Svāhā in the Yagya: Meaning and Importance

. Svāhā is the word generally used in the Yagya when an offering is made to the fire. Generally in Yagya offering is made to the deity with deity Mantra; in this procedure, after the mantra is chanted, it is followed by the words ‘Svāhā’ and ‘Idam-Na-Mama’. The offering is particularly put in the fire with the word ‘Svāhā’. The present study explored the meaning of Svāhā through Indian Scripture. Description of Svāhā is present in all types of Indian literature i.e. Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Brahmana and well commented by Scholarly works. The study summarized the 3 types of implications of Svāhā i.e. 1) Svāhā is inseparable from Yagya Agni as it is depicted as the wife of Agni, 2) Svāhā is an essential portion of ritual i.e. Yagya is considered incomplete while offerings made without chanting of Svāhā; as Agni can not avail the offerings to deities, 3) Svāhā teaches how one should make offerings i.e. offerings shall be made with complete surrender, humility and sweetness full of emotions, after establishing oneself in wisdom, without ego, and attachment, and thus, only such offerings through Svāhā can be taken by Agni to the deities the for welfare of the individual and society.


Introduction
Svāhā is the word generally used in the Yagya when an offering is made to the fire. In Yagya before the offering is made to the deity, deity Mantra is chanted following by chanting of word 'Svāhā' and while chanting it, an offering is made which is followed by chanting of word 'Idam-Na-Mama' in some instances. The offering is particularly put in the fire with the word 'Svāhā'. The word 'Idam-Na-mam' is used in Vedic Yagya where the outcome of the action is also offered to the deity of supreme; the meaning of it consists of the gist of the Yagya (1).
The word 'Svāhā' is particular important in Yagya during an offering. The present study attempted to explore the meaning and importance of Svāhā while offering to Agni (Yagya Fire) present in Indian Scripture. The study looked at the meaning and importance of Svāhā through various belief systems, Sanskrit dictionaries and in Indian Scriptures.

Svāhā as defined in the Sanskrit dictionaries
Svāhā as per Sanskrit dictionary is an adjective that is pronounced when leaving the offering in a sacrifice; also Svāhā is a word or mantra which is used at the time of offering to the gods. It also means the offering to all the deities. In addition, the

Research Article
dictionaries also reckoned Svāhā as Agni's (Fire God's) wife as described in Purana scriptures. Table  1

Svāhā in the different Belief system
Vedic system one of the meanings of Svāhā is the oblation. In the Buddhist literature, it also indicates interjection and 'hail!' in mantras. In the Tibetan language, it is translated as 'so be it'. It is also pronounced as 'Soha' and chanted whenever sacrifices are made. In the Vedic system Svāhā is also recognized as the wife of Agni. In the Jainism also Svāhā is known as the wife of Agni, who is one of the Dikpāla (Guardians deity) (8).

Description of Svāhā in the Puranas
Vedas described that while reciting the mantra for the purpose of invoking the deity, reciting 'Svāhā' and offering the prescribed Havan material to the deities reaches to them through fire deity. This is also reflected in stories from Purana. The connection between Yagya Fire and Svāhā is also described in the Shrimad Bhagavata Purana and ShivPurana in the rhetorical story that 'Svāhā' was the daughter of Daksha Prajapati who was married to Agni (Fire deity). Various Purana mentioned same story depicting Svāhā as wife of Agni as given in Table 3.  In Indian culture, wife is considered as half body of the husband. And hence, the hidden meaning of the story is the strong relation of 'Svāhā' during oblation in the Yagya Fire. In Yagya, Agnidev is also known as the carrier of all offerings to the diety. It is also an interesting fact that Agnidev accepts offerings only through his wife 'Svāhā' and through Agnidev the same offerings is received by the invoked deity.
Apart from this, another interesting story is also related to the origin of Svāhā. Svāhā was an art of nature, whose marriage with Agni was performed at the request of the gods. Lord Shri Krishna himself had given this boon to Svāhā that only through him the deities would be able to receive the offerings. It was clear that the word 'Svāhā has an important place in Yagya and when offerings have to be made in the Yagya fire.
Other Purana stories also described other roles of Goddess Svāhā as described as following: As per Kamakoti Mandali Svāhā and as per the ritual Durgāpūjātattva, Svāhā is one of the goddesses worshipped during ritual Āvaraṇapūjā (8). In MatsyaPurana, Svāhā is also one of the Mātṛkā-Śaktis goddess created by Mahārudra to control the plague of demons (8). As per Pādma-purāṇa, Svāhā is the consort of Rudra (Paśupati (Rudra, Lord Siva) (8). As per Mahābhārata Vana Parva, Chapter 219, Verse 22, Svāhā is a daughter of Bṛihaspati (8). However, the references of Svāhā as wife of Agni are many more in various Puranas clearly indicating universal acceptance of Svāhā as wife of Agni (Table 3) indicating an inseparable role of Svāhā from Agni.

Conclusion
Description of Svāhā is present in all types of Indian literature i.e. Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Brahmana and well commented by Scholarly works . It is present all over scriptural history. In addition, the indication of utility of Svāhā in Tantric and Vedic spiritual practices attracts the potential of future studies. The present paper, Summarily derived 3 types of implications of Svāhā i.e. 1) Svāhā is inseparable from Yagya Agni as it is depicted as wife of Agni (9-13), 2) Svāhā is essential portion of ritual i.e. Yagya is considered incomplete while offerings made without chanting of without Svāhā; as Agni can not avail the offerings to deities (16,(20)(21), 3) Svāhā teaches how one should make offerings i.e. Offerings shall be made with complete surrender, humility and sweetness full of emotions, after establishing oneself in wisdom, without ego, and attachment, and thus, only such offerings through Svāhā can be taken by Agni to the deities for welfare of the society (14,(17)(18)(19).