Agnihotra in the Kali Yuga: A Study of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa’s Kāṇva Recension and Its Ritual Adaptation

This study integrates Vedic philology, ritual history, and philosophical hermeneutics in a multi-layered analysis of Agnihotra. Within the Yajurvedic tradition, where its exterior performance is linked to varṇa and āśrama, the study elucidates Agnihotra’s technical structure and śākhā-specific methods through Śruti sources. The question of ritual eligibility in the context of declining dharma is examined through Purāṇic and Smṛti depictions of the Yugas, while retaining the normative authority of Śruti. Passages from the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad Gītā are then analyzed to demonstrate the internalization of yajña, where the Upaniṣads emphasize the primacy of knowledge and the Gītā reinterprets sacrifice in terms of niṣkāma-karma and jñāna-yajña, establishing a continuum between ritual practice and philosophical insight leading to mokṣa. Finally, the Mādhyandina and Kāṇva recensions of the Śukla Yajurveda are compared to assess their suitability for understanding Agnihotra in the Kali Yuga. While the Mādhyandina recension provides systematic clarity, the Kāṇva recension preserves earlier and more detailed ritual layers. The study concludes that the Kāṇva recension offers a particularly strong framework for the textual and ritual-philosophical analysis of Agnihotra in the Kali Yuga.