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The Eaushitakins admit a seventeenth Ritvij, the so-called Sadasya, who is to superintend the whole sacrifice.^ This large array of Some would seem to place the Brrnhman fint of all, but AirMr jana (Gphja, i. 22.) remarks that the Brahman is first ohosen whea there is an eleetion of four priests only. If all the sixteen are chosen, then the Hotri comes first, afterwards the Brahman, thirdly the Adhraryn, and lastly the Udg&trL A^v.-Grihya, i. 22. ^i^ ^}p^ i\ff\fih^: ^^if- ^4^Pl HIM^I^II This is confirmed by the Eaushitaki-brah- mana. OUier authorities admit several Sadasyas. (m^f^j- ^^ fSTO ^0' ^^^ Sattra sacrifices a seventdbnth priest, called the Gfihapati, lord of the house, is admitted. He is not ooDsidered as the T^iamftna, but seems to be the actnal sacrificer. (WMp)4iii5fl $^i!i€i^4<i<iM<i^ir<iiii ^rr^ir J^^W ^if%^J NftrAyana on A^v. l^rauta-sfitra, iv. 1.) In the Aitareya-br&hmana (vii. l.) where the division of the animal among the various priests is described, we have the sixteen Ritvij, and besides one Sadasya> three Gphapatis (probably the sacri- H H 3 47(J ttrmJ. priests vras only wanted for certain grand sacrifices. In the Ga^*^™*'8^tra-bhashya (p. SO.) we are told that/ for the Agnihotra and Aup&sana one priest, the AdUvaryu, was sufficient ; for the Dar6apAmam&sa, four • for the Ch&turmlLsyas five ; for the PaSubandha six • fo^ *^® Jyotishtoma sixteen. A^valftyana pre- scribes the sixteen priests for the sacrifices called Ahina (sacrifices lasting from two to eleven days), and Ek&ha (sacrifices of one day), and restricts the seventeen priests to the Sattras (sacrifices lasting from thirteen to one hundred days). Each of the four classes of these priests had peculiar duties to perform. These duties were prescribed in the Br&hmanas. The duties of the Hotri are laid down in the Br&hma- nas of the Bahvrichas, such as the Kaushitaki and Aitareya-hr&hmanas ; those of the Adhvaryu in the Br&hmanas of the Charakas (the Taittinyaka) and in the Br^hmanas of the Vfijasaneyins (the Sata- patha); *^^^^ <>f the Udg&tri in the Brfthmanas of the Chhandogas (the T&ndya.) Apastamba, who de- scribes the sacrifice in his Paribh&shfiL-siitrasS says that it i® prescribed by the three Vedas, the Rig-veda, Yajur-veda and Sftma-veda.* The Hotri," he says, ftcer bifl^^H' ^^^ ^^^ *^^ ^^^ ^m and one who acts for bia wife), one 6an*'*^* ^* slayer, who need not be a Brahman), two Vai- kartas C^*^^®^^)> several Upagatris (choristers), and an Atreya. Other ^^®^(P**"H besides thebbftrya, are mentioned as present. In the T&i?4ya.brahmana (25. 15.) the Pratiprastb&tri is left ont, bat t^^ Adhvaryas, two Unnetris, and two Abhigarapagarau are ,xientiooe^ 1 ^Translated by me in the ninth volume of the German Oriental Society* ADHVABYUS. 471 ^* performs his duties witji the Rig-veda, the Udg&tri irith the S&ma-veda, the Adhvaryu with the Yajur- veda ; the Brahman with all the three Yedas." The Adhvaryus were the priests who were intrusted with the material performance of the sacrifice. They had to measure the ground, to build the altar (vedi), to prepare the sacrificial vessels, to fetch wood and water, to light the fire, to bring the animal and im-* molate it. They formed, as it would seem, the lowest class of priests, and their acquirements were more of a practical than an intellectual character* Some of the offices which would naturally fall to the lot of the Adhvaryus, were considered so degrading, that other persons besides the priests were frequently employed in them. The l§amitri, for instance, who had to slay the animal, was not a priest, he need not even be a Brahman^, and the same applies to the Yaikartas, the butchers, and the so-called Chama8& dhvaryus. The number of hymns and invocations which they had to use at the sacrifices was smaller than that of the other priests. These, however, they had to learn by heart. But as the chief difficulty consisted in the exact recitation of hymns, and in the close observance of all the euphonic rules, as taught in the PrUti^khyas, the Adhvaryus were allowed to mutter their hymns ^, so that no one at a distance could ^3r^ fan wfrt5Hi\^ii ' Ait'brahmana, vii. 1, H H 4 ^ UDaATBIS. CO ♦Her I*®*' ®^ understand them. Only in e^ . ^g^ _^ ^ahvaryu had to speak to other officiating F^ ^^ ^•'*® rtinding them to perform certain daties . .