("devotion to the gods") One of the Five Great Sacrifices (panchamahayajna) that are mentioned in holy writings (dharma literature).
These Five Great Sacrifices are prescribed daily religious observances for a “twice-born” householder, that is, a householder born into one of India's three twice-born groups—brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya—and who has undergone the teenage religious initiation known as the “second birth.”
Each of the five yajnas (sacrifices) is aimed towards a distinct class of creatures, ranging from the Absolute Reality to animals, and is gratified by diverse activities.
Homa, or gifts of clarified butter into the holy fire, satisfies the devayajna, which is aimed at the gods.
Since most Hindu families no longer keep a holy fire, this specific practice has been mostly eliminated in the centuries since these writings were written.
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