Guest guest Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Jyotisha is a part of Veda, and therefore Jyotishis may need something about Yajnas, for which I am posting this comprehensive yet simple article : ----- Yajña The root " yaj " means " 'to worship, honour, adore, etc by means of oblations in sacred fire accompanied by proper vedic mantras' " . All types of worship cannot be said to be yajña. Only that type of worship is recognized as yajña which follows the rules laid down by Vedic and Kalpa-sutra texts. Therefore, Yajña should be defined as worship, without idols, of Vedic (and now also Puranic) deities with specific Vedic mantras and oblations offered into sacred fire at proper time either as a part of duty or as a means to obtain something from gods without being stuck with fruits of karma so that spiritual knowledge and salvation is not impeded by worldly karmas. Relatively purer souls take recourse to incessant Japa-yajña which does not seem to follow this karmakandiya definition, but in fact there is no essential difference, the difference is outward : in replacement of physical fire altar with real Agnideva in body, and of physical oblations with mental oblation, and a host of complicated mantras being replaced with a single mantra which should be chanted 24-hours a day till death. Contents * 1 Ideological Basis of the Institution of Yajña * 2 Antiquity of Yajna * 3 Yajña and Vedic Texts * 3.1 Yajña and Vedas * 3.2 Yajña and Vedangas * 3.3 Yajña and Mimansa * 4 Two Basic Types of Yajña * 5 Types and Tools of Karmakandiya Yajñas * 5.1 Nitya-karma and Kamya-karma * 5.2 Yajurvedic Yajñas * 5.3 Priests of Yajña * 5.4 Types of Agni and their Roles in Yajñas * 5.5 Two Paths of Yajña (mana and vak), and the Role of Brahma * 5.6 Other Yajñas * 5.7 Yajña and Its Deities * 6 Pancha Mahayajñas : Yajña in Daily Life * 7 Jñana-yajña * 7.1 Japa-yajña : Real Yajña in the Body * 8 Evolution of Temple-worship and Modern Yajñas * 8.1 Modern Situation * 9 Final Spiritual Message of Yajurveda and Yajña Ideological Basis of the Institution of Yajña According to Vedic tradition, yajña was instituted by God for the benefit of mankind so that man could perform various karmas according to karmakandas, otherwise fruits of karmas stick to the performer of karma and cause rebirths. Thus, performing right karma in proper manner so that the ultimate purpose of human life is not lost, which is attainment of immortality by means of sanatana (eternal) spiritual knowledge. This is the main ideological basis of the institution of yajña. Hence, yajña links right Karma to right Jñana, both yajñic karma and divine Jñana being based on Bhakti which is the meaning of most famous of all Vedic mantras, Gayatri ( " ...inspire into us such a meditative intellect which remains fixed on Thee " ). According to Brahmasutra, one who has got Vairagya (non-attachment) is free to take resort to sanyasa irrespective of his/her age, ie is under no obligation to perform karmas and yajñas of a householder. Hence, the ultimate purpose of Yajñas is not to remain immersed in Karmas but to evolve towards real Jñana. Otherwise, people could perform Karmas without Yajña and remain oblivious of spiritual Jñana. Leading mortals towards spiritual Jñana was the main purpose behind the institution of Yajña, and that is why the word Veda implies " Jñana " and not Karma. But this Jñana could not be attained directly, men needed to perform Karma for living in this world. To make both these ends of Jñana and Karma meet, Yajña was instituted. Antiquity of Yajna Some people say ritualistic Yajña with oblations in fire is a later development. But the Greek comedy 'The Birds' written by most famous Greek comedian Aristophanes (written around ~420-400 BC) explicitly says that the ancestors of Greeks offered oblations into fire whose smoke went to Heavens and nourished their gods. This drama insults those gods time and again, and Greeks relished such dramas in open theatres watched by 25000 spectators at a time. Hence, Greeks of ~400 BC were against the religion of their own ancestors. This original religion of Greeks was same as the Yajña-based religion of Vedic peoples which is clear from the reference to ritualistic yajña. Zoroastrian Yasna is linguistically cognate with Vedic 'yajña', but in yasna offerings are made into water instead of into fire (cf. Drower, 1944:78; Boyce, 