Agni ( , meaning 'Fire') is the Hindu god of fire. As the guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In the classical cosmology of Hinduism, fire (Agni) is one of the five inert impermanent elements (Pañcabhūtá) along with sky (Ākāśa), water (Apas), air (Vāyu) and earth (Pṛthvī), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (Prakṛti).
In the Vedas, Agni is a major and most invoked god along with Indra and Soma.Cavendish, Richard (1998). Mythology, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Principal Myths and Religions of the World. Agni is considered the mouth of the gods and goddesses and the medium that conveys offerings to them in a homa (votive ritual). He is conceptualized in ancient Hindu texts to exist at three levels, on earth as fire, in the atmosphere as lightning, and in the sky as the sun. This triple presence accords him as the messenger between the deities and humans in the Vedic scriptures. The relative importance of Agni declined in the post-Vedic era, as he was internalised and his identity evolved to metaphorically represent all transformative energy and knowledge in the Upanishads and later Hindu literature. Agni remains an integral part of Hindu traditions, such as being the central witness of the rite-of-passage ritual in traditional Hindu weddings called Saptapadi (seven steps and mutual vows), in the Upanayana ceremony of rite of passage, as well being part of the diyā (lamp) in festivals such as Deepavali and Arti in Puja.
Agni () is a term that appears extensively in Buddhist texts and in the literature related to the Senika heresy debate within the Buddhist traditions. In the ancient Jainism thought, Agni (fire) contains soul and fire-bodied beings, additionally appears as Agni-kumaras or "fire children" in its theory of rebirth and a class of reincarnated beings and is discussed in its texts with the equivalent term Tejas.
Etymology, meaning and other names
Sanskrit अग्नि (Agni) continues one of two core terms for fire reconstructed to Proto-Indo-European, *h₁n̥gʷnis, other reflexes of which include (), the reconstructed name of the fire god in the Albanian pagan mythology, which continues to be used in the Albanian language to refer to Thursday (e enjte), Latin ignis (the root of English ignite), Lithuanian ugnis, Kurdish agir, Old Slavonian огнь (ognĭ) and its descendants: Russian огонь (ogon´), Serbian oganj, Polish ogień, etc., all meaning "fire".
The ancient Indian grammarians variously derived it: from root aj, which in Sanskrit means "to drive" in the sense of "nimble, agile"; from agri, the root of which means "first", referring to "that first in the universe to arise" or "fire" according to Shatapatha Brahmana section 6.1.1; the Brahmana claims this is cryptically called as Agni because everyone including the gods and goddesses are known to love short nicknames; according to the 5th-century BCE Sanskrit text Nirukta-Nighantu in section 7.14, sage Śakapūṇi states the word Agni is derived from three verbs – from 'going', from 'shining or burning', and from 'leading'; the letter "a" (अ) is from root "i" which he claims implies 'to go', the letter "g" (ग्) is from the root "añj" meaning 'to shine' or "dah" meaning 'to burn', and the last letter is by itself the root "nī" (नी) which means 'to lead'.
In the early Vedic literature, Agni primarily connotes the fire as a god, one reflecting the primordial powers to consume, transform and convey. Yet the term is also used with the meaning of a Mahabhuta (constitutive substance), one of five that the earliest Vedic thinkers believed to constitute material existence, and that later Vedic thinkers such as Kanada and Kapila expanded widely, namely Dyaus (aether), Vayu (air), Varuna (water), Bhumi (earth) and Agni (fire).V.S. Agrawala (1960), Fire in the Ṛigveda, East and West, Volume 11, Number 1 (March 1960), pages 28–32
The word Agni is used in many contexts, ranging from fire in the stomach, the cooking fire in a home, the sacrificial fire in an altar, the fire of cremation, the fire of rebirth, the fire in the energetic saps concealed within plants, the atmospheric fire in lightning and the celestial fire in the sun. In the Brahmanas layer of the Vedas, such as in section 5.2.3 of Shatapatha Brahmana, Agni represents all the gods and goddesses, all concepts of spiritual energy that permeates everything in the universe.N. J. Shende (1965), Agni in the Brahmanas of the Ṛgveda, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Volume 46, Number 1/4, pages 1–28 In the Upanishads and post-Vedic literature, Agni additionally became a metaphor for immortal principle in humans, and any energy or knowledge that consumes and dispels a state of darkness, transforms and procreates an enlightened state of existence.
Agni is also famously known as:Mahabharata Sabha Parva Digvijaya Parva XXXI, prayer of Sahadeva Pāvaka – one who is the sanctifier of everything; Havyavāhana – one who carries the sacrificial butter; Saptajihvi – one who with seven tongues (flames); and consumes the sacrificial butter very fast; Vahni – one who is travelling with wind; Anala – one who is one of the Vasus; Hutāśana – one who is the consumer of the sacrificed offerings; Chitrabhānu – one who is the colourful light producing one; Jvalana – one who is always glowing; Vaiśvānara – one who is the man of the world; Vibhāvasu – one whose light is all's wealth; Dhumaketu – one who is crowned with fire.
Other names include Śikhī, Pingesa, Plavanga, Bhūritejaḥ, Rudragarva, Hiraṇyakṛta.
Origins
There are many theories about the origins of the god Agni, some tracing it to Indo-European mythology, others tracing to Hindu mythology.
