{{short description|Priests of the Vedic religion}} {{redirect|Hotar|the Romanian village|Țețchea}} {{Multiple issues|{{more citations needed|date=April 2015}} {{cleanup lang|date=November 2021}}}} '''Priests''' of the '''Vedic religion''' are officiants of the ''yajna'' service. Yajna is an important part of Hinduism, especially the Vedas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=DHARMI|first=SANATAN|date=|title=What is Hinduism??|url=https://fxperry.blogspot.com/2020/02/What-are-the-basic-beliefs-of-Hinduism.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-03|website=}}</ref> Persons trained for the ritual and proficient in its practice were called '''{{IAST|r̥tvij}}''' ({{Lang|sa|ऋत्विज्}} 'regularly-sacrificing').{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} As members of a social class, they were generically known as {{Lang|sa-latn|vipra}} 'sage' or {{Lang|sa-latn|kavi}} 'seer'. Specialization of roles attended the elaboration and development of the ritual corpus over time. Eventually a full complement of sixteen ''{{IAST|ṛtvija}}''s became the custom for major ceremonies. The sixteen consisted of four chief priests and their assistants.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
==Chief priests== {{Further|Yajna#Rituals}} The older references uniformly indicate ''{{IAST|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. Rigveda 2.1.2 states it as follows,
{{Verse transliteration-translation|तवा॑ग्ने हो॒त्रं तव॑ पो॒त्रमृ॒त्वियं॒ तव॑ ने॒ष्ट्रं त्वम॒ग्निदृ॑ताय॒तः ।<br>तव॑ प्रशा॒स्त्रं त्वम॑ध्वरीयसि ब्र॒ह्मा चासि॑ गृ॒हप॑तिश्च नो॒ दमे॑ ॥|tavā̍gne '''ho̱traṃ''' tava̍ '''po̱tram'''ṛ̱tviya̱ṃ tava̍ '''ne̱ṣṭraṃ''' tvam'''a̱gnid'''ṛ̍tāya̱taḥ.<br> tava̍ '''praśā̱straṃ''' tvam'''a̍dhvarīyasi''' '''bra̱hmā''' cāsi̍ gṛ̱hapa̍tiśca no̱ dame̍ .|Thine is the '''Herald''''s task and '''Cleanser''''s duly timed; '''Leader''' art thou, and '''Kindler''' for the pious man.<br>Thou art '''Director''', thou the '''ministering Priest''': thou art the '''Brahman''', Lord and Master in our home.<ref>Ralph T. H. Griffith (Translator), Rigveda 2.1.2 Wikisource</ref>|lang=sa|originalHeading=Devanagari|translationHeading=English|transliterationHeading=IAST}}
The above verse enumerates the priests as the ''{{IAST|hōtr̥}}'', ''{{IAST|pōtr̥}}'', ''{{IAST|nēṣṭr̥}}'', ''agnīdʰ'', ''{{IAST|praśāstr̥}}'' and ''{{IAST|adʰvaryu}}''.