1975:147-191). Zoroastrians worshipped fire too. Evidence of Aristophanes shows fire-cult was the original cult of common ancestors of Indo-Iranians and Europeans. These evidences suggest Yajña is a very old pre-historic institution of the time when Indo-Europeans had not separated. Yajña and Vedic Texts Yajña and Vedas Vedas are intrinsically related to yajña and in this strictly ritualistic context Yajurveda is the most important Veda, because the oblations offered to deities are given with special Yajurvedic mantras known as yajushi, although Gita (Gita) extols Samaveda as the best of all Vedas whose meaning is explained in Brahmasutra of Badarayana : a brahma-jñani is transported to Brahmaloka on the verses of Samaveda. Mantras from other Vedas, esp Rgveda and Samaveda are also needed in yajña but only for secondary purposes. Yajurveda ( " the Veda of Yajus " , Yajus is a class of mantra for offering oblations in a Yajña " ) is the main Veda defining different types of Yajña and their mantras. It is believed that there was only one Veda originally, which Veda Vyasa divided, because with the regression of Kala from Satyuga to inferior yugas it became increasingly difficult for a single priest to memorize all these three yajñic Vedas (the very name Veda Vyasa means one who divided/organized the Veda). Brahamana texts are believed to be part of Vedas and not composed by mortals. They are primarily concerned with rules and results of Karmakandic Yajñas. Many portions of Brahamana texts are known as Aranyakas and Upanishadas and deal with Jñanakanda. Yajña and Vedangas Besides vedas, six Vedangas are crucial to proper understanding and performance of Yajñas: 1. Shiksha : the science of correct pronunciation of mantras. For Yajurveda, its own Pratishakhya is the detailed Shiksha text, and Yajñavalkya-Shiksha is the shortcut for beginners. 2. Chhanda : knowledge of metres 3. Vyakarana : grammar, esp the special Vedic rules 4. Nirukta : explanation of difficult Vedic words 5. Jyotisha : for fixing the proper time for Yajñas 6. Kalpa : a collection of Sutra texts which teach details of yajñic ceremonies. Yajña and Mimansa Although Mimansa do not fall under either Veda or Vedanga, and are enumerated under shat-darshana of Vedic-puranic tradition, they are exclusively related to the nature and results of yajñas related to both Karmakanda and Jñanakanda. Purva Mimansa, also called Karma Mimansa, deals extensively with the philosophy of Karmakandic yajña, with a view to determine how to achieve Dharma by means of Yajñic Karmakanda. Jaimini gave the Purva Mimansa darshana with 12 chapters. It is primarily an inquiry into the Brahmana portion of the Veda. It deals with various yajñas, their purposes and methods. It has a four chapter supplement called sankarsha kanda, by Jaimini. It is also called Madhyama Mimamsa, Madhyama Kanda, Devata Kanda and Upasana Kanda. It deals with purpose of mantras, the nature and essence of devatas, purpose of worshipping devatas. Uttara Mimansa by Badarayana, also known as Brahmasutra, deals with Jñanakanda portion of Vedas and Brahmanas. Adi Shankara's greatest work is a commentary of this text. Two Basic Types of Yajña The methods and varieties of Yajña have evolved during ages. There are two main types of yajña related to karmakanda and jñanakanda, the latter known as Brahma-yajña. Last chapter of Yajurveda is the main basis of Brahmayajña, although mantras of Brahmayajña are dispersed throughout the YV, including the sacrificial chapters. In this class similar portions from other Vedas and Vedic texts like Brahmanas have been put to form the category of texts known as Upanishadas, which literally means " to sit near a guru (for learning the secret Brahmavidya) " .The purpose of both these types of yajña is described in the last chapter of YV, which is more famous as Ishopanishada. Yajñas related to kamya-karma fall under karmakanda and help the performer to fulfill worldly aims without being tarnished with sin. Hence, such yajñas help in getting over the obstacle of death, while the jñana-yajña helps in attaining true immortality, by means of giving relief from the chain of death and rebirth in this world (cf. YV, chapter 40). Types and Tools of Karmakandiya Yajñas Nitya-karma and Kamya-karma There are two chief types of karmas : nitya-karma and kamya-karma. Nityakarma includes 19 vedic rituals which are not to be performed