Four Kinds of Yagya Priests

Srimad Bhagavatam 7/3/30

tvam sapta-tantun vitanoshi tanva
trayya catur-hotraka-vidyaya ca
tvam eka atmatmavatam anadir
ananta-parah kavir antaratma

TRANSLATION
My dear lord, by your form as the Vedas personified and through knowledge relating to the activities of all the yajnic brahmanas, you spread the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of the seven kinds of sacrifices, headed by agnishtoma. Indeed, you inspire the yajnic brahmanas to perform the rituals mentioned in the three Vedas. Being the Supreme Soul, the Supersoul of all living entities, you are beginningless, endless and omniscient, beyond the limits of time and space.

PURPORT
The Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, the knowledge thereof, and the person who agrees to perform them are inspired by the Supreme Soul. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, mattah smritir jnanam apohanam ca: [Bg. 15.15] from the Lord come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. The Supersoul is situated in everyone's heart (sarvasya caham hridi sannivishtah, isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-dese 'rjuna tishthati [Bg. 18.61]), and when one is advanced in Vedic knowledge, the Supersoul gives him directions. Acting as Supersoul, the Lord gives inspiration to a suitable person to perform the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. In this connection, four classes of priests, known as ritvik, are required. They are mentioned as hota, adhvaryu, brahma and udgata.

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Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Sri Vedanta sutra
chapter 3
pada3

Adhhilarana 28

Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana

Sutra 57
  The duties are distributed among the different Vedas. The hota priest chants mantras of the Rig Veda, the adhvaryu priest chants mantras of the Yajur Veda, the udgata priest chants mantras of the Sama Veda, and the brahma priest chants mantras of the Atharva Veda.
     In this way, according to the wish of the person performing the yajna, the different priests accept different roles in the yajna and different priestly rewards (dakshina) also. In the same way, according to the wish of the Supreme Lord, the individual living entities accept different roles in their service to the Lord and they also meet the Lord in different ways according to the roles they play.

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Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami
Sat Kriya Sara Dipika
The Priests

A yajna may involve the following four priests -

Hotri: The priest who invokes and worships the Lord, through the medium of the fire.

Udgatri: The priest who is in charge of chanting the mantras.

Advaryu: The priest who prepares and installs the paraphernalia, and ignites the sacred fire. He sees to the smooth running of the ceremony.

Brahma: The master of ceremonies. He sees that all the mantras are recited properly, corrects any errors that occur during the proceedings and sees to the proper stoking of the fire.

If there are only three priests, there will be the adhvaryu, udgatri and the hotri. If only two, the udgatri and hotri,  and one, the hotri.

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