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Brāhmaṇa (Brahmin/Brahman)

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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Definition

A brāhmaṇa (brahmana, brahmin, in popular spelling) is a member of one of the four social groups named after their symbolic color (varṇa): the priest, brāhmaṇa, associated with white, symbol of purity, whose social mission is to learn and transmit knowledge. The role of the brāhmaṇa as a model of ethic behavior cannot be underestimated, even in extrabrahmanical systems of values, such as in Buddhist world.

Brāhmaṇa (Brahmin/Brahman)

A brāhmaṇa (brahmana, brahmin, in popular spelling) is a member of one of the four social groups named after their symbolic color (varṇa): the priest, brāhmaṇa, associated with white, symbol of purity, whose social mission is to learn and transmit knowledge; the warrior, kṣatriya, associated with red, symbol of the blood of enemies, whose social mission is to defend the society from external and internal enemies; the folk people, vaiśya, associated with yellow, symbol of gold, whose social mission is to produce, increase, and exchange wealth...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Studi umanistici StudiUm, Università degli studi di Torino, Torino, Italy

    Alberto Pelissero

Authors
  1. Alberto Pelissero
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Correspondence to Alberto Pelissero .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Pelissero, A. (2018). Brāhmaṇa (Brahmin/Brahman). In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_84-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_84-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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