Yajna being performed at Vishnu Yangna Kunda on the occasion of Kumbhabhishekam of renovated Gunjanarsimhaswamy Temple at T.Narsipura

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In Hinduism, yajna (Sanskrit यज्ञ wikt:yajna; also Anglicized as Yajna, Yadna) is a ritual of sacrifice (also "worship, prayer, praise, offering and oblation, sacrifice" according to Monier-Williams) derived from the practice in Vedic times. Yajna is a ritual of sacrificing and sublimating the havana sámagri (herbal preparations) in the fire accompanied by the chanting of the Vedic mantras. The sublime meaning of the word yajna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which has a three-fold meaning of worship of deities (devapujana), unity (saògatikaraña) and charity (dána).^[1] An essential element is the sacrificial fire - the divine Agni - into which oblations are poured, as everything that is offered into the fire is believed to reach God. As the name of the service, the term yajna is linguistically (but not functionally) cognate with Zoroastrian (Ahura) Yasna. Unlike Vedic Yajna, Zoroastrian Yasna has "to do with water rather than fire".(Drower, 1944:78; Boyce, 1975:147-191)

Rituals associated with temple worship in Hinduism are called agamic, while those involving communication with divinity through Agni are considered to be Vedic. Temple rites in modern-day Hinduism are a combination of both Vedic and agamic rituals. The ritualistic portion of the Hindu scriptures is called Karma-Kanda. Parts of Vedas which describe or discuss Yajnas or sacrifices fall into this portion. The Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala are among the most famous Śrauta Brahmins who maintain these ancient rituals.

Today, only a few hundred individuals know how to perform these sacrifices and even fewer are able to maintain the sacred fires continuously and perform the Śrauta rituals.^[2] Only a few thousand perform the Agnihotra or basic Aupasana fire sacrifice daily .

Rituals[link]

Vedic(Śrauta) yajnas are typically performed by four Vedic priests, the hotṛ, the adhvaryu, the udgātṛ and the brahman. Rituals associated with each of the priests are detailed in dialogue between Aśvala and Yajnavalkya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The functions associated with the priests are^[3][4][5] —

• The hotṛ recites invocations and litanies drawn from the Rig Veda. The verses recited by hotṛ are of three kinds – introductory verses, verses pertaining to sacrifices and eulogistic verses. The hotṛ is also supposed to contemplate on and identify with the deity of the speech - Fire or Agni.
• The adhvaryu is in charge of the physical details of the sacrifice like measuring the ground, building the altar etc mentioned in the Yajur Veda. The adhvaryu offers three kinds of oblations, those that blaze up, those that make great noise and those that sink. Adhvaryu is supposed to contemplate on and identify with the deity of the eye - Sun or Surya.
• The udgātṛ is the chanter of hymns set to melodies(sāman) drawn from the Sama Veda. The udgātṛ, like the hotṛ, chants the introductory, sacrificial and eulogistic verses. These three types of hymns are identified with the three kinds of vital breath Prana, Apana and Vyana in the body and the udgātṛ himself contemplates on the vital breath.
• The brahman is the superintendent of the entire performance, and is responsible for correcting mistakes by means of supplementary verses invoking the visvedevas(pantheon of celestials or devas). In the Brihadaranyaka, the pantheon of visvedevas are held to be a creation of an infinite mind assuming infinite forms. Therefore, the only god that protects the yajna and with which the brahman has to identify himself with is the deity of the mind - Moon or Chandra.

There is usually one or occasionally three fires lit in the center of the offering ground. Oblations are offered into the fire. Among the ingredients offered as oblations in the yajna are large quantities of ghee, milk, grains, cakes and soma. The duration of a yajna depends its type, some last only a few minutes whereas, others can take hours, days or even years. Some yajnas are performed privately, while others include a large number of people in the audience.

Post-Vedic yajnas, where milk products, fruits, flowers, cloth and money are offered, are called homa or havanam. A typical Hindu marriage involves a yajna, where Agni is taken to be the witness of the marriage.^[6]

Right to perfrom a yajna or homa is received by an initiation ceremony known as yajnopavita. In this ceremony, a "sacred cord" is vested to the initiate, symbolizing this right.

Types of Yajnas[link]

A yajna being performed

Four hundred yajnas are described in the Vedas, of which 21 are deemed compulsory. These compulsory Yajnas are also called nityakarmas. The rest of the yajnas are optional and are performed for kamyakarma (particular wishes and benefits). The Aupasana Yajna, though not a part of these 21, is still compulsory .

Out of the 21 nityakarmas, only the Agnihotra and the Aupasana are to be performed twice daily, at dawn and at dusk. The remaining Yajnas are performed over the course of the year. The more complicated the yajna, the less frequently it is performed. The most complex ones need to be performed only once in a lifetime. The first seven yajnas are called pākayajnas or cooked sacrifices. The next seven are called haviryajnas or oblations(burnt offerings) related sacrifices and the remaining seven are called somayajnas or the Soma sacrifices. Some of the yajnas performed during a person's lifetime are:^[7]

• The Pakayajnas — They are the aṣtaka, sthālipāka, parvana, srāvaṇi, āgrahayani, caitri and āsvīyuji. These yajnas involve consecrating cooked items.

• Soma Yajnas — Agnistoma, atyagnistoma, uktya, shodasi, vājapeya, atirātra and aptoryama are the Soma Yajnas. These involve the extraction, utility and consumption of Soma (an extract of a particular chosen tree) is called Soma Yajña.

