Eight Types of Brāhmaṇas

Chapter 5 of the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa gives one of the fullest lists of the kinds of brāhmaṇa found anywhere in the Purāṇas. It describes eight grades, rising step by step. At the bottom is the person who is a brāhmaṇa only because of his birth. At the top is the muni, who has fully realised the truth.

This teaching was given by the child ṛṣi Sutanu at Kalāpagrāma, in answer to Nārada’s question about the kinds of brāhmaṇas. The eight grades carefully separate different levels of learning, ritual practice, control of the senses and spiritual realisation. They range from birth alone, through full scholarly skill and full practice of yoga, to liberation while still living.

The Eight Grades

1. Mātra

A mātra (literally “merely”) is someone born into a brāhmaṇa family who has not received the upanayana (the sacred-thread ceremony) and does none of the practices laid down for brāhmaṇas. He carries the name of brāhmaṇa by birth but none of its substance. He is the lowest level: what birth alone gives when nothing has been cultivated.

2. Brāhmaṇa

A brāhmaṇa, in the specific sense used in this list, is one who has learned one part of the Veda, a single adhyāya (chapter) or sūkta (hymn). He also has good conduct (sadvṛtta), keeps niyama (religious observances) and speaks satya (truth). He has taken the first real step in a brāhmaṇa’s practice, but has not yet reached the full learning of a śrotriya.

3. Śrotriya

A śrotriya has studied a full śākhā (branch) of the Veda along with its six aṅgas, the Vedāṅgas (supporting sciences): śikṣā (pronunciation), chandas (metre), vyākaraṇa (grammar), nirukta (meaning of words), jyotiṣa (astronomy and timekeeping) and kalpa (ritual). He performs the six duties of a brāhmaṇa:

• adhyayana: studying
• adhyāpana: teaching
• yajana: performing yajñas (fire offerings)
• yājana: performing yajñas for others
• dāna: giving
• pratigraha: receiving gifts

The śrotriya is the standard picture of the learned brāhmaṇa householder.

4. Anūcāna

An anūcāna has all the qualities of the śrotriya. He also knows the tattva, the deep meaning, of the Veda and the Vedāṅgas. He is pure in body and conduct, free of pāpa (wrongdoing), and is a jñānī: one in whom learning has become wisdom. The anūcāna knows not only the text but the meaning behind it.

5. Bhrūṇa

A bhrūṇa has all the qualities of the anūcāna. He also performs yajña and svādhyāya (daily study of scripture) with full commitment, and he is jitendriya, one who has conquered his senses. The bhrūṇa joins the anūcāna’s knowledge with steady ritual practice and real mastery of the senses (indriya-jaya).

6. Ṛṣikalpa

A ṛṣikalpa (“one close to being a ṛṣi”) has both vaidika (Vedic) and laukika (worldly, practical) knowledge. He keeps strict niyama and lives in the āśrama (hermitage) as a qualified practitioner. He is close to the ṛṣi, but has not yet gained the ṛṣi’s full power to bless and to curse.

7. Ṛṣi

A ṛṣi practises ūrdhvaretas, turning his vital force upward through complete celibacy. He keeps firm, unbroken niyama. He is satyasandha, bound to truth in everything he says. He has the proven power to give a śāpa (curse) and anugraha (blessing) that truly take effect. A ṛṣi’s words carry weight in the whole universe: what he blesses is blessed, and what he curses suffers the result.

8. Muni

A muni is the highest grade. He has complete vairāgya (detachment) and tattva-jñāna (knowledge of the highest reality). He is free of kāma (desire) and krodha (anger) and is always in dhyāna (meditation). He takes no part in karma, neither ritual acts nor worldly acts done for results. He looks on clay and gold with the same eye (sama-dṛṣṭi). He is what the whole path of a brāhmaṇa’s growth is meant to produce: a realised being whose very presence helps others toward liberation.

Triśukla Brāhmaṇas

Brāhmaṇas who are great in three kinds of purity (śuddhi) are called triśukla brāhmaṇas. The three are:

• vaṃśa: family line
• vidyā: learning
• śīla: conduct

These are the brāhmaṇas who are honoured in yajña and other rites as the most fitting receivers of dāna (gifts) and respect. Part of the purpose of the whole list is to show who is a proper pātra (worthy receiver) for various acts of dharma.

Why This List Matters

The eight grades are notable for what they measure. They do not measure birth alone, or even knowledge alone. They measure how far knowledge is joined with practice (sādhanā), practice with renunciation, and renunciation with realised wisdom. Each grade is a change in kind, not just more study: a different kind of being.

It is also part of the teaching that Sutanu, a child, gave this list at Kalāpagrāma, to Nārada’s surprise. True knowledge does not depend on age but on inner growth.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 5