Talk:The Forty Saṁskāras:Importance of Agni

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

The saṃskāras cover an individual's entire life-span — "Nishekādi śmaśānāntakam" — from the moment before he is conceived in his mother's womb to the time when his body is offered to Agni. Niseka (impregnation) is a rite performed with the sacrificial fire as the witness; and the funeral rites which come last are performed in the fire.

Agni, the sacred fire, must be kept burning throughout a Brahmin's life. The brahmacārin or bachelor-student must perform the samidhādhāna every day. After he is married, with Agni as witness, he becomes a gṛhastha (householder). He must now perform the aupāsana in the fire. For the vānaprastha (forest recluse), there is a sacred fire called kakṣāgni. The sannyāsin has no sacrament involving the sacred fire: he has the fire of knowledge (jñānāgni) in him. His body is not cremated — that is, there is no Agni-saṃskāra for it — but interred as a matter of respect. Strictly speaking, it must be cut into four parts and consigned to the four quarters of a forest. There it will be food for birds and beasts. In an inhabited place the severed parts of the body would cause inconvenience to people. That is why they were thrown into the forest. There it would be food for its denizens; if buried, it would be manure for the plants. Now, over the site of the interment of a sannyāsin’s body, a Bṛndāvana is grown [or built]: this again is done out of respect. At such sites, all that is to be done is to plant a bilva or aśvattha tree.

All castes have rites to be performed with the sacred fire. During marriage, people belonging to all varṇas must do aupāsana and the fire in which the rite is performed must be preserved throughout. Today, only Parsis seem to keep up such a practice of preserving the fire. Their scripture is called the Zend-Avesta, which name must have been derived from the Vedic Chando-Vasta. Their teacher was Zoroaster (Zarathuśtra): this name must have been derived from Saurāṣṭra. Their homeland is Iran (from Ārya). If the fire kept by them is extinguished at any time, they spend a good deal of money in expiatory rites. With us, rituals performed in the sacred fire have been on the decline from the turn of the century. The lifestyle of our people has changed. If there is faith, this great treasure (rites performed in the fire) could be preserved. The most important reason for the loss of faith is the present system of education.

This body of ours has to be finally offered in the fire as āhuti (oblation) to the deities. It is treated as a dravya (material for sacrifice) with ghee applied to it before it is offered in the fire. The ceremony is called dahana-saṃskāra.