daily but only on certain occassions, besides two daily yajñic rituals Agnihotra and Aupasana to be performed twice daily at dawn and dusk, which have been replaced with sandhya-vandana and pañch maha-yajña by most of the persons now-a-days who perform them, and even these persons are in a minority. Nityakarma is theoretically compulsory for the twice born. Amont 21 nityakarma yajñas, first seven are known as paka-yajñas (cooked sacrifice), while next seven are havir-yajñas (burnt oblation) and remaining seven are soma-yajñas. Kamya-yajñas are optional, numbering around 400. Complex yajñas need to be performed once in a lifetime. Putrakameshti (for getting sons), Rajasuya (royal consecration), Ashvamedha, etc are kamya yajñas which are optional. Satra-yajña takes 12 years and is for universal good. Nityakarmas can be divided into (1) daily duties and (2) those duties which occur at certain specific occassions such as shraddha and are categorized as naimittika karma. Yajurvedic Yajñas We can understand original significance of yajñic karmakanda only in its wider context. Yajña fulfilled the wishes but absolved the fruits of karmas. But these wishes ought to be according to dharma and not blindly selfish. Literal meaning of the term " Veda " is 'spiritual and eternal Knowledge', and Yajurveda provides the karmakandic rituals of worship which ultimately lead to such a jnanakandic Knowledge. Chapterwise, Yajurveda describes following principal yajñas : 1.-2. : Darsha-paurnamasa Yajña (New and Full Moon yajña) 3. : Agnihotra (Agni-upasthana, Chaturmasya, etc) 4.-8. : Somayajña, which included Agnishtoma, Agnisomiya-Pashuyajña,upanshugra,Adityagraha) 9. : Vajapeya and Rajasuya 10. : Rajasuya, Sautramani 11.-18. : Construction of altars and hearths, especially the Agnichayana and chiti mantras,Rudri,Vasordhara 19.-21. : Sautramani : Indra-abhisheka 22.-25. : Ashvamedha 26.-29. : Supplementary formulas for various rituals 30.-31. : Purushamedha, Purushasukta 32.-34. : Sarvamedha, Brahmayajña, Shiva-samkalpa 35. : Pitramedha 36.-39. : Pravargya 40. : Isha Upanishad (Jñana-kanda of YV) Priests of Yajña A Vedic or shrauta yajña is typically performed by a yajurvedic priest known as Adhvaryu (literally, one who cannot commit violence), with many other priests such as the Hota, Udgata (singer of verses from Samaveda), Rtvija (reciter of Rgveda) with a dozen helpers for reciting or singing Vedic verses. Types of Agni and their Roles in Yajñas Sutra literature, known as Kalpa, define rules and methods of Vedic rites, and are therefore deemed as one of the six Vedangas. Shrauta Sutras describe the types of Agni. Three basic types of Agni are Garhapatya, Dakshinagni and Ahavaniya, collectively called the Tretagni or Shrautagni, which is used for performing 14 of the 21 compulsory nityakarma yajñas. Garhapatya Agni is round and is placed to the west of altar. Fire from Garhapatya Agni is used to ignite other two Agnis. Dakshinagni is semi-circular and is placed to the south of altar which is direction of pitrloka and is primarily used for offerings to ancestors. Ahavaniya is square and is placed to the east, and as its name indicates is the main Agni used for most of Shrauta yajñas, whose performer is called Shrotin or Shrotiya, like the Namboodiris of Kerala or Shrotiyas of Mithila.The last 3 haviryajñas and all the 7 somayajñas are performed in a yajñashala dedicated to this purpose. Aupasana is a compulsory rite performed twice a day at home, but not a part of nityakarma, and can be performed by all four varnas. Aupasana-Agni is ignited at a groom's wedding from his father's Aupasana-Agni, and then divided into two in a yajña known as Agnyadhana : one part becomes Grhyagni and the other Srautagni, both of which are to be preserved throughout the life of that person, and funeral rites of that person are done with his his own Agni ,after which his Agni is extinguished. The Grhyagni or Aupasanagni is used in the Paka-yajñas like Ekagni Kanda of the Apastambha Sutra according to rules described in Grhyasutras, and is generally kept in the centre or north of hall where sacred fires are kept. Oldest reference to Upasada or Aupasana ceremony can be found in Yajurveda (TS,vi,2-4) and Maitrayani Samhuta (iii,8,1), VS (xxvii,2,4), AV (ii,6,2; iii,12,16; vii,82,3),Shatapatha Brahamana (v,4,5,17), Chhandogya Upanishada. Vahni Purana clearly defines Upasada as a distinct