Rajopadhyaya

Rajopadhyaya (Nepali: राजोपाध्याय) is one of the five groups of Bramhans in Nepal.[1] Witzel (1986) identifies the following five groups of Bramhans in Nepal, viz.

  1. the Newārī-speaking Rājopādhyāya Bramhan
  2. the Nepāli-speaking Kumāī Bramhan
  3. the Nepāli-speaking Pūrbiya Bramhan
  4. the Maithilī-speaking Maithil Bramhan
  5. the Bhaṭṭa Bramhan from South India as priests of Pashupatinath Temple

In Sanskrit, Rājopādhyāya or Rāj-Upādhyāya literally means 'royal teacher' or 'guru' (Sanskrit: राज = royal + उपाध्याय = guru). Rajopadhyayas, also colloquially called Dyabarmhu (God-Brahmin) or Dyabājyā (God-Grandfather), were the royal gurus and purohits of the Malla kings and their Hindu aristocracy (present day Chatharīyās). Today, the Rajopadhyaya Brahmans are the domestic priests of the high-caste Hindu Newars, principally the Chatharīyas and Śreşțhas, and also certain segments of clean-caste Hindu Newar groups (most notably Bhaktapur Jyapus) of the Kathmandu Valley. In theory, the Chatharīyas of the Kathmandu Valley do not call on other Brahmin group, as Rajopadhyayas alone serve as their historical purohits and perform all their life-cycle Sanskara rituals, including attaining their Gayatri Mantra verse and the sacred thread ('janai') in the Upanayana ceremony. This is opposed to all other clean-caste Newar groups who call upon a Buddhist Vajrāchārya as their family priest to conduct all life-cycle ceremonies.[2]

Rajopadhyayas are an endogamous Brahman group who are the descendants of Kānyakubja Brahmins of Kannauj who immigrated to Kathmandu Valley as late as the 16th century CE. They are divided among the three cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur into strictly exogamous clans, having three gotras: Gārgya of Lalitpur, Bharadwaja of Bhaktapur, and Kaushik of Kathmandu, all belonging to the Mādhyamdina school of the Shukla Yajurveda, their holy language being Sanskrit, but all well-versed in Newar. As the chief Brahmin group among Newars and as the chief preceptor of the Vedic as well as Tantric knowledge, Rajopadhyayas were placed at top in Nepalese Caste System, and they possess immense social prestige and power, especially among the Hindu Newars.[3]

Priesthood and preceptor

Rajopadhyayas also serve as the Vedic and Tantric temple priests of some of the most important temples of the Vaishnav and Shaivite sect, including Krishna Mandir and the four cardinal Vishnu temples of Kathmandu Valley; Changu Narayan, Sesh Narayan/Budhanilkantha, Bishankhu Narayan, and Ichanghu Narayana, as well as the Kumbheswar temple. In most other major temples with explicit Shakta and Tantra functions which require blood sacrifice and the use of alcohol, Rajopadhyayas are absent, and the priestly functions are performed by the Chatharīyā/Kşatrīya-status Karmāchāryas. Most of the other Shakta or Ganesh shrines are maintained by the farmer Jyapus or by unclean-castes like the Jogi/Kapali or the untouchable Chyāmaha/Déula. Maithil brahmins also resides there .Once they migrants from Tirhut—the current Mithila region that is spread from the Indian state of Bihar to eastern Tarai of Nepal—Maithil Brahmins or Tirhut Brahmins are a close-knit community who have assimilated with locals, influencing and being influenced by the Newar culture. Mostly having Jha and Mishra as their surname and having settled in the core areas of the Capital, they come with their own historical accounts of how they settled in the valley.The current generations of Maithil Brahmins are descendants of King Harisingh Deva of Simraongarh, who sought asylum in Bhaktapur during the 14th century, after Ghiyath-ud-din Tughlaq invaded the Delhi Sultanate,” says Dr Dinesh Raj Pant, senior historian and academician at Nepal Academy. King Harisingh Deva fled to Bhaktapur with his family, where the King’s wife was from. Whether Harisingh Deva died on the way, or lived in Bhaktapur for a while is unclear, but the influence of Maithil Brahmins in Nepal started after the arrival of Deva’s family . Being well-versed in Vedic knowledge added value for them, and Maithil Brahmins slowly started gaining importance in the Malla courts. They had huge influence and power during the Malla period and were given the title of Juju Baje, which means king of the priest, in Nepal Bhasa .Until now, some temples, such as Mahalaxmi Temple, Char Narayan Temple, Jaisidega Temple and Batuk Bhairav, have Maithil Brahmins as their priests.There is also another popular origin story within the Maithil Brahmin community. The tale goes like this Back then, there was a drought in Kathmandu. In order to solve this problem, the tantriks suggested the king bring a Maithil Brahmin from Tirhut region to perform a yagya, a special ritual. After the yagya, rain started pouring and realising the power of Maithil Brahmin, the king requested they settle here .It is also believed a princess of Bhaktapur married someone from Deva’s lineage, which further strengthened relations The lone exception to the rule of Rajopadhayayas not being part of the Shakta cult is Bhaktapur's Taleju Bhawani temple, the ista-devi of Malla kings, where they serve as the chief priests.[4]In addition to their duties as purohits to Chatharīyās and Śresțhas, Rajopadhyayas also serve as hereditary pujāris of the following temples:

Rajopadhyayas popularly use the following surnames: Rajopadhyaya, Sharma, Upadhyaya, Acharya, among others. Some popular Rajopadhyaya names from history and popular culture include:

  • Sudarshan Brahman (a mythical Brahmin to slain Changu Narayan)
  • Gaya Juju (Gayo Bājé) of Sulimha, Patan [5]
  • Vishvanath Upādhyāya of Valimha, Patan [6]
  • Sahasra Shivānanda of Indrachowk [7]
  • Pundit Vamshi Dharānanda Rajopadhyaya of Changu Narayan
  • Newa Priest and scholar Basav Juju Rajopadhyay from Kathmandu who is working to preserve and promote newa culture , ritual tradition around United States of America.

See also

References
  1. Witzel, Michael. (1986). 'Agnihtora-Rituale in Nepal'. In Kölver, B. and Leinhard, S. (eds). Formen kulturellen Wandels und andere Beirtaege zur Erforschung des Himalaya. St. Augustin: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag. pp. 157 – 187
  2. Toffin, Gerard. (1995). 'The Social Organization of Rajopadhyaya Brahmans of Nepal'. In Gellner, David & Quigley, Declan. (eds). Contested Hierarchies: A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste Among the Newars of Kathmandu Valley. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  3. Toffin, Gerard. Newar Society: City, Village and Periphery. Himal Books. ISBN 9789993343950.
  4. Toffin, Gerard. Newar Society: City, Village and Periphery. Himal Books. ISBN 9789993343950.
  5. Śarmā, Nutandhar. (1999). "The Legends of Gayaḥbājyā of Pāṭan in the Kāṭhmāṇḍu Valley". Contributions to Nepalese Studies. Vol. 26, No. 2. (July 1999). Kirtipur: CNAS/TU. pp. 239-256.
  6. Rajopadhyaya, Abhas D. (2017). 'Visvanath Upadhyay: Lalitpur ka Tantrik'. In Rajopadhyaya, Birajkaji. (ed.). Lumanti 1137. Lalitpur: Rajopadhyaya Samaj.
  7. Rājopādhyāya, Dineshananda. Devatāharūko vaṃśāvalī. (Unpublished).
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