Upadhyay
Upadhyaya, also spelled Upadhyay (sanskrit: उपाध्याय), is a surname used by some Brahmin people in India.
It is also a term for Jain monks (Prakrit Uvajhaya) who do both study and preaching, who rank higher than a Muni and below an Acharya. In the Namokar Mantra a salutation to them is included in the fourth line. A Jain priestly community in Karnataka is named Upadhyaya.[1]
Upādhyāya is the surname of some members of the Madhwa Shivalli Brahmins and Havyaka Brahmins of Karnataka, Kota Brahmins of the Kundapur and surrounding areas of Udupi, the Audichya Brahmins of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh and also of the Trivedi Mewada Brahmins of Gujarat. The Gujarat Brahmins of Shandilya are in Surat.[2] Amongst Telugu Brahmins, Upadhyay is turned into Upadhyayula, with an "ula" at the end. The surname Ojha in Rajasthan/Gujarat and Jha in Bihar are both short of Prakrit Uvajhaya.
Notable people
- Amar Upadhyay, Indian model, film and television actor
- Amod Prasad Upadhyay (born 1936), Nepalese social worker and politician
- Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay (1865–1947), writer of Hindi literature
- Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861–1907), Bengali Brahmin, nephew of the Indian freedom-fighter Kalicharan Banerjee
- Chandramauli Upadhyay, Indian astrologer
- Chintan Upadhyay (born 1972), Indian contemporary artist, arrested in connection with the double murder
- Deendayal Upadhyaya - RSS thinker and co-founder of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
- Harilal Upadhyay (1916–1994), Gujarati author
- Hema Upadhyay (1972–2015), Indian artist who lived and worked in Mumbai, India since 1998
- Kedar Nath Upadhyay, Chief Justice of Nepal at Supreme Court
- Kishore Upadhyaya, Indian politician
- Krishnakant Upadhyay (born 1986), cricketer from Uttar Pradesh
- Munishwar Dutt Upadhyay, Indian politician and statesman, leader in the Indian independence movement
- Ram Kinkar Upadhyay, noted scholar on Indian scriptures and a recepeient of Padma Bhushan, the third highest civil award of India
- Samrat Upadhyay, Nepalese writer who writes in English
- Satish Upadhyay (born 1962), the President of the Delhi Unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- Seema Upadhyay (born 1965), Indian politician, belonging to Bahujan Samaj Party
- Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Nepalese diplomat and politician
- Shrikrishna Upadhyay (born 1945), Nepalese economist
- Umesh Upadhyay, veteran Indian television journalist & media executive, President News at Network18
- Vikas Upadhyay, General Secretary for All India Youth Congress
- Brahmabandhav Upadhyay, Indian Freedom fighter
- Darshan Upadhyaya, professional esports player
In Jainism
In Jainism, an upadhyay is the second highest leader of a Jain ascetic order after an acharya. The Fourth Shloka of the Namokar Mantra says Namo Uvvajhayanam meaning bow to all upadhyayas.
In Buddhism
In Buddhism, an upadhyaya is a religious functionary responsible for guiding novices, hearing monastic vows and entrusting monastic precepts on ordinands. The word is usually translated either as abbot, preceptor or master of novices. An upadhyaya has customarily spent at least ten years in a buddhist monastery before given this appointment.
See also
- All pages with a title containing Upadhyay
References
- ↑ Dr. A.N. Upadhye - His Life And Accomplishments India, Accessed on November 11, 2014
- ↑ Nepal, an historical miscellany By Mahesh Chandra Regmi