Pakayajna

The Pakayajna (Sanskrit: पाकयज्ञ, romanized: Pāka-yajñās) or Pakayaga (ISO: Pāka-yaga) is a Hindu ritual. It is a type of Yajna associated with the Vedic sacrifices of cooked food offering, and regarded as an obligatory ritual (nitya-karma) for a householder.^[1][2]

The term "paka" means "cooked" or "prepared". Unlike other types of sacrifices, such as Haviryaga, which involves the offering of uncooked food, a Pakayajna utilizes cooked food material such as bhat. The food (rice of other grains) is cooked in a pot made out of clay called "sthālī", and then offered in the yajna fire during the ritual.^[3][4]

Types

The seven types of Pakayajna are:^[3][5][6]

• Aṣṭakā
• Pārvaṇa
• Śrāddha
• Śrāvaṇī
• Āgrahāyaṇī
• Caitrī
• Āśviyujī

See also

• Vedas
• Yajna