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Vedic priesthood
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Vedic priesthood
Priests of the Vedic religion are officiants of the yajna service. Yajna is an important part of Hinduism, especially the Vedas. Persons trained for the ritual and proficient in its practice were called r̥tvij (ऋत्विज् 'regularly-sacrificing').[citation needed] As members of a social class, they were generically known as vipra 'sage' or kavi 'seer'. Specialization of roles attended the elaboration and development of the ritual corpus over time. Eventually a full complement of sixteen ṛtvijas became the custom for major ceremonies. The sixteen consisted of four chief priests and their assistants.[citation needed]
The older references uniformly indicate 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॥
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
The above hymn enumerate the priests as the hōtr̥, pōtr̥, nēṣṭr̥, agnīdʰ, praśāstr̥ (meaning the maitrāvaruṇa) and adʰvaryu.
Vedic (Shrauta) yajnas are typically performed by four priests of the Vedic priesthood: the hota, the adhvaryu, the udgata and the Brahma. The functions associated with the priests were:
The term Brahman in the above hymn 2.1.2 refers to deity Agni of hymn 2.1.1.
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Vedic priesthood
Priests of the Vedic religion are officiants of the yajna service. Yajna is an important part of Hinduism, especially the Vedas. Persons trained for the ritual and proficient in its practice were called r̥tvij (ऋत्विज् 'regularly-sacrificing').[citation needed] As members of a social class, they were generically known as vipra 'sage' or kavi 'seer'. Specialization of roles attended the elaboration and development of the ritual corpus over time. Eventually a full complement of sixteen ṛtvijas became the custom for major ceremonies. The sixteen consisted of four chief priests and their assistants.[citation needed]
The older references uniformly indicate 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॥
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
The above hymn enumerate the priests as the hōtr̥, pōtr̥, nēṣṭr̥, agnīdʰ, praśāstr̥ (meaning the maitrāvaruṇa) and adʰvaryu.
Vedic (Shrauta) yajnas are typically performed by four priests of the Vedic priesthood: the hota, the adhvaryu, the udgata and the Brahma. The functions associated with the priests were:
The term Brahman in the above hymn 2.1.2 refers to deity Agni of hymn 2.1.1.