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Yajna (IAST: ') literally means "sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering", and refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.〔SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book, ISBN 978-8185119182, pages 80-81〕 Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda.〔Laurie Patton (2005), The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal, Gene Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 978-0415772273, pages 38-39〕 The tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to symbolic offerings in the presence of sacred fire (Agni).〔 Yajna rituals-related texts have been called the ''Karma-kanda'' (ritual works) portion of the Vedic literature, in contrast to ''Jnana-kanda'' (knowledge) portion contained in the Vedic Upanishads. The proper completion of Yajna-like rituals was the focus of Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy.〔Randall Collins (1998), The Sociology of Philosophies, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0674001879, page 248〕 Yajna have continued to play a central role in a Hindu's rites of passage, such as weddings.〔 Modern major Hindu temple ceremonies, Hindu community celebrations, or monastic initiations may also include Yajna vedic rites, or alternatively be based on agamic rituals. ==Etymology== The word yajna ((サンスクリット:यज्ञ); yajña or yajJa) appears in the early Vedic literature, composed in 2nd millennium BCE.〔〔Jack Sikora (2002), Religions of India, iUniverse, ISBN 978-0595247127, page 86〕 In Rigveda, Yajurveda and others, it means "worship, devotion to anything, prayer and praise, an act of worship or devotion, a form of offering or oblation, and sacrifice".〔Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-8120831056 (Reprinted in 2011), pages 839-840〕 In post-Vedic literature, the term meant any form of rite, ceremony or devotion with an actual or symbolic offering or effort.〔 A Yajna included major ceremonial devotions, with or without a sacred fire, sometimes with feasts and community events. It is derived, states Nigal, from the Sanskrit verb ''yaj'', which has a threefold meaning of worship of deities (''devapujana''), unity (''sangatikarana'') and charity (''dána'').〔Nigal, p. 81.〕 The Sanskrit word is related to the Avestan term ''yasna'' of Zoroastrianism. Unlike the Vedic ''yajna'', the ''Yasna'' is the name of a specific religious service, not a class of rituals, and they have "to do with water rather than fire".〔Drower, 1944:78〕〔Boyce, 1975:147-191〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yajna」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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