Pareeks]] claim to be descendants of the ''purohit'' of Rajas and Maharajas.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=D. B.|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=K98EAAAAMAAJ&q=Purohit&dq=Purohit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKxf2LhpvwAhWUX3wKHSDRAaQ4ChDoATACegQIARAC|title=From Hierarchy to Stratification: Changing Patterns of Social Inequality in a North Indian Village|date=1975|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-560473-3|language=en|page=62}}</ref> Since the 1990s, various attempts to renew the Vedic priesthood and the role of the ''purohit'' have come from both tratidional Vedic temples as well as new movements such as "New Age Purohit Darpan" by the Bengalis to the Bengali diaspora.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mukherjee|first=Kanai|url=https://books.google.com.kh/books?id=0mGfAgAAQBAJ&dq=new+age+purohit&hl=de&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiY75q0h5vwAhWHWisKHblrC-IQ6AEwCXoECAgQAg|title=New Age Purohit Darpan: Hindu Marriage|last2=Banerjee|first2=Arunkati|last3=Chakravarty|first3=Aloka|last4=Bandyopadhyay|first4=Bibhas|date=2014-01-19|publisher=Association of Grandparents of Indian Immigrants|language=en}}</ref>

=== Golden Land: the permanence of royal chaplains in Thailand and Cambosia ===
Brahmins still serve as royal chaplains and conduct the royal ceremonies in other South East countries where the monarchy had been maintained.
==== Thailand: an offical religion at the service of the court ====
[[File:Emerald Buddha Temple - 2017-06-11 (059).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Royal Brahmins performing a ceremony, mural painting from [[Wat Phra Kaew|Temple of Emerald Buddha]]]]
Thailand has two ethnic [[Thai people|Thai]] [[Brahmin]] communities-Brahm Luang (Royal Brahmins) and Brahm Chao Baan (folk Brahmins). All ethnic Thai Brahmins are [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] by religions, who still worship Hindu Gods.<ref>คมกฤช อุ่ยเต็กเค่ง. ''ภารตะ-สยาม ? ผี พราหมณ์ พุทธ ?''. กรุงเทพฯ : มติชน, 2560, หน้า 15</ref> The Brahm Luang (Royal Brahmins) mainly perform royal ceremonies for the [[Monarchy of Thailand|Thai King]], including [[Coronation of the Thai monarch|crowning of the king]].<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/thai-king-officially-crowned-cementing-royal-authority Thai King Officially Crowned, Cementing Royal Authority, VOA, May 04, 2019]</ref> They belong to the long family bloodline of Brahmins in Thailand, who originated from Tamilnadu. The Brahm Chao Baan or folk Brahmins are the category of Brahmins who are not from a bloodline of priests. Generally, these Brahmins have a small knowledge about the rituals and ceremonies. The [[Devasathan]] is the centre of Brahmin activity in Thailand. This is where the [[Triyampawai ceremony]] is conducted, which is a Tamil Shaiva ritual. It was built more than 200 years ago. Apart from this there are also Indian Brahmins from India who migrated to Thailand more recently.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/726736/the-new-brahmins|title=The new Brahmins|access-date=4 March 2020}}</ref>

Though it is believed that the brahmins serving the court and residing at the Devasathan temple come from [[Rameswaram]], Tamil Nadu, Prince historian [[Damrong Rajanubhab]] has mentioned about three kind of Brahmins, from [[Nakhon Si Thammarat]], from [[Phatthalung]], and those who originated from Cambodia.<ref>สมเด็จกรมพระยานริศรานุวัดติวงศ์, สาส์นสมเด็จ [Royal letters], vol. 1, 2nd ed. (พระนคร: กรมศิลปากร, 2516[1973]), p. 270, cited in Kanjana, ‘Ways of life, rituals and cultural identity’, p. 65.</ref>

==== Cambodia: a remnant of the Angkorian glory ====
Khmer legends refer to Java Brahmins coming to Kambujadesa. A Brahmin called Hiranyadama was sent from India to teach Tantric rites to Sivakaivalya whose family honoured the post of Royal ''purohit'' for nearly two hundred fifty years.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Puri|first=Baij Nath|date=1958|title=Brahmanism in ancient Kambujadesa|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145174|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=21|pages=95–101|issn=2249-1937}}</ref>

