Vedic Mythology c5.s3.t2.19

c5.s3.t2.19

The terrestrial existence of Agni is further indicated by his being called the 'navel of the earth' (1, 59²). This expression appears, in the many passages in which it occurs, to allude to the receptacle of the sacrificial Agni on the excavated altar or *vedi*¹³. In the Vedic ritual *nābhi* or 'navel' is the technical term designating the hollow in the *uttarā vedi*, in which Agni is deposited¹⁴. The earlier use of the term probably suggested the figure, that the gods made Agni the 'navel' or centre of immortality (3, 17⁴). The only two occurrences in the RV. of the attribute *vediṣad*, 'sitting on the altar', refer to Agni.