Mahabharata Series About Yajna, Yaga & Homa Compiled by: G H Visweswara PREFACE I have extracted these contents from my other comprehensive & unique work on Mahabharata called Mahabharata-Spectroscope. (See http://www.ghvisweswara.com/mahabharata-2/mahabharata-spectroscope-a-unique- resource/). Whereas the material in that was included in the order in which it appears in the original epic, in this compilation I have grouped them by meaningful Topics & Sub- topics thus making it much more useful to the student/scholar of this subject. This is a brief compilation of the contents appearing in the great epic Mahabharata on the topics of Yajna, Yaga & Homa. The compilation is not exhaustive in the sense that every para appearing in the great epic is not included here for the sake of limiting the size of this document. Some of the topics like japa-yajna have already been compiled in another document called Japa-Dhayana-Pranayama. But still most of the key or representative passages have been compiled here. The contents are from Mahabharata excluding Bhagavad Gita. I hope the readers will find the document of some use in their study on these topics. Please see http://www.ghvisweswara.com/mahabharata-2 for my other topic based compilations based on Mahabharata. G H Visweswara [email protected] www.ghvisweswara.com March 2017 About Yajna, Yaga & Homa in Mahabharata: G H Visweswara Page 1 Table of Contents About Yajna, Yaga & Homa in Mahabharata .......................................................................................... 4 Eligibility, Duty, Inclination to perform ................................................................................................. 4 General ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Varnas & yajna ................................................................................................................................. 4 Ashramas & yajna ............................................................................................................................ 6 Motivations to perform ......................................................................................................................... 6 Fear of punishment .......................................................................................................................... 6 Dharma-Artha .................................................................................................................................. 6 Desires ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Good children ................................................................................................................................... 7 Debts (rinas) .................................................................................................................................... 7 Atma jnana ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Others .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Gains of performing ............................................................................................................................. 8 Punya & purity .................................................................................................................................. 8 Eligibility to be invited to shraadhas ................................................................................................. 9 Gaining other lokas .......................................................................................................................... 9 As a strategy against enemy ......................................................................................................... 10 Not an ultimate/everlasting gain .................................................................................................... 11 What annuls gains ............................................................................................................................. 11 Ego/Arrogance ............................................................................................................................... 11 Sins ................................................................................................................................................ 12 Others ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Right ways to perform ........................................................................................................................ 12 Using honest money ...................................................................................................................... 13 With a sense of duty ...................................................................................................................... 13 Without desires .............................................................................................................................. 13 Importance of faith ......................................................................................................................... 14 Yajna for greed Vs Atma-yajna ...................................................................................................... 14 Others ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Animal sacrifice and Non-violence in Yajna ...................................................................................... 17 Involving/for sacrifice ..................................................................................................................... 17 Against violence/sacrifice .............................................................................................................. 19 Others ............................................................................................................................................ 22 Brahmanas & yajnas ......................................................................................................................... 22 Kings/Kshatriyas & Yajna .................................................................................................................. 26 Gains of performing ....................................................................................................................... 28 Different ashramas & yajnas ............................................................................................................. 29 Grihasthashrama ........................................................................................................................... 29 About Yajna, Yaga & Homa in Mahabharata: G H Visweswara Page 2 Sanyasashrama ............................................................................................................................. 29 For rishis ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Giving daan/dakshina ........................................................................................................................ 29 Kanya daan .................................................................................................................................... 31 Daan of land ................................................................................................................................... 32 Go (cow, cattle) daan ..................................................................................................................... 32 As a remedial measure ...................................................................................................................... 32 Successful as remedy .................................................................................................................... 32 Fails as a remedy ........................................................................................................................... 33 Infrastructure, Activities, Facilities, Hospitality .................................................................................. 33 Different Yajnas mentioned/described .............................................................................................. 34 Ashwamedha yajna ........................................................................................................................ 35 Ashwamedha perfomed by Yudhishtira ..................................................................................... 35 Ashwamedha yaga of king Pourava ........................................................................................... 37 Maharshi Agasthya’s yajna ............................................................................................................ 37 Vaishnav yaga ............................................................................................................................... 38 Yajna as simile/Example ................................................................................................................... 40 Acts of Dharma & Yajna................................................................................................................