The invocation of one or more divinities and the making of offerings (whether real or visualized) to them with The fire as via media, amid the recitation of prescribed prayers and mantras.The kindling and consecration of the sacrificial fire.In common speech the complete ceremony would be called a puja, but in fact there are many pujas and many havans all combined into one.Īlthough a consecrated fire is the central element of every homa ritual, the procedure and items offered to the fire vary by what occasions the ceremony, or by the benefit expected from the ritual. For example, a ceremony could begin with puja to a sacred image of Ganesha and then a puja using a copper pot, coconut and leaves to Varuna and then go on to include a havan directed towards Vishnu, Shiva and Durga Devi. In this way, during a havan many Deities may be propitiated with a specific focus on just one or two, depending on the purpose. If one wanted to increase luck and general prosperity one could direct Agni to take the offerings to Ganesha and Lakshmi, two Divinities in charge of luck and fortune. If one wanted rain, one might direct their prayers and offerings to the rain Deity, Indra. For example, if one wanted to perform a havan for increased health, one could direct the offerings to the sun Deity, Surya. Through the mantras, fire, is asked to take the prayers and consumed offerings (hence the meaning of hu "to eat") to the intended Divinity. Kundas have different shapes: square, rectangular, round and triangular, but in most cases the square kunda is used.Ī havan ceremony involves a priest and a host(s) and guests sitting before the kunda while mantras are recited and various items such as ghee, rice, herbs, foodstuffs, and other items are placed into the fire. In a formal situation, a brick kunda will be used. For home use, generally a small metal havan kunda is used instead of a brick one because of its ease of setup and portability. The fire container, which may be brick or metal, is called a kunda, and when made of brick it is built to specific dimensions and shapes according to the purposes of the ceremony. Generally, wood and clarified butter (ghee) are used as the fuel. This may sound odd or glib, but an easy way to think of the havan is as a symbolic "postal system." The fire container is the postbox, fire is the postman, the items placed into the fire are the message and mantra is the means of address. Instead, rice or a kind of popery is commonly substituted for these items, but still the basic meaning of the ritual remains. Today, a havan is a simplified ritual that rarely involves animal sacrifice or the placing of precious items into the fire. In ancient times the fire sacrifice was an elaborate ceremony that could involve the sacrifice of horses, cows and goats, as well as gold, gems and other precious items into the fire. "I praise Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice." In fact, the first verse of the Rig Veda is addressed to Agni, the fire God. From the earliest of Vedic times and even to present day, fire (Agni) was viewed as the chief of the Gods. This fire ritual is described in elaborate detail in the Brahmanas. The use of fire as a means of worship is the most ancient of all rites, going back to the earliest Vedic times. I will use the word havan, but I could just as easily use the word homa.Ī havan is a religious ceremony performed in temples and in homes that involves worship through the use of a sacred fire. Generally, the word havan is heard in North India and homa is used in South India, but in either case, the meanings are identical. The words havan and homa each derive from the Sanskrit root hu, meaning to offer, to present and to eat. A havan or homa is similar to a puja in the sense that both are common modes of Hindu worship and both are symbolic forms of communication.
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