Agnīshṭikā
Agnīshṭikā
Grammar: feminine noun.
Meaning: a fire brazier, the aṅgīṭhī.
In the scriptures: After the Prapā-dāna, Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Yudhishṭhira that a compassionate person should give the agnīshṭikā in the cold season. At the start of Mārgaśīrsha, after seeing a good muhūrta, in a devālaya, a maṭha, a house or at a large crossroads, one collects a great deal of dry wood, lights a fire morning and evening and offers homa with the vyāhṛtis. The poor, the helpless and those without clothes may warm themselves there, and food is given to anyone who is hungry. While warming themselves, people should keep their talk on sacred matters; from this comes great puṇya. If someone of his own wish talks of the king or the people for the good of others, he should not be stopped.
One who gives agnīshṭikā in this way goes to Brahmaloka in a divine vimāna like Sūrya. He enjoys happiness there for sixty-six thousand years, then is born here again as a brāhmaṇa who knows the four Vedas, a yājñika, free of disease, wealthy and full of tejas (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 172–173).
Related terms: Prapā-dāna · Homa · Vyāhṛti
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 172–173