Agni, different from the tretagni. In VS(xix,14) and TS, SBr, KatySrS,etc, Upasad is described as a yajña ceremony preceding Sutya (pressing of the Soma) and forms part of other yajñas as well, like Jyotishtoma. Upasada is different from Upashada yajña, the latter is for removing impediment to get children (according to Sayana on TandyaBr,xix,3,1), but is a derivation from Upasada. Aupasana and Aupasada are derivatives of Upasada. Two Paths of Yajña (mana and vak), and the Role of Brahma Vedic mantras are believed to be capable of fulfilling wishes, but it is also said that for this to happen the priests should be pure of heart and accomplished in the use of Veda. Some foolish pandits used to say that Vedic mantras have no meaning at all and they are only meant to be recited at yajñas. But Chhandogya Upanishada (iv,16th khanda) clearly says that a yajña has two paths through which it purifies the world : mind(man) and voice (vak), and the priest Brahma is entitled to practise mauna (silence) so that yajña takes its one path of mind, while all other priests are entitled to use voice, ie recitation of mantras, to enable the yajña to take a recourse to its other path. Adi Shankar explains the reference to mana (mind) here as ( " manashcha yatha-bhootartha-jñana " ) " cognizance of real nature of things " . If the priest Brahma is not competent enough to know the real nature of things according to the topics of recited mantras, the yajña will be fruitless. In order to make the Brahma concentrate on this facet, a rule was made that Brahma had to maintain mauna-vrata during a yajña. If the Brahma fails to meditate properly over the meaning of a particular recited mantra, that mantra will not bear fruit. Hence, the Brahma had to be the most learned of all Vedic priests. Now-a-days, few Vedic priests pay attention to this fact that Brahma must be an expert of meaning of Vedas. Such a Brahma will be able to distribute the benefits of yajña to the minds of others (telepathically). Other Yajñas There are a lot of individual yajñas, like Jyotishtoma yajña for lifting the performer to heavens, Pitrlokayajña for obtaining the world of ancestors, Panchagni yajña for attaining Brahmaloka as described in Chhandogya Upanishada, Gomedha (cf. Ramayana-vii,25,8; Varaha Purana-xvi), etc. The institution of yajña is associated to various types of vratas without which wishes of the performer cannot be fulfilled. Jyotishtoma is a particular class of Soma yajña consisting of seven subdivisions : Agnishtoma, Ukthya, Atiratra, Shodasin, Atyagnishtoma, Vajapeya and Aptoryama (cf, TS.vii). Yajña and Its Deities The principal act in a Yajña is offering of oblations for gods into sacrificial divine fire " Agni " . Etymologically, Agni means one who moves tortuously (to all lokas for distributing oblations). There can be no yajña without Agni. That is why Rgveda starts with a praise of Agni as a purohita as well as a deva : the real purohita of all yajñas is Agni because mortals do not know where gods reside and cannot send oblations to gods without the help of Agni. Another important Vedic deity worshipped in yajñas was Indra, whose etymological meaning is debated by grammarians, while upanishada gives a fine meaning : one who perceives from inside (idam dr), ie the God residing within all hearts. Hence, Indra and Agni were most frequently worshipped, slightly less than half of Rgvedic hymns are addressed to these two deities. According to Rgvedic dictum 'ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti " , all gods are different manifestations of one supreme God, and it is useless to evaluate gods on the basis of number of hymns dedicated to them. Vedic religion is sometimes misinterpreted as polytheistic or even henotheistic by some commentators who are accustomed to one God not capable of diverse manifestations. Vedic religion is strictly monotheistic, believing in one God appearing variously. Pancha Mahayajñas : Yajña in Daily Life All above types of yajñas come under two basic types : Deva-yajña (yajñic worship of gods) and Pitr-yajña (yajñic honouring of pitrs), to which three more types are added to constitute the famous Pancha Mahayajñas (Taittiriya Aranyaka 2.10)) : Bhuta-yajña (offering food to all creatures), Atithiyajña or Manushyayajña (feeding guests), Brahma-yajña or Rishi-yajña (studying Vedic and related texts of rishis). A Grhastha is supposed