^^.t '^^oorse >bliged to speak with a l^^^ *?'Vr ^bich \ce. ^^ ***®*® verses and all the invocatiow* ^^ ^^^ ^^e A^^^*'^'^* IxHid to use, vrere collect© ^ ^^ oient liturgy of the Adhvaryua together ^ ^^^^^ lea of tl sacrifice. In this mixed form ^'^^ ^^ r* ^^e Taittirtyaka. Afterwards the byTo8^^^^l '^llectedby themselves, separated from the oere^ ttilea * *^^ collection is what we call ***®,, ^L^ ^da-sanhitA, or the prayer-book of the Adnv / There were some parts o£ the sacrifice, ^" . a w cordiog *o ancient custom, had to be acco"*P^ ^ofie 8ong. *"^ ^^^^^ another class of priests arose wn TOjrticular office it was to aot as the chorus, ^turally took place at the most solemn sacrifices on^* Thottg^ ** y®* ^^ ^*ve o key as to the *hir<^ . An i""**"** °^ '^" >^ itt a passage of tbe Aiuur'*'^ taan., tra*^^**'^ ^^^ ^'■'- Rotl>. The first words (• 2.) W say, ^^ A DassaiFA is^ **, do thou accompany '" the ^yrV^va^;^^i^^*-i. • it is addrJdtoMOtter priest, the A y wouM h,,^^ ^ pronounce with a loud voice. Tb P'^l'^od there ^U ^^^^l^i^ can only be addressed to the W"*^' ^e mouth of the a^?"^"**^ • placing the foBo^wg sorps. 471 of the music which the Udgfttris performed, we can see from the numerous and elaborate rules, however unintelli^blei that their music was more than mere chanting. The words of their songs were collected in the order of the sacrifice, and this libretto is what we possess under the name of Sdma^veda-safh hitAj or the prayer-book of the Udg&tri priests.^ Distinct from these two classes, we have a third class of priests, the Hotris, whose duty it w^ to re- cite certain hymns during the sacrifice in praise of the deities to whom any particular act of the sacrificer was addressed. Their recitation was loud and dis- tinct, and required the most accurate knowledge of the rules of euphony or Sikshft. The Hotris, as a daas, were the most highly educated order of priests They were supposed to know both the proper pro- nunination and the meaning of their hymns, the order and employment of which was taught in the Brfth* manas of .the BahvinQbfM3. But while both the Adhyar* yus and Udg&tris were confessedly unable to perform their duties without the help of their prayer-books, the Hotf is were supposed to be so well versed in the ftngient sacred poetry, as contained in the ten Mandalas of the Kig-veda, that no separate prayer-book or ^anhitft was ever arranged for their special benefit. 1 The Saohit& consists of two parts ; the Archiku and Stau- bhil^a. The Archika, as 'adapted to the special use of the priests, exists in two forms^ called 6&nas, or Song-books, the Veyagftna and Aranjag&na. The Staubhika exists in the same manner as Ohagana and Uhyagana. Cf Benfej, Preface to his edition of the Sftma-veda-ftrchika, Leipzig, 1848, and Weber, Ind. Studien, i. 3(X The sapposition that the modem origin of some of the hymns of the Big-veda could be proved by their not occurring in the S&ma-veda, has been well refuted by Dr. Pertsch. 474. HdTRIS. r^Y^^re is no Sanliit& for the Hotris correBpotiding to , ^^LXiliitftB of the Adhvar3rus and Udg&tris. The ^ tx^ leamt from the Brfthmlma, or in later times, ^^yrx^ ^l^® StLtra, what Bpecial duties he had to perform* TT ^^lew from those sources the beginnings or the xt%^^ of the hymns which he had to recite at every ^^^ of the service. But in order to be able to use *r p.g indications, he had previously to knoAV the whole y^^.^ of Vedic poetry, so as to be ready to produce ^^,^x^:m^ the vast store of his memory whatever hymn or _,f,g was called for at the sacrifice. There exists ^^:ng the MSS. of Walkei'a C!ollectioii a ^^ork en- titl'^^' A^valdyaita-^ftkhoktamantra-sanhitlL, a collect .• .^^ of hymns of the ASvaliyanarglikh^ which contains . 1^^ liymns as required according to the Grihya-s^traa £ ^^^val&yana. It would iiave been easy to construct .