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In Hinduism, yajña (Sanskrit: यज्ञ; IAST: yajña, also transliterated yagya or yadnya) or yagam (Tamil: யாகம்), is a ritual of offerings accompanied by chanting of Vedic mantras (also "worship, prayer, praise, offering and oblation, sacrifice" according to Monier-Williams) derived from the practice in Vedic times. Yajna is an ancient ritual of offering and sublimating the havana sámagri (herbal preparations) in the fire. 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 ritual fire – the divine Agni – into which oblations are poured, as everything that is offered into the fire is believed to reach God. 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 fall into this portion.
Vedic (Shrauta) yajnas are typically performed by four Vedic priests, the hota, the adhvaryu, the udgata 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:[2][3][4]
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 on 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.[5]
The right to perform 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.
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 yajnas and the remaining seven are called somayajnas. Some of the yajnas performed during a person's lifetime are:[6]
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.
The Aupasana Agni, lit at the time of the Yajna conducted at the grooms wedding, is divided into two in a ritual 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 (cooking) 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.[7]
The rituals pertaining to the three Śrautagnis are described in the Śrauta Sutras. Their performers are called Śrautins. Fourteen of the 21 compulsory yajnas are performed in the Śrautagnis. They are called Garhapatya, Ahavaniya and Dakshinagni and collectively called the tretagni.[8] 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 rituals. 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.
Duties and responsibilities of the Hindu life has been classified into five great Yajnas or the Pancha Mahayajnas (Taittiriya Aranyaka 2.10).[9] It is imperative on the part of every householder to perform the following five yajnas:[10]
Some of the famous nonobligatory Yajnas are:
Several vows such as Candrayana are taken by the yajnik for acquiring merit or puṇya. These often involve fasting or conducting life according to certain rigid disciplines. For example, a yajnik does not shave for four months during year, usually during the period of Chaturmas. During this period, a yajnik is also prohibited from eating certain kinds of food items, from eating more than once a day and from leaving home.
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