Agnihotra Agnihotri - Yagna

Agnihotra is a sacred tradition started by Rishis and sages of ancient India. It is the worship of the Lord
Yagna Naarayan. Agnihotra means worshipping the Lord Vishnu - Aadi Naarayan - riding on the divine
serpent and controlling the infinite cosmos, only by will.
: ( 1|1|2|13)
The Sanskrit word for worship is Upasana Up (Near) Aasana (Sitting) - Upasana means sitting near
the Lord. One who is initiated either by Guru or by the command of the Lord Himself to worship the sacred
Fire by offering pious things into it, is known as Agnihotri, and his Upasana is known as Agnihotra.

In fact, Agnihotra is the aggregation of - meditation, remembering the name of the Lord, act of devotion,
surrender and Yoga. It is performed in the Vedic manner. Needless to say, only a worthy person is
selected as Agnihotri by the Lord.

In Agnihotra, the evening Yagna performed by the Agnihotri is offered to the Lord Agni Naarayan and the
morning Yagna is offered to the Lord Surya Naarayan (Sun).

Types of Agnihotra

There are two kinds of Agnihotra the Shraut Agnihotra and the Smart Agnihotra.

Yagna Purusha

The vessel or place which contains the sacred fire is known as Kund. There may be one Kund, three
Kunds or five Kunds for Agnihotra. Agnihotri has to prepare Yagnashala according to proper
measurements on the basis of the calculations given in Vedas. The Yagna - Kund and the Vedi (altar)
must be in the centre of the Yagnashala, representing the form of Yagna Purusha. Thus, Yagnakunda is
the very mouth of the Lord into which sacrificial things are offered in the morning and in the evening
everyday, according to the Vedic methods. The inner part of Yagnashala represents the Universe. Yagna
Kund is considered the centre of the Universe.
:| ( 1|164|35)

Qualities of Agnihotri
Agnihotri should be a Brahmin, selected by God/Guru. He may be a celibate or a householder. If a
householder becomes a widow or a widower, she/he cannot perform as Agnihotri. The Agnihotri has to
worship the Lord as an ideal householder. He can not beg even for his own livelihood. When his right
hand remains occupied with offerings to the Lord Yagna Naarayan every morning and evening, how can
he extend it for begging? In fact, the last Aahuti of the Agnihotri is the sacrifice of his own body to the
Lord.
 Agnihotra Daily (Nitya) Yagna System

Agnihotri first performs Sandhya-Vandan etc. then makes Sankalpa of doing the Yagna and wakes the
God up with motherly care by uncovering the Bhasma (Ashes) from the sacred fire [that continues from
the day of the Praagatya when the Aadi Purusha (first person) of that Agnihotra Parampara (tradition),
first invited (lightened) the Lord Agni by Vedic Method.] Then Golas (dung balls) are offered to Yagna
Naarayan. Then Aahutis of Samidha, Ghee, Jav-tal are offered to the Agni. After the act of offering
Aahutis, the excellences of the Lord are sung through the Mantras of Shanti Sukta, Purush Sukta,
Surya Sukta from the Yajurved. Flowers and Tulsi leaves are offered to the Lord. Then the Lord
Narayan, with four hands, is meditated on.

, |
( 8|22|11)
Then waving of lights (Aarti), offering flowers Mantra Pushpaanjali by reciting excellent Ved Mantras,
circum ambulation Pradakshina, prayers are lovingly offered to the Lord. Then this performed Pooja is
dedicated (Arpan) to the Lord Maha Vishnu. Finally, with motherly love, the Agnihotri makes the Lord
sleep by covering the Agni with Bhasma (Ashes).

A person must visit Yagnashala with good thoughts and noble desires because the desire of a person
gets fulfilled in this sacred place. Nobel thoughts and meditation on the Lord are highly desirable for a
person who visits the Yagnashala. After the worship of the Lord Yagna Naarayan, the Lord Shiva
(Mahadev) is worshipped.

On every first day of Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha the Agnihotri gets his head completely shaved
Mundan. Every one likes hair on the head. Such dear hair is to be offered to the dearest Lord as a
mark of intense love for the Lord. Removing hair is considered as an act of repentance that makes a
person free from sins.
The Agnihotri has to perform three Yagnas daily. They are Dev Yagna, Pitru Yagna and Manushya
Yagna.

