Savitri has entered into her House of Meditation; there the “homestead’s sentinel and witness fire” is constantly burning. There for the welfare of the creatures and of the entire creation the Vedic-Brahminic rites are ever in progress. The great Ahavaniya Fire, located in the East and in the form of a square, is receiving the holocaust; to its West, eight paces farther away, the cooking of the offerings is in progress in the Grahapatya Fire which is in the shape of a circle; the Anvaharyapachana Fire at its South, and hence also known as Dakshinagni, in the form of a half moon, as added to the Grahapatya Fire to speed up the cooking of the sacrificial food, the Havis; the Sabhya and Avasathya to the North and North-East of the Ahavaniya Fire, respectively, complete the ceremonial Fire-Altar. The construction of the Fire-Altar itself was an elaborate process extending over a period of one year. Located in a prominent place of the whole sacrificial area, it was built in five strata of bricks, 10,800 bricks in all with the lowest having 1950. The Altar looks like a great Bird, the Golden Hawk, in its flight high up in the upper skies. The Hotri has taken charge the of the entire ceremony; the Ritwik is inviting and summoning the gods to attend the sacrifice; the Potri or the Purohit has assumed the responsibility of the right conduct and sequence of the offerings; the Adhvaryu is standing in front of the sacrificer, the Yajaman, the paterfamilias, and is guiding him and helping him in the details of the eternal cosmic Yajna. The Chief Priest assisted by these four, each one of them in turn assisted by three, is the Master of the mighty Ceremony. The Hotris chanting the hymns of the Rig Veda; the Udgatra in his melodious voice is doing the Saman recitation of the Riks; the Adhwaryu is busy with the material arrangements of the Sacrifice; the Brahman takes care of this holy Action by supervising everything assiduously. The Fire is bright-lit, the flames leaping to heaven; indeed, “only with an offering in the well-kindled Fire, Samiddha Homa, can the oblations be successful and fulfilling, Samŗddha.” The Sacrifice itself becomes the only determining Act. Destiny is created or moulded by it; the decrees of Fate are fixed or altered by it in a decisive way. Although it is a Vedic rite it is loaded with occult significance bearing far-reaching consequences to regulate the steps of Time for achieving the desired result.

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