View source for Agnicayana

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{{Hinduism small}}
The '''Agnicayana''' (''{{IAST|ati-rātra  agni-cayana}}''; {{literally|over-night piling up of the fire}}){{sfn|Knipe|2015|p=36}} or '''Athirathram''' ({{lang-ml|അതിരാത്രം}}) is a category of advanced [[Śrauta]] rituals.

After one has established the routine of the twice-daily routine of [[Agnihotra]] offerings and biweekly ''dara-purna-masa'' offerings, one is eligible to perform the Agnistoma, the simplest [[soma (drink)|soma]] rite.{{sfn|Knipe|2015|p=41-49, 220-221}} After the agnistoma, one is eligible to perform more extensive soma rites and Agnicayana rites.{{sfn|Knipe|2015|p=46-47, 220-233}}  There are various varieties of Agnicayana.{{sfn|Knipe|2015|p=222-233}}

Agnicayana continues to be performed in [[Kerala]], [[Andhra Pradesh|Andhra]].{{sfn|Knipe|2015|p=46}}

==Overview==
[[File:ചിതിയുടെയും-ഉപകരണങ്ങളുടെയും മാതൃക.jpg|thumb|left|Replica of the altar and utensils used during Athirathram]]
The entire ritual takes twelve days to perform, in the course of which a great bird-shaped altar, the ''uttaravedi'' "northern altar" is built out of 1005 bricks. The liturgical text is in Chapters 20 through 25 of the ''[[Yajurveda|Krishna Yajurveda]]''. The immediate purpose of the Agnicayana is to build up for the sacrificer an immortal body that is permanently beyond the reach of the transitory nature of life, suffering and death that, according to this rite, characterizes man's mortal existence.<ref name="Converse">{{cite journal |jstor=1062002|title= The Agnicayana Rite: Indigenous Origin?|author= Hyla Stuntz Converse|date= November 1974|journal=History of Religions |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=81–95 |doi=10.1086/462716}}</ref>

The ritual emerged from predecessor rituals, which were incorporated as building blocks, around the 10th century BCE, and was likely continuously practiced until the late [[Vedic period]], or the 6th century BCE. In post-Vedic times, there were various revivals of the practice, under the [[Gupta Empire]] in the north  (ca. 4th to 6th century), and under the [[Chola Empire]] in the south (ca. 9th century), but by the 11th century, the practice was held to have been discontinued, with the exception of the Nambudiris of Kerala.
 
The 1975 [[Nambudiri]] Agnicayana filmed by [[Frits Staal]], was criticized by Andhra Śrautins who claimed the Nambudiri omitted animal sacrifice, which is an element in their own opinion.{{sfn|Knipe|2015|p=215}}

==See also==
*[[Yajurveda]], the Vedic source for the ritual
*[[Brahmanas]]
*[[Yajna]]
*[[Vedic priesthood]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation | last =Knipe | first =David M. | year =2015 | title =Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition | place =Oxford | publisher =Oxford University Press | isbn =9780199397693 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QedcBgAAQBAJ}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Agnicayana}}
*{{cite journal |title=The Nambudiri Agnicayana of April 1975 |first=Frits |last=Staal |authorlink=Frits Staal |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=96 |issue=1 |date=1976 |page=113 |doi=10.2307/599897 |jstor=599897 }}
*Drury, Naama. ''The Sacrificial Ritual in the Satapatha Brahmana''. Motilal Banarsidass Publishe, 1981.

{{Worship in Hinduism}}
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[[Category:Yajna]]
[[Category:Vedic period]]
[[Category:Culture of Kerala]]
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