Assamese Brahmin

Assamese Brahmins

A Brahmin priest performing daily prayers
Regions with significant populations
Assam, India
Languages
Assamese
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Other Brahmin groups: Bengali Brahmins, Kanyakubja Brahmin, Utkala Brahmin, Maithil Brahmin, Bahun, Saraswat Brahmins, Kulin Brahmins

Assamese Brahmins are the Brahmin community present in the Assamese society. There they have historically promoted knowledge and religion, including branches such as literature, astronomy, and philosophy.¹ The Brahmins migrated to Assam from Videha (Mithila), Kannauj, Bengal (Gauda) and many other places.²

The earliest historical evidence of the settlement of Brahmins in Assam comes from various epigraphic sources of the Varman dynasty (350–650).³ Land grants by Kamrupa kings to Brahmins continue in the Kamrup region until the reign of king Vallabhadeva of the 12th century. In 1329, the Rauttakonci copper-plate grant of a local chief named Purusottama Dasa records the gift of the village of Rauttakonci, identified with modern Ratkuchi near Nalbari, to the Brahmin Dharmakara, son of Nilambara.⁴

Among the earliest surviving references to Brahmins and royal land grants in Central and Upper Assam are copper-plate charters issued by the Kachari and Chutia rulers. A stone inscription found at Lanka, Hojai dated to 1352 AD records Kachari king Mahamanikya giving land to a Brahmin named Din Dwija at a village named Bamdeva.⁵⁶ The Dhenukhana grant of Chutia king Satyanarayana, dated 1392, and the Ghilamara grant of king Lakshminarayana, dated 1401, belong to the Habung region (present-day Lakhimpur) and record grants in favour of Brahmin beneficiaries. A further charter from Sadiya–Chepakhowa, dated 1428, records a land grant in the Habung area administered by Chutia official Vrihatpatra, the Habungadhipati.⁷⁸ It is not known for certain whether Brahmins existed in the Habung region before the Chutia reign. A tradition associated with Gharmora Satra further states that a Chutia king brought Sankarshan, a Brahmin from Kannauj whom the king had met while studying at Nabadwip, to Sadiya. The king is said to have established him on the bank of the Gharmora River and endowed the institution with land, dependants and an image of Vishnu.⁹ Following Suhungmung's annexation of the Chutia kingdom, many Brahmin families from the former Chutia capital Sadiya, together with Kayasthas, Kalitas, Daivajnas and artisan groups, were transferred to the Ahom capital.¹⁰

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.¹¹¹²¹³ 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 kingdom¹⁴ Even during the reign of Koch king Prannarayana (1633-1655), Brahmins were brought from Mithilia to serve in the Koch kingdom¹⁵ 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 landgrants by the Ahom kings to Brahmins.¹⁶ The migration of Brahmins into Assam took place from Central Himalayas as well.¹⁷ Most of these migration took place due to the foreign invasions in North India and on the invitation by the local rulers.¹⁸ Traditionally these Brahmins held the highest positions in society.¹⁹

Traditionally, the ceremony of Lagundeoni – one of the samskaras or rites of passage marking acceptance of a student by a guru, is a quite prevalent ritual within the community.²⁰

Brahmins of the Assam valley follow a different death ritual as opposed to the other indigenous communities in Assam. A religious rite, known as Caturthā is performed on the 4th day of a person's demise unlike Tiloni, performed on the 3rd day of person's demise by non–Brahmin indigenous communities.²¹

Although in general Brahmins observe all the customary rituals, they appear usually less rigid²² in some of their traditional lifestyle choices, such as they may eat meat, fish, unlike their counterparts in other parts of India like the North and the South.²³²⁴

The Brahmins constitute one of the Forward classes of Assam based on the classifications of Government of India, although the recent trend on economic condition has not been very well within the community. Assam's former Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi announced setting up of development councils for several communities in the state, including Brahmins.²⁵

Name	Portrait	Notability	References
Hem Barua (original name was Hem Chandra Sarma Barua)		Former 3 times Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Assam.
Lakshminath Bezbarua
Bijoy Chandra Bhagavati		Former Union Minister of State in Second Nehru ministry
Gopinath Bordoloi		1st Chief Minister of Assam & 2nd Prime Minister of Assam
Himanta Biswa Sarma		Chief Minister of Assam
Jaimini Bhagwati		Indiam High commissioner to United Kingdom
Phani Sarma
Bijoya Chakravarty		Former Member of Rajya Sabha
Zubeen Garg			26