Upanishads · Prāṇāgnihotra 3.3
॥
Devanāgarī
कोऽध्वर्युः । को होता । को ब्राह्मणाच्छंसी । कः प्रतिप्रस्थाता । कः प्रस्तोता । को मैत्रावरुणः
Transliteration (IAST)
ko'dhvaryuḥ | ko hotā | ko brāhmaṇācchaṃsī | kaḥ pratiprasthātā | kaḥ prastotā | ko maitrāvaruṇaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कः अध्वर्युः कः होताkaḥ adhvaryuḥ kaḥ hotāwho is the adhvaryu, who the hotṛ
कः ब्राह्मणाच्छंसीkaḥ brāhmaṇācchaṃsīwho the brāhmaṇācchaṃsī
कः प्रतिप्रस्थाता कः प्रस्तोताkaḥ pratiprasthātā kaḥ prastotāwho the pratiprasthātṛ, who the prastotṛ
कः मैत्रा-वरुणःkaḥ maitrā-varuṇaḥwho the maitrāvaruṇa
Translation
Who is the adhvaryu? who is the hotṛ? who is the brāhmaṇācchaṃsī? who is the pratiprasthātṛ? who is the prastotṛ? who is the maitrāvaruṇa?
Version
532097cf2285 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The priests are listed by name, and it is worth saying briefly who they are, for otherwise the list is mute. The hotṛ invokes the gods with verses of the Ṛgveda. The adhvaryu performs the actions themselves and mutters the formulas of the Yajurveda. The udgātṛ sings the melodies of the Sāmaveda. The brahmin watches silently and corrects errors.
These are the four chief ones; each has three assistants, which is how the number sixteen comes about. Note the office of the brahmin, for it is curious: he does nothing, only watches to see that the others make no mistake, and intervenes only at a slip. This office requires knowledge of all three Vedas at once, for the overseer must know each one's task.
The Vaiṣṇava side has no such office, but it has something corresponding to it, and it deserves naming. This is the śikṣā-guru, "instructing teacher," as distinct from the dīkṣā-guru, "initiating [teacher]." The first gives the mantra once; the second corrects constantly, and there can be many of him.
Let us add what is said about this and deserves keeping. A corrector is needed not because a person is foolish, but because from inside one's own error, it cannot be seen. A rite performed without oversight drifts unnoticed by the performers themselves; and anyone who has repeated something for years alone knows that much has crept into his performance that he himself never noticed.