AGNI, THE FIRE GOD

“ Great Agni, though thine essence be but one,

Thy forms are three ; as fire thou blazest here,

As lightning flashest in the atmosphere,

In heaven thou flamest as the golden sun.”

With the exception of Indra more hymns are addressed to Agni (Latin Ignis, “ fire ”) in the Vedas than to any other deity. Several reasons may be adduced for this. Fire is very necessary for human existence. It enables food to be cooked. By its agency work can be carried on at night, and the demons that people the darkness lose their terrors. Then, to the ancients, as also to the primitive peoples in India to-day, there was always something very mysterious in the origin of fire. In some magic way the god was called into existence by friction out of two pieces of wood. He was even ready to leap forth out of the hard rock. Little wonder that a vast mythology sprang up regarding this marvellous deity. Before very long, fire was identified by the Vedic poets as light and heat. Then the presence of Agni was discerned not only in the warmth of the fire on the hearth and altar, but in the Dawn, in the Sun, and in that bright world that lies beyond the Sun. So Agni appears in three phases : in heaven as the Sun, in mid-air as lightning, and on earth as ordinary fire.

“ In old Vedic hymns there is an interesting reference to Agni. He is spoken of as dwelling between two pieces of wood. It is noticed as a remarkable fact that a living being should spring out of dry, dead wood. Stranger even than this The child, Agni, as soon as he is bom, begins to consumethe wood, his parents, that gave him birth. Wonderful indeed is his growth, seeing he is bom, says the Vedic poet, * of a mother who cannot nourish him, but whom, as he grows, he destroys ! ’ ” 1

So in a comparatively short time Agni rose into great prominence. The gods themselves owed to Agni their splendour, and the gift of immortality was his ; his divinespark was latent in all things and could vivify the dead. He was celebrated as an immortal who made his abode with mortal men, their domestic priest who rose before dawn, and, as soon as the fire was kindled on the hearth in the dim morning light, the whole family gathered round it, regarding it with love and awe ; at once as a friend and a priest—a visible god deigning to sit as guest in the very dwellings of men, the witness of their actions, their counsellor and director. He was the first to kindle the sacrificial fire, and as the fire spread upwards it was held to convey the oblation and sacrifices of mortals to the gods, and Agni was considered the mediator between men and gods. As evening drew on, and the darkness deepened, Agni was the only divinity left on earth to dispel the terrors of the night. When his gracious beams shone forth the hearts of men took courage again, for what power had the demons over them when Agni was present to succour and save ? No wonder indeed that the very first hymn in the Rig-Veda—one of the earliest poems extant in any language—is addressed to Agni. The hymn is translated by Griffith as follows :

“ I laud Agni, the greatest high priest, god, and minister of sacrifice,  The herald, lavishest of wealth,

Worthy is Agni to be praised by living as by ancient seers,

He shall bring hitherward the gods. Through Agni man obtaineth wealth, yea, plenty, waxing day by day

Most rich in heroes, glorious. 

Agni, the flawless sacrifice, which thou encompassest about Verily goeth to the gods.

May Agni, sapient-minded priest, truthful, most gloriously great

The god, come hither with the gods. Whatever blessing, Agni, thou wilt grant thy worshippers,

That Agni, is thy true gift.

To thee, dispeller of the night, O Agni, day by day with prayer Bringing thee reverence we come :

Ruler of sacrifices, guard of Law Eternal, Radiant One,

Increasing in thine own abode, Be to us easy of approach, even as a father to his son,

Agni, be with us for our weal.”

The presence of Agni to this day is invoked on all solemn occasions by the Hindus. The bride still circumambulates the sacred fire, the dead are still consigned to that dread element. At solemn sacrifices, clarified butter is the offering made to Agni. As the flame mounts higher and higher when fed by the butter the gods are said to have devoured the gift and thereby signified their pleasure and satisfaction at the burnt offering. Somewhat facetiously the gods are said to have two mouths : the Brahman (type of a devouring nature) and Agni ! In later days Agni has lost the pre-eminence he enjoyed in the Vedas, where he is the son of the Heavens and the Earth, and Indra’s twin brother. In the Mahabharata the reason given is that he has exhausted his vigour by devouring too many oblations. He was said to be desirous of recruiting his shattered health by devouring the whole Khandava forest. This, Indra for a long time prevented him from doing, but by the help of Krishna he succeeded in his object.

In India there may yet be found the so-called Fire priests (Agnihotri) who perform according to the Vedic rite the sacrifices entitling worshippers to heavenly life. The sacred fire-drill for churning the new fire by friction of wood (arani) is used so that Agni still is new born of twirling fire sticks and receives the melted butter of sacrifice. Agni is represented as a corpulent man, red in colour, with two faces, and eyes, eyebrows, and hair of a reddish tawny hue. He has three legs and seven arms. He rides a ram and has that animal emblazoned on his banner.

From his mouths forked tongues or flames issue, by means of which he licks up the butter used in sacrifices. These characteristics have each and all their special significance. The two faces represent the two fires, solar and terrestrial, or creative heat and destructive fire. The three legs probably refer to the three sacred fires of the Brahmans—the nuptial, the ceremonial or funeral, and the sacrificial ; or they may denote his power over the three portions of the universe  the celestial, terrestrial, and infernal regions, which is manifested by the three forms he takes, sun, lightning, and sacrificial fire. His seven arms, like the seven heads of Surya’s horse, are originally derived from the prismatic divisibility  of a ray of light, or may denote the universal power of the all-pervading nature of fire. Whatever may be the explanation of the mysterious import of the numbers, three and seven, it is interesting to find that these are the favourite numbers amongst Hindu, Jewish, Muhammadan, and Christian peoples, the Buddhist alone stands out for the number eight.