The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c18.s1.28

v1.c18.s1.28

Though the birth of Agni is most often triple, yet in many passages he is given but two births, the one on earth, the other in the sky, or, less often, the one in heaven and the other in the waters. The idea is already found in the Rigveda that Agni descends into the waters, and that from the plants he arises again, and, from the distinction of the aspects of fire, we arrive at the frequent Vedic idea that the god is to sacrifice to himself, or bring himself to the sacrifice, or descend with the gods to the sacrifice. Moreover, by another view Agni is kindled not only by men or earth, but by the gods in heaven:⁴ this doubtless points at once to the necessity of some kindler for the Agni of the heaven as for him of earth, and to the tendency to see in the gods the precise analogues of pious sacrificers among men. But from yet another point of view Agni is manifold, since there are many fires on earth: the unity of the conception, however, as in the case of Dawn triumphs: the other fires are likened to the branches of the tree, Agni. This manifold nature of his origin is sometimes developed in detail, as when he is said to be born from the heavens, the waters, stones, woods, and plants.⁵ The rock whence it is born may be the stone from which he is struck out or the cloud: he dwells also in man as animal heat, in beast and birds, in biped and quadruped.⁶ He is the germ therefore of all that is.