to do these five yajñas every day. Man has four debts, to gods, pitris, rishis and fellow-men. These are called deva rna, rishi rna, pitru rna and manushya rna. By performinging the above yajñas, man repays those debts and becomes able to fulfill his purposes in life. By praying to gods and offering oblations to them, and through sacrifices one clears his debts to gods. This is called deva yajña. By gaining Vedic knowledge, by teaching, sharing and passing it on to subsequent generations one clears his debts towards the seers. This is called rishi yajña. By offering oblations to pitris, and by continuing the race by begetting progeny, raising them properly, by getting good name for the lineage, one clears his debts towards the pitris. This is called pitr yajña. By showing compassion towards fellow men, by treating the guests well, by helping those in need, by excusing those by which one has been wronged, by doing actions that are beneficial to men, one clears his debts towards his fellow men. This is called manushya yajña. Bhuta yajna is showing compassion towards living beings in general. This includes abstaining from inflicting violence and killing, living as a part of nature without harming it. Jñana-yajña Gita (Gita) extols Japa-yajña as the highest form of yajña. It does not mean any type of Japa is superior to great yajñic ceremonies. Adi Shankara wrote that a yajña is performed in one's own body, which is related to ama-yajña, a yajña leading to atma-jñana. Gita says all food should be offered as oblation (havi) to the vedic god Vaishvanara. It means only havishyanna can be taken as food, which excludes salt, oils, spices and many other things like tomato. All vedic priests are expected to take such a food during a vedic yajña. There are some individuals who perform such a yajña daily as a part of lifelong routine, avoiding food after sunset. The idea of yajña in body suggests a supernatural kunda in body. The concept of kundalini is also related to some mysterious force in a mysterious kunda. But for the common folks, yajña in body is difficult, which made Jñana-yajña unpopular. Japa-yajña : Real Yajña in the Body Opening of dharma-shalas, anathalaya, etc is now called Dravyayajña, ie yajña performed by dint of moneypower, by some persons, but all good acts are not yajña. Ancient wisdom regarded all yajñas requiring material wealth as Dravyayajña which was inferior to the real yajña done in the body where the greatest of all yajñic fires resides : Vaishvanara. Feeding on havishyanna once a day only in daytime after noon, nightlong shavasana performing yoganidra, strict brahmacharya, adherence to all rules of dharma like yama-niyama, nityakarmas or at least sandhya-vandana three times a day for grihasthas and four times a day for sanyasis, dana to sanyasis and to needy persons, etc, when all these are practised for a sufficient length of time, then the capacity to perform the real yajña in body is awakened and realized in practice, by means of which the real havi is offered to Lord Vaishvanara during at least 18 pranayamas per sitting, as a result of which the kundalini starts rising up from the kunda of Vaishvanara and the perfomer becomes an urdhva-reta, ie soars upwards the kundali towards salvation from sins of present and past lives. This real yajña is a rarity now, but there are sadhus who perform it. Grihasthas have forgotten and forsaken this yajña which Gita and Adi Shankar called the real Yajña. When this real yajña in body starts, an automatic and uninterrupted Japa-yajña commences, not ceasing even during night, which is eulogised as the highest form of yajña in Gita as well as in Manusmriti (ii,85). If this practice becomes so deeply entrenched in mind as not to be forgotten by the Jiva after death, the verses of Samveda are sent by God to assist such a Jiva to reach Brahmaloka (according to Brahmasutra), where the Jiva ceases to be a Jiva by getting rid of Karana-sharira (consisting of 13 Karanas, 3 antah-karanas : buddhi, mana, ahamkara ; and 10 bahya-karanas : five karmic and five sensory indriyas or karanas) and becomes pure Atma, which is essentially indistinguishable from Paramatma. Such an emancipated soul is allowed to choose from one among four possible eternal or sanatana states of immortality according to Brahmasutra. Attainment of such an eternal or sanatana state is the goal of Sanatana Dharma, which