BRAHMAN. - The word occurs in the Veda, with different gender and accent, in two different meanings. Brahman, neuter, is first the "prayer," endowed with magical power, which, in union with the rite, compels the gods to satisfy men's desires. It then becomes the substance of the sacrifice (yajña), the mysterious force that emanates from it, until in the Upaniṣad it frees itself from the external and material part of the rite, and, released from the sacrifice, rises to the rank of the Absolute. It is then Being in itself (sat), eternal, infinite, unknowable, the beginning and end of all things. In this meaning, moreover, the B. is the fundamental theme of the philosophy of the Vedānta. Brahmān, masculine, is at first he who possesses the brāhman, the priest, the Brahmin. Only in a few passages of the Rgveda does the brahmān appear invested with a particular function, alongside the hotar, the udgātar and the adhvaryu. In the Atharvaveda and in the Brahmana (v.) he is assigned the task of "physician of the sacrifice." He watches over the ceremony in silence, and if the officiants fall into error of acts or words, he remedies it with suitable expiations. He is required to know all the Veda, but his particular text is the Atharvaveda, the breviary of the exorcist (v. BRAHMĀ).
Bibliography
Ferdinando Belloni Filippi