Brahmin in the context of Guru

Varna (Sanskrit: वर्ण, romanized: varṇa, Hindi pronunciation: ['ʋəɾɳə]), in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical traditional Hindu society. The ideology of varna is epitomized in texts like Manusmriti, which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or Dharma.

• Brahmins: Vedic scholars, priests or teachers.
• Kshatriyas: Rulers, administrators or warriors.
• Vaishyas: Agriculturalists, farmers or merchants.
• Shudras: Artisans, labourers or servants.

This quadruple division is a form of social stratification, quite different from the more nuanced system of Jātis, which correspond to the term "caste".

Dhyāna (Sanskrit: ध्यान) in Hinduism means meditation and contemplation. Dhyana is taken up in Yoga practices, and is a means to samadhi and self-knowledge.

The various concepts of dhyana and its practice originated in the Sramanic movement of ancient India, which started before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira), and the practice has been influential within the diverse traditions of Hinduism. It is, in Hinduism, a part of a self-directed awareness and unifying Yoga process by which the yogi realizes Self (Atman, soul), one's relationship with other living beings, and the Ultimate Reality. Dhyana is also part of other Indian religions such as Buddhism and Jainism. Several other traditions introduce unique aspects and context to Dhyana, and mutually influence each other.

Chanakya (ISO: Cāṇakya, चाणक्य, pronunciation), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power and the establishment of the Maurya Empire. According to these narratives, Chanakya served as the chief adviser and prime minister to both emperors Chandragupta Maurya and his son Bindusara.

Conventionally, Chanakya was identified with Kauṭilya and synonymously Vishnugupta, the author of the ancient Indian politico-economic treatise Arthashastra. Arthashastra is now thought with high probability to have been composed by multiple authors during the early centuries of the common era—several centuries after the Mauryan period—the backdated identification with Chanakya to have served to add prestige to the work.

In India, social classification based on caste has its origin in ancient times. It was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially in the aftermath of the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the establishment of the British Raj. Caste is traditionally associated with Hinduism, but is more pervasive in extent: an estimated 98% of contemporary Indians, including Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains, identify with a caste.

Beginning in ancient India, the caste system was originally centered around varna, with Brahmins (priests) and, to a lesser extent, Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors) serving as the elite classes, followed by Vaishyas (traders and merchants) and finally Shudras (labourers). Outside of this system are the oppressed, marginalised, and persecuted Dalits (also known as "Untouchables") and Adivasis (tribals). Over time, the system became increasingly rigid, and the emergence of jati led to further entrenchment, introducing thousands of new castes and sub-castes. With the arrival of Islamic rule, caste-like distinctions were formulated in certain Muslim communities, primarily in North India. The British Raj furthered the system, through census classifications and preferential treatment to Christians and people belonging to certain castes. Social unrest during the 1920s led to a change in this policy towards affirmative action.

A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a zamindari (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; zamindar is the Persian for landowner. During the British Raj, the British began using it as a local synonym for "estate". Subsequently, it was widely and loosely used for any substantial landed magnates in the British India. Zamindars as a class were equivalent to lords and barons; in some cases, they were independent sovereign princes. Similarly, their holdings were typically hereditary and came with the right to collect taxes on behalf of imperial courts or for military purposes. This continued in states like Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal even after independence until the abolition of zamindari in 1950.

During the Mughal Empire, as well as the British rule, zamindars were the land-owning nobility of the Indian subcontinent and formed the ruling class. Emperor Akbar granted them mansabs and their ancestral domains were treated as jagirs. Most of the big zamindars belonged to the Hindu high-caste, usually Brahmin, Rajput, Bhumihar or Kayastha. During the colonial era, the Permanent Settlement consolidated what became known as the zamindari system. The British rewarded supportive zamindars by recognising them as princes. Many of the region's princely states were pre-colonial zamindar holdings elevated to a greater protocol. The British also reduced the land holdings of many pre-colonial princely states and chieftaincies, demoting their status to noble zamindars from previously higher ranks of royalty. During the period of British colonial rule in India, many wealthy and influential zamindars were bestowed with noble and royal titles such as Maharaja, Raja/Rai, Babu, Rai sahib, Rai Bahadur, Nawab and Khan.

