Joshi, Jyotishi, Bhadri, Parsai.--The caste of village priests
and astrologers. They numbered about 6000 persons in 1911, being
distributed over all Districts. The Joshis are nearly all Brahmans,
but have now developed into a separate caste and marry among
themselves. Their social customs resemble those of Brahmans, and
need not be described in detail. The Joshi officiates at weddings
in the village, selects auspicious names for children according to
the nakshatra or constellation of the moon under which they were
born, and points out the auspicious time or mahurat for all such
ceremonies and for the commencement of agricultural operations. He is
also sometimes in charge of the village temples. He is supported by
the contributions from the villagers, and often has a plot of land
rent-free from the proprietor. The social position of the Joshis is
not very good, and, though Brahmans, they are considered to rank
somewhat below the cultivating castes, the Kurmis and Kunbis, by
whose patronage they are supported. [210]
The Bhadris are a class of Joshis who wander about and live by
begging, telling fortunes and giving omens. They avert the evil
influences of the planet Saturn and accept the gifts offered to
this end, which are always black, as black blankets, charcoal,
tilli or sesamum oil, the urad pulse, [211] and iron. People born on
Saturday or being otherwise connected with the planet are especially
subject to his malign influence. The Joshi ascertains who these
unfortunate persons are from their horoscopes, and neutralises the
evil influence of the planet by the acceptance of the gifts already
mentioned, while he sometimes also receives a buffalo or a cow. He
computes by astrological calculations the depth at which water will
be found when a cultivator wishes to dig a well. He also practises
palmistry, classifying the whorls of the fingers into two patterns,
called the Shank or conch-shell and Chakra or discus of Vishnu. The
Shank is considered to be unfortunate and the Chakra fortunate. The
lines on the balls of the toes and on the forehead are similarly
classified. When anything has been lost or stolen the Joshi can tell
from the daily nakshatra or mansion of the moon in which the loss or
theft occurred whether the property has gone to the north, south, east
or west, and within what interval it is likely to be found. The people
have not nowadays much faith in his prophetic powers, and they say,
"If clouds come on Friday, and the sky is black on Saturday, then the
Joshi foretells that it will rain on Sunday." The Joshi's calculations
are all based on the rashis or signs of the zodiac through which the
sun passes during the year, and the nakshatras or those which mark the
monthly revolutions of the moon. These are given in all Hindu almanacs,
and most Joshis simply work from the almanac, being quite ignorant of
astronomy. Since the measurement of the sun's apparent path on the
ecliptic, and the moon's orbit mapped out by the constellations are
of some interest, and govern the arrangement of the Hindu calendar,
it has been thought desirable to give some account of them. And in
order to make this intelligible it is desirable first to recapitulate
some elementary facts of astronomy.