Brāhmaṇa. The term is used in two distinct senses: (a) A literature consisting of the elaboration of priestly ritualistic manuals. It varies very considerably in quality, much of it being somewhat dreary and prolix. It dates from roughly 800 to 600 BCE. (b) The name given to the priestly class, collectively, although in the course of Indian history it has come to be applied to priests individually. According to Vedic principles and practice, priests must be male. If, as occasionally happened, a priest delegated to his wife the performance of the priestly sacrifice, the gods were said to despise the offering.

Geddes MacGregor, Dictionary of Religion and Philosophy, New York: Paragon House, 1989