Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India, their Religion and Institutions v5.c46.5

Language: English

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Agni is not, like the Greek Hephaistos, or the Latin Vulcan, the artificer of the gods (an office which, as we shall presently see, is in the Veda assigned to Tvashtṛi), but derives his principal importance from his connection with the ceremonial of sacrifice. He is an immortal (*amṛita, amartya*) i. 44, 6; i. 58, 1; ii. 10, 1, 2; iii. 2, 11; iii. 3, 1; iii. 11, 2; iii. 27, 5, 7; vi. 9, 4; vii. 4, 4; viii. 60, 11; x. 79, 1, who has taken up his abode among mortals as their guest (*atithi*), i. 44, 4; i. 58, 6; ii. 4, 1; iii. 2, 2; iv. 1, 20; v. 1, 8; v. 8. 2; v. 18, 1; vi. 2, 7; vi. 15, 1, 4; vii. 8, 4; viii. 73, 1; x. 1, 5; x. 91, 2; x. 92, 1. He is the domestic priest, *purohita, ṛitvij, hotṛi, brahman*, who wakes with the dawn (*usharbudh*), or even before the dawn (*ushasaḥ purohitam*) i. 1, 1; i. 12, 1; i. 13, 1, 4; i. 26, 7; i. 36, 3, 5; i. 44, 7, 12; i. 45, 7; i. 58, 1, 6; i. 60, 4; i. 68, 4, (7); i. 76, 2, 4; i. 127, 1; i. 141, 12; i. 149, 4, 5; ii. 5, 1; ii. 6, 6; ii. 9, 1; iii. 7, 9; iii. 10, 2, 7; iii. 11, 1; iii. 14, 1; iii. 19, 1; iv. 1, 8; v. 11, 2; v. 26, 7; vi. 15, 1, 4, 16; vi. 16, 1; vii. 7, 5; vii. 10, 5; vii. 11, 1; vii. 16, 5, 12; viii. 44, 6; viii. 49, 1; ix. 66, 20;³¹³ x. 1, 6; x.

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92, 2, appointed both by men and gods, who concentrates in his own person, and exercises in a higher sense, all the various sacrificial offices which the Indian ritual assigned to a number of different human functionaries, the *adhvaryu*, *hotṛi*, *potṛi*, *neshṭṛi*, *praśāstṛi*, etc. (i. 94, 6; ii. 1, 2; ii. 5, 2 ff.; iv. 9, 3, 4; x. 2, 1 (*piprīhi devān uśato yavishṭha vidvān ṛitūn ṛitupate yajeha* | *ye daivyāḥ ṛitvijas tebhir Agne tvam hotṝinām asi āyajishthaḥ* | “satiate and worship here the longing gods, o most youthful deity, knowing the proper seasons, and along with the divine priests, for thou, Agni, art the most adorable of hotṛis”); x. 91, 8–11 (*Agniṁ hotāram paribhūtamam matim*, “Agni, the wise; the most eminent of hotṛis.” He is a sage, the divinest among sages (*asuro vipaśchitām*, iii, 3, 4), intimately acquainted with all the forms of worship, the wise director, the successful accomplisher, and the protector, of all ceremonies, who enables men to serve the gods in a correct and acceptable manner, in cases where this would be beyond their own unaided skill, i. 1, 4 (*Agne yaṁ yajnam adhvaraṁ viśvataḥ paribhūr asi* | *sa id deveshu gachhati* | “Agni, that sacrifice which thou encompassest on every side goes to the gods”); i. 31, 1 (*tvam Agne prathamo Angirāḥ ṛishir devo devānām abhavaḥ śivaḥ sakhā* | “Agni, thou art the first rishi Angiras, a god, the auspicious friend of gods”); iii. 3, 3 (*vidathasya sādhanam* | “The accomplisher of the ceremony”); iii.

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21, 3 (*ṛishiḥ śreshṭhaḥ samidhyase yajnasya prāvitā bhava* | “Thou art lighted, a most eminent rishi; protect the sacrifice”); iii. 27, 2 (*vipaśchitaṁ yajnasya sādhanam* | 7. *Purastād eti māyayā vidathāni prachodayan* | 2. “The sage, the accomplisher of the sacrifice. 7. He goes before, by his wondrous power promoting the ceremonies”); vi. 14, 2 (*vedhastamaḥ ṛishiḥ*); vii. 4, 4 (*kavir akavishu prachetāḥ* | “Wise among the foolish; and intelligent”); x. 2, 4 (*yad vo vayam pramināma vratāni vidushām devāḥ avidushṭarāsaḥ* | *Agnis tad viśvam ā pṛiṇāti vidvān yebhir devān ṛitubhiḥ kalpayāti* | 5. *Yat pākatrā manasā dīnadakshāḥ na yajnasya manvate martyāsaḥ* | *Agnis tad hotā kratuvid vijānan yajishṭho devān ṛituśo yajāti* | 4. “Agni, knowing what seasons to assign to the gods, rectifies all those mistakes which we ignorant men commit against your prescriptions, o ye most wise gods. 5. Those matters relating to the sacrifice which we mortals of feeble intellects, with our imperfect comprehension, do not understand, may Agni, the venerated priest who knows all these points, adjust, and worship the gods at the proper time"); x. 91, 3 (*Agne kaviḥ kāvyena asi viśvavit*). To him the attention of the worshippers is turned, as men's eyes are to the sun, v. 1, 4 (*Agnim achha devayatām manāṁsi chakshūṁshi iva sūrye saṁ charanti*). He is the father, king, ruler, banner, or outward manifestation,³¹⁴ and superintendent of sacrifices and religious duties (*ketuṁ yajnānām* |