Ties between the brahmanic lineage from India and the Khmer dynasty were reinforced by bonds of marriage: Indian brahmin [[Agatsya]] married Yasomati, and Duvakara was wedded to Indralakshmi, daughter of king Rajendravarman.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sanderson|first=Alexis|date=2003|title=The Śaiva Religion among the Khmers Part I|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43732654|journal=Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient|volume=90/91|pages=349–462|issn=0336-1519}}</ref>

Thus, Sivasoma, the ''purohit'' who served as royal chaplain to [[Indravarman]] and [[Yasovarman I]] was also the grandson of King Jayendradhipativarman and the maternal uncle of [[Jayavarman II]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Puri|first=Baij Nath|date=1958|title=Brahmanism in ancient Kambujadesa|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145174|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=21|pages=95–101|issn=2249-1937}}</ref> Sivasoma oversaw the construction of [[Phnom Bakheng]] at Angkor, a Hindu temple in the form of a temple mountain, dedicated to Shiva.

Another important "purohit"" was Sarvajnamuni, a brahmin who had left India “to gain the favours of [[Shiva]] by coming to Cambodia”<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dagens|first=Bruno|title=Les Khmers|publisher=[[Les Belles Lettres]]|year=2003|location=Paris|pages=180}}</ref> and became the ''purohit'' of Jayavarman VIII whom he led in the "Shivaite reacton", an iconoclastic movement was directed towards the monuments of [[Jayavarman VII]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Roveda|first=Vittorio|date=2004|title=The Archaeology of Khmer Images|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/asean_0859-9009_2004_num_13_1_1809|journal=Aséanie, Sciences humaines en Asie du Sud-Est|volume=13|issue=1|pages=11–46|doi=10.3406/asean.2004.1809}}</ref>

The Brahminical rituals were reinstated in Cambodia after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge.<ref>[https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/priests-uphold-a-unique-and-royal-tradition-50637/ Priests Uphold a Unique—and Royal—Tradition By Samantha Melamed and Kuch Naren, Compodian Daily, October 31, 2005]</ref><ref>[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-southeast-asian-studies/article/balancing-the-foreign-and-the-familiar-in-the-articulation-of-kingship-the-royal-court-brahmans-of-thailand/5079FDD2067B360E4CC0A67DE6B1C42F/core-reader Balancing the foreign and the familiar in the articulation of kingship: The royal court Brahmans of Thailand, Nathan McGovern, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Volume 48 Issue 2, June 2017 , pp. 283-303]</ref>

==== Myanmar: a tradition lost with the abolition of the monarchy ====
The Brahmins of Myanmar have lost their role due to the abolition of monarchy.

== Formation ==
In India, litterate men with the right pedigree who desire to become ''purohit'' receive special training both in theory and practice in Vedic schools linked to [[agraharam|agraharams]], inherited from royal grants to train and sustain chaplains maintained by dynasties such as the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] and [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]].

In fact, special training is required to perform Yajna and Yagadi rituals. For this, knowledge of the Vedas is required. In order to learn those rituals, one must settle down as courtiers in famous temples. Temples like [[Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala|Tirupati]], Simhachalam or [[Viswanatha Swamy Temple, Palakkad|Chathapuram Agraharam]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Swaminathan|first=C. R.|date=1997|title=Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya Veda Pathasala|url=http://www.vedarakshanasamithi.org/about.htm|url-status=live|access-date=26 April 2021|website=Veda Rakshana Samithi Official website}}</ref> run Vedic schools to teach wisdom to the aspiring ''purohit''. Chathapuram Agraharam in Kalpathi. Moreover, by joining as disciples of eminent scholars, some learn this education in the manner of gurus.

Training follows the rhythm of mandatory regular prayer or ''[[Sandhyavandanam]]''. The candidates are first trained in the ''Vigneswara Puja''. Cantilation and preaching are also part of the formation. This initial formation takes at least one year. After that, it takes another five to eight years to learn to rich array of rites of passage or [[Sanskara (rite of passage)|Shodasha rituals]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Hinduism-stub}}

[[Category:Hindu priests]]

Purohit - Revision history

imported>Certes: tratidional->traditional - Fix a typo in one click

>Terrek: Correcting spelling: mariage->marriage