Vedic priesthood
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Chief priests
The older references uniformly indicate the Writtiks and Purohits then
hotṛ as the presiding priest, with perhaps only the adhvaryu as his assistant in the earliest times. The phrase "seven hotars" is found more than once in the Rigveda. Hymn 2.1.2 of Rigveda states it as follows,
तवाग्ने होत्रं तव पोत्रमृत्वियं तव नेष्ट्रं त्वमग्निदृतायतः । तव प्रशास्त्रं त्वमध्वरीयसि ब्रह्म चासि गृहपतिश्च नो दमे ॥२॥[2]
Thine is the Herald's task and Cleanser's duly timed; Leader art thou, and Kindler for the pious man. Thou art Director, thou the ministering Priest: thou art the Brahman, Lord and Master in our home.
— Rigveda 2.1.2[3]
The above hymn enumerate the priests as the hotṛ, potṛ, neṣṭṛ, agnīdh, prashāstṛ (meaning the maitrāvaruna) and adhvaryu.
- The hotṛi was the reciter of invocations and litanies. These could consist of single verses (ṛca), strophes (triples called tṛca or pairs called pragātha), or entire hymns (sukta), drawn from the ṛgveda. As each phase of the ritual required an invocation, the hotṛi had a leading or presiding role.[citation needed]
- The adhvaryu was in charge of the physical details of the sacrifice (in particular the adhvara, a term for the Monier-Williams, the adhvaryu "had to measure the ground, to build the altar, to prepare the sacrificial vessels, to fetch wood and water, to light the fire, to bring the animal and immolate it," among other duties.[citation needed] Each action was accompanied by supplicative or benedictive formulas (yajus), drawn from the yajurveda. Over time, the role of the adhvaryu grew in importance, and many verses of the ṛgveda were incorporated, either intact or adapted, into the texts of the yajurveda.[4]
- The udgātṛi was a chanter of hymns set to melodies (sāman) drawn from the sāmaveda. This was a specialized role in the major soma sacrifices: a characteristic function of the udgātṛ was to sing hymns in praise of the invigorating properties of soma pavamāna, the freshly pressed juice of the soma plant.[citation needed]
- The brahman was the reciter of hymns from the atharvaveda who was largely silent and observes the procedures and uses Atharvaveda mantras to 'heal' it when mistakes have been made.
The term Brahman in the above hymn 2.1.2 refers to deity Agni of hymn 2.1.1.[5]
The rgvedic
Purohita
The requirements of the fully developed ritual were rigorous enough that only professional priests could perform them adequately.[
Assistants
In the systematic expositions of the
- With the hotṛ:
- the maitrāvaruna
- the acchāvāka
- the grāvastut (praising the Soma stones)
- With the udgātṛ:
- the prastotṛ (who chants the Prastâva)
- the pratihartṛ ("averter")
- the subrahmanya
- With the adhvaryu:
- the pratiprasthātṛ
- the neṣṭṛ
- the unnetṛ (who pours the Soma juice into the receptacles )
- With the brahman:
- the brāhmanācchamsin
- the agnīdh (priest who kindles the sacred fire)
- the potṛ ("purifier")
Philological comparisons
Comparison with the sacred texts of
In present-day Indian Zoroastrian (
The division of priestly functions among the Hotar, the Udgatar and the Adhvaryu has been compared to the
See also
References
- ^ DHARMI, SANATAN. "What is Hinduism??". Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ^ Rigveda 2.1.2 (Sanskrit) Wikisource
- ^ Ralph T. H. Griffith (Translator), Rigveda 2.1.2 Wikisource
- ^ DHARMI, SANATAN. "What are Vedas?". Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ^ Ralph T.H. Griffith (Translator), Rigveda 2.1.2 Wikisource
- ^ Shānkhāyana SS 13.14.1, Āsvalāyana SS 4.1-6
- ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".