Brahmahatya

Brahmahatya (Sanskrit: ब्रह्महत्या, romanized: Brahmahatyā), also rendered Brahmanahatya (Sanskrit: ब्राह्मणहत्या, romanized: Brāhmaṇahatyā) is the Sanskrit term for "the killing of a Brahmin". It is translated as Brahminicide in English. The Manusmriti regards the murder of a Brahmin to be the greatest of sins, and the highest of the mahapatakas (mortal sins).

Brahmahatya is also personified as a hideous woman in Hindu texts such as the Puranas. Described to possess red hair and wear blue robes, she is stated to laugh boisterously, chasing the murderers of Brahmins.