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Agnihotra (IAST: Agnihotra, Devnagari: अग्निहोत्र) refers to the yajna of offering 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] The ritual has been described by P.E. Dumont as a "fertility charm", and as a "solar charm" which symbolically preserved and created the sun at nightfall and sunrise.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4]
- ^ Knipe, David M. (2015). Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Anthra Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Bodewitz, H.W. (1976). The Daily Evening and Morning Offering (Agnihotra) According to the Brāhmaṇas (9789004045323 ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. pp. 2–3.
- ^ 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.