Discovering Agnihotra: an ancient secret to improve agriculture

Ms. Saryu Trivedi
Ph.D. Research Scholar
Dept. of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture
ASPEE College of Horticulture
Navsari Agricultural University, Gujarat

Mr. Jay Trivedi
B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture
N. M. College of Agriculture
Navsari Agricultural University, Gujarat.

There are many secrets in our ancient traditions, which are alive even today. Agnihotra is one of them. Literally, it is translated as healing fire (agni is fire, hotra means healing). Having its roots mainly in Ayurveda, Agnihotra traces its origin to the Vedic sciences of medicine, agriculture and climate engineering.

Agnihotra refers to a little procedure involving mantras, and a simple fire. Easy to perform, Agnihotra is known to have many benefits. Such is the value, that this ‘homa therapy’ is performed across the world. It is known to purify the atmosphere and heal the body of diseases.

What is the secret of this ‘homa therapy’? How does Agnihotra work?

Agnihotra Benefits:

People who practice the Agnihotra say they experience a sense of peace and purification.

Here are a few more benefits of this homa therapy:

Improves the physical, mental and emotional health
Neutralises negative energies and reinforces positive energies
Repairs the ozone layer and removes harmful radiations in the air
The smoke from the homa (fire offering) is a natural mosquito repellent
The ash from the homa has anti-bacterial properties and can be applied to wounds when mixed with ghee
The cow dung reduces bacteria in the air
Ghee is considered to be a natural detox agent. It dissolves toxic elements in the air

Agnihotra & agriculture: a magical combination

The Agnihotra homa is believed to impact an area upto 12 kms in the biosphere. Regular practice of agnihotra can actually increase profits for a farmer and lead to a thriving ecosystem.

Here’s how:

Protects the environment from pollutants
Nourishes plant life, neutralizes harmful radiation and pathogenic bacteria

Can purify water and its sources
Specifically for crops:

Increases quality and volume of production
Reduces cost for labor to apply agrochemicals
Improves taste, size, texture, nutrition
Prolongs the shelf life
Increases number of harvests during a year, i.e. productive cycle is shortened

Agnihotri and the soil:

Increases the water-soluble phosphate content of soil.
Aids absorption of nutrients by the plants, including mega nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potash
Purifies the atmosphere, attracting insects, microorganisms and animals.
As we advance into a technological rush, perhaps it’s time to pay a visit to our ancient wisdom. It could change the way we care for the environment, and, ourselves.

How is the agnihotra performed?

Timing, they say, is everything. So it is for the agnihotra ritual. Agnihotra is performed at the precise time of sunrise and sunset – possibly a natural sync with the human biorhythm at those times. Two pinch full of uncooked rice (with a little ghee) is offered to a fire, made with dried cow dung cakes. The fire is made in a little copper pot.

Two short Sanskrit mantras are chanted during the offering. Sometimes, people also include other chants such as the Mahamritunjaya mantra.

Materials Needed In Homa Farming

Pyramid: A copper pyramid that can hold all the energy, including electricity energies
Rice: Use unbroken whole rice grains. It is better to use brown rice during Agnihotra in homa farming.
Cow Ghee: This is an extraordinary medicine. When you burn cow ghee with rice, it cleans the air and makes it rain simultaneously.

Conclusion

Homa farming or Agnihotra is an age-old Vedic remedy to modern-day problems. The ability of homa farming and, in particular, agnihotra ash to increase P solubility and thus soil P supply is abundantly apparent. The higher the number of people practising Agnihotra in a given location, the greater and faster the impact will be. Prof. Hernandez believes that Agnihotra reduces toxins and changes the environment, affecting both physical and mental health. As a result, homa therapy functions as a kind of silent psychotherapy.

The deterioration of the environment, soil, and human health urges the adoption of Homa therapy due to its good impacts on the entire ecosystem. As an old tradition, Homa organic farming could be a viable answer to the current difficulties produced by the reckless use of chemicals. It is an environmentally-friendly activity that helps to keep the balance between living beings and nature. It is necessary to transition from chemical-intensive farming to organic farming to restore the soil and environment’s health.