Grāmayājī
Grāmayājī · grāma-yājī, “the priest of a village”
Grammar: masculine noun; grāma (village) with yājī (one who has a yāga done).
Meaning: the priest who officiates for a whole village.
In the scriptures: In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Sāvitrī asks Yama about the atideśika brahmahatyā, naming the grāmayājī among others. Yama defines the grāmayājī, as printed, as one who has yāgas performed by dvijas other than śūdras (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 30).
Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches Nanda that one who eats the food of a grāma-yājī, or the food of a śūdra’s śrāddha, goes to naraka for as long as the Sun and the Moon endure (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 75).
Related terms: Yāga · Śrāddha · Naraka
Sources
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 30; Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 75