Agnihotra

Agnihotra (IAST: Agnihotra, Devnagari: अग्निहोत्र) refers to the yajna of casting of ghee into the sacred fire as per strict rites, and may include twice-daily heated milk offering made by those in the Śrauta tradition.^[1] This tradition dates back to the Vedic age; the Brahmans perform the Agnihotra ritual chanting the verses from the Rigveda. It is part of a pan-Indo-Iranian heritage, which includes the related Iranian fire-worship ritual called Zoroastrian Yasna Haptaŋhāiti ritual mentioned in the Old Avestan. In the historical Vedic religion, Agnihotra was the simplest public rite, and the head of every Brahmin and Vaishya family was required to conduct it twice daily.^[2] It was already popular in India with Upaniṣads as religious performance. The tradition is now practiced in many parts of South Asia in the Indian sub-continent, including primarily India and also in Nepal. The Brahmin who performs the Agnihotra ritual is called an Agnihotri.^[3]

Vedic Agnihotra[]

Carving of Agni, the Vedic god and personification of fire, in Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho

The ritual is conducted twice daily, right before or after sunrise and the appearance of the first night star. When the sacrificial area has been cleaned and the sacrificial fire lit, a cow is brought to the grounds and is milked only by an ā́rya, not a śūdra.^[4]^[5] The vessel containing the milk is heated, and in a course of two libations, spoonfuls of milk are poured into the sacrificial fire. The officiant then drinks the remaining milk from the spoon, and then finishes the sacrifice with water libations.^[2]

Agnihotra rituals in Nepal[]

Witzel (1992) locates the first Agnishala hypothetically at Jhul (Mātātīrtha), in the western ridge of the Kathmandu valley and later at the southern rim of the palace of Aṃśuvermā at Hadigaon, Kathmandu. The first source of inscription evidence was from Tachapal tole, east part of Bhaktapur city, also shown by a legend that the Maithila King Harisiṃhadeva would establish the yantra of Taleju Bhavānī in the house of an Agnihotri. From 1600 CE onward, the Agnihotra has been attested to the Agnishala temple in Patan only.

The Agnihotra ritual in Nepal has been first recorded in an inscription of King Anandadeva in c. 1140 CE that mentions of the initiations of his two sons, viz. Yasho Malla and prince Somesvara at Agnimatha (or Agnishala in Lalitpur).^[6] The temple of Agnishala since the 12th century maintains the Vedic tradition of Agnihotra fire sacrifice ritual and despite having undergone many ritual changes, the basic Vedic performance is still intact.^[6]^[7] The Agnishala is maintained by the Newar Rajopadhyaya Brahmins of Patan, who are the premier Krishna Yajurvedic Brahmins of Nepal.

Along with these, there are other Agnishalas identified and recently revived, viz.^[8]

at southern edge of Pashupatinath temple (a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Nepal) by a Purbe Brahmin. This has been in practice for almost 200 years now, and for this Agnishala, in 1974 the government provided NRs. 18,000 (then around US $7,000) per year.
at Kumarigal, south of Bouddha (another UNESCO World Heritage Site in Nepal) in Kathmandu by Narayan Prasad, a Purbe Brahmin
at Thamel, north of central Kathmandu by Tirtha Raj Acharya

Agnihotra in modern India[]

A simplified variant of the agnihotra ceremony was popularized by Gajanan Maharaj,^{[note 1]} and entails the casting of ghee and brown rice into only a single fire lit in a copper pyramid-shaped brazier with cow dung. Mantras are repeated during this process. ^[9] Practitioners claim a number of physical and environmental benefits from performing the ritual; however, these are pseudoscientific.^[10] In 2007, Sylvia Kratz and Ewald Schaung found that while the performance of Agnihotra possibly increased the amount of phosphorus in soil, similar effects were produced without the repetition of mantras or at the sunrise or sunset times traditionally prescribed for the ritual. The composition of the pyramid was found to be a factor, with iron pyramids producing significantly less phosphorus than ones made of copper. ^[11]

External links[]

Modern performance of the Vedic agnihotra

Notes[]

