Sakaldwipiya

Sakaldwipiya Brahmins (also known as Bhojaka Brahmins or Maga Brahmins) are a class of Brahmin priests, Ayurveda teachers and practitioners (Vaidya) that are concentrated in northern India. They are known as Vaidyabrahmin in Bengal. The name can also be spelled as Shakdvipi, Shakdwipi, Shakdweepi, Shakdvipiya, Shakdwipiya, Shakdweepiya, Shakadwipi, and Sakadwipi.

Origin

The Sakaldwipiya Brahmin identify themselves as having emanating from the Shakdvipa area as described in the Samba Purana and the Bhavishya Purana.[1][2][3] The Maga brahmins were invited to Mitravana (Multan) on the banks of the Chnadrabhaga river specifically to worship the idol of Lord Sun. The Sakaldwipiya are specifically Surya worshippers.

The Maga are mentioned in Mahabharata as the Brahmins in Shakadvipa.[4][5] In Kalakacharya Kathanaka, the Jain Acharya Kalaka is said to have visited the Shaka country after crossing the Indus river, which was then ruled by a Shahi ruler who was a regional ruler under the Shahanushahi, in the first cent BCE.[6] The Shakas are identified as Scythianss by Mukharjee.

Internal structures

The Sakaldwipiya Brahmins of Bihar, Odisha, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are Ayurvedic physicians, priests and landholders.[7]

Also see

References
  1. Bhavishya Purana (chapter 133)Jāti-Bhāṣkara, p. 150 quotes Bhavishya Purana while giving an account of the origin of Śākadvīpīs.
  2. Chand 1964, p. 4
  3. Samkshipta Bhavishya Purana, Kalyana, Jan 1992, Description of Magas in Sambopakhayana p. 141
  4. The Mahabharata in Sanskrit, Book 6, Chapter 12, v33-34
  5. SECTION XI (Bhumi Parva), p.26
  6. B.N. Mukherjee, Ana analysis of the contents of the Kalakacharya Kathanakas, Jain Journal, Oct 1997, p. 37-46
  7. Mitra 1962, p. 615.

Bibliography
  • Chand, Tara (1964), Indo-Iranian relations, Tehran: Information Service of India, Embassy of India.
  • Mitra, Debala (1962), Foreign Elements In Indian Culture, The Cultural Heritage of India, II, Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute, pp. 612–615.
  • Sharma, Jagdish Saran (1981), Encyclopaedia Indica, II (2nd ed.), New Delhi: Chand
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