Kshatriya (Sanskrit: क्षत्रिय, romanized: Kṣatriya) (from Sanskrit kṣatra, "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term kṣatriyaḥ is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra.

Śrauta (Sanskrit: श्रौत) is a Sanskrit word that means "belonging to śruti", that is, anything based on the Vedas of Hinduism. It is an adjective and prefix for texts, ceremonies or person associated with śruti. The term, for example, refers to Brahmins who specialise in the śruti corpus of texts, and Śrauta Brahmin traditions in modern times can be seen in Kerala and Coastal Andhra.

The Great Renunciation or Great Departure (Sanskrit: mahābhiniṣkramaṇa; Pali: mahābhinikkhamana) is the traditional term for the departure of Gautama Buddha (c. 563–c. 483 BCE) from his palace at Kapilavastu to live a life as an ascetic (Sanskrit: śrāmaṇa, Pali: sāmaṇa). It is called the Great Renunciation because it is regarded as a great sacrifice. Most accounts of this event can be found in post-canonical Buddhist texts from several Buddhist traditions, which are the most complete. These are, however, of a more mythological nature than the early texts. They exist in Pāli, Sanskrit and Chinese language.

According to these accounts, at the birth of Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha-to-be, brahmin priests predicted that he would either become a world teacher or a world ruler. To prevent his son from turning to religious life, Prince Siddhārtha's father and rāja of the Śākya clan Śuddhodana did not allow him to see death or suffering, and distracted him with luxury. During his childhood, Prince Siddhārtha had a meditative experience, which made him realize the suffering (Sanskrit: duḥkha, Pali: dukkha) inherent in all existence. He grew up and experienced a comfortable youth. But he continued to ponder about religious questions, and when he was 29 years old, he saw for the first time in his life what became known in Buddhism as the four sights: an old man, a sick person and a corpse, as well as an ascetic that inspired him. Shortly after, Prince Siddhārtha woke up at night and saw his female servants lying in unattractive poses, which shocked the prince. Moved by all the things he had experienced, the prince decided to leave the palace behind in the middle of the night against the will of his father, to live the life of an wandering ascetic, leaving behind his just-born son Rāhula and wife Yaśodharā. He traveled to the river Anomiya with his charioteer Chandaka and horse Kaṇṭhaka, and cut off his hair. Leaving his servant and horse behind, he journeyed into the woods and changed into monk's robes. Later, he met King Bimbisāra, who attempted to share his royal power with the former prince, but the now ascetic Gautama refused.

A Hindu priest may refer to either of the following

• A Pujari or an Archaka is a Hindu temple priest.

• A Purohita or Pujari officiates and performs rituals and ceremonies, and is usually linked to a specific family or, historically, a dynasty.

Traditionally, priests have predominantly come from the Brahmin varna, whose male members are designated for the function in the Hindu texts.

Punjabi Brahmins may refer to these Brahmin communities of Punjab:

• Saraswat Brahmins, a Brahmin community found throughout northern India including Punjab
• Gaur Brahmins, another Brahmin community of northern India and Punjab

The Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavole were a merchant guild from Aihole that provided trade links between trading communities in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. They have been mentioned in inscriptions from the 9th century CE. Aihole was formerly a major city of the Chalukyas of Badami and a place with many temples and brahmans, some of whom seem to have become involved in the trading activities of the Five Hundred. But most of the Ayyavole Lords were merchants, especially those engaged in long-distance trade. Their inscriptions between the 9th and 14th centuries record their endowments made to temples and throw light on their trading activities or commodities.

The Five Hundred guild, known as Ayyavole in Kannada, Ayyavolu in Telugu, Aryarupa in Sanskrit, and Ainuruvar in Tamil, operated in Southern India and Southeast Asia. They became more powerful under the Cholas. They were protectors of the Veera-Banaju-Dharma, that is, law of the heroic or noble merchants. The Bull was their symbol which they displayed on their flag; and they had a reputation for being daring and enterprising.

Ainnurruvar is a medieval merchant guild originating in the Karnataka region of India between the 8th and 13th centuries. In this period, organised merchant guilds exerted considerable power and influence. Ainnurruvar was one of the most prominent of these guilds. During the Chola Empire they were regarded as the elite amongst the South Indian merchant organizations.

The Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavole were a merchant guild from Aihole that provided trade links between trading communities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They have been mentioned in inscriptions from the 9th century CE. Aihole was formerly a major city of the Chalukyas of Badami and a place with many temples and brahmins, some of whom seem to have become involved in the trading activities of the Five Hundred. But most of the Ayyavolu Lords were merchants, especially those engaged in long-distance trade. Their inscriptions between the 9th and 14th centuries record their endowments made to temples and throw light on their trading activities or commodities.

Maa Dewri Temple is an ancient temple, situated in Diuri village, Tamar near Ranchi in Jharkhand in India.   The main attraction of the temple is, 700 year old murti of 16-armed village deity Maa Dewri. It is an ancient temple and was renovated few years back. The ancient temple was constructed by interlocking stones without using chalk or binding material. The temple was earlier known as Dewri Diri, meaning sacred stone of Diuri village.

At the temple devotees tie yellow and red sacred threads on bamboo for the fulfilment of their wishes. Upon the fulfillment of their wishes, they again come to the temple and untie the thread. Dedicated to 16-armed Goddess Dewri, the temple is located a little outside the main city of Ranchi. Spread over nearly two acres, this old temple in Ranchi. As per the Legends, whoever has tried to alter the structure of this temple, has had to face the wrath of the gods and suffer consequences. In this temple the goddess is worshiped for six days by the tribal priest, mainly called Pahans and only for one day by the Brahmin Pandas. Located about 60 km from Ranchi, this temple is on the right side of the Ranchi-Tata road, toward the town of Tamar.

Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, is a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.

They have traditionally been a land-owning group of eastern India, and controlled some small princely states and zamindari estates in the region in the early 20th century. They played an important role in the peasant movements and politics of Bihar. They claim Brahmin status, although their varna has been subject to much debate.

Bagmati Province (Nepali: बागमती प्रदेश, Bāgmatī pradēśa) is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. Bagmati is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. It is bordered by Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, Gandaki Province to the west, Koshi Province to the east, Madhesh Province and the Indian state of Bihar to the south. With Hetauda as its provincial headquarters, the province is also the home to the country's capital Kathmandu, is mostly hilly and mountainous, and hosts mountain peaks including Gaurishankar, Langtang, Jugal, and Ganesh.

Being the second most populous province of Nepal, it possesses rich cultural diversity with resident communities and castes including Thami (Thangmi) (Shneiderman, 2009, 2015; Turin, 1998), Newar, Tamang,Sherpa, Tharu, Chepang, Jirel, Brahmin, Chhetri, and more. It hosted the highest number of voters in the 2017 election for the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly.

Malik Hasan Bahri (died 1486) or Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri was a noble of the Bahmani Sultanate in India who served as the prime minister from 1481 until his murder in 1486. He was the father of Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I, founder of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, one of the secessionist kingdoms from the Bahmani Sultanate, and its ruling dynasty's primogenitor.

Originally a Hindu Brahmin, he was taken captive by Bahmani forces in the 1420s and converted to Islam. He entered the service of the sultanate as a military slave and was given further education. In 1471, he led the conquest of forts of the Gajapati Empire after he had been sent to influence a succession conflict in the state, and was given governorship over the Bahmani province of Telangana. As the leader of the Deccani faction in the conflict between them and those not native to South Asia, he helped plot the execution of Mahmud Gawan in 1481, the foreign prime minister at the time and Malik Hasan's predecessor. He then adopted the role, and in 1482 became the sole regent of Mahmood Shah, where throughout his ministership he had effective control of the state. In 1486, he was killed amidst continual internal strife.

Parashurama (Sanskrit: परशुराम, romanized: Paraśurāma, lit. 'Rama with an axe'), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of evil on Earth. He liberates the Mother Earth from felons, ill-behaved men, extremists, demons and those blind with pride. He is described as one of the Chiranjivi (Immortals), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu's tenth and last incarnation, Kalki.

Born to Jamadagni and Renuka, the Brahmin Parashurama was foretold to appear at a time when overwhelming evil prevailed on the earth. The Kshatriya caste, with weapons and power, had begun to abuse their power, take what belonged to others by force, and tyrannise people. He corrected the cosmic equilibrium by destroying these Kshatriyas twenty-one times (leaving some lineages). He is married to Dharani, an incarnation of Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu.