Pandit
A Hindu priest or scholar who leads rituals and gives advice.
A pandit is a Hindu priest or scholar. He leads rituals such as the puja, the havan and the rites around birth, marriage and death, and families ask him for advice at important moments.
In the Surinamese Hindustani community in the Netherlands, the pandit is often also the person people turn to with a dream that returns or leaves unease, for example a dream about a deceased relative. How a pandit approaches such a dream differs by movement and by family.
Related terms
- Pitri The departed ancestors in Hinduism, remembered through rituals.
- Agni The Vedic god of fire, messenger between humans and gods.
- Naga Serpent beings in Hinduism, guardians of water and treasure.
- Atman The true, immortal self in Hinduism.
- Karma The law of cause and effect: actions have consequences, in this life and the next.
- Samsara The cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
- Shraddha The Hindu ritual in remembrance of the departed ancestors.
- Ayurveda Classical Indian medicine, which also classifies dreams by their origin.
- Kundalini In the yoga tradition the coiled life energy at the base of the spine.