Pakṛti and Vikṛti Yāga

The main rite may be performed in the full moon day or in the new moon day. Or it may be performed some other day in the white fort-night. The main sacrifice is called Pakṛti or model and the accompanying rites are its Vikṛti modifications which follow the pattern of the model. Sacrifice may be classified into five classes viz. Homa, Iṣṭi, Paśu, Soma and Satra yāga. Each Vedic yāga is of two types considering Pakṛti and Vikṛti. Pakṛti yāga is also known as Pradhāna yāga or main sacrifice. Each Pakṛti yāga has many accessories or Vikṛti. The Vikṛti yāga or modification follows the patterns of the model or Pakṛti yāga. The other name of the Vikṛti yāga is Aṅga yāga or accessory sacrifice. The Pakṛti yāga is the whole (aṅgi) or main yāga and Vikṛti yāga its limb (Aṅga). The full description of the entire rite is depicted in the Pakṛti yāga along with its trifling matter while in the Vikṛti yāga only the accessory portion of the Pakṛti yāga is delineated.

Thus the Pakṛtis or models of the five types of Vedic sacrifices i.e. (Homa, Iṣṭi, Paśu, Soma and Satra) are as follows:

a) Homa sacrifice is also known as Darvī-homa, as the offerings are poured in to the fire by means of a ladle called Darvī. Agnihotra is the model for the homa type of sacrifices. The offerings for this oblation are milk, curd, rice, and many others to the Sun God and Agni, everyday in the morning and in the evening. The higher three castes has to perform the Agnihotra daily in the early Vedic age. It was obligatory for a Brāhmiṇ priests to perform the Agnihotra everyday along with his wife throughout his lifetime. Therefore the Agnihotra is called the ‘Jarāmaraṇa satra’ as one can be exempted from its performance either due to excessive senility of old age or death^{[1] .}

b) The model for Iṣṭi type of sacrifices is called Darśapaurnamāsa. Darśa means the confluence of the sun and the moon (suryendu sangamaḥ). Purnamāsi means the full moon and the dusk moon called Amāvasya. This sacrifice is to be performed on the new moon and full moon days. A person belonging to one of the three higher castes who is neither a bachelor nor a widower and who has already established his Gārhapatya fire has the right to perform this sacrifice.

c) Diksā or Prajāpatya paśu is the model for all Paśuyāga. It is also called nirudha paśu bandha. The person who has established his Gārhapatya fire has the right to perform the Paśuyāga every year. It may be performed once or twice or six time in a year. If it is performed once only, it should be done in the rainy season, if performed twice in a year; one sacrifice should take place in the uttarāyaṇa of the sun and another in the dakṣināyaṇa. If anyone desires to perform six times in a year, the performance should take place in each of the six seasons. The offering of this sacrifice is an animal. Therefore the yāga is termed as Paśu yāga.

d) Agniṣṭoma sacrifice is the model for all Soma sacrifices. It is also called Jyotiṣṭoma. The main oblation of this sacrifice is the juice of the creeper soma. The twelve stotras are sung in this sacrifice and the last one goes by the name of Agniṣṭoma and the sacrifice terminates with this stotra, therefore the sacrifice is termed as Agniṣṭoma.

e) The Gavāmayaṇa is a sessional sacrifice and is the model of all Satras. Though Gavāmayaṇa is a soma sacrifice and Agniṣṭoma is the model for it, but it is separately enumerated from Agniṣṭoma according to its time element. Sacrifices which are completed in one day are called ‘Ekāha’ or one day sacrifice; sacrifices which cover more than one day but less than twelve days are termed ‘Ahina’, and these which exceed more than twelve days and take a long time for completion are termed as ‘Satras’. According to the nature of sacrifice, the Gavāmayaṇa take one year, ten year, hundred years or even thousand years for its completion. The model for all satra yāga is Gavāmayaṇa.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Śat.Bra-XII/4/1/1“Etad vai jarāmaryaṃ satraṃ yadagnihotraṅ jarayā vā hyovāsmān muccyante mṛtyunā vā||”