Assamese Brahmins
Assam kingdoms and Assam subjects, are role models for rest of India’s hindu society.
The Assamese kings preserved their culture by power of their sword as well as mighty armies. While people preserved religious & cultural inheritance.
Invaders could not dare to invade Assam and destroy it’s cultural inheritance.
Assam Brahmins promoted learning, Vedic religion and astrology, as well as imparting general vedic knowledge to the public. The Brahmins of Assam are the descendants of earliest migrants from the Gangetic valley and a succession of influences, ideas and cultures entered Assam with them.
In ancient India, Sanatana Dharma was the only religion of the kings as well the subjects. The kings of the ancient period were the devotees of Shiva and Sakti.
In order to appease the dieties, they performed worships and sacrifices. Worship of these gods and goddesses was not possible without brahmin priests. Therefore, the kings brought the brahmins to their kingdoms, to acquire knowledge of sanskrit language from different parts of India and established them in Assam, by donating land and by honoring them.
There is a significant Brahmin population in Assam. They are considered to be one of the oldest Hindu settlers in the region and held the highest positions in society. In ancient days before the coming of the Aryans to Kamrup, these Brahmins lived in this kingdom.
In the Mahabharata and in the
Ramayana, there is a mention of assam kingdom samayane. King Bhagadatta, of Pragjyotishpur had joined in the Kurukshetra war with an army consisting of the inhabitants of Assam.
At the beginning of the 15th century Narakasur, a Vaishnava hero from Videh of North Bihar came to Assam and became king As a stern devotee of Vishnu, Narakasura brought many Aryans and settled them at Pragjyotish. He was very pious king, and he worshipped many gods and goddesses.
From the copper and the stone inscriptions, it is evident that it was the custom of the kings of ancient Assam to donate bhumi to the native Brahmins through ‘Agrahara’
Scholars believe that it was Narak who first of all established the Aryans along with the Brahmanas in Pragjyotishpar. The heritage of sage Basista, built during the reign of Naraka, still remains in Guwahati, which is known as Basistasram. From a very ancient time, it was the center of astrology The word Prag means East, and Jyotish means Star-Astrology. During the reign of king Bhismak of Kund lineaga, ie.. present Sediya, there was the prevalence of Vedic rites and rituals performed by the Brahmin priests.
Assamese Brahmins or Axomiya Brahmins. They are primarily concentrated in the upper Brahmaputra Valley and are considered an influential and respected community in the region.
Sudangphaa (1397–1407) was the king of the Ahom kingdom. He was popularly known as Bamuni Konwar (Brahman prince) because of his upbringing in a Brahman’s house. His reign marks the first stage in the growth of Hinduism in the Ahom dynasty.
Singai Pararasasegaram most powerful and well known king of Aryacakravarti dynasty.
Assamese Brahmins or Bamun are the Brahmins present in the Assamese society. There are two classes of Brahmins in Assam Bamun and Ganaks. In Assam, the Bamuns usually are the ones, who performs the tasks of a pujari in the Mandirs/Deuls and Hindu households & the Ganaks are the ones, who performs the tasks of Jyotish and Ayurved. But there are always exceptions, some Ganaks may also perform the task of a pujari & some Bamuns may also perform the Jyotish & Ayurvedic tasks. The Assamese Brahmins were originally priests from different regions of India and some of them are from the era of Kamrupi Brahmins, which are one of the oldest Brahmin settlers in Assam.
It is understood that there was a Sun temple in the kingdom of Kamrupa, in a jungle, and if people worship in this temple in the morning hours, then all their desires are fulfilled. In ancient days, except the “Graha Biptas” none could establish a Shiva temple for worship. Therefore. it can be assumed that up to the third and fifth century A.D.. there was the prevalence of the Brahmins in the ancient Karup Kingdom.
Assamese Brahmins are considered to have Caucasoid origin.
Assam has its own unique Brahmin community known as the Assamese Brahmins or Axomiya Brahmins. They are primarily concentrated in the upper Brahmaputra Valley and are considered an influential and respected community in the region.
