The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c27.s7.32

v1.c27.s7.32

In the later literature after the Vedic period the figure of the Purohita retains in even increased force the importance which it has for the Veda. It is clear that in him we have the aggressive and active side of priestly interference in human affairs: the ordinary offering priest must be deemed in comparison to have been a technical priest, or scholar engaged in reflection, and the proud position asserted for priests generally never in fact was attained by them. The position of the Purohita therefore never essentially affected the priesthood as a whole, and it was made only possible by the existence when the practice developed of the hereditary priesthood and the belief that offerings required priestly intervention to be successful. The Purohita, therefore,⁸ is not to be treated as more than an incidental factor in the growth of the caste system, and it must be remembered that in the time of the later literature the whole aspect of the priesthood was profoundly affected by the existence of temple worship with its apparatus of bodies of priests and the growth of traditional practices.