brahmahatya
ब्रह्महत्या brahmahatyāThe killing of a brahmin, held in the tradition to be the gravest of sins; in the Kashi myth Bhairava incurs it by beheading Brahma and is released from it only on entering Kashi.
Where this term appears
- Who is Bhairava? Deities
Bhairava is the fierce form of Shiva. His name comes from the root bhi, fear, and means the frightful one, though the tradition holds that his terror is aimed at…
- Who is Shiva? Deities
Shiva is the supreme reality for the Shaiva traditions, and, by one widely cited estimate, for something like a quarter of all Hindus, though such figures are rough…
- The Fierce Guardians Treatise
Bhairava is the fierce, terrifying form of Shiva — a black-bodied, dog-accompanied guardian who carries the powers of time (kala) and death. He begins as an…
- The magistrate of death Treatise
To kill a brahmin is brahmahatya , the worst of all sins, and Brahma is the first brahmin.