Brahmin
Brahmin (婆羅門). A member of the highest of the Four Indian castes. As a priest, a Brahmin officiates at religious rites and teaches Vedic literature.
Brahmin (also called Brahmana; from the Sanskrit brāhmaṇa ब्राह्मण) is a term for a scholar class in the traditional Hindu societies of India and Nepal.
Brahman, Brahmin, and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self. Brahmin (or Brahmana) refers to an individual, while the word Brahma refers to the creative aspect of the universal consciousness . The English word brahmin is an anglicised form of the Sanskrit word Brāhmana. In the Smriti view, there are four "varnas" or classes: the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras.
Brahmins were engaged in attaining the highest spiritual knowledge (brahmavidya) and adhered to different branches (shakhas) of Vedas. Brahmins have taken on many professions – from being priests, ascetics and scholars to warriors and business people, as is attested for example in Kalhana's Rajatarangini. An example mentioned in mythology is the sage Parashurama who is considered an avatar of Vishnu. Sage Parashurama is portrayed as a powerful warrior who defeated the Haiheya kshatriyas twenty one times, was an expert in the use of weapons, and trained others to fight without weapons. He is said to have established the Brahmins as landowners once he destroyed the Kshatriya race. These Brahmins, after having mostly abandoned their priestly functions (although some still perform), took to land-owning (Zamindar) as a profession.
However, certain persons, though very few in number, were born into other varnas but dedicated themselves to such an austere life that they were also recognized as Brahmins in ancient India (e.g., sage Vishwamitra, attained brahmavidya and is the seer of the Gayatri mantra was venerated as "Brahmarishi").
Historically, the semantic change from a tribal state into the Hindu state of the jati-varna matrix saw the conversion and absorption of tribals into the Brahmin class, through adoption of the priestly occupation. In medieval and colonial India, people in different occupations also proselytized themselves into Brahmins, upon becoming wealthy or gaining positions of power.
The priestly class is expected to practice self-abnegation and play the role of being the custodians of Dharma (as a Brāhman who is well versed in Vedic texts). However, the fee paid to the Brahmana for performance of a sacrifice as a return for the priestly duties was material consisting of valuables such as valuable garments, kine, horses or gold
