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 karmakāndiya 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.
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According to
Vedic tradition, yajña was instituted by God for the benefit of mankind so that
man could perform various karmas according to karmakāndas, 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 sanātana (eternal)
spiritual knowledge. This is the main ideological basis of the institution of
yajña. Hence, yajña links right Karma to right Jñāna, both yajñic karma and
divine Jñāna being based on Bhakti which is the meaning of most famous of all
Vedic mantras, Gāyatri ("...inspire into us such a meditative intellect
which remains fixed on Thee"). According to Brahmasutra, one who has got
Vairāgya (non-attachment) is free to take resort to sanyāsa 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 Jñāna. Otherwise, people could perform Karmas
without Yajña and remain oblivious of spiritual Jñāna. Leading mortals towards
spiritual Jñāna was the main purpose behind the institution of Yajña, and that
is why the word Veda implies "Jñāna" 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 Jñāna and Karma meet, Yajña was instituted.
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.
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 yājushi, although Gita (Gītā) extols
Sāmaveda as the best of all Vedas whose meaning is explained in Brahmasutra of
Bādarāyana : a brahma-jñāni is transported to Brahmaloka on the verses of
Sāmaveda. Mantras from other Vedas, esp Rgveda and Sāmaveda 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
Vyāsa divided, because with the regression of Kāla from Satyuga to inferior
yugas it became increasingly difficult for a single priest to memorize all
these three yajñic Vedas (the very name Veda Vyāsa means one who
divided/organized the Veda).
Brāhamana texts
are believed to be part of Vedas and not composed by mortals. They are
primarily concerned with rules and results of Karmakāndic Yajñas. Many portions
of Brāhamana texts are known as Āranyakas and Upanishadas and deal with
Jñānakānda.
Besides vedas,
six Vedāngas are crucial to proper understanding and performance of Yajñas:
- Shikshā : the science of
correct pronunciation of mantras. For Yajurveda, its own Prātishākhya is
the detailed Shikshā text, and Yājñavalkya-Shikshā is the shortcut for
beginners.
- Chhanda : knowledge of metres
- Vyākarana : grammar, esp the
special Vedic rules
- Nirukta : explanation of
difficult Vedic words
- Jyotisha : for fixing the
proper time for Yajñas
- Kalpa : a collection of Sutra
texts which teach details of yājñic ceremonies.
Although Mimānsā
do not fall under either Veda or Vedānga, and are enumerated under
shat-darshana of Vedic-puranic tradition, they are exclusively related to the
nature and results of yajñas related to both Karmakānda and Jñanakānda.
Purva Mimānsā,
also called Karma Mimānsā, deals extensively with the philosophy of Karmakāndic
yajña, with a view to determine how to achieve Dharma by means of Yajñic
Karmakānda. Jaimini gave the Purva Mimānsā darshana with 12 chapters. It is
primarily an inquiry into the Brāhmana 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 Mimānsā
by Bādarāyana, also known as Brahmasutra, deals with Jñānakānda portion of
Vedas and Brāhmanas. Ādi 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 karmakānda and jñānakānda, 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 Brāhmanas have been put to form the category of texts known as
Upanishadas, which literally means "to sit near a guru (for learning the
secret Brahmavidyā)".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 kāmya-karma fall under karmakānda 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 jñāna-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 Karmakāndiya Yajñas
There are two
chief types of karmas : nitya-karma and kāmya-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
sandhyā-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 pāka-yajñas (cooked sacrifice), while next seven are
havir-yajñas (burnt oblation) and remaining seven are soma-yajñas.
Kāmya-yajñas are
optional, numbering around 400. Complex yajñas need to be performed once in a
lifetime. Putrakāmeshti (for getting sons), Rājasuya (royal consecration),
Ashvamedha, etc are kāmya 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 shrāddha and are categorized as naimittika
karma.
We can
understand original significance of yajñic karmakānda 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 karmakāndic rituals of worship which ultimately lead to
such a jnānakāndic Knowledge.
Chapterwise,
Yajurveda describes following principal yajñas :
1.-2. :
Darsha-paurnamāsa Yajña (New and Full Moon yajña)
3. :
Agnihotra (Agni-upasthāna, Chāturmāsya, etc)
4.-8. :
Somayajña, which included Agnishtoma, Agnisomiya-Pashuyajña,upānshugra,Ādityagraha)
9. :
Vājapeya and Rājasuya
10. :
Rājasuya, Sautrāmani
11.-18. :
Construction of altars and hearths, especially the Agnichayana and chiti
mantras,Rudri,Vasordhara
19.-21. :
Sautrāmani : 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-kānda of YV)
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 Hotā, Udgatā (singer of verses from Sāmaveda), Rtvija (reciter of Rgveda)
with a dozen helpers for reciting or singing Vedic verses.
