Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c4.22

c4.22

Although the recitation of the appropriate hymns of praise at the ordinary sacrifices was the special duty of the *hotṛi* priest, the *adhvaryu*, who performed the manual acts of the sacrifice, was required to utter certain ritual formulas (*yajūṃshi*), and at different points of the ritual had also to utter certain prayers and praises. For the training of the *adhvaryu* priests also, special schools arose, and their particular Veda was the *Yajurveda*.² This collection consists of prose formulas or *mantras*, among which many verses, mostly taken from the *Ṛigveda*, are also interpolated. When these special schools were formed for the *udgātṛi* and *adhvaryu* priests, the older schools connected with the *Ṛigveda* came to be regarded as special schools for the *hotṛi* priests. Up to this time it would seem that only young Brāhmans were admitted to these schools, but there seems to have been no hard-and-fast distinction between the three orders of priests, and a priest might exercise any or all of the three functions if only he had received the necessary training. These three Vedas alone were originally recognized as canonical collections. But somewhat later there came to be recognized a fourth Veda known as the *Atharvaveda*.³ It took a long time to establish its position, and even to this day in certain parts of South India it is almost unknown.