yajna

• yajña, yagna, yadnya, yagnya, yagya

From Sanskrit यज्ञ (yajñá).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈjʌdʒnə/, /jʌdʒnjə/

yajna (countable and uncountable, plural yajnas)

1. (Hinduism) A ritual of sacrifice to the Devas.
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.1.1

     agním īḷe puróhitaṃ
     yajñásya devám r̥tvíjam
     hótāraṃ ratnadhā́tamam

     Agni do I invoke—the one placed to the fore, god and priest of the sacrifice, the Hotar, most richly conferring treasure.

   • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins 2013, p. 501:

     The visit to Pushkar is, however, a little more than the obligatory obeisance done at the site where Brahma carelessly dropped a lotus blossom as he was wondering where to perform a yagnya.