The worship of the Lord is Dev Yagna. Loving services rendered to father, mother, the elderly and the
respectable people is Pitru Yagna and service to humanity through mass feeding, through establishing
and helping Pathshala, schools etc. or any social service is known as Manushya Yagna. The Agnihotri
may be busy with all these activities for the whole day along with the sweet remembrance of the Lord.

Nourishing the World by Agnihotra

:|
: :|| ( 3|14)

: |
: :||
( 3|76)
The scarified offering is known as Aahuti. These Aahutis, going to the province of the Lord Sun, which in
turn form clouds, give rain and make the earth wet for giving food-grains and the creatures of the world
are nourished by food. Thus, Agnihotra is a great religion meant for nourishing the world. It is unique
because we do not find such religion in the past or in the future.

|
......: :| ( 1|6|8)
All Devas nourished by Yagnas.Yagnas are for good.
In Shukla Yajurveda, there is a talk between the Yajmaan and the Deva (Indra) indicating the relation
between Humans and Devas.

Yajmaan to Indra -
& |
( 3|49)
O Indra! Let we exchange the Havi (Objects offered to lord) and Fal (the fruit in reward of the Have). I am
giving you Havi, you give me Fal.
Indra to Yajmaan

|
( 3|49)
You first give Havi then I will give you Fal.

Another Mantra in Veda clarifies that when Devas are satisfied (Trupt) then they satisfies
the Yajmaan.
: |
Thus, By giving Devas humans can get. As said by the Lord Krishna Himself in Geeta,
 :|
: : ||
( 3|11)
Having pleased the Devas by sacrifices, the Devas will please you and thus mutually pleasing one
another you will achieve the Supreme.
| ( 31|40)

Pious things offered in Agnihotra - Yagna:

Agnihotra rituals require the objects of offering like Barley, Sesame, Ghee, Dry fruits, Kamal Kakdi, the
powder of Dung of Bull/Cow, Samidh (pieces of small branches of wood with specific measurement) from
Mango tree, Pipal tree, Palash tree or from any tree having flowers/fruit in place of Palash (Khakhar) tree.
Samidh may not be taken from thorny or dry trees.

Dev Yaag, Pitru Yaag

The Yagna starting from the evening of the first day of the Lunar month - the first evening of the white
period Shukla Paksha - to the morning of the first day of Krishna Paksha is known as Dev Yaag
(Paurnamase Isht) and the Yagna from the first evening of the black period Krishna Paksha to the
morning of Shukla Paksha is known as Pitru Yaag (Darsh Isht).

Ishti Yaag:
The morning Yagna of the first day of the white period Shukla Paksha and the morning Yagna of the first
day of the black period Krishna Paksha are special Yaags known as Ishti Yaag. For the Ishti Yaag, rice
is cooked in milk, which is known as Paayas. Aahutis of Payas are offered to the Lord and some portion
of the Paayas is to be fed to a cow. The offering prepared from the flour of Barley is known as Purodash.
Aahutis of Purodash are to be offered to the Lord Agni according to the Vedic rituals. As a mother
lovingly feeds her child with small mouthfuls, the Agnihotri also is supposed to feed the Lord with such
Aahutis with intense motherly love, care and concentration. After the act of offering Aahutis the routine
Pooja is performed.
( 3|7|4|10)
After the act of offering Aahutis the routine Pooja is performed.

Agnihotra tradition in times of Kings

In ancient times, every Brahmin was Agnihotri. To be without Agnihotra was considered a curse
(Shraap). The Agnihotri may require a house, land for Yagnashala and for implanting trees and plants
for taking care of cows and for such other things. Kings used to appreciate and respect Agnihotries for
their divine worship. They used to look after them by maintaining their families. Agnihotries had not to
worry about their livelihood or money so they used to dedicate their lives to the service of the Lord and to
the different research projects. Thus, in fact, ancient Rishis were also scientists.

One who maintains the Agnihotri family for the whole year will earn 16 % (6 th part) of the total merit
(Punya) of Agnihotra. Such was the tradition in the times of the Kings.