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Purohita (Sanskrit:पुरोहित), in theHindu context, meanschaplain orfamily priest within theVedic priesthood.[1] InThailand andCambodia, it refers to the royal chaplains. Atīrthapurohit is a priest/ritual performer (purohit) at a sacred site (tīrtha).[2]
The wordpurohita derives from the Sanskrit,puras meaning "front", andhita, "placed". The word is also used synonymously with the wordpandit, which also means "priest".Tirtha purohita means thepurohita 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.Purohita can refer to a house priest.[3] Another less-formal name for teerth purohits ispanda, which is derived from the wordpandit (from the Sanskritpaṇḍita, meaning "learned man").[2]
In India, literate men from theBrahminvarna[4][5][6] who desire to becomepurohitas receive special training both in theory and practice in Vedic schools linked toagraharams, inherited from royal grants to train and sustain chaplains historically maintained by dynasties such as theCholas andPallavas.
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 likeTirupati, Simhachalam orChathapuram Agraharam[7] run Vedic schools to teach wisdom to the aspiringpurohita. 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 orSandhyavandanam. The candidates are first trained in theVigneswara Puja. Cantillation 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 orShodasha rituals.
The duties of thepurohita is to perform rites oryajna and Vedic sacrifices such asashvamedha in favour of a sponsor.
Since Vedic times the sponsor of the sacrifice, oryajamāna was only a distant participant while thehotṛ or brahman took his stead in the ritual. In this seconding lay the origins of the growing importance of thepurohita (literally, "one who is placed in front"). Thepurohita offered sacrifices in the name of his sponsor, besides conducting other more domestic (gṛhya) rituals for him also. Thepurohita can mediate for his sponsor "even to the extent of bathing or fasting for him"[8] and thepurohita in some ways becomes a member of the family.[9]
Thepurohita is traditionally a hereditary charge linked to a royal dynasty, a noble family, a group of families, or a village.[10] As onepurohita is tied to a certain family of number of families, the division among a new generation of the duties of a firstpurohita has sometimes given rise to conflicts. Thus, in 1884, a hereditarypurohita 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 Appellate Civil Court in India.[11]
Rajapurohita was an ancient term for a priest who acted for royalty, carrying outrituals and providing advice. In this sense, it is synonymous withrajaguru.Hermann Kulke andDietmar Rothermund note that, "there is much evidence in ancient texts that there were two ideal types ofBrahmanas in those days, the royal priest (rajapurohita) or advisor (rajaguru) and the sage (rishi) who lived in the forest and shared his wisdom only with those who asked for it."[12] They are generally found in the states ofRajasthan,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Jharkhand,Uttarkhand,Madhya Pradesh,West Bengal,Gujarat,Punjab,Haryana, andHimachal Pradesh.[2] The term's modern use in this sense has been described bySumit Sarkar as a "self-conscious archaism".[13]
The violent scriptural conflict betweenVasishtha andVishvamitra, two of the most famous prelates of the Vedic age, for the post ofpurohita in the court of king Sudas, show how much importance was attached to the office in those days.[14]
The office ofpurohita was one of great honour in the Vedic times in India, but by the end of 19th century it had become insignificant.[15]
In the 1970s, thepurohita had been reduced to "rudimentary religious tasks".[16] Along with the loss of theprivy purse, theMaharajas of India lost their princely status[17] and the role of thepurohita as royal chaplains declined even more.
To this day, however, the Pareeks claim to be descendants of thepurohitas of theRajas andMaharajas.[18] Since the 1990s, various attempts to renew the Vedic priesthood and the role of thepurohita have come from both traditional Vedic temples as well as new movements such as "New Age Purohit Darpan" by the Bengalis to the Bengali diaspora.[19]
Brahmins still serve as royal chaplains and conduct the royal ceremonies in Southeast Asian countries where the monarchy had been maintained.
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 Royalpurohita for nearly 250 years.[20]
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.[21]
Thus, Sivasoma, thepurohita who served as royal chaplain toIndravarman andYasovarman I was also the grandson of King Jayendradhipativarman and the maternal uncle ofJayavarman II.[22] Sivasoma oversaw the construction ofPhnom Bakheng at Angkor, a Hindu temple in the form of a temple mountain, dedicated to Shiva.
Another importantpurohita was Sarvajnamuni, a brahmin who had left India "to gain the favours ofShiva by coming to Cambodia",[23] and became thepurohita of Jayavarman VIII whom he led in the "Shaivite reaction", an iconoclastic movement was directed towards the monuments ofJayavarman VII.[24]
TheBrahminical rituals were reinstated in Cambodia after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge.[25][26]
The Brahmins of Myanmar have historically provided reading of the futures of the king they are serving. They lost their role due to the abolition of monarchy with the deposing of kingThibaw, but continues to engage in fortune telling.[27]
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Thailand has two ethnicThaiBrahmin communities-Brahm Luang (Royal Brahmins) and Brahm Chao Baan (folk Brahmins). All ethnic Thai Brahmins areBuddhist by religions, who still worship Hindu deities.[28] The Brahm Luang (Royal Brahmins) mainly perform royal ceremonies for theThai King, includingcrowning of the king.[29] They belong to the long family bloodline of Brahmins in Thailand, who originated from Tamil Nadu. 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. TheDevasathan is the centre of Brahmin activity in Thailand. This is where theTriyampawai 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.[30]
Though it is believed that the Brahmins serving the court and residing at the Devasathan temple come fromRameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Prince historianDamrong Rajanubhab has mentioned about three kind of Brahmins, fromNakhon Si Thammarat, fromPhatthalung, and those who originated from Cambodia.[31]
