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Whenever you go to a temple for darshan, you find some priest there. Along with this, Pandits will also be seen in temples. Most people consider Pandit and Pujari to be the same, whereas there is a lot of difference between the two. In today's article, our expert astrologer Radhakant Vats is going to tell you about this difference. So let us know how priests differ from Pandits.
Who are the priests?
Priests are those who serve in the temple. The job of a priest is to worship the God installed in the temple, serve him, give him food from time to time, perform his aarti, etc., that is, to be completely dedicated to the work of God.
Apart from this, the priests also take care of the temple and also deliver prasad to the devotees who come to the temple to see the Lord. The priests remain confined to the temple and participate in all the activities related to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
Who is the Pandit?
Pandits are those who are not only dedicated to the works of God. Pandits are known to perform other functions from the worship of God to Grihapravesh, marriage, Mundan Sanskar, Janoi Sanskar etc. Pandits also perform various Paaths and Yagna rituals.
One of the duties of a Pandit is to perform all the rituals that take place after death. Pandit also gets Dakshina for doing all these tasks whereas it is considered taboo for a priest to take any kind of Dakshina. There is another big difference between these two.
In earlier times, priests were not householders. One who was appointed as a priest to serve the temple had to undergo Virakta Diksha. However, in today's time, whether it is a Pandit or a Pujari, both lead a family life and are engaged in worldly affairs.