The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c18.s1.22

v1.c18.s1.22

The three births of Agni are constantly referred to: he is made threefold, has three heads, tongues, stations. The order of his abodes is variously stated, as heaven, earth, the waters; or earth, heaven, the waters; or sky, air, and earth. Hence we must doubtless trace the view of the Nairuktas preserved for us by Yāska,⁹ which makes the whole Vedic pantheon reducible to the three gods, Agni, Indra or Vāyu, and Sūrya. The second member of the triad must be taken to have replaced the lightning, which would be more easy, since the lightning has no mythic name to give it substance, and, therefore, the god of the middle space is better represented by a deity of more concrete nature. On the other hand, it would be an error to underestimate the importance of lightning in Vedic mythology, on the ground that it is too transient in character to serve as the basis of mythology.¹