The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c18.s1.38

v1.c18.s1.38

The domestic side of the fire worship is revealed mainly by the constant reference to Agni as the friend in the homes of men, whence comes his description as father, or brother, or son, or even mother. He has the epithet domestic, and is styled lord of the house. He is the immortal who abides among mortal in human habitations. He is further the protector of settlers, the man who makes mortals to settle down, and he is the lord of the clan (*viçpati*). The close relation of men to him is attested by the fact that we hear expressly of the Agni of Bharata, of Devavāta, of Divodāsa, of Trasadasyu, and of Vadhryaçva. His relation to the Aṅgirases and the Bhṛgus may have been mythical, but were not so conceived in all probability in Vedic times, and he certainly stood in close relation to families like the Vasiṣṭhas. His connexion with Aryan settlement is told clearly in the legend of the advance of the Aryans to the east under the guidance of Gotama Rāhūgaṇa and Videgha Māthava,⁴ the latter of whom has been compared rashly with Prometheus; the story preserves in the clearest way possible the record of the essential connexion between the introduction of the fire cult, and the advance of Aryan settlement and of Aryan culture.