The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c17.s6.1

v1.c17.s6.1

The god Mātariçvan, unlike the one-footed goat and the dragon of the deep, is not an ancient god: his name occurs but twenty-seven times in the whole of the Rigveda, and of these instances twenty-one are found in the latest parts of the Rigveda: he occurs five times in book iii, so that he seems to have been a favourite of the Viçvāmitra family, and once in book vi. His connexion with Agni is of the closest: his name is thrice applied to Agni, and it is said of Agni¹ 'As germ of the heaven he is named Tanūnapāt; when born he becometh Narāçaṁsa; when in his mother he was fashioned as Mātariçvan, he became the wind's swift flight.' He is also identified with Bṛhaspati, and the poets who divide the one into many are said² to call it Agni, Yama, Mātariçvan. On the other hand Agni appears as distinct from Mātariçvan: Agni appears to him and to Vivasvant, Mātariçvan brings Agni to Bhṛgu: he brings Agni from the sky, from afar for men, or from the gods. He is also said to produce him by friction and to set him up in human abodes. He is occasionally mentioned in connexion with Indra, and he serves as the messenger of Vivasvant between the heaven and the earth. In the wedding hymn he is asked with other deities to join the hearts of the husband and wife.