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Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge (IJTK) >
IJTK Vol.03 [2004] >
IJTK Vol.03(3) [July 2004] >
| Title: | Effect of Agnihotra on the germination of rice seeds |
| Authors: | Devi, Heisnam Jina
Swamy, N V C
Nagendra, H R |
| Keywords: | Agnihotra mantra
Germination
Rice seedlings
Vedas |
| Issue Date: | Jul-2004 |
| Publisher: | CSIR |
| IPC Code: | Int. Cl.7 : A01C1/02 |
| Abstract: |
Vedic ritualistic sacrifices have been in vogue in India since
time immemorial. Recently they have become very popular around the globe
because of their therapeutic values. An important component of these sacrifices
are the mantras, which are sound
forms reputed to contain mystic energy. The most common sacrifice still being
practiced in India
is the Agnihotra, which involves
ritual offerings to the fire at sunrise and sunset to the accompaniment of
specific mantras.
This practice
was revived in Akkalkot, Maharashtra, and is
being popularized throughout the country. In the current investigation, rice
seeds were germinated in four rooms in petridishes for a period of 15 days. One
room was used as the control with germination under normal conditions. A fire
was lit in a second room for a specified period at sunrise and sunset. In a
third room, Agnihotra mantras were
chanted at the same time of the day, but no fire was lit. The last room was the
experimental room, in which the full Agnihotra ritual, with fire and mantra, was conducted at sunrise and
sunset.
Three sets of
data were collected for three seasons, autumn, winter and summer for a period
of 15 days each. Four parameters, viz. Root length, shoot length, fresh weight
and dry weight were measured. An analysis of the data showed that the Agnihotra
sacrifice with mantra was
overwhelmingly more effective in the germination process than the other three
cases. Statistical analysis of the data using the standard SPSS package corroborated
this conclusion.
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| Page(s): | 231-239 |
| ISSN: | 0975-1068 (Online); 0972-5938 (Print) |
| Source: | IJTK Vol.03(3) [July 2004]
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