Posted by: Rajesh BP July 5, 2016
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@rahulvai some good insights and details. But I would like to correct you on a few points.
Newar Joshis, Karmacharya, Gurubacharya, Rajbhandari, Baidya - are not Brahmin by caste, they all belong to Chathar or Chha-thari which is Newari meaning for क्षत्री. Even though they may have functional roles that is usually done by Brahmin caste (like astrology, priestly, ayurvedic teachers), the fact of the matter is Nepal Valley always had very low population of actual Brahmin (Panch-Gauda, Yujurvedi) population. This is why those Brahmins allocated these occupation to select Kshatriya status clans. They traditionally only marry with other Chha-thari clans like Malla, Pradhan, Singh, Amatya, Maskey, Kayastha, Hada, Onta, Patrabanshi, Rajbanshi, etc. etc. who had explicitly Kshatriya (ruling, warrior) background in the past. All Chha-tharis are supposed to be tagadhaari (who wear the janai.) There are some key differences between Newar and Khas - like Joshi of Khas people are still Bahun even though considered slightly lesser than Upadhyaya and believed to be off-spring of widow Brahmins. Newar Joshis too are believed to have been off-spring of widow Brahmins, but for some reason they are not considered as Brahmin, their caste has fallen down one whole varna to Chathari/Chhetri. Similarly, Rajbhandari of Kathmandu (Kashyap gotri) had been Bhandari priests of Pashupati whereas Rajbhandari of Bhaktapur (Bharadwaj gotri) had always been involved as ministers, kajis, karnel, hakims, etc. (i.e. key administrative positions.) So even among the same clan, you have such differences - which is not like what Khas Bahun/Chhetri people have.
Newar Joshis, Karmacharya, Gurubacharya, Rajbhandari, Baidya - are not Brahmin by caste, they all belong to Chathar or Chha-thari which is Newari meaning for क्षत्री. Even though they may have functional roles that is usually done by Brahmin caste (like astrology, priestly, ayurvedic teachers), the fact of the matter is Nepal Valley always had very low population of actual Brahmin (Panch-Gauda, Yujurvedi) population. This is why those Brahmins allocated these occupation to select Kshatriya status clans. They traditionally only marry with other Chha-thari clans like Malla, Pradhan, Singh, Amatya, Maskey, Kayastha, Hada, Onta, Patrabanshi, Rajbanshi, etc. etc. who had explicitly Kshatriya (ruling, warrior) background in the past. All Chha-tharis are supposed to be tagadhaari (who wear the janai.) There are some key differences between Newar and Khas - like Joshi of Khas people are still Bahun even though considered slightly lesser than Upadhyaya and believed to be off-spring of widow Brahmins. Newar Joshis too are believed to have been off-spring of widow Brahmins, but for some reason they are not considered as Brahmin, their caste has fallen down one whole varna to Chathari/Chhetri. Similarly, Rajbhandari of Kathmandu (Kashyap gotri) had been Bhandari priests of Pashupati whereas Rajbhandari of Bhaktapur (Bharadwaj gotri) had always been involved as ministers, kajis, karnel, hakims, etc. (i.e. key administrative positions.) So even among the same clan, you have such differences - which is not like what Khas Bahun/Chhetri people have.