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*pitā yajnānām* | *ketur adhvarāṇām* | *rājānam adhvarasya* | *adhyakshaṁ dharmaṇām imam* | *īśe yo viśvasyāḥ devavīteḥ*, iii. 3, 3, 4; iii. 10, 4; iii. 11, 2; iv. 3, 1; vi. 2, 3; viii. 43, 24; x. 1, 5; x. 6, 3). He is also the religious leader or priest of the gods (*sadyo jāto vi amimīta yajnam Agnir devānām abhavat purogāḥ* | *Agnir devo devānām abhavat purohitaḥ*, x. 110, 11; x. 150, 4. He is a swift (*raghupatvā*,³¹⁵ x. 6, 4) messenger, moving between heaven and earth, commissioned both by gods³¹⁶ and by men to maintain their mutual communications, to announce to the immortals the hymns, and to convey to them the oblations, of their worshippers, or to bring them down from the sky to the place of sacrifice (*sa devān ā iha vakshati* | *Agniṁ dūtaṁ vṛiṇīmahe* | *imam ū su tvam asmākaṁ saniṁ gāyatraṁ navyāṁsam Agne deveshu pravochaḥ* | *devāsas tvā Varuṇo Mitro Aryamā saṁ dūtam pratnam indhate* | *dūto viśām asi* | *patir hi adhvarāṇām Agne dūto viśām asi* | *yad devānām mitramahaḥ purohito 'ntaro yāsi dūtyam* | *tvāṁ dūtam aratiṁ havyavāhaṁ devāḥ akṛiṇvann amṛitasya nābhim* | *imaṁ no yajnam amṛiteshu dhehi* | *antar īyase arushā yujāno yushmāṁś cha devān viśaḥ ā cha martān* | *tvām Agne samidhānaṁ yavishṭhya devāḥ dūtaṁ chakrire havyavāhanam* | *tvāṁ viśve sajoshasaḥ devāso dūtam akrata* | *tvām dūtam Agne amṛitaṁ yuge yuge dadhire *pāyum ugrañ devāsaś cha martāsaś cha jāgriviñ vibhuñ viśpatiñ namasā ni shedire | devān ā sādayad iha |

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dūto devānām asi martyānām antar mahāñś charasi rochanena yañ tvā devāḥ dadhire havyavāham puruspṛiho mānushāso yajatram* | i. 12, 1, 2, 4, 8; i. 27, 4; i. 36, 3, 4, 5; i. 44, 2, 3, 5, 9, 12; i. 58, 1; i. 74, 4, 7; i. 188, 1; ii. 6, 6, 7; ii. 9, 2; ii. 10, 6; iii. 5, 2; iii. 6, 5; iii. 9, 8; iii. 11, 2; iii. 17, 4; iii. 21, 1, 5; iv. 1, 8; iv. 2, 3; iv. 7, 8; iv. 8, 2, 4; v. 8, 6; v. 21, 3; vi. 15, 8–10; vii. 11, 4; vii. 16, 4; vii. 17, 6; viii. 19, 21; viii. 23, 18, 19; viii. 39, 1, 9; viii. 44, 3; x. 4, 2; x. 46, 10; x. 91, 11; x. 122, 7). Being acquainted with the innermost recesses of the sky (iv. 8, 2. *Sa hi veda vasu-dhitim mahān ārodhanañ divaḥ | sa devān ā iha vakshati* | 4. *Sa hotā sa id u dūtyañ chikitvān antar īyate* |), he is well fitted to act as the herald of men to summon the gods to the sacrifices instituted in their honour. He comes with them seated on the same car (iii. 4, 11; vii. 11, 1, *ā viśvebhiḥ sarathañ yāhi devaiḥ*), or in advance of them (*ā devānām agrayāvā iha yātu* | x. 70, 2); and shares in the reverence and adoration which they receive (i. 36, 4; ii. 2, 1). He brings Varuṇa to the ceremony, Indra from the sky, the Maruts from the air (x. 70, 11, *ā Agne vaha Varuṇam ishṭaye naḥ Indrañ divo Maruto antarikshāt*). He makes the oblations fragrant, x. 15, 12 = Vāj. S. xix. 66 (*Tvam Agne īḷito jātavedo avāḍ havyāni surabhīni kṛitvī*). Without him the gods experience no satisfaction (vii. 11, 1, *na ṛite tvad amṛitāḥ mādayante*).

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He himself offers them worship (vii. 11, 3; viii. 91, 16; x. 7, 6). He is sometimes described as the mouth and the tongue through which both gods and men participate in the sacrifices (ii. 1, 13. *tvām Agne ādityāsaḥ āsyañ tvāñ jihvām śuchayaś chakrire kave* | 14. *Tve Agne viśve amṛitāsaḥ adruhaḥ āsā devāḥ havir adanti āhutam | tvayā martāsaḥ svadante āsutim*). He is elsewhere asked to eat the offerings himself (iii. 21, 1 ff.; iii. 28, 1-6. *Agne vīhi puroḷāsam āhutam*), and invited to drink the soma-juice (i. 14, 10; i. 19, 9; i. 21, 1, 3. *Viśvebhiḥ somyam madhu Agne Indreṇa Vāyunā piba*).