Brahmana
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈbrɑːmənə/
- Specialized
- The Brahmana texts contain detailed instructions for priests on performing sacrificial rituals.
Examples
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Each Brahmana offers specific guidelines to ensure the proper execution of religious ceremonies.
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Students of Vedic literature study the Brahmana to understand ancient Hindu rituals.
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For he was created by the Self-existent, (Svayambhu) to be the slave of a Brahmana.
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31. The man who cannot rise early in the morning and cannot take the brahminical principle—sudra, ksatriya, vaisya—should be helped with the knowledge acquired by the brahmana.
Blog text (12) -
While there is some sense in which the transmission of early Upaniṣads was in the context of ritual Vedic practices privy only to the Brahmana class, this etymology is in itself indefensible.
Academic text (2015)
Surface Forms
Etymology
Brahmana comes from the Sanskrit word brāhmaṇa, which means 'priest' or 'priestly'. These texts were written as guides for priests on how to perform Vedic sacrifice rituals, so a Brahmana is essentially a priest's instruction book.