Nagar Brahmins

Nagars are believed to be one of the oldest of the Brahmin groups found primarily in Gujarat, but also in Rajasthan, Malwa and in states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar even as far as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh in the north, West Bengal in the east and Karnataka in the south. In North India, they form a sub-group of Vyas Brahmins.

Origin

The oldest account of the Nagars is given in the Nagar Khand, a part of the Skanda Purana. There are several theories regarding the origin of the Nagars. They all connect them with the Nags in one way or another, although they have no historical foundation. Later discoveries by historians throw light on their origin. Among these, three distinct pravaradhyay relating ancestry and Pravaras of these Brahmins discovered by Late Vallabhji Haridat Acharya, provide authentic information regarding the origin of Nagar Brahmins. One amongst these gives a list of 13 Sharmans used by the Nagar Brahmins 700 years ago. They are Datta, Gupta, Nand, Ghosh, Sharman, Das, Varman, Nagadatta, Trat, Bhut, Mitra, Dev and Bhav. This is further supported by the fact that three of these Sharmans - Mitra, Trat and Datta - are also found among the names of Brahmin grantees in the copper-plate grants of Valabhi Kings, who ruled North Gujarat during 509-766 AD. This also shows that the Nagars first appear in Gujarat during the reign of the Valabhi Kings in the 6th century AD. There is no doubt about the fact that these Sharmans are clan indicators, which are even now used by the Nagars during religious ceremonies. It may further be noted that out of these 13 Sharmans, at least 10 are found among the family names of the Bengali Kayasthas.

Brahmin

Brahmin is a varna (caste) in Hinduism specialising as priests, teachers (acharya) and protectors of sacred learning across generations.

Brahmins traditionally were responsible for religious rituals in temples, as intermediaries between temple deities and devotees, as well as rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers. However, Indian texts suggest that Brahmins were often agriculturalists and warriors in ancient and medieval India.

Vedic sources

It must be emphasised that attempts to interpolate references from the Rigveda with contemporary social groups that identify as "Brahmin" is entirely speculative.

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. According to this hymn in Mandala 10, Brahmins are described as having emerged from the mouth of Purusha, being that part of the body from which words emerge.

मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते
बराह्मणो अस्य मुखमासीद बाहू राजन्यः कर्तः
ऊरूतदस्य यद वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत

Brahmin (disambiguation)

Brahmin are traditional Hindu societies of India, Nepal and The Far East.

Brahmin may also refer to:

See also

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