God u Love: Lord Agni

Lord Agni

Hindu God Agni, the fire-God, single to Indra in the Vedic legends of Ancient India. He is regularly the fire of the sun, of lightening, and of the hearth that men glow for purpose of worship.

While the great personification of the fire of sacrifice, Agni is the mouth of the gods, the shipper of the oblation and the messenger between the individual and the great orders.

Hindu God Agni is one of the three highest deities of the Rig Veda, e.g Lord Agni, Vayu and Surya. These three gods lead over the earth, atmosphere and sky respectively.

In Rig Veda, biggest number of hymns is address to God Agni. Hindu God Agni is the child of Angiras and the grandson of Sandila, one of the seven large sages. Vishnu Puran, still, claims that Agni is the eldest son of Brahma. His wife name was Swaha and through his wedding he has three sons, Pavak, Pavman and Suchi.

Bhagwan Agni is describe in the scriptures as ruddy-hued and having two faces-one emperor and the other severe. In Hari Vans, Bhagvan Agnidev is dressed in black and has burn as his typical and carries a glowing javelin. He has four hands and rides in a chariot tired by red horses.

Bhagwan Agni Dev Ji Purana is said been perform by Agni himself to wise Vashist. It has piece on ritualizes and religious methods of devotion, the talent of wars the laws of Hindu and glorification of Shiva.

Agni is the Hindu god of fire. He is regarded as the friend and protector of humanity, in particular, he safeguards the home. Various forms of fire are associated with Agni and include the sun, lightning, comets, sacrificial fire, domestic fires, the fire of the funeral-pyre, and the digestive fire which is within all humans. Agni was especially important in the Vedic period (1500 - 500 BCE) and the Vedas contains more hymns to him than to any other deity. He is still considered today omnipresent though not directly worshipped. Agni knows the thoughts of all people and is a witness to all important actions, hence the use of fire in many important Hindu ceremonies such as marriages. He is also referred to in sacred texts such as the Mahabharata as the 'Oblation-devourer' and the 'Purifier'. With flaming hair and riding a goat he is easily identified in Hindu art.
Agni's wife is the daughter of King Nila who impressed the fire-god by being the only woman in the kingdom who managed to kindle a flame in the royal palace. In some myths Karttikeya (Skanda), the Hindu god of war, is Agni's son and the result of Agni's conquest of the Pleiades, the wives of the Seven Sages.

Agni & Various Fires

Agni is the son of the Celestial Waters and that element is closely connected with fire which is thought to be carried down to earth within rain. From there fire is drawn up by vegetation and so when two sticks are rubbed together fire appears. Agni is also responsible for lightning which is born from the god's union with the cloud goddess. Another fire Agni is associated with is the funeral-pyre; in this role he leads the dead to their final judgement by Yama, ruler of the Underworld.

Agni is perhaps most closely associated with sacrificial fires where he is thought to carry the offerings of humans to the gods.

Agni is perhaps most closely associated with sacrificial fires where he is thought to carry the offerings of humans to the gods. According to various myths, Agni was at first afraid to take on this duty as his three brothers had been killed already whilst performing the task. Consequently, Agni hid in the subterranean waters but, unfortunately, fish revealed his hiding place to the gods. As a result Agni cursed them so that fish would become the easy prey of men. In another version it is frogs, then elephants, and then parrots which reveal Agni's attempts at hiding and the god punished them all by distorting their speech ever after. The final hiding place of Agni in this version was inside a sami tree and so it is considered the sacred abode of fire in Hindu rituals and its sticks are used to make fires. Reluctantly taking up his duty again Agni did negotiate by way of compensation to always receive a share of the sacrifice he carried to the gods and he was given the boon of ever-lasting life.
Agni appears in all forms of fire and even those things which burn well or have a certain lustre. In the Brhaddevata we are told that at one point Agni is dismembered and distributed among earthly things. The god's flesh and fat becomes guggulu resin, his bones the pine tree, his semen becomes gold and silver, his blood and bile are transformed into minerals, his nails are tortoises, entrails the avaka plant, his bone marrow sand and gravel, his sinews become tejana grass, his hair kusa grass, and his body hair becomes kasa grass which was used in sacrificial rituals.
Over time Agni's importance as a god diminishes, a fact explained in the Mahabharata as due to his over-indulgence in consuming one too many offerings. In the Visnu Purana he is described as the eldest son of Brahma and Svaha is his wife. Together they had three sons, Pavaka, Pavamana, and Suchi who in turn had 45 sons which, including their fathers and grandmother, totals 49, the number of sacred fires in the Vayu Purana.
Agni, according to one Rigveda hymn attributed to the sage Vasistha, also has a darker side. Similar in nature to the 'flesh-eater' demons, the raksasa, he has two wickedly sharp iron tusks and he devours his victims without mercy. However, when called upon by the gods, Agni destroys the raksasa with his flaming spears. This episode, when Agni becomes a servant of the gods, is illustrative of his fall from the pinnacle of the pantheon.

