Pisharody
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Practices
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Pisharody (also spelled Pisharodi, Pisharadi, Pisharoty, or Pisharoti; colloquially known as Sharody) is a sub-caste of the Pushpaka Brahmin caste in Kerala. As Vaishnavite Brahmins, Pisharodys were traditionally caretakers of Hindu temples, with temple related jobs (Kazhakam) and hence clubbed under Ambalavasis (ambalam = temple, vasi = resident in Malayalam). Most Pisharams (Pisharody households) are situated near Vaishnavite or Bhagawathy (Hindu Goddess) temples.
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[edit] Origins
The Pisharodys belong to the Narayana Dasa Gotram, based on the folklore that the earliest Pisharody was a patron saint who later took on the title Shri Swamy Narayana Dasa, and brought his disciples (Budhdhist/Jain origins) to merge with the Vaishnavaite school of thought in the post Adi Shankaracharya period in Kerala. Pisharodi
[edit] Etymology
Etymologically, the word owes its origins to the saintly antecedents of the community. Bhikhshuvar (monk/mendicant) + Adikal (reverential addressing / honorific suffix) = Bhikhshuvaradikal, later corrupted to Pisharodikal and pisharody ( pishara itself being a term for a younger sanyasi).
Interestingly, in contrast to the pisharodikal, an ambalavasi community named adikal exist that carry out the priestly duties at kodungallur. On account of the animal sacrifices and various other scandalous activities that have long been associated with the kodungalur temple, nambudiris have generally avoided the priestly duties by delegating the same to the adikal, although the tantri remains a nambudiri.
There is also another legend behind the origin of the name Pisharody. According to this, Pisharodys are descendants of a group of Namboothiris who intended to be Sanyasis. During the process of initiation to sanyasam, the aspirants are referred to as "psharas" in Sanskrit. However, the group could not complete the process to become sanyasis. Since they had already ritualistically discarded their Brahmin past, they could not return to their original caste. Thereafter this 'Pshara' group and their descendants were called as psharody, later coloqualized into Pisharody. Pisharodys do not wear the sacred thread nor can perform puja in temples as per the tradition. However, Thurston's book quotes the Travancore Gazetteer as terming this legend silly and fanciful.
Shri Attoor Krishna Pisharody has referred to the saintly rituals of the community in his treatise named Bhattaraka Vijayam. The bhattaraka origins as well as other details of origins of the Pisharody community can be accessed from the authoritative book called 'The castes and Tribes of South India' written by Edgar Thurston in the early 1900s [1].
[edit] Famous Pisharodis
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- Attoor Krishna Pisharody[2]
- Thrikkandiyoor Achutha Pisharody[3]
- Thiruvegappura Anayath Krishna Pisharody
- Cherukat Govinda Pisharody[4]
- Dr. K.N. Pisharody[5]
- Panditharathnam Prof. K. P. Narayana Pisharody[6]
- Prof. P. R. Pisharody
- Mundur Krishnankutty [7]
- Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody [8]
- Dr. (Lt. Col) K.N.Pisharody[9]
- Kalluvazhi T P Rama Pisharody[10]
- Kongad Vijayan[11]
- Kottakkal Gopala Pisharody[12]
- N N Pisharody N. N. Pisharody
- Prof. (Dr.) Rajendrakumar Anayath
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Pisharody Samajam
- History
- Kallil photo
- Pisharoti Rituals published by Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 56, 1926 (1926), pp. 83-89
- a weird thread with discussions on origins
- assessment by Mr William Logan, in the Malabar manual , page 130 regarding his views on the origins of the Pisharodis
- Castes and Tribes of South India By Edgar Thurston, K. Rangachari page 199 onwards
- Malayala Manorama article on Aryabhata and the Kallil pisharam
