What is yagna that has been described as niyat karma by Gita?

Describing on the nature of yagna Lord krishna says
       brahmarpanam brahma havir, brahmagnau brahmana hutam
         brahmaiva tena gantavyam, brahma-karma-samadhina 
                                              -B.G. CHAP-4 SLOKA 24
English Translation-“Since both the dedication and the oblation itself are God, and it is the Godlike teacher who offers the oblation to the fire which is also God, the attainment, too, of the man whose mind is set on Godlike action is God himself.”


The emancipated man’s yagya is God, what he offers as oblation is God, and the sacred fire to which the sacrifice is made is also God. That is to say that what is offered by the Godlike worshipper to the sacred fire that is an embodiment of God is also God himself.That which is worthy of being secured by the man whose actions have been dissolved and stilled by God’s loving touch is also God. So this man does nothing; he only acts for the good of others.

These are attributes of the realized sage who has reached the 

stage of final attainment. But what is the nature of yagya that is 

performed by worshippers who have just set out on the quest ? So lord krishna says in the next sloka:-

                daivam evapare yajnam, yoginah paryupasate
                brahmagnav apare yajnam, yajnenaivopajuhvati
                                             -B.G. CHAP-4 SLOKA 25
English Translation- “Some yogis perform yagya to foster divine impulses, whereas some other yogis offer the sacrifice of yagya to (a seer who is) the fire of God. ’’


In the last verse Krishn portrayed the sacrifice made by sages who have made their abode in the Supreme Spirit. But he now depicts the yagya performed by worshippers who wish to be initiated into yog. These novices undertake sincere performance of yagya to gods to foster them, that is, they strengthen and augment divine impulses in the heart. Here it is useful to remember how Brahma had directed mankind to foster gods by yagya. The more virtues there are cultivated and garnered in the heart, the more the worshipper advances towards the ultimate excellence until he at last attains it. The novice worshipper’s yagya is thus aimed at strengthening the forces of righteousness in his heart. Other yogis perform yagya by offering sacrifice to the accomplished teacher in his heart-the sacred fire that is an 

embodiment of God.

These other yogi offer oblations to the Godlike teacher who also annihilates evils like fire. They perform sacrifices aimed at this accomplished teacher who is also an embodiment of sacrifice. In brief, they concentrate their minds on the form of the accomplished teacher, a realized sage.



           srotradinindriyany anye, samyamagnisu juhvati
          shabdadin visayan anya, indriyagnisu juhvati 
                                         -B.G. CHAP 4 SLOKA 26
English Translation- “While some offer their hearing and other senses as sacrifice to the fire of self-restraint, others offer speech and other sense objects to the fire of the senses.’’


Yet  other yogi offer all their senses of action-ear, eye, skin, tongue, and nose-to the fire of self-control, that is, they subdue their senses by withdrawing them from their objects. There is no real fire in this case. 

There are then yogi who offer all their senses of perception, sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, to the fire of senses; they sublimate 

their desires and thus turn them into effective means for 

achievement of the supreme goal.

            sarvanindriya-karmani, prana-karmani capare
         atma-samyama-yogagnau, juhvati jnana-dipite
                                           -B.G. CHAP 4 SLOKA 27
English Translation- “Yet other yogi offer the functions of their senses and operations of their life-breaths to the fire of yog (selfcontrol) kindled by knowledge.’’

In a still higher state than this, yogi offer as oblation the 

functions of all senses and operations of life-breaths to the fire of 

yog that is lit up by knowledge of God. When restraint is integrated 

with the Self and the operations of breath and senses are stilled, 

the current which stimulates passions and the current which propels 

one towards God merge into the Self. 

Yogeshwar Krishn again explains yagya :
          dravya-yajnas tapo-yajna, yoga-yajnas tathapare
         svadhyaya-jnana-yajnas ca, yatayah samsita-vratah
                                           -B.G. CHAP 4 SLOKA 28
English Translation - “Just as many perform yagya by making material gifts in service of the world, some other men perform yagya through physical mortification, some perform the sacrifice of yog, and yet others who practise severe austerities perform yagya through the study of scriptures(vedas).’’


