Havis
Havis · havis, “the oblation”
Yajña has other meanings too: see all meanings of Yajña.
Grammar: neuter noun, from the root hu (to offer into the fire): “that which is offered”. Havirbhāga is a share of the havis.
Meaning: the oblation offered into the sacred fire for the devatās, such as ghee, grain, puroḍāśa (cake) and soma; also the pure food of a vrata.
In the scriptures:
The mouth of the brahma-knowers. Pṛthu Mahārāja told his people that the brahma-knowers are the mouth for offering the havirbhāgas to the devatās, so that to serve them is to serve all the devatās; there is no greater means of worshipping the devatās. Knowers of tattva offer havis with śraddhā into the mouth of the brahma-knowers with the names of Indra and the rest, that is, they serve them with food; havis offered so Ananta Śrī Hari partakes of with great delight, and havis offered into the unconscious fire he does not partake of with such delight. This is certain (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 21).
The havis at Manu‘s yajña. Śuka tells Parīkshit that when Vaivasvata Manu had no children, Vasishṭha performed a yajña for him. Manu’s wife Śraddhā Devī went to the hotā, bowed and asked him to pray for a daughter. When the adhvaryu directed the offering, the hotā took the havis in his hand, meditating on Śraddhā’s words, uttered “vashaṭ” and offered it into the fire; because he offered it with that mistaken saṅkalpa, a girl was born, famed as Iḷā (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 1).
The food of a vrata. In Hemanta, in the month of Mārgaśīrsha, the unmarried girls of Nanda‘s Gokula kept the vrata of worshipping Kātyāyanī Devī, eating only havis made of wheat grits and jaggery (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 22).
In the Bhavishya Purāṇa. The lakshaṇas of a man name the smell of havis as a good sign: one whose seed has this smell is wealthy and a śrotriya (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 25).
Related terms: Homa · Āhuti · Yajña · Havya · Puroḍāśa · Ājya
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 21; Skandha 9, Chapter 1; Skandha 10, Chapter 22
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 25