Rigveda 10.71.11 describes the specialized tasks of the four types of 'companions' in a sacrifice: {{Verse transliteration-translation|ऋ॒चां त्व॒: पोष॑मास्ते पुपु॒ष्वान्गा॑य॒त्रं त्वो॑ गायति॒ शक्व॑रीषु ।<br>ब्र॒ह्मा त्वो॒ वद॑ति जातवि॒द्यां य॒ज्ञस्य॒ मात्रां॒ वि मि॑मीत उ त्वः ॥|ṛ̱cāṃ tva̱: poṣa̍māste pupu̱ṣvāngā̍ya̱traṃ tvo̍ gāyati̱ śakva̍rīṣu.<br>bra̱hmā tvo̱ vada̍ti jātavi̱dyāṃ ya̱jñasya̱ mātrā̱ṃ vi mi̍mīta u tvaḥ.|One plies his constant task reciting verses. one sings the holy psalm in Sakvari measures.<br>One more, the Brahman, tells the lore of being, and one lays down the rules of sacrificing.<ref>Ralph T. H. Griffith (Translator), Rigveda 10.71.11 Wikisource</ref>|lang=sa|originalHeading=Devanagari|translationHeading=English|transliterationHeading=IAST}}
Vedic (Shrauta) yajnas are typically performed by four priests of the Vedic priesthood: the hota, the adhvaryu, the udgata and the Brahma.<ref>Mahendra Kulasrestha (2007), The Golden Book of Upanishads, Lotus, {{ISBN|978-8183820127}}, page 21</ref> The functions associated with the priests are:<ref>Nigal, p. 79.</ref> * The ''Hotri'' recites invocations and litanies drawn from the Rigveda.These invocations could consist of single verses (''{{IAST|ṛca}}''), strophes (triples called ''{{IAST|tṛca}}'' or pairs called ''pragātha''), or entire hymns (''sukta''). Hota uses three Rig verses, the introductory verse, the accompanying verse and benediction as the third.<ref name=hume109/> * The ''Adhvaryu'' is the priest's assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual (in particular the ''adhvara'', a term for the Somayajna) like measuring the ground, building the altar explained in the Yajurveda. The adhvaryu offers oblations.<ref name=hume109>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n127/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.1], Oxford University Press, pages 107- 109</ref> Each action is 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 ''{{IAST|ṛgveda}}'' were incorporated, either intact or adapted, into the texts of the ''yajurveda''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=DHARMI|first=SANATAN|date=|title=What are Vedas?|url=https://fxperry.blogspot.com/2020/06/what-are-the-4-main-vedas.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-03|website=}}</ref> * The ''Udgata'' ('''{{IAST|udgātṛi}}''') is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music (sāman) drawn from the Samaveda. The udgatar, like the hota, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns.<ref name=hume109/> This is a specialized role in the major soma sacrifices: a characteristic function of the ''{{IAST|udgātṛ}}'' is to sing hymns in praise of the invigorating properties of ''soma pavamāna'', the freshly pressed juice of the soma plant.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} * The ''Brahman'' is the superintendent of the entire performance, and is responsible for correcting mistakes by means of supplementary verses taken from the Atharva Veda.
The term Brahman in the above hymn 2.1.2 refers to deity Agni of hymn 2.1.1.<ref>Ralph T.H. Griffith (Translator), Rigveda 2.1.2 Wikisource</ref>
The rgvedic Brahmanas, Aitareya and Kausitaki, specify seven ''hotraka''s to recite ''shastra''s (litanies): ''{{IAST|hotṛ}}'', ''brāhmanācchamsin'', ''maitrāvaruna'', ''{{IAST|potṛ}}'', ''{{IAST|neṣṭṛ}}'', ''agnīdh'' and ''acchāvāka''. They also carry a legend to explain the origin of the offices of the ''subrahmanya'' and the ''grāvastut''.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
===Purohita=== {{main|Purohit{{!}}Purohita}} The requirements of the fully developed ritual were rigorous enough that only professional priests could perform them adequately.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} Thus, whereas in the earliest times, the true sacrificer, or intended beneficiary of the rite, might have been a direct participant, in Vedic times he was only a sponsor, the ''yajamāna'', with the ''{{IAST|hotṛ}}'' or ''brahman'' taking his stead in the ritual.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} In this seconding lay the origins of the growing importance of the ''purohita'' (literally, "one who is placed in front"). It was not unusual for a ''purohita'' to be the ''{{IAST|hotṛ}}'' or ''brahman'' at a sacrifice for his master, besides conducting other more domestic (''{{IAST|gṛhya}}'') rituals for him also.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} In latter days, with the disappearance of Vedic ritual practice, ''purohita'' has become a generic term for "priest".{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
