{{Short description|Hindu ritual}} {{Hinduism}}{{Use Indian English|date=August 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}} {{italic title}} The '''Pakayajna''' ({{Langx|sa|पाकयज्ञ|translit=Pāka-yajñās}}) or '''Pakayaga''' (ISO: {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|Pāka-yaga}}) is a Hindu ritual. It is a type of Yajna associated with the Vedic sacrifices of cooked food offering, and regarded as an obligatory ritual (nitya-karma) for a householder.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Brian K. |date=1986 |title=THE UNITY OF RITUAL: The Place of the Domestic Sacrifice in Vedic Ritualism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24654536 |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=79–96 |doi=10.1163/000000086790082154 |jstor=24654536 |issn=0019-7246|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=eGangotri |url=http://archive.org/details/4146UPSSPakaYajnaLaugakshiSharada |title=4146 UPSS Paka Yajna Laugakshi Sharada}}</ref>
The term "''paka''" means "cooked" or "prepared". Unlike other types of sacrifices, such as Haviryaga, which involves the offering of uncooked food, a Pakayajna utilizes cooked food material such as bhat. The food (rice of other grains) is cooked in a pot made out of clay called "sthālī", and then offered in the yajna fire during the ritual.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Yegnasubramanian |first=S. |title=Vaidika Samskaras |url=https://svbf.org/wp-content/uploads/vaidika-samskaras/6_VaidikaSamskaras.pdf |access-date=August 12, 2024 |website=svbf.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mehra |first=B. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJkoAAAAYAAJ |title=Vaitānaśrautasūtra |date=1994 |publisher=Sanjay Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7453-000-4 |language=en}}</ref>
== Types == The seven types of Pakayajna are:<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-12 |title=Pākayajnas |url=https://hindupedia.com/en/P%C4%81kayajnas |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref>Gautama Dharma Sutras 8-19, page no.74, Chaukhamba Samskrit Samthan, Varanasi</ref>
* ''Aṣṭakā'' * ''Pārvaṇa'' * ''Śrāddha'' * ''Śrāvaṇī'' * ''Āgrahāyaṇī'' * ''Caitrī'' * ''Āśviyujī''
== See also == * Vedas * Yajna
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Hindudharma}}
Category:Yajna Category:Hindu rituals Category:Vedic customs