The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c18.s1.25

v1.c18.s1.25

Still more important is the fact that the three forms of Agni explain the practice that in the ritual Agni is worshipped on three altars, the Gārhapatya, the Āhavanīya, and the Dakṣiṇa,² which are kept quite distinct from the ordinary household fire. The alternative view that these fires are to be regarded as the source of the myth of the three forms of Agni can hardly be taken seriously. More plausible is connexion with fire as the sun, as domestic, and as driving away evil spirits, as von Schroeder suggests.³