Topic summary
Purohit
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Purohita.
Etymology
The word purohita derives from the Sanskrit, puras meaning "front", and hita, "placed". The word is also used synonymously with the word pandit, which also means "priest". Tirtha purohita means the purohita who sit at the fords of the holy rivers or holy tanks and who have maintained the records of the forefathers of the Hindu family for thousands of years. Purohita can refer to a house priest. Another less-formal name for teerth purohits is panda, which is derived from the word pandit (from the Sanskrit paṇḍita, meaning "learned man").