==Assistants== In the systematic expositions of the ''shrauta sutras'',<ref>[https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa_zAGkhAyanazrautasUtra.htm ''Shānkhāyana SS''] 13.14.1, [https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa_AzvalAyanazrautasUtra.htm ''Āsvalāyana SS''] 4.1-6</ref> which date to the fifth or sixth century BCE, the assistants are classified into four groups associated with each of the four chief priests, although the classifications are artificial and in some cases incorrect:{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
*With the ''{{IAST|hotṛ}}'': **the '''maitrāvaruna''' **the '''acchāvāka''' **the '''grāvastut''' (praising the Soma stones) *With the ''{{IAST|udgātṛ}}'': **the '''{{IAST|prastotṛ}}''' (who chants the Prastâva) **the '''{{IAST|pratihartṛ}}''' ("averter") **the '''subrahmanya''' *With the ''adhvaryu'': **the '''{{IAST|pratiprasthātṛ}}''' **the '''{{IAST|neṣṭṛ}}''' **the '''{{IAST|unnetṛ}}''' (who pours the Soma juice into the receptacles ) *With the ''brahman'': **the '''brāhmanācchamsin''' **the '''agnīdh''' (priest who kindles the sacred fire) **the '''{{IAST|potṛ}}''' ("purifier")
==Philological comparisons== {{More citations needed section|date=January 2025}}
Comparison with the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, a distinct religion with the same origins, shows the antiquity of terms for priests such as ''*atharwan'' (Vedic ''atharvan''; cognate to Avestan {{Transliteration|ae|āθrauuan/aθaurun}}) and ''*zhautar'' (Ved. ''hotar''; Av. {{Transliteration|ae|zaotar}}) 'invoker, sacrificer'. While ''*zhautar'' is well understood, the original meaning of ''*atharwan'' is unknown. The word ''atharvan'' appears in the Rig Veda (e.g., in RV 6.16.13 where Agni is said to have been churned by Atharvan from the mind of every poet). In the Younger Avesta, {{Transliteration|ae|āθrauuan/aθaurun}} appears in a context that suggests "missionary," perhaps by metathesis from Indo-Iranian ''*arthavan'' "possessing purpose." However, a recent theory indicates that Proto Indo-Iranian ''*atharwan'' likely represents a substrate word from the unknown language of the BMAC civilization of Central Asia. It can be analyzed as BMAC ''*athar-'' plus the Indo-Iranian possessive suffix ''*-wan'', in which case ''*atharwan'' would be "one who possesses ''*athar''". Though the meaning of ''*athar'' is unknown, Pinault speculates that it meant "superior force" and connects it to the Tocharian word for "hero". In the ''Upanishads'', {{Lang|sa-latn|atharvan}} appears for example in {{Lang|sa-latn|atharvāngiras}}, a compound of {{Lang|sa-latn|atharvan}} and {{Lang|sa-latn|angiras}}, either two eponymous rishis or their family names.
In present-day Indian Zoroastrian (Parsi) tradition the word ''athornan'' is used to distinguish the priesthood from the laity (the ''behdin''). These subdivisions (in the historical Indian context, ''castes''), and the terms used to describe them, are relatively recent developments specific to Indian Zoroastrians and although the words themselves are old, the meaning that they came to have for the Parsis are influenced by their centuries-long coexistence with Hinduism. It appears then that the Indian Zoroastrian priests re-adopted the older {{Transliteration|ae|āθrauuan/aθaurun}} (in preference to the traditional, and very well attested derivative ''āsron'') for its similarity to Hinduism's {{Lang|sa-latn|atharvan}}, which the Parsi priests then additionally assumed was derived from Avestan ''ātar'' 'fire'. This folk etymology may "have been prompted by what is probably a mistaken assumption of the importance of fire in the ancient Indo-Iranian religion".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/atravan-priest|title = Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref>
The division of priestly functions among the Hotar, the Udgatar and the Adhvaryu has been compared to the Celtic priesthood as reported by Strabo, with the Druids as high priests, the Bards doing the chanting and the Vates performing the actual sacrifice.
==See also== *Agnihotra *Agnistoma *Brahmin *Namboothiri *Śrāddha
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs1001/1001a.txt The Turning-Point in a Living Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421165330/http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs1001/1001a.txt |date=2008-04-21 }}
Category:Rishis Category:Hindu priests Category:Vedic period