पुरोहित purohita — The Leader Who Stands in Front

The word पुरोहित purohita is generally used in the sense of a priest who performs the rituals in a temple or in any other place where a ritual takes place. It is believed that he alone knows the how and what of the rituals, therefore he is respected. This is the image that one carries when there is a contact with this word. But the original sense of the word पुरोहित purohita is much deeper than this outer sense. The purpose of this write up is to explore the original sense of this word.

The first appearance of the word पुरोहित purohita is found in the very first Mantra of Rigveda which is regarded as the ancient most literary record of the humanity.

Here is the first Mantra of Rigveda:

अग्निम् ईळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवम् ऋत्विजम् |

होतारं रत्नधातमम् ||

agnim īḷe purohitaṃ yajñasya devam ṛtvijam |
hotāraṃ ratnadhātamam ||

I adore the Flame, the leader, the divine Ritwik of the yajna, the invoker who most founds the ecstasy.

अग्निम् to the flame (from the root ag ‘to move upward’)

ईळे I adore (from the root īḍ ‘to adore, admire, worship)

पुरोहितम् to the one placed right in front (purah in front, hita, placed)

यज्ञस्य of the inner sacrifice (from the root yaj ‘to sacrifice, offer’)

देवम् to the divine, to the shining god (from the root div ‘to shine’)

ऋत्विजम् to the ritwik, the one who does sacrifice following the laws and order of the Truth (from the root ṛt ‘to go’)

होतारम् to the summoner of the sacrifice or the one who invokes (from the root hu ‘to sacrifice’ by the addition of the suffix tṛc in the sense of agency)

रत्नधातमम् to the one who establishes abundant ecstasy (ratna is from the root ram ‘to delight, to make happy’; the root dhā means ‘to set, found, ascertain’; tama is the suffix expressing superlative degree.

In this Mantra the word पुरोहित purohita is used as an epithet of Agni. Here Agni who is the receiver of the havis or oblation is described as the पुरोहित purohita. So Agni cannot be taken here as the performer of the ritual — the priest. What then is the intent of this word in this Mantra or anywhere else it is used for Agni.

The word पुरोहित purohita is also explained by some as the one who does good हित hita to the पुर pura — the city or the kingdom or a place etc. Although we cannot avoid the meaning of the word हित hita as good and पुर pura as place or city or kingdom, yet the word पुरोहित purohita as an attribute of Agni in the Veda does not bear this meaning.

Let’s examine what do the two components in the word पुरोहित purohita signify and also how the word पुरpura came to mean a place etc. and the word हित hita came to mean good.

The word पुरोहित purohita is a combination of पुरस् puras and हित hita. The word पुरस् puras is an indeclinable and it means in front. This comes from the root-sound पुर् pur meaning to precede, to lead, to go before. When we say पुरस्कार puraskāra, it literally means to place someone in front for honoring or giving recognition. Depending upon its association with other words in a compound it remains as पुरस् puras as in the word पुरस्कार puraskāra or it stands as पुरः puraḥ as in the word पुरःप्रयाणम् puraḥprayāṇam meaning moving forward or sits as पुरो puro as in the word पुरोभाग purobhāga meaning the front portion. This also we see in the word पुरोहित purohita.

Also the word पुर pura coming from the root-sound पुर् pur is a combination of पु pu and र् r. The very guṇa of the primal sound प p in Sanskrit is to cover or to protect. This one finds in the roots पा pā meaning to protect, पाल् pāl meaning to take care or protect, पुष् puṣ meaning to nourish and protect. So this sense of protection is common to all the words having प pa. The one that is strong and is in front can give protection. Therefore, gate or door which stands in front and protects are the meanings of the word पुर pura. Even a wall or front of anything is called पुर pura. It is from this sense that पुर pura or पुर् pur come to mean house or city or kingdom or fort or even the body.

