________________
Social Divisions in the Jaina Community
99
To every Jaina temple one or more priests or Upadhyāyas are attached. The priests constitute an hereditary religious class who are expected to know the various religious ceremonies, to serve the temples and to conduct marriages of Jainas according to Jaina ritual. Priests are supported by the Jaina community by allowing them to take the rice and other offerings, cloth and money presents which are made to the gods and goddesses. Priests are usually chosen from among the learned Pañchamas or Chaturthas subject to the recognition of their principal Svāmis or head priests called *Pattacharya Svāmīs'. A layman by learning the profession can become a priest; and a priest can, if he so desires, give up his profession and become a layman. But marriages between priests and laymen cannot take place.151 There is no objection for a Jaina priest to eat food from any of the other Jaina caste fellows. But he cannot have inter-marriage relations with them. Jaina priests give their daughters in marriage to no one but priests and do not accept girls from any other caste. When the other Jaina castes in the Deccan allow and practice widow-marriage, it is neither allowed nor practised by Upadhyāyas. 152
Besides the temple priests every village which has a considerable number of Jainas has an hereditary village priest called 'Grāmopadhyaya' who conducts their ceremonies and is paid either in cash or in grain. These village priests, who are married and in whose families the office of priest is hereditary, are under a high priest called 'Dharmādhikārī', i. e., religious head, or ascetic by whom they are appointed and who has power to turn out any priest who breaks religious rules or caste customs. The village priest keeps a register of all marriages and thread-girdings in the village and the high priest whose head-quarters are at Nāndani about 18 miles east of Kolhapur and whose authority extends over all Kolhapur Jainas, makes a yearly circuit for gathering contributions, or sen
agent to collect subscriptions from the persons named in the village priests' lists. The office of high priest is selective. The high priest chooses his successor from among his favourite disciples.153
It should be remembered that like priestly caste among Hindus no high position is assigned to the Jaina Upadhyayas, and the latter mix freely with other caste-fellows even taking food at their hands. It has not been enjoined upon laymen to give presents to Upadhyāyas.
