In Hinduism, Yajña (Sanskrit यज्ञ yajña; also anglicized as Yagna, Yagya or Yadnya) is a ritual of sacrifice (Monier-Williams gives the meanings "worship, prayer, praise; offering, oblation, sacrifice") derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes. An essential element is the sacrificial fire - the divine Agni - into which oblations are poured, as everything that is offered into the fire is believed to reach the gods. As the name of the service, the term Yagna is linguistically (but not functionally) cognate with Zorastrian (Ahura) Yasna. Unlike Vedic Yajna, Zoroastrian Yasna has "to do with water rather than fire" (Drower, 1944:78; Boyce, 1975:147-191)