Samagri

Samagri

सामग्री, sāmagrī

"all ingredients, materials", "a complete set of preparations, tools, things"

Substances that are offered to the deity during the homa. For example, it can be grains of cereals, rice, flowers, fruits, milk, honey, sesame and so on. The ingredients are prepared according to the purposes of the ceremony. Samagri also includes firewood, which is put into the fire. During agnihotra, a libation of ghee (ahuti) is made and portions of samagri are sacrificed several times. The offerings are accompanied by the sacred exclamation "svaha", thereby blessing the gifts offered to the Deity. At the end of the ritual, purnahuti ("full libation") is performed, when all the prepared substances are sacrificed to the fire.

The word "samagri" is often also called upacharas, which are offered to the Deity during puja: gandha, pushpa, dhupa, deepa, naivedya, and others.

The process of presenting various offerings to the Deity symbolizes the process of self-sacrifice, when a person gives to the Supreme everything that is dear to him and with which he identifies oneself, i.e. his ego. Through puja or homa, the sacrificer purifies the senses, becomes more receptive to subtle energies, and becomes more open. The revered Deity, by his grace, can grant sadhaka the desired perfections (siddhis).