Agnihotra Rituals in Nepal

Abstract

This chapter examines the history of the agnihotra in the Kathmandu valley. This ritual is Vedic, but is considered to be an antecedent to the tantric homa. The ritual is known to have been performed in Nepal by the fifteenth century, and perhaps, but with less certainty in the fourteenth. Witzel goes on to describe two of the four agnihotra performed in Patan—the two have been continuously performed for some centuries, while the other two are relatively recent revivals. These performances employ the traditional three fires of Vedic ritual, though known here by different names. The study closes with an analysis of the similarities and differences between the two agnihotra.