Brahmins
India's priestly caste
Brahmins are the highest of the four traditional Hindu castes, historically the priestly and scholarly class responsible for religious rituals, teaching, and preserving sacred texts.
The term extends to any elite intellectual or social class: the Boston Brahmins refers to old-money New England families known for education and cultural refinement.
The spelling Brahman is also used, particularly when referring to the caste rather than the Boston elite.
Hindu hereditary social order
- casteInherited social division
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- purityUncontaminated quality
- untouchabilityState beyond contact or criticism
Hindu canonical texts
- UpanishadsVedic philosophical scriptures
- sutrasAphoristic teaching verses
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
- recitationOral delivery from memory
memorization · oral tradition · dharma · sacred texts · commentaries
Ordained religious leaders
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- mantrasRepeated sacred utterances
- pujaHindu worship ritual
- templeSacred worship structure
Sanskrit · ceremonies · officiants · liturgy · fire sacrifice
Family line of descent
- patrilinealTraced through fathers
- endogamyMarriage within one's group
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- familyRelated people together
descent · hereditary · bloodline · genealogy · forefathers
varna
Hindu hereditary social order
Vedas
Hindu canonical texts
- UpanishadsVedic philosophical scriptures
- sutrasAphoristic teaching verses
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
recitation · memorization · oral tradition · dharma · sacred texts · commentaries
priests
Ordained religious leaders
temple · Sanskrit · ceremonies · officiants · liturgy · fire sacrifice
ancestry
Family line of descent
- patrilinealTraced through fathers
- endogamyMarriage within one's group
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
family · descent · hereditary · bloodline · genealogy · forefathers
- believersbeliever, believers, adherent, devotee, theist
- ancient religiongods, goddesses, pantheon, deity, polytheism
- social hierarchycaste system, caste, class, class system, ranks
- social strataclass, caste, upper class, middle class, lower class
- ancient priestspontifex, pontifex maximus, flamen, vestal, augur
- Castecaste, caste system, varna, untouchables, Dalit
Brahminspariahs
Socially rejected individuals
common people · masses · commoners · hoi polloi · working class