yajamana | यजमान
yajamana (Devanagari: यजमान ISO15919: yajamāna) is the sponsor or chief patron of a Vedic ritual known as a Yajna (fire ceremony).
Benefit Bearer: They are the person for whom the ritual is being performed and are the sole recipient of the desired fruits (results) of the Yajna.
Responsibility Bearer: Critically, they also bear the full consequences of any errors, known as vikalpa, made during the ritual. Even slight deviations from the precise Vedic injunctions, whether intentional or accidental, result in the penalty being incurred by the yajamana, not the priests (Pandits).
The example of Vritrasur illustrates this perfectly: a subtle, intentional error in the mantra recitation by the priests resulted in the exact opposite of the desired outcome, with the full penalty (death) falling upon the Yajamana.
Also written as yajman