The word हित hita is a past passive participial form derived from the root-sound धा dhā meaning ‘to hold, place, set, establish, appoint, direct’ etc. As per the Paninian rule the change of धा dhā to हि hi takes place by दधातेर्हिः dadhāterhiḥ (7.4.42). The sentence here means the धा dhā changes to हि hi after the कित्kit (क्त kta, क्तवतुktavatu, क्त्वाktvā) suffixes. Therefore we get words like हित hita, हितवान् hitavān, हित्वा hitvā etc. (दधातेरङ्गस्य हि इत्ययम् आदेशो भवति तकारादौ किति प्रत्यये परतः। हितः। हितवान्। हित्वा। Kashika Vritti) So the word हित hita refers to that which is placed, fixed, stationed, put, set, appointed, directed etc. It is settlement or placement or things well set which brings good. When someone is well settled within oneself or properly placed, finds all good, can do all good. This sense of settlement or well-placed brings sense of goodness into the word हित hita. So a हिताकङ्क्षी hitākaṅkṣī is the one who wishes the good of others.

The word पुरोहित purohita (पुरस् puras + हित hita) then in its straightforward sense means ‘the one who is placed in front’ or ‘the leader’ or ‘the director’ or ‘the chief in front’.

(1. अग्रतो व्यवस्थिताः प्रधानाः agrato vyavasthitāḥ pradhānāḥ;यागानुष्ठानादौ पुरोगामिनः प्रधानाः yāgānuṣṭhānādau purogāminaḥ pradhānāḥ: Uvata and Mahidhara on Yajurveda 9.23; I acknowledge Nityananda Mishra for this reference.

2. पुरः एनं दधति।puraḥ enaṃ dadhati। Nirukta of Yaska. 2–12; पुरोहितः पुर एनं शान्त्यर्थं राजानो दधति कुर्वत इत्यर्थः। शान्तिकपौष्टिकाभिचारिकेषु कर्मसु पुर एनं दधति राजानः पुरस्कुर्वन्तीत्यर्थः। purohitaḥ pura enaṃ śāntyarthaṃ rājāno dadhati kurvata ityarthaḥ। śāntikapauṣṭikābhicārikeṣu karmasu pura enaṃ dadhati rājānaḥ puraskurvantītyarthaḥ। skandabhāṣya। ; I acknowledge Shubham Uniyal for this reference)

Let’s see why the Agni in the Veda is called पुरोहित purohita.

1. The Agni is placed in front for the performance of the yajna. (यज्ञकर्मनिर्वाहाय यजमानस्य पुरस्ताद् अग्रे निहितः अग्निः। yajñakarmanirvāhāya yajamānasya purastād agre nihitaḥ agniḥ|). — Brahmarshi Kapali Shastri, Siddhanjana Bhashyam

2. The Agni stands in front as a representative of the yajamana or as a leader to connect him with other gods or carry his prayers to other gods.

(अयमग्निदेवोऽन्तर्यज्ञे पुरः पुरस्तात् हितः स्थापितो भवति अन्तर्यज्ञसम्पादनार्थम् इत्यतो हेतोः ‘पुरोहितः’ इति नाम भजते सार्थकम् । एवम्भूतोऽयं देवानां परमदेवस्य च सन्निधौ यजमानस्य प्रातिनिध्यमाचरति, तस्य पौरोहित्यं करोतीत्यर्थः । ayamagnidevo’ntaryajñe puraḥ purastāt hitaḥ sthāpito bhavati antaryajñasampādanārtham ityato hetoḥ ‘purohitaḥ’ iti nāma bhajate sārthakam । evambhūto’yaṃ devānāṃ paramadevasya ca sannidhau yajamānasya prātinidhyamācarati, tasya paurohityaṃ karotītyarthaḥ ।) –Shri Jagannatha Vedalnakara, Agnimantramālā.

3. Agni also is called अग्रणी (agraṇī) and is ever awake as a true leader. The word agni and agra both come from the same root-sound ‘ag’ meaning moving upward or forward. As per the vision of the Veda agni leads the man in his search for the truth. Psychologically agni represents the Divine will force which initiates and leads everything. When we look at the hymns to Agni in the Veda we find agni always in front as the leader, as the messenger, as the initiator, and as the one who is present in all levels of existence and the knower of all.

Let me conclude with the Mantra from Yajurveda 9.23 वयं राष्ट्रे जागृयाम पुरोहिताः vayaṁ rāṣṭre jāgṛyāma purohitāḥ — May we, the leaders, remain awake in the Rāṣṭra and for the Rāṣṭra.

Still in a deeper sense:

May we keep the fire of aspiration aflame in our inner kingdom.

May we be able to make Agni, the Divine will force, our true leader; may we allow it to lead us on the path of Right, Light, Vastness and Truth (ऋतस्य पन्था ṛtasya panthā).