^ The Gajanan Maharaj who promoted agnihotra was not the 19th century saint, but an identically-named religious leader from the 20th century

References[]

^ Knipe, David M. (2015). Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Anthra Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Renou, Louis (1947). Vedic India. Susil Gupta. p. 102.
^ Shibani Roy; S. H. M. Rizvi (2002). Encyclopaedia of Indian surnames. B.R. p. 6. ISBN 978-81-7646-247-1.
^ Dalal, Roshen (2014). The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism's Sacred Texts. Penguin Books.
^ Ram Sharan Sharma (1990). Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa A.D. 600. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 60–61, 192–200, 261–267 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-208-0706-8.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Witzel, Michael (1992). Hoek, A W van den; Kolff, D H A; Oort, M S (eds.). "Meaningful Rituals: Vedic, Medieval, and Contemporary Concepts in the Nepalese Agnihotra Ritual". Ritual, State and History in South Asia: Essays in Honour of J.C. Heesterman. E J Brill: 774–828. ISBN 9004094679.
^ Rajopadhyaya, Abhas D (2017). Fire Rituals in Newār Community: The Dynamics of Rituals at Agnimaṭha, Pāṭan [MA Thesis]. Kathmandu: Department of Anthropology, Tri-Chandra College (affiliated to Tribhuvan University).
^ Witzel, Michael (1986). "Agnihtora-Rituale in Nepal" [Agnihotra Ritual in Nepal]. In Kölver, B; Leinhard, Seigfried (eds.). Formen kulturellen Wandels und andere Beirtaege zur Erforschung des Himalaya. St Augustin: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag. pp. 157–187.
^ "'Mass agnihotra' camp conducted". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
^ "Pseudo science abounds Krishi Mela 2017". The Hindu.
^ Kratz, Sylvia; Schung, Ewald (2007). "Homa Farming - a vedic fire for agriculture: Influence of Agnihotra ash on water solubility of soil P" (PDF). Landbauforschung Völkenrode: 207–11. Retrieved 19 August 2021.

[9] The Gajanan Maharaj who promoted agnihotra was not the 19th century saint, but an identically-named religious leader from the 20th century

[1] Knipe, David M. (2015). Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Anthra Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[:1-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Renou, Louis (1947). Vedic India. Susil Gupta. p. 102.

[3] Shibani Roy; S. H. M. Rizvi (2002). Encyclopaedia of Indian surnames. B.R. p. 6. ISBN 978-81-7646-247-1.

[4] Dalal, Roshen (2014). The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism's Sacred Texts. Penguin Books.

[:02-5] Ram Sharan Sharma (1990). Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa A.D. 600. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 60–61, 192–200, 261–267 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-208-0706-8.

[:0-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b Witzel, Michael (1992). Hoek, A W van den; Kolff, D H A; Oort, M S (eds.). "Meaningful Rituals: Vedic, Medieval, and Contemporary Concepts in the Nepalese Agnihotra Ritual". Ritual, State and History in South Asia: Essays in Honour of J.C. Heesterman. E J Brill: 774–828. ISBN 9004094679.

[7] Rajopadhyaya, Abhas D (2017). Fire Rituals in Newār Community: The Dynamics of Rituals at Agnimaṭha, Pāṭan [MA Thesis]. Kathmandu: Department of Anthropology, Tri-Chandra College (affiliated to Tribhuvan University).

[8] Witzel, Michael (1986). "Agnihtora-Rituale in Nepal" [Agnihotra Ritual in Nepal]. In Kölver, B; Leinhard, Seigfried (eds.). Formen kulturellen Wandels und andere Beirtaege zur Erforschung des Himalaya. St Augustin: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag. pp. 157–187.

[10] "'Mass agnihotra' camp conducted". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

[11] "Pseudo science abounds Krishi Mela 2017". The Hindu.

[12] Kratz, Sylvia; Schung, Ewald (2007). "Homa Farming - a vedic fire for agriculture: Influence of Agnihotra ash on water solubility of soil P" (PDF). Landbauforschung Völkenrode: 207–11. Retrieved 19 August 2021.

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