Traditionally, the ceremony of Lagundeoni – one of the Sanskaras or rites of passage marking acceptance of a student by a Guru, is a quite prevalent Assamese ritual within the brahmin community. A sacred thread – Lagun (the Yajnopavit), given by a Pujari during the ceremony is a symbolic reminder to the young male born to the Brahmin family of his purpose at school, as well as a social marker of the student as someone who has embarked his journey into formal education, where education itself is not limited to ritual and philosophical speculations, but extends to all practical aspects of culture and life in general. The ceremony is typically performed between ages 12 – 14 among Brahmin males.
Brahmins were early inhabitants of Assam. Hinduism was the main religion of the kingdoms and the subjects of Assam. The kings of the ancient period were the devotees of Shiva and Sakti, and in order to appease them, they performed many worships and sacrifices. Worship of these gods and goddesses was not possible without the Brahmin priests. Therefore, the kings brought the Brahmins to have knowledge of the Sanskrit language from different parts of India and established them in Assam with land and honor.
Assam was blessed with most powerful and well known hindu kingdoms.
Among them Aryacakravarti dynasty and Ahom dynasty are prominent.
Sudangphaa (1397–1407) was the king of the kingdom. He was popularly known as Bamuni Konwar (Brahman prince) because of his upbringing in a Brahman’s house. His reign marks the first stage in the growth of Hinduism.
Singai Pararasasegaram was another powerful king.
Assamese Brahmins or Bamun are the Brahmins present in the Assamese society. There are two classes of Brahmins in Assam Bamun and Ganaks. In Assam, the Bamuns usually are the ones, who performs the tasks of a pujari in the Mandirs/Deuls and Hindu households & the Ganaks are the ones, who performs the tasks of Jyotish and Ayurved. But there are always exceptions, some Ganaks may also perform the task of a pujari & some Bamuns may also perform the Jyotish & Ayurvedic tasks. The Assamese Brahmins were originally priests from different regions of India and some of them are from the era of Kamrupi Brahmins, which are one of the oldest Brahmin settlers in Assam. Religious worship in temples is generally carried out by them.
Assam Brahmins had always promoted learning, Vedic religion and astrology, as well as imparting general vedic knowledge to the public. The Brahmins of Assam are the descendants of early migrants from the Gangetic valley and a succession of influences, ideas and cultures entered Assam with them. The Brahmins and Kayasthas came to Assam from Videha (Mithila), Kannauj, Bengal and many other places.
The earliest historical evidence of settlement of Brahmins in Assam comes from epigraphic sources of the Varman dynasty (350–650) In the late medieval period beginning with the early 16th century, a number of Brahmins from Mithila, Benaras, Kanauj, Bengal and Puri (Srikshetra), were settled in western Assam by the Koch kings for performing Brahminical rites. During the reign of Nara Narayan (1554-1587) of the Koch dynasty, two Brahmins named Siddhantavagisa and Vidyavagisa were brought from Gauda and Siddhantavagisa was responsible for the spread of Hinduism in the Koch kingdom. Even during the reign of Koch king Prannarayana (1633-1655), Brahmins were brought from Mithilia to serve in the Koch kingdom and this process was later continued by the Ahom state especially under the Tungkhungia Ahom kings with Siva Singha donating 19 out of the 48 land grants by the Ahom kings to Brahmins. The migration of Brahmins into Assam took place from Central Himalayas as well. Most of these migration took place due to the foreign invasions in North India and on the invitation by the local rulers.
The Assamese Brahmins generally follow the Vedic traditions and are known for their involvement in religious and intellectual pursuits. They have traditionally held positions as priests, scholars, teachers, and custodians of Hindu rituals and scriptures.
Following are the surnames of Assam Brahmins:-
Sarma/Sarmah/Sharma, Goswami, Bhagawati, Bordoloi, Savapandit, Pujari/Borpujari, Borthakur/Barthakur, Bhattacharya, Bharadwaj, Kashyap,
Kaushik, Sandilya, Gautam, Bashistha/Vasishtha, Garg, Parashar, Bhargav,