is stated in the last verse of Yajurveda(see below) and is the ultimate goal of the very concept of Yajña. Evolution of Temple-worship and Modern Yajñas In dravya-yajña, only priests and yajamana were expected to remain pure as long as yajña lasts, hence they were more popular than Jñana-yajña. Later, instead of invoking deities in the body of priests to take havi, murtis (not idols) were used because it became difficult to find pure vedic priests. It gave rise to temple worship in post Vedic age, an agamic practice. The word " mandira " is not mentioned in Vedas, YV says " There is no counterpart ( " pratima " in text) of Him whose glory verily is great " (Griffith's translation of YV, ch-32, verse 3). Modern temple rites are mixtures of agamic and Vedic rites. Murti-puja means worship of the non-physical supernatural deity whose prana-pratishtha has been done in that murti. In this sense Hinduism avoids idolatry and is therefore a continuance of Vedic abhorrence of idolatry. Modern Situation Few people performs the daily Agnihotra yajña, but a large number of people perform or try to perform sandhya-vandana which is based on Vedic mantras and pañch maha-yajñas. Usually, there will be one or more sacred fires in the centre of the offering ground and oblations are offered into the fire consisting of of ghee, milk, grains, soma. The duration of a yajña depends on the type; ranging from a few minutes to 12 years (as in satrayajña). Some yajñas are private and even secret (esp the yajña in body which Gita emphasized and Adi Shankar said to be real yajña, but whose methods are never publicized), others are great public functions. Although the frequency and significance of yajña has vastly diminished, Hindu society is still mainly based upon yajña, because vedic marriage and upanayana are essentially yajñas performed with vedic mantras and havana. In upanayana, brahmins and certain other castes receive yajñopaveeta (yajñic or sacred cord) which symbolizes the right to study the Vedas and perform yajñas and other vedic rites. Majority of 16 samskaras are not performed by most Hindus at present, but overwhelming majority of Hindus still prefer vedic marriage to legal marriage in court. Now-a-days, every now and then we hear of Yajñas being held, which follow ancient rules and use ancient mantras, but deities have changed. Instead of Indra or Agni, now we find Rudra and Goddess Chandi to be most popular deities for whom Yajñas are performed. Another amusing fact is that most of these largescale Yajñas are organized by sadhus, who take the assisstance of grihasthas. In ancient era, such Yajñas for common good were held by kings. Today, there are many vedic schools producing hundreds of vedic priests annually in states like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc. They undertake regular Svadhyaya. Final Spiritual Message of Yajurveda and Yajña Real religion is self awakening towards supreme Consciousness, which is most beautifully expressed in the last mantra of White Yajurveda : " Hiranyamayena patrena satyasya apihitam mukham, yah asau Aditye purushah sah asau aham. Om kham Brahma. " [ The mouth of truth is covered with Golden Lid (of deceptively attractive Maya or the Indrajala of sensory world, hence remove it, O Lord, I am coming to you because) I am the same Purusha which resides in Aditya. Akash is Brahma. ] Etymologically, Akash means " towards (spiritual) light. This mantra reminds one of the etymological meaning of " re-ligion " : re-union with one's lost Source. The real spiritual message of Yajñas and Vedas teaches the Jiva to become united with Brahma by means of self-purification, which is not possible by killing other Jivas or being intoxicated by wine during Yajña (Soma did not cause intoxication, but helped in attaining mystic ecstasy). This is the message of Adi Shankara which the mainstream Hindus accepted after a nationwide campaign, and therefore Hinduism survived in spite of a millennium of foreign rule, while other ancient cultures were obliterated with single big attacks. The cement which binds and holds India through ages despite its social diversity and political anarchy is its cultural sublimity rooted in the Vedas ; India is a land purified with innumerable Yajñas and therefore imperishable. -Vinay Jha XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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