The traditional occupation of Brahmins was that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies and rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers. Theoretically, the Brahmins were the most respected of the four social classes. Their livelihood is prescribed to be one of strict austerity and voluntary poverty ("Brahmin should acquire what just suffices for the time, what he earns he should spend all that the same day"). In practice, Indian texts suggest that some Brahmins became agriculturalists, warriors, traders and had also held other occupations in the Indian subcontinent.