[Advaita-l] Temple Worship by Gurukkals/Sivacharyas

[Sunil Bhattacharjya]

The family priests enjoy good status. Accoring to Manu the temple priests are not to be invited to the pitrikarma and that does not necessarily mean that they have a lower status.
However I understand that one should not live on the temple earnings and temple food. Can this imply a lower status of temple priest?
Regards,
Sunil K. Bhattacharjya

--- On Sun, 1/31/10, Vidyasankar Sundaresan <svidyasankar at hotmail.com> wrote:

From: Vidyasankar Sundaresan <svidyasankar at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Temple Worship by Gurukkals/Sivacharyas
To: "Advaita List" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010, 6:28 AM



> ... why are those Brahmins who worship in Temples given a "lower" status?
> Is it the case all over India, or is it only in Tamilnadu?
>  


There is no clear answer to the why, but such grouping in the social hierarchy

is definitely very regional. There are similar hierarchies in Karnataka and Andhra
too, but in Kerala, both vaidika karmA and temple worship traditions are preserved
within the same nambUdiri families. Social status rankings within nambUdiri society
does not correlate with association with temple rituals. I'm not sure what the 
hierarchies in north India are like.

 

If I remember right, there is a prohibition by manu, against inviting a temple priest
for partaking of the food at annual SrAddha observances for the ancestors.

 

Vidyasankar
                           
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