Pandit

Pandit (Sanskrit: पण्डित, romanized: paṇḍita; Hindi: पंडित;[1] also spelled pundit, pronounced /ˈpʌndɪt, ˈpændɪt/;[2] abbreviated as Pt. or Pdt.; Pandita or Panditain can refer to a female pandit or the wife of a pandit) is a person with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism,[1] particularly the Vedic scriptures, dharma, Hindu philosophy, or secular subjects such as music.[3] He may be a Teacher in a Pathshala.

For other uses, see Pandit (disambiguation).
A historic pandit's statue in a museum.

In Sanskrit, Pandit generally refers to any "wise, educated or learned man" with specialized knowledge.[4] The term is derived from paṇḍ (पण्ड्) which means "to collect, heap, pile up", and this root is used in the sense of knowledge.[5] The term is found in Vedic and post-Vedic texts, but without any sociological context.

The related term Purohit refers to a house priest.[3]

See also

References
  1. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pundit" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 649.
  2. "pandit". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  3. Axel Michaels; Barbara Harshav (2004). Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton University Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-691-08952-2.
  4. Monier Monier-Williams (1872). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 527.
  5. Monier Monier-Williams (1872). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. pp. 526–527.


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