There are many who make sacrifice of wealth. They contribute riches to the service of saints. To serve every man, to bring those who have strayed back to the right path, by contributing wealth to the cause is the sacrifice of riches. These sacrifices have the capability to nullify the natural sanskars. Some men mortify their senses through penances for the observance of their dharm. On the basis of this dharm they have been divided into 4 classes Brahman, khatriya baishya and shudra. There are many who practise the yagya of yog. Yog is the joining of the Soul, wandering amidst nature, with God who is beyond nature.
               apane juhvati pranam, prane ’panam tathapare
              pranapana-gati ruddhva, pranayama-parayanah
               apare niyataharah, pranan pranesu juhvati
             sarve ’py ete yajna-vido, yajna-ksapita-kalmasah
                                          -B.G.CHAP4 SLOKA 29-30
English Translation-“As some offer their exhalation to inhalation, others offer their inhaled breath to the exhaled breath, while yet others practise serenity of breath by regulating their incoming and outgoing breath.”“Yet others who subsist on strictly regulated breath and offer their breath to breath, and life to life, are all knowers of yagya, and the sins of all who have known yagya are destroyed.’’


Thus there are many forms of yagna but their result is same to get united with god head. In brief yagna is the act of devotion, act of penance to achive unification with god head...om Tatsat.!

What is the origin of yagna that has been said in Gita and what does it give?

In the Gita before telling what is yagna lord krishna tells us where does yagna come from ...
        saha-yajnah prajah srstva, purovaca prajapatih
       anena prasavisyadhvam, esa vo ’stv ista-kama-dhuk
                                             -B.G.CHAP3 SLOKA 10
English translation- “At the beginning of kalp-the course of self-realization Prajapati Brahma shaped yagya along with mankind and enjoined on them to ascend by yagya which could give them what their hearts aspired to.’’


Prajapati Brahma, the god presiding over creation, made mankind along with yagya at the beginning and told men to progress through yagya. This yagya, wholly propitious, was prescribed or ordained as the action which would satisfy their hunger for realization of the eternal God.Who was the creator of mankind along with yagya? Was it Brahma and who is he?



The sage who has realized and become one with the 

Supreme Spirit, the fountainhead from which all mankind has 

arisen, is ‘‘prajapati.” Wisdom that results from knowledge of God 

is itself Brahma. At the moment of this realization the mind becomes 

a mere instrument. It is God himself who then speaks through the 

voice of the sage.

There is constant growth of wisdom after the commencementof spiritual adoration, or worship. Since at the beginning this wisdom is endowed with knowledge of God, it is called brahmvitt. Gradually,as evil impulses are subdued and the knowledge of God is enriched,this wisdom is said to be brahmvidwar. As it ascends yet higher and gets more refined, it comes to be known as brahmvidwariyan.At this stage, the sage who is blessed with knowledge of God also achieves the capacity to bring others on to the way of spiritual growth. The highest point of wisdom is brahmvidwarisht, that state of divine inundation in which the spirit of God flows through it like a crystal current. Men who have attained to this state enter into and dwell in the Supreme Spirit from whom all mankind is born. The minds of such sages are mere instruments and it is they who are called “prajapati.” By dissociating themselves from the contradictions of nature, they create the Self who is yet unaware of the process of meditation or God’s worship. Conferring perfection
which is in accordance with the spirit of yagya is the creation of mankind.



Sanskar has always been 

there: but before the sages conferred perfection on it, it was 

deformed and in a state of anarchy. To shape it in accordance with

the requirements of yagya is the act of refining and adorning.


Some such accomplished sage or sages created yagya besides 

The true cure is that which provides liberation from the general 

creating mankind at the beginning of kalp, the course of Selfrealization.(kalp- 

malady of the world. The beginning of worship or adoration is the 

commencement of this remedy. When meditation is complete, we 

are wholly cured.)

Thus sages with their beings in the Supreme Spirit gave a proper 

shape to spiritual excellence and yagya, and instructed men that 

they would prosper through the observance of yagya.

