Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

CWSA 35

Fragment ID: 8469

Brahma – Brahman – Brahmin [2]

You have given me the spellings of ब्रह्म [brahma] (the Eternal) and ब्रह्मा [brahmā] (the Creator). Kindly write to me the correct spelling of ब्रह्मण [brahmaṇa] (a caste) also.

I spoke of Brahma the Creator in order to explain why the n was necessary in transliterating ब्रह्म the Eternal.

As for the other word the correct English is Brahmin, but it is often transliterated Brahmana or Brahman in order to be nearer the Sanskrit. Usually, I write Brahmin but in the Press it gets altered into Brahman.

2 February 1933