A paṇḍit (Hindi; Devanagari: पण्डित; Bengali: পন্ডিত, Sanskrit: paṇḍita) is a scholar, a teacher, particularly one skilled in Sanskrit language, mastered vedic scriptures in the four vedas , Hindu rituals and Hindu law, religion, music or philosophy under a Guru in a Gurukul or tutored under the vedic ancient Guru Shishya tradition of learning. The English loan word pundit is derived from it.
In the original usage of the word, "Pandit", syonymous to "Purohits" refers to a Hindu, almost always a Brahmin, who has memorized a substantial portion of the Vedas, along with the corresponding rhythms and melodies for chanting religious verses or singing them during prayers or rituals.
The designation may also appear as the abbreviation "Pt.", or "Pnt."
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Pundits and Purohits may also be pujaris or temple priests who chant Vedic verses at yagyas and other religious ceremonies, both public and private. The vedic chanting is meant to evoke the gods with a quiet mind for the purpose to sanctify the place of ritual with spiritual development for the listeners as well as . All pundits are strict lacto-vegetarian for spiritual reasons. They are supposed to maintain purity of body and mind. The Rajpurohits had similar function , often patronised by the Hindu lordlords or kings in the region for advice , administrative as well as royal religious rituals and ceremonies.They were accorded a high social place with grants of lands and privileges which other pundits did not enjoy.
The historical evolution of vedic priests can be traced back to ancient Aryan civilization through the Chandragupta Maurya era, branching off to all regions in family geneaology across Bharatvarsha after training under the ancient Hindu Sages to do services to the people and the King. The surnames appended to the pundits often follow the gotra of the family geneaology, historical regions in migration or in the patronage of Kings or nobility.
The surname 'Pandit', most abundantly found among Kashmiris, is found all over India today. The surname is mostly found among Hindus; however, there are also cases of the surname Pandit used by Kashmiri Muslims who hare more recent converts into Islam.
Naming patterns of the Kashmiri Pandits are almost the same as are found there among the Brahmins of the centro-eastern region with componential preferences with regard to the second component. Some of these are: (1) + Narayan: Jagdish - (Sapru), Anand - (Mulla), Parameshwar - (Haksar), Hriday - (Kunjru), Jagat-,Laxmi-,Brij-,Shyam-,etc. (2) + Krisn: Roop-, Maharaj-, Brij-, Avta-, Tej-, Mohan-, Hari-, Kumar-, Jay-, Pyare-, Nipun-, Apurv-, etc. (3) + Nath: Hriday-, Omkar-, Raghu-, Amar-, Balji-, etc. (4) + Lal: Moti-, Jawahar-, Krishan-, Ziya-
Moreover, at present the names of Kashmiri Pandits are drawn from the same sources as by the Hindus of northern India, but some of the names of the Kashmiri Pandits, recorded in earlier literary works show that names drawn from Persian sources too were current among them. e.g. Aftab Pandit, Balkak Dar, etc. Interestingly, in Kashmiri 'Pandit' surname is attested with Muslims as well, e.g. Mohd Shafi Pandit, Chairman of J&K Public Service Commission. High incidence of the surname 'Pandit' today can be found in Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan..
"Pandit" as a surname is always indicative of someone who as Saraswat Brahmin lineage at some point.
Descendants from Saraswat Brahmin lineage
In India today, 'Pandit' is an honour conferred on an expert of any subject or field, especially Hindustani music. Its usage is confined to Hindu male exponents. Muslim male musicians are bestowed with the title 'Ustad', and the terms 'Vidushi' and 'Begum' are used for Hindu and Muslim female exponents respectively.
The term 'Pandit' (always capitalised) is prefixed to the person's name, similarly to the way the term 'Maestro' is occasionally used. Examples include Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
This usage also applies to politician Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Pandits, or locals learned in the dharmasastra, were also employed as court advisors during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Initially, British judges had very little knowledge of Hindu customs and oral traditions, and they could seek information from them on particular questions. The Supreme Court of India had a law officer styled the Pundit of the Supreme Court, who advised the English judges on points of Hindu law. The practice was abandoned by 1864, as judges had acquired some experience in dealing with Hindu law, and applied the increasing volume of case law that had developed. Further, the institution of the High Courts, two years earlier, in 1862 further diminished their official use.
Pandit or pundit was also the name used for Indian native surveyors who explored regions to the north of India for the British in the 19th century. See Pundit (explorer).
In Indonesian language and many regional languages of Indonesia, derivative form of pandit, pendeta, is used to refer priest or cleric, in Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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