They rather wished men to know that yagya would fulfil their God-inclined aspirations. A logical question that confronts us here is whether yagya leads to immediate attainment of God or only by gradual steps. Brahma further said to mankind :


                 devan bhavayatanena, te deva bhavayantu vah
               parasparam bhavayantah, sreyah param avapsyatha
                                                     -B.G.CHAP-3 SLOKA 11
English Translation- “And may you cherish gods by yagya and may gods foster you, for this is the means by which you will finally achieve the ultimate state.”

Cherishing gods by yagya means fostering sacred impulses. 

And that is also how gods foster mankind. Thus, by mutual 

augmentation men will ultimately achieve that final bliss after which 

there is nothing more to achieve.

And what will yagna give? This is stated in the following sloka no. 13 of chapter 3 and chapter 4 sloka 31.

                  yajna-sistasinah santo, mucyante sarva-kilbisaih
           bhunjate te tv agham papa, ye pacanty atma-karanat
                                             -B.G. CHAP-3 SLOKA 13
English Translation- ‘‘The wise who partake of what is left over from yagya are rid of all evil, but the sinners who cook only for the sustenance of their bodies partake of nothing but sin.”
                 yajna-sistamrita-bhujo, yanti brahma sanatanam
             nayam loko ’sty ayajnasya, kuto ’nyah kuru-sattama
                                            -B.G. CHAP-4 SLOKA 31
English Translation-“O the best of Kuru, the yogi who have tasted the nectar flowing from yagya attain to the eternal supreme God, but how can the next life of men bereft of yagya be happy when even their life in this world is miserable?”


So, lord krishna clearly states that  "yajna-sistamrita-bhujo, yanti brahma sanatanam" What yagya generates-what results from it, is nectar the substance of immortality. A direct experience of this is wisdom. The one who feeds on it becomes one with the eternal God. So yagya is something which with its completion unites the worshipper with God.


So, the question that now remains is what is yagna?

What is niyat(or neeyat) karma that Gita talks about ?

Lord krishna tells about niyat karma (the prescribed or ordained action that needs to be done) in sloka 8 of chapter 3.
           niyatam kuru karma tvam, karma jyayo hy akarmanah
           sarira-yatrapi ca te, na prasiddhyed akarmanah
                                    -B.G.CHAP3 SLOKA 8
English Translation-“You ought to do your prescribed action as enjoined by scripture, for doing work is better than not doing any, and in the absence of it even the journey of your body may not be completed.’’


Arjun is prompted to do the prescribed action-the ordained task which is distinct from all other kinds of work. Performance of this action is preferable to inaction, because if we do it and traverse even a small part of our way, it can rescue us from the great fear of birth and death. Performance of one’s spiritual duty - the ordained action- is, therefore, the better course. By not doing it we cannot even complete the journey of our Soul through different bodies. Here the prescribed action or niyat karma is such that will free one from the tetacles of birth and death. But what is the prescribed or ordained work that needs to be done ? This is described in the next sloka...
          yajnarthat karmano ’nyatra, loko ’yam karma-bandhanah
        tad-artham karma kaunteya, mukta-sangah samachara
                                   -B.G.CHAP-3-SLOKA 9
English Translation-“Since the conduct of yagya is the only action and all other business in which people are engaged are only forms of worldly bondage, O son of Kunti, be unattached and do your duty to God well.’’

Contemplation of God is the only real action. That conduct is action which enables the mind to concentrate on God. It is a prescribed act and, according to Krishn, tasks other than this are only forms of worldly bondage. Anything other than the performance of this yagya is a form of slavery rather than action. It is important to remind ourselves once more of Krishn’s injunction to Arjun that he shall be freed from the evils of this world only by doing the one real work. The accomplishment of this work, of yagya, is action; and Arjun is urged to do it well in a spirit of detachment. It cannot be performed without disinterest in the world and its objects.

So the conduct of yagya is action.


 But another question that now arises is what this worthwhile act of yagya is ? 


Where does yagna come from and what does it give?