Yajna: Encyclopedia - Yajna

Yajna

In Hinduism, Yajna or Yagya यज्ञ(Sanskrit yajñá "worship, prayer, praise; offering, oblation, sacrifice") is a Vedic ritual of sacrifice performed to please the Devas, or sometimes to the Supreme Spirit Brahman. It involves pouring oblations into the divine Agni (the sacrificial fire). Everything that is offered in the divine Agni is believed to reach the Devas. A yajna is typically performed by a hotar, with a number of additional priests playing a supporting role, chanting Vedic verses. Often there will be a fire in the centre of the stage and items are offered into the fire. The range and expense of the items thrown on the fire can be surprising - including many coconuts, large quantities of ghee, sandalwood shavings and even quantities of clothing. A yajna can go on for several hours, typically with a large number of people in attendance. Yajnas of ancient times probably involved an animal sacrifice at some special occasions, which could have been a cow or a bull (a hotly debated theory), goat, horse, sheep or buffalo. Yajna in its present form, where milk products (ghee or yogurt), fruits, flowers, cloth, and money are offered, is termed homa (in southern India) or havan (in northern India). Even today, a typical Hindu marriage essentially consists of a yajna, because the fire deity Agni is supposed to be the witness of all pious marriages. In modern Hinduism, animals are considered sacred, and are not used for sacrifices. The ideology of animals not to be killed in Hindu rituals was most likely a remnant of the Jain and Buddhist influence on the Vedic religion to convert to "modern Hinduism."

See also

• Yajurveda
• Ashvamedha
• Yasna
• Ashram

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Yajna", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki