The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c27.s7.34

v1.c27.s7.34

Of the ordinary priest we have, as we have seen, a good many details in the Rigveda: specially often do we hear of seven Hotṛs, who presumably must correspond to the seven Seers whom the Rigveda¹ also mentions. This list may be given by detail in one passage of the Rigveda where Agni is identified with the Hotṛ, the Potṛ, the Neṣṭṛ, the Agnīdh, the Praçāstṛ, the Adhvaryu, and the Brahman as well as with the householder himself. The same list, save for the Upavaktṛ, who seems to be identical in essence with the Praçāstṛ, appears as the list of priests to whom the Achāvāka, a later addition to the priesthood, addresses a request to be admitted to share the Soma.² Another list, given in connexion with the morning pressing of the Soma, is slightly different: it includes the Hotṛ, two Adhvaryus, two Praçāstṛs, Brahman, Potṛ, Neṣṭṛ, and Āgnīdhra.³ The second Adhvaryu is evidently an addition: in the later period he is the Pratiprasthātṛ; the second Praçāstṛ is similarly the Achāvāka in the later ritual. The list also agrees, in the main but not completely, with the list of priests, who have cups and altars in the Soma sacrifice.⁴ The old list is comparable with the eight of the Avesta,⁵ but the comparison is not in detail exact, and we may doubt whether we can safely assume more than a general similarity between the Indo-Iranian and the Vedic cult: the exact degree of the development of the separation of functions is not to be determined with certainty. The Hotṛ is clearly the Zaotar, the Agnīdh has the same duty as the Ātarevakhša, and the Potṛ as the Āsnatare, the washer of the Soma. But it is impossible to find the counterpart to the singers of the Vedic ritual.