The origin myth found in many Indo-European cultures is one of a falcon that carries or brings fire from the deities to people. This messenger also brings an elixir of immortality from heaven to earth. In either case, the falcon returns every day with sacrificial offerings for the deities, but sometimes the falcon hides and disappears to heaven. Agni is molded in similar mythical themes, in some hymns with the phrase the "heavenly falcon that flies".
The earliest layers of the Vedic texts of Hinduism, such as section 6.1 of Kaṭhaka Saṃhitā and section 1.8.1 of Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā state that the universe began with nothing, neither night nor day existed, what existed was just the god Prajāpati. Agni originated from the forehead of Prajāpati, assert these texts. With the creation of Agni came light, and with that were created day and night. Agni, state these Saṃhitās, is the same as the Brahman, the truth, the eyes of the manifested universe. These mythologies develop into more complex stories about Agni's origins in the later layers of Vedic texts, such as in section 2.1.2 of the Taittiriya Brahmana and sections 2.2.3–4 of Shatapatha Brahmana.
Agni is originally conceptualized as the ultimate source of the "creator-preserver-destroyer" triad, then one of the trinities, as the one who ruled the earth. His twin brother Indra ruled the atmosphere as the god of storm, rain and war, while his other brother Sūrya ruled the sky and heavens were the other two gods in that trinity. His position and importance evolves over time, in the "creator-preserver-destroyer" aspects of existence in Hindu thought.
The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions there have been three previous Agnis who died and current Agni is the fourth one now.
"Fourfold, namely, was Agni (the fire god) at first. Now that Agni whom they at first chose for the office of Hotri priest died. He also whom they chose the second time died. He also whom they chose the third time died. Thereupon the one who still constitutes the fire in our own time, concealed himself from fear. He entered into the waters. Him the deities discovered and brought out away from the waters as the fourth fire god." – 1:2:3:1
Texts Vedas
In the Hindu pantheon, Agni occupies, after Indra, the most important position. Agni is prominent in the hymns of the Vedas and particularly the Brahmanas. In the Rigveda there are over 200 hymns that praise Agni. His name or synonyms appear in nearly a third of 1,028 hymns in the Rigveda. The Rigveda opens with a hymn inviting Agni, who is then addressed later in the hymn as the guardian of Ṛta (Dharma).
The Vedas describe the foster-parents of Agni as two kindling fire sticks of Prajapati, whose loving action creates him. Just born, he is poetically presented as a tender baby, who needs loving attention lest he vanishes. With care, he sparks and smokes, then flames and grows stronger than his foster-parents, finally so strong that he burns to ashes what created him his residence by Prajapati.
The hymns in these ancient texts refer to Agni with numerous epithets and synonyms, such as Jātaveda (he who knows all knowledge), Vaiśvānara (he who is relating to all people), Tanūnapāta (he who is self-made), Narāśaṃsa (he who embodies all people's praise), Tripatsya (he who is with three dwellings), and many others. In Hindu mythology, Agni is also presented as one who is mysterious with a tendency to play hide and seek, not just with humans but with the deities. He hides in strange places such as waters, where in one myth, he imbues life force into fishes that dwell therein, due to which the fishes report his presence to the deities, who take Agni to heaven.
Agni is in hymn 10.124 of the Rigveda, a Rishi (sage-poet-composer) and along with Indra and Sūrya makes up the Hindu trinity of gods who create, preserve, destroy.
Agni is considered equivalent to all the deities in the Hinduism, which formed the foundation for the various non-dualistic and monistic theologies of Hinduism. These theme of equivalence is repeatedly presented in the Vedas, such as with the following words in the Maṇḍala 1 of the Rigveda: They call it Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is heavenly-winged Garuda. To what is One, sages give many a title, they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan (Agni). — Rigveda 1.164.46, Translator: Klaus KlostermaierSanskrit: इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान् । एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ॥४६॥, ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १.१६४, Wikisource
Upanishads
Agni features prominently in the major and minor Upanishads of Hinduism. Among the earliest mention is the legend of a boy sage named Satyakāma Jābāla, the son of an unwed father and an unwed mother, in chapter 4 of the Chhāndogya Upanishad (~700 BCE). He honestly admits his poverty and that his mother does not know who his father was, an honesty that earns him a spot in a Hindu school (gurukula).Max Muller, Chandogya Upanishad 4.4 – 4.9, The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, pages 60–64 with footnotes During his studies, the boy sage meets Agni, who then becomes the god for him as a cardinal direction, world body, eye and knowledge, and the abstract principle of Brahman which the Upanishad states is in everything and is everywhere and he becomes a boy sage.Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 122–126 with preface and footnotesRobert Hume, Chandogya Upanishad 4.4 – 4.9, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 218–221Chandogya Upanishad with Shankara Bhashya Ganganath Jha (Translator), pages 189–198 Agni appears in section 1.13 of Chandogya Upanishad as well.Robert Hume, Chandogya Upanishad 1.13.1 – 1.13.4, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 189–190
In verse 18 of the Isha Upanishad, Agni is invoked with, "O Agni, you know all the paths, lead me on to success by the good path, keep me away from the wrong path of sin". In sections 4.5–6 of the Maitri Upanishad, the students ask their Hindu Guru (teacher) Maitri about which deity is best among deities they name, a list that includes Agni.Maitri Upanishad – Sanskrit Text with English Translation