Ahuti

Ahuti

आहुति, āhuti

Ahuti in a Vedic sacrifice (yajna) is the pouring of ghee into the fire and the offering of other sacrificial substances (samagri) such as milk, honey, fruits, rice, sesame. The ingredients for samagri are prepared in accordance with the purposes of the ritual. The term āhuti itself derives from the root  hu (हु), which means “to sacrifice, to make an offering.”

At the same time, the ritual libation is accompanied by the sacred exclamation “svaha”, thereby blessing the gifts offered to the deity. According to legend, Svaha is the wife of Agni, the Indian God of Fire; without her sacrificial fire cannot flare up. It is generally accepted that thanks to Svaha, offerings will definitely be accepted by the gods.

Throughout the yajna, sacrifice is offered in parts, several times. At the end of the ritual, purnahuti (“full libation”) is performed, when all the prepared samagri is offered to the fire.