Śrotriya
Śrotriya, “one learned in the Veda”
Grammar: masculine noun, from śrotra (hearing; the Veda as it is heard): “one learned in the Veda”.
Meaning: a brāhmaṇa learned in the Veda, the worthy receiver of dāna.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa uses the word in these places.
- Arjuna‘s loss: in the account of the Pāṇḍavas, as soon as Śrī Kṛshṇa left this world, Arjuna’s bow, his astras, his chariot and his horses were all lost, like a dāna given to one who is not a śrotriya (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 15).
- The king’s duty: Pushkara, teaching the rāja-dharma, says that no dear object and no tax may be taken from brāhmaṇas, and that the kingdom of a king in whose realm śrotriya brāhmaṇas suffer hunger is afflicted by diseases, famine and robbers (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 223).
- In vyavahāra: Agnideva, teaching vyavahāra to Vasishṭha, says that land enjoyed by another for twenty years while the owner looks on and says nothing, or movable wealth for ten years, belongs to the one who enjoys it. This rule does not apply to a pledge, a boundary, a deposit, the wealth of idiots and of children, a sealed deposit, or the wealth of the king, of women and of śrotriyas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 253).
- The Vināyaka snāna: among those troubled by the Vināyakas, who are to be given the Vināyaka snāna, is a śrotriya who does not get the position of ācārya (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 266).
In the Bhavishya Purāṇa: Sumantu Muni says that among the śrotriyas one a year older ranks above. Havya and kavya are always to be given to a śrotriya. Given to one not a śrotriya they cannot satisfy the pitṛs or the devatās (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 4). The Uttara Parva says: “Rājan, do not live where these four are absent: a money-lender, a physician, a śrotriya, and a river full of water” (Chapter 205).
Related terms: Brāhmaṇa · Veda · Dāna · Ācārya · Vyavahāra
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 15, 223, 253, 266
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 4; Uttara Parva, Chapter 205