The word brahmana has two roots: expansion (brah) and mind (manas). In the Rig Veda—depending on usage—it refers to language, the power of language to expand the mind, and the expanded mind. The student was referred to as a brahmachari, one who was expected to behave such that his mind expanded. Later, it came to refer to ritual manuals (brahmana texts), and eventually to keepers of these texts (the brahmana caste, more popularly known as Brahmins). Even later, it became a character in the Puranas, Brahma, the creator of the world, who is so consumed by his creation that he forgets his own
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