Though the meaning of *athar is unknown, Pinault speculates that it meant "superior force" and connects it to the Tocharian word for "hero". In the Upanishads, appears for example in , a compound of and , either two eponymous rishis or their family names. In present-day Indian Zoroastrian (Parsi) tradition the word athornan is used to distinguish the priesthood from the laity (the behdin). These subdivisions (in the historical Indian context, castes), and the terms used to describe them, are relatively recent developments specific to Indian Zoroastrians and although the words themselves are old, the meaning that they came to have for the Parsis are influenced by their centuries-long coexistence with Hinduism. It appears then that the Indian Zoroastrian priests re-adopted the older (in preference to the traditional, and very well attested derivative āsron) for its similarity to Hinduism's , which the Parsi priests then additionally assumed was derived from Avestan ātar 'fire'. This folk-etymology may "have been prompted by what is probably a mistaken assumption of the importance of fire in the ancient Indo-Iranian religion". The division of priestly functions among the Hotar, the Udgatar and the Adhvaryu has been compared to the Celtic priesthood as reported by Strabo, with the Druids as high priests, the Bards doing the chanting and the Vates performing the actual sacrifice. See also Agnihotra Agnistoma Brahmin Namboothiri Śrāddha References External links The Turning-Point in a Living Tradition Rishis Hindu priests Vedic period