Agni in Hindu Art

In art, Agni is often depicted with black skin, two heads, four arms, and riding either a goat (the most commonly sacrificed animal) or a chariot drawn by red horses which has seven wheels, representing the seven winds. His two heads, which spout flames, are symbolic of his association with two types of fire: the domestic hearth and the sacrificial fire. He can have seven tongues which are used to lick up the ghee butter given as offerings.
Typically he carries a fan (which he uses to build up fires), a sacrificial ladle, an axe, and a flaming torch or javelin. Agni may also be represented as the Garuda bird which carries the seed of life, the fire-bird which carries ambrosia to the gods, and the goat-headed merchant who represents the sacrifice made to the gods. In later Hindu art, Agni is also represented as one of the Dikpalas who were the eight guardians of the directions of space. Agni protects the south-east quarter, Purajyotisa.

Number Seven and Agni
Agni is associated with Number7 for some unknown reasons. He is called Saptaarchi and Saptajihva (Sapta is 7). His seven tongues have separate names (given above).in the Vishnu Purana he is called Abhimani, and the eldest son of Brahma. He had three sons by Swaha. Their names were Pavaka, Pavamana and Suchi. They had 45 sons- altogether 49 persons (7X7). Agni’s chariot had seven wheels representing seven winds. In the Rig Vedic hymns on Agni, we come across number 7 often.

34 names of Agni in the Amarakosa and the commentaries on them give lot of interesting information:

1.Agni
Meaning:-- Going forward
2.Vaisvanara
Relative of the people; Relative of Visva Nara:
3.Vahni
Travels with wind
4.Vitihotra
Place where many Ahutis are offered
5.Dananjaya
Helps to earn wealth; also name of Arjuna and a snake
6.Krupeetayoni
Source of water; vice verse Water produces Agni
‘’Agner apa:’’
7.Jwalana:
Glittering- , glowing

8.Jataveda:
He who knows all; Heat creates everything e.g. sun, body heat
9.Tanunapath
He never allows the body to fall; one who does not protect his own shape; becoming dry or one who eats ghee
10.Barhi:
Creeping, crawling
11.Sushma
One who shortens or dries everything
12.Krsnvartma
One who produces black smoke
13.Sochiskesa
One who has flame as his hair

14.Usharbuh
Bright in the morning; Brahmins make him bright in the morning.
15.Asrasya:
One who burns everything associated with him
16.Brhatbanu
One who creates light

17.Krshanu:
emaciating
18.Pavaka:
One who purifies
19.Anala:
One of the Eight Vasus
20.Rohitasva
One who has a red horse
21.Vayusaka:
Friend of the wind
22.Shikavan
One who has flames of tuft

23.Asusukshani:
Dries anything at once or shortens
24.Hiranyareta:
Golden shakti or veeryam
25.Hutabuk
Whatever offered is eaten by him
26.Dahana:
One who makes everyone feels hot

27.Havyavahana:
One who has wind as a vehicle
28.Saptarchi
One who has got seven flames.
Kali, Karala, Manojawa, Sulohita, Sudumravarna, Spulingini, Visvadara are his seven tongues/ flames.

29.Damuna:
One who subdue, quietens
30.Sukra:
Colour of Sukra – Venus –Bright White
31.Chitrabanu
Colourful light
32.Vivavasu
Light is his wealth
33.Suchi;
One who purifies everything
34.Apapitta:
He is the embodiment of pitta in the water

colour of horses
Agni = red horse - rohitaswa
Varun = white horse
Kuberan = horse of Kumuda (water lily) flower colour
Vayu = babru/ brown colour horse
(Amarakosa commentary gives these details of colour horses)

Agni has got other names as well:
Abja hasta = lotus in hand
Dhuma-ketu = whose sign is smoke
Chhaga-ratha =ram rider
Sapta jihva = seven tongued
Tomara dhara = javelin bearer