• Havir Yajnas — They are the agniyādhāna, agni hotra, Darśa-Pūrṇamāsa, āgrayana, cāturmāsya, niruudha paśu bandha, sautrāmaṇi. These involve offering havis or oblations.

• The five panca mahā Yajñās, which are mentioned below.

• Vedavratas, which are four in number and are done during Vedic education.

• The remaining sixteen Yajnas, which are one-time samskāras or rituals with mantras, that are done at different stages in life. They are garbhādhānā, pumsavana, sīmanta, jātakarma,nāmakaraṇa, annaprāśana,chudākarma/caula,niskramana,karnavedha,vidyaarambha, upanayana,keshanta, snātaka and vivāha,nisheka,antyeshti. These are specified by the gṛhya sūtrās. Some gṛhya sūtrās like Vaikhanasa prescribe 2 more samskaras, the Vishnu bali and the Pravasagamana/Pindavardhana.

Yajnas such as Putrakameshti (for begetting sons), Ashvamedha (to rule), Rajasuya (royal consecration) etc. are among those sacrifices of the 400 which are not compulsory.

Types of Agni (Fire)[link]

A yajna during a Hindu wedding

The Aupasana Agni, lit at the time of the Yajna conducted at the grooms wedding, is divided into two in a sacrifice called Agnyadhana. One part is called the Grhyagni and the other the Srautagni. These two fires have to be preserved throughout an individual's life. The son's fire is lit from the father's fire at the time of his wedding.

The Grhyagni or Aupasanagni is used in the Paka Yajnas. Many such rituals are described in the Grihasutras, like the Ekagni Kanda of the Apastambha Sutra. Normally these fires are located in the centre or north of the hall which accommodates them. The fire altars or the Yajna Kunda may be circular or square.^[8]

The rituals pertaining to the three Śrautagnis are described in the Śrauta Sutras. Their performers are called Śrautins. Fourteen of the 21 compulsory sacrifices are performed in the Śrautagnis. They are called Garhapatya, Ahavaniya and Dakshinagni and collectively called the tretagni.^[9] The Garhapatya is circular in shape and is situated in the west of the offering ground. Fire is taken from the Garhapatya and kindled in the remaining two fires. The Dakshinagni is semi-circular, situated in the south and used for certain rituals, mainly for offerings to the forefathers. The Ahavaniya is square, situated in the east, and is used as the main offering fire of most Srauta sacrifices. The last three haviryajnas and all the seven somayajnas are performed in a specially built yajnashala.

At the time of the individuals demise, cremation is done with one of the fires preserved during a person's lifetime. The fires associated with deceased individuals are extinguished.

Pancha Mahayajnas[link]

Duties and responsibilities of the Hindu life has been classified into five great Yajnas or the Pancha Mahayajnas (Taittiriya Aranyaka 2.10).^[10] It is imperative on the part of every householder to perform the following five sacrifices:^[11]

• Rishi-yajna — honouring Rishis by the study of holy sciptures.
• Deva-yajna — worship of the celestials (devas) by pouring oblations into the sacred fire. This is done during the twilight prayers (sandhya), aupasana, and agnihotra yajnas.
• Pitri-yajna — offering libations to ancestors or pitrs.
• Manushya-yajna — charitable offerings of food to fellow humans.
• Bhuta-yajna — feeding animals, especially cows and birds.

Other yajnas[link]

Ganapati Homa or Yajna

Some of the famous nonobligatory Yajnas are:

• Agnistoma — This is form of Somayagam has been continued by the Nambudiri Brahmins in Kerala but has become extinct in other parts of India.
• Jyotistoma — This yajna is meant for the elevation of the yajamana or the host to heaven i.e. the lokas or world of the gods. This Yajna is also called agnistome Yajna.
• Pitrloka yajna — This yajna is for obtaining the world of the ancestors and Yama.
• Panchagni yajna — This sacrifice is addressed in the Chandogya Upanishad. It enables one to achieve Brahmaloka.

Vows[link]

Several vows such as Candrayana are taken by the sacrificer for acquiring merit or puṇya. These often involve fasting or conducting life according to certain rigid disciplines. For example, a sacrificer does not shave for four months during year, usually during the period of Chaturmas. During this period, sacrificer is also prohibited from eating certain kinds of food items, from eating more than once a day and from leaving home.

See also[link]

• Ashvamedha
• Historical Vedic religion
• Homam
• Nambudiri
• Śrauta
• Yajurveda

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Agrawala, Vasudeva Sharana. India as known to Pāṇini: a study of the cultural material in the Ashṭādhyāyī. Prithvi Prakashan, 1963.
• Dallapiccola Anna. Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. ISBN 0-500-51088-1.
• Gyanshruti; Srividyananda. Yajna A Comprehensive Survey. Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India; 1st edition (December 1, 2006). ISBN 8186336478.
• Krishnananda (Swami). A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India. Divine Life Society, Rishikesh.
• Nigal, S.G. Axiological Approach to the Vedas. Northern Book Centre, 1986. ISBN 81-85119-18-x.
• Prasoon, (Prof.) Shrikant. Indian Scriptures. Pustak Mahal (August 11, 2010). ISBN 978-81-223-1007-8.
• Vedananda (Swami). Aum Hindutvam: (daily Religious Rites of the Hindus). Motilal Banarsidass, 1993. ISBN 81-20810-81-3.