1. Rājopādhyāya Brahmins are on top of the Hindu Newar social hierarchy. Referred to as 'Deva Brahman'(God Brahmin) or colloquially as 'Dyah Baje'(God Grandfather), these Brahmins with surnames Rajopadhyaya, Sharma, Acharya, among others, serve as family priest (purohit) primarily to the Hindu Srēṣṭha clans. They also serve as the Vedic temple priests of some of the most important temples of the Vaishnav sect, including Krishna Mandir and the four cardinal Vishnu temples of Kathmandu Valley; Changu Narayan, Sesh Narayan, Bishankhu Narayan, and Ichanghu Narayan. They also serve as chief priests of the three Taleju Bhawani temples, the "ista-devi" of Mallas, the Kumbeshvar temple, among others. The Rajopadhyayas speak Newari language and were historically the "raj-purohitas" and "gurus" of the Licchavi and Malla kings. They claim descent from Kanyakubja Brahmins, one of the five Pancha-Gauda North Indian Brahmin groupings, and history shows their presence in the Kathmandu valley as early as 4th CE. The Rajopadhyayas still keep a strong tradition of Vedic and Tantric rituals alive, a fact exemplified for instance at the recent "Lakhhōma", performed with contributions of the whole town of Bhaktapur. The Brahmins are higher in caste status than the king not because they are more powerful, but because of their superior ritual status. The Brahmins were like all other specialized service providers, except that they were considered higher to others in ritual purity.