Originating in
historical Vedic religion
The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...
, 'Pravargya' (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
प्रवर्ग्य), also known as 'Ashvina-pravaya', is an introductory or preliminary ceremony to the
Soma Yajña (of which there are several kinds, including but not limited to, the five-day Agnishtoma Soma Yagya forming the basic model).
In the Pravargya Yajña, an earthen pot is fashioned from clay dug up from the ground, placed on a
fire-altar, and used to boil milk which is offered to the
Ashvins
The Ashvins (, ), also known as the Ashvini Kumaras and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu deities, Hindu Divine twins, twin gods associated with medicine, health, healing, sciences, and the twilight. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthf ...
, the twin
Rigvedic gods of
Ayurvedic
Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
medicine.
As with all
Vedic Period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...
sacrificial ceremonies, the Pravargya Yajña is
mystical
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight ...
in nature insofar as items, positions, actions, and words have indirect,
symbolic meanings, rather than direct (i.e.