Brāhmaṇācchamsin
From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia
By Swami Harshananda
Brāhmaṇācchamsin literally means ‘One who recites after the brāhmaṇa’.
Vedic sacrifices like the Somayāga comprise elaborate rites needing 16 priests in all. There are four principal priests in this yajna. Each priest has three assistants. Brāhmaṇācchariisin is an assistant of the fourth principal priest called Brahmā.
In the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice (which is a model sacrifice in the Somayāga group) special recitations called ‘ājya-śastra’ have to be chanted, during the first pressing of the soma juice. They are four in number. Brāhmaṇācchamsin chants the third recitation addressed to Indra.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore