Yajna
[5] In post-Vedic literature, the term meant any form of rite, ceremony or devotion with an actual or symbolic offering or effort.
[5] A yajna included major ceremonial devotions, with or without a sacred fire, sometimes with feasts and community events.
It has, states Nigal, a threefold meaning of worship of the deities (devapujana), unity (sangatikarana) and charity (dána).
Unlike the Vedic yajna, however, the Yasna is the name of a specific religious service, not a class of rituals, and they have "to do with water rather than fire".
[8][9] The Sanskrit word is further related to Ancient Greek ἅζομαι (házomai), "to revere", deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *Hyeh₂ǵ- ("to worship").
— Apastamba Yajna Paribhasa-sutras 1.1, Translator: M Dhavamony[11][12] In the Upanishadic times, or after 500 BCE, states Sikora, the meaning of the term Yajna evolved from "ritual sacrifice" performed around fires by priests, to any "personal attitude and action or knowledge" that required devotion and dedication.
[15] The nature of Vedic sacrifice and rituals evolved over time, with major changes during the 1st millennium BCE, changes that influenced concepts later adopted by other traditions such as Buddhism.
Ultimately, the external rituals were reformulated and replaced with "internal oblations performed within the human body".
[20] The Buddha sought return to more ancient values, states Tadeusz Skorupski, where the Vedic sages "had study as their grain and wealth, guarded the holy life as their treasure, praised morality, austerity and nonviolence; they performed sacrifices consisting of rice, barley and oil, but they did not kill the cows".
[22] The functions associated with the priests were:[23] The central element of all Vedic sacrifices is the ritual fire, which is essential regardless of the complexity of the ceremony.
[25] The duration of a yajna depends on its type, some last only a few minutes whereas others are performed over a period of hours, days or even months.
[24] The blessings offered ranged from long life, gaining friends, health and heaven, more prosperity, to better crops.
Yajnas, where milk products, fruits, flowers, cloth and money are offered, are called homa or havan.
[30] Kalpa Sutras list the following yajna types:[31] The Vedic yajna ritual is performed in the modern era on a square altar called Vedi (Bedi in Nepal), set in a mandapa or mandala or kundam, wherein wood is placed along with oily seeds and other combustion aids.
[35] However, in ancient times, the square principle was incorporated into grids to build large complex shapes for community events.
[36] Thus a rectangle, trapezia, rhomboids or "large falcon bird" altars would be built from joining squares.
[35] The Vedic sacrifice (yajna) is presented as a kind of drama, with its actors, its dialogues, its portion to be set to music, its interludes, and its climaxes.
