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Yajna Upakaranas (यज्ञोपकरणानि) (view source)
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, 18:43, 14 April 2020created a page for Yajna upakaranas
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Yajna Upakaranas (Samskrit: यज्ञोपकरणानि) deals with the specialized implements, containers and utensils (upakaranas) used during the conduct of yajnas. A large number of specialized storage vessels, buckets, leather bags for storing liquids, spoons and ladles, mixing vessels, strainer, sieves, grinding stones, mortar and pestle, knives, winnowing baskets, pounders are a few common names of utensils of various types used since ancient times. They are made of metals or wood mostly, as revealed by the archaeological excavations in many sites of India. The ample references of these upakaranas in Vedas are mentioned as required instruments or implements for the performance of yajnas such as Somayaga, Asvamedha yajna and Pashuyajnas which were quite elaborate.
== Introduction ==
The knowledge of making utensils, instruments and implements for both common and specialized activities of bharatiya jivana vidhana dates back to hoary antiquity. The Rigveda mentions the use of a large number of utensils used during yajnas. Later the Grhya and Shraura vaidika yajnas enshrined in the Sutras employed an enormous number of utensils of rigidly specified design and structure.
It is interesting to note that preparing these vessels or implements would require the knowledge of ganita shastra, geometry, and of metallurgy and alloys which appears to be of advanced nature.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Containers used in the Yajnas<ref name=":1">Bag, A. K. (1997) ''History of Technology in India, Vol. 1, From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D.'' New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. Chapter: Technology of Food by K. T. Achaya (Pages 448 - )</ref>
!
!Name
!Descrption
|-
|1
|Patra
|wooden vessels, placed in pairs on
the yajnika grass, and of five kinds (upamsu-,
urdhva-, rtu-, sukra- and manthi-) for different
uses
|-
|2
|Sambharani
|wooden vessel in which is placed the wet,
pounded soma stalks
|-
|3
|dronakalasa
|bucket-type vessel covered with a filter to
receive strained soma juice
|-
|4
|putabhrt
|clay trough to hold prepared soma juice
|-
|5
|Chamasa
|oblong tub with handle, of ten types, for use by
different priests for various purposes, such as;
holding soma, drinking soma (by the priest);
holding sacred water; and holding food in the
vow rite
|-
|6
|agrayanasthali
|vessel to receive strained soma juice in the
agricultural rite when new fruits are eaten
|-
|7
|sarava
|earthen dish holding water with which a new
mother is sprinkled
|-
|8
|pinvana
|two milk vessels
|-
|9
|sarpirdhana
|bowl for butter
|-
|10
|Idapatra and pranitapranayana
|deep oblong container with a flat rim to hold ghee
|-
|11
|ninahya
|earthen
waterpot buried in the ground to keep
its contents cool
|}
The rites for somayajna were performed three times a day, and employed twelve main vessels for various types of cooking, like sthalipaka, cooking in a pot, and sutagrava, roasting on a spit. The pravargya rite, which is part of the somayajna, required the making each time of a special, round, fired clay vessel with a wide mouth called a mahavira which is heated intensely in the course of the rite.
For the Ajamedha yajna (a pashu yajna) where a goat is given as an offering, a special clay cauldron called the gharma had to be made for cooking the meat.
The asvamedha yajna where a horse is offered in yajna, also called for a huge square clay cauldron termed the ukha for cooking the flesh, and hollow metal skewers for roasting certain organs after their dissection.
== References ==
[[Category:Yajnas]]
Yajna Upakaranas (Samskrit: यज्ञोपकरणानि) deals with the specialized implements, containers and utensils (upakaranas) used during the conduct of yajnas. A large number of specialized storage vessels, buckets, leather bags for storing liquids, spoons and ladles, mixing vessels, strainer, sieves, grinding stones, mortar and pestle, knives, winnowing baskets, pounders are a few common names of utensils of various types used since ancient times. They are made of metals or wood mostly, as revealed by the archaeological excavations in many sites of India. The ample references of these upakaranas in Vedas are mentioned as required instruments or implements for the performance of yajnas such as Somayaga, Asvamedha yajna and Pashuyajnas which were quite elaborate.
== Introduction ==
The knowledge of making utensils, instruments and implements for both common and specialized activities of bharatiya jivana vidhana dates back to hoary antiquity. The Rigveda mentions the use of a large number of utensils used during yajnas. Later the Grhya and Shraura vaidika yajnas enshrined in the Sutras employed an enormous number of utensils of rigidly specified design and structure.
It is interesting to note that preparing these vessels or implements would require the knowledge of ganita shastra, geometry, and of metallurgy and alloys which appears to be of advanced nature.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Containers used in the Yajnas<ref name=":1">Bag, A. K. (1997) ''History of Technology in India, Vol. 1, From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D.'' New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. Chapter: Technology of Food by K. T. Achaya (Pages 448 - )</ref>
!
!Name
!Descrption
|-
|1
|Patra
|wooden vessels, placed in pairs on
the yajnika grass, and of five kinds (upamsu-,
urdhva-, rtu-, sukra- and manthi-) for different
uses
|-
|2
|Sambharani
|wooden vessel in which is placed the wet,
pounded soma stalks
|-
|3
|dronakalasa
|bucket-type vessel covered with a filter to
receive strained soma juice
|-
|4
|putabhrt
|clay trough to hold prepared soma juice
|-
|5
|Chamasa
|oblong tub with handle, of ten types, for use by
different priests for various purposes, such as;
holding soma, drinking soma (by the priest);
holding sacred water; and holding food in the
vow rite
|-
|6
|agrayanasthali
|vessel to receive strained soma juice in the
agricultural rite when new fruits are eaten
|-
|7
|sarava
|earthen dish holding water with which a new
mother is sprinkled
|-
|8
|pinvana
|two milk vessels
|-
|9
|sarpirdhana
|bowl for butter
|-
|10
|Idapatra and pranitapranayana
|deep oblong container with a flat rim to hold ghee
|-
|11
|ninahya
|earthen
waterpot buried in the ground to keep
its contents cool
|}
The rites for somayajna were performed three times a day, and employed twelve main vessels for various types of cooking, like sthalipaka, cooking in a pot, and sutagrava, roasting on a spit. The pravargya rite, which is part of the somayajna, required the making each time of a special, round, fired clay vessel with a wide mouth called a mahavira which is heated intensely in the course of the rite.
For the Ajamedha yajna (a pashu yajna) where a goat is given as an offering, a special clay cauldron called the gharma had to be made for cooking the meat.
The asvamedha yajna where a horse is offered in yajna, also called for a huge square clay cauldron termed the ukha for cooking the flesh, and hollow metal skewers for roasting certain organs after their dissection.
== References ==
[[Category:Yajnas]]