Sutra
literature, known as Kalpa, define rules and methods of Vedic rites, and are
therefore deemed as one of the six Vedāngas. Shrauta Sutras describe the types
of Agni. Three basic types of Agni are Gārhapatya, Dākshināgni
and Āhavaniya, collectively called the Tretāgni or Shrautāgni, which is
used for performing 14 of the 21 compulsory nityakarma yajñas. Gārhapatya Agni
is round and is placed to the west of altar. Fire from Gārhapatya Agni is used
to ignite other two Agnis. Dākshināgni is semi-circular and is placed to the
south of altar which is direction of pitrloka and is primarily used for
offerings to ancestors. Āhavaniya 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 yajñashālā 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
Agnyādhāna : one part becomes Grhyāgni and the other Srautāgni, 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 Grhyāgni or Aupasanāgni is used in the Pāka-yajñas like Ekāgni Kānda of the
Āpastambha 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
Maitrāyani Samhutā (iii,8,1), VS (xxvii,2,4), AV (ii,6,2; iii,12,16;
vii,82,3),Shatapatha Brāhamana (v,4,5,17), Chhāndogya Upanishada. Vahni Purāna
clearly defines Upasada as a distinct Agni, different from the tretāgni. 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 Sāyana on TāndyaBr,xix,3,1),
but is a derivation from Upasada. Aupasana and Aupasada are derivatives of
Upasada.
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 Chhāndogya Upanishada
(iv,16th khanda) clearly says that a yajña has two paths through which it
purifies the world : mind(man) and voice (vāk), and the priest Brahmā 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. Ādi Shankar explains the
reference to mana (mind) here as ("manashcha yathā-bhootārtha-jñāna")
"cognizance of real nature of things". If the priest Brahmā 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 Brahmā
concentrate on this facet, a rule was made that Brahmā had to maintain
mauna-vrata during a yajña. If the Brahmā fails to meditate properly over the
meaning of a particular recited mantra, that mantra will not bear fruit. Hence,
the Brahmā had to be the most learned of all Vedic priests. Now-a-days, few
Vedic priests pay attention to this fact that Brahmā must be an expert of
meaning of Vedas. Such a Brahmā will be able to distribute the benefits of
yajña to the minds of others (telepathically).
There are a lot
of individual yajñas, like Jyotishtoma yajña for lifting the performer to
heavens, Pitrlokayajña for obtaining the world of ancestors, Panchāgni yajña
for attaining Brahmaloka as described in Chhāndogya Upanishada, Gomedha (cf.
Rāmāyana-vii,25,8; Varāha Purāna-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,
Atirātra, Shodasin, Atyagnishtoma, Vājapeya and Aptoryāma (cf, TS.vii).
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 viprā bahudhā 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.
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.
Bhūta 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.
Jñāna-yajña
Gita (Gītā)
extols Japa-yajña as the highest form of yajña. It does not mean any type of
Japa is superior to great yajñic ceremonies. Ādi Shankara wrote that a yajña is
performed in one's own body, which is related to āma-yajña, a yajña leading to
ātma-jñāna. Gita says all food should be offered as oblation (havi) to the
vedic god Vaishvānara. It means only havishyānna 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 Jñāna-yajña unpopular.
Opening of
dharma-shālās, anāthālaya, 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
yājñic fires resides : Vaishvānara. Feeding on havishyānna once a day only
in daytime after noon, nightlong shavāsana performing yoganidra, strict
brahmacharya, adherence to all rules of dharma like yama-niyama, nityakarmas or
at least sandhyā-vandana three times a day for grihasthas and four times a day
for sanyāsis, dāna to sanyāsis 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 Vaishvānara during at least 18 prānāyāmas per
sitting, as a result of which the kundalini starts rising up from the kunda of
Vaishvānara and the perfomer becomes an urdhva-retā, 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 Ādi 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 Jīva after
death, the verses of Sāmveda are sent by God to assist such a Jīva to reach
Brahmaloka (according to Brahmasutra), where the Jīva ceases to be a Jīva by
getting rid of Kārana-sharīra (consisting of 13 Karanas, 3 antah-karanas :
buddhi, mana, ahamkāra ; and 10 bāhya-karanas : five kārmic and five
sensory indriyas or karanas) and becomes pure Ātmā, which is essentially
indistinguishable from Paramātmā. Such an emancipated soul is allowed to choose
from one among four possible eternal or sanātana states of immortality
according to Brahmasutra. Attainment of such an eternal or sanātana state is
the goal of Sanātana 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 yajamāna were expected to remain pure as long as yajña lasts,
hence they were more popular than Jñāna-yajña. Later, instead of invoking
deities in the body of priests to take havi, mūrtis (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 ("pratimā"
in text) of Him whose glory verily is great " (Griffith
Few people
performs the daily Agnihotra yajña, but a large number of people perform or try
to perform sandhyā-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
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 Svādhyāya.
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 pātrena satyasya
apihitam mukham,
yah asau Āditye purushah sah asau aham.Om
kham Brahma."
yah asau Āditye purushah sah asau aham.
ॐ
हिरण्ण्मयेनपात्रेणसत्यस्यापिहितम्मुखम्
योसावादित्येपुरुषःसोसावहम्।। ॐ खम्मब्रह्म।।
[ The mouth
of truth is covered with Golden Lid (of deceptively attractive Māyā or the
Indrajāla of indriyas or sensory world , hence remove it, O Lord, I am coming
to you because) I am the same Purusha which resides in Āditya. Ākash is
Brahma. ] Etymologically, Ākash 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 Jīva to become united with Brahma by means of self-purification,
which is not possible by killing other Jīvas or being intoxicated by wine
during Yajña (Soma did not cause intoxication, but helped in attaining mystic
ecstasy). This is the message of Ādi 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 India
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