Definition and Significance
The Nath Dhuni of antiquity is perhaps no different than those of today. A simple and shallow cleft in the ground in which suitable materials are incinerated.
The Dhuni is not a simple camp fire. It was viewed by the Nath as a living deity, emblematic as the womb of the Earth Goddess from which all manifestation was generated, sustained, and destroyed.
Sacred Symbolism
Although many cultures have sustained a tradition of fire worship, it remains a unique feature of the Naths that it was the site or dwelling place of the Holy Fire which was considered sacred.
The ancient but graphic iconography of such a scene is simple. The cleft in the earth represents the womb of the Mother Goddess. This was the Holy Ground upon which the Nath way of life was brought into being, transformed, and regenerated.
In the International Nath Order
Within the International Nath Order the dhuni is still tended as a working fire, not as a symbol on a page. It is lit at Melas and retreats, often at twilight, in a prepared circle; offerings and mantra go into the cleft, and the ash is taken up as vibhuti. Named fires have been raised and, when the work of a site is finished, taken down. The image of the lone Nath at the dhuni remains; the Order also sits that fire as a Kula.