अग्नि

Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In the classical cosmology of the Indian religions, Agni as fire is one of the five inert impermanent elements ('' pañcabhūtá'') along with space (''ākāśa''), water (''ap''), air (''vāyu'') and earth (''pṛthvī''), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (''Prakṛti'').

In Vedic literature, Agni is a major and oft-invoked god along with Indra and Soma. 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 human beings 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'' or ''Agnipradakṣiṇam'' (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 ''Aarti'' in Puja.

Agni (Pali: ''Aggi'') 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-kumara'' or "fire princes" 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, '' *h₁n̥gʷnís'', other reflexes of which include ''*En'' or ''*Enji'' () is the reconstructed name of the fire god in the Albanian pagan mythology, which continues to be used in the modern 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 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'. None of the three explanations cited above is plausible in the modern scientific sense.

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 Akasha (ether, space), Vayu (air), Ap (water), Prithvi (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, 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 man, 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:
* Pāvaka – sanctifier of everything;
* Havyavāhana – one who carries the sacrificial butter;
* Saptajihvi – one with seven tongues (flames); consumes the sacrificial butter very fast;
* Vahni – travelling with wind;
* Anala – as one of the Vasus;
* Hutāśana;
* Chitrabhānu – colourful light;
* Jvalana – glowing;
* Vaiśvānara;
* Vibhāvasu – whose light is wealth.

Other names include Śikhī, Pingesa, Plavanga, Bhūritejaḥ, Rudragarva and Hiraṇyakṛt.

Origins

There are many theories about the origins of the god Agni, some tracing it to Indo-European mythologies, others tracing to mythologies within the Indian tradition.

The origin myth found in many Indo-European cultures is one of a bird, or bird like being, that carries or brings fire from the gods to mankind. Alternatively, this messenger brings an elixir of immortality from heaven to earth. In either case, the bird returns everyday with sacrificial offerings for the gods, but sometimes the bird hides or disappears without trace. Agni is molded in similar mythical themes, in some hymns with the phrase the "heavenly bird 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 Prajāpati (also referred to as Brahman). 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 ''Saṃhitā, the truth, the eye 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-maintainer-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 Sūrya ruled the sky and heavens. His position and importance evolves over time, in the "creator-maintainer-destroyer" aspects of existence in Hindu thought.

The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions there have been three previous Agnis and current one is the fourth in the series.

:''Fourfold, namely, was Agni (fire) at first. Now that Agni whom they at first chose for the office of Hotri priest passed away. He also whom they chose the second time passed away. He also whom they chose the third time passed away. Thereupon the one who still constitutes the fire in our own time, concealed himself from fear. He entered into the waters. Him the gods discovered and brought forcibly away from the waters.'' – 1:2:3:1

Texts

Vedas

In the Vedic pantheon, Agni occupies, after Indra, the most important position. Agni is prominent in the hymns of the Vedas and particularly the Brahmanas. In the ''ṚgVeda'' there are over 200 hymns that praise Agni. His name or synonyms appear in nearly a third of 1,028 hymns in the ''ṚgVeda''. The ''ṚgVeda'' opens with a hymn inviting Agni, who is then addressed later in the hymn as the guardian of Ṛta (Dharma).

The Vedas describe the parents of Agni as two kindling fire sticks, 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 parents, finally so strong that he devours what created him.

The hymns in these ancient texts refer to Agni with numerous epithets and synonyms, such as ''Jātavedas'' (he who knows all generations), ''Vaiśvānara'' (relating to all men), ''Tanūnapāt'' (son of himself, self-made), ''Narāśaṃsa'' (who embodies men's praise), ''Tripatsya'' (with three dwellings), and many others. In Vedic mythologies, Agni is also presented as one who is mysterious with a tendency to play hide and seek, not just with humans but with the gods. He hides in strange places such as waters where in one myth he imbues life force into living beings that dwell therein, and in another where the fishes report his presence to the gods.

Agni is in hymn 10.124 of the ''ṚgVeda'', a Rishi (sage-poet-composer) and along with Indra and Sūrya makes up the Vedic triad of deities.

Agni is considered equivalent to and henotheistically identified with all the gods in the Vedic thought, 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 ''ṚgVeda'':

They call it Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni,
and he is heavenly-winged Garutman.
To what is One, sages give many a title,
they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan.

  — ''ṚgVeda 1.164.46'', Translator: Klaus Klostermaier

Upanishads

Agni features prominently in the major and minor Upanishads of Hinduism. Among the earliest mention is the legend of a boy named Satyakāma Jābāla, of uncertain parentage from 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 Vedic school (''gurukul'').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 meets Agni, who then becomes the metaphor 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.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.

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'', students ask their Vedic Guru (teacher) about which god is best among gods they name, a list that includes Agni.Maitri Upanishad – Sanskrit Text with English Translation
EB Cowell (Translator), Cambridge University, Bibliotheca Indica, page 254 The Guru replies that they are all supreme, all merely forms of the Brahman, the whole world is Brahman. So pick anyone, suggests the Upanishad, meditate and adore that one, then meditate over them all, then deny and discard the individuality of every one of these gods including of Agni, thus journey unto the universal, for a communion with the Purusha, the Ātman.

Sections 3 and 4 of ''Kena Upanishad'', another major ancient Upanishad, present an allegorical story which includes gods Agni, Vāyu, Indra and goddess Umā. After a battle between good gods and evil demons, where Brahman helps the good gain victory, the gods wonder, "what is this Brahman, a wonderful being?" Agni goes first to find out, but fails. Vāyu too fails. Then Indra tries, but meets the goddess who already understands Brahman, explains what Brahman is and how the good reached victory through the nature of Brahman. Indra shares this knowledge with Agni and Vayu. The ''Kena Upanishad'' closes these sections by stating that "Agni, Vāyu and Indra" are revered first because they were the first among gods to realize Brahman.Charles Johnston, Kena Upanishad in The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (1920–1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, (Reprinted in 2014)
Archive of Kena Upanishad – Part 3 as published in Theosophical Quarterly, pages 229–232
/ref> The allegorical legend, states Paul Deussen, aims to teach that all the Vedic gods and natural phenomenon have their basis in the timeless, universal monistic principle called Brahman.

Another ancient major Hindu scripture named ''Prashna Upanishad'' mentions Agni in its second Prashna (question section). The section states that Agni and other deities manifest as five gross constituents that combine to make the entire universe, and that all the deities are internalized in the temple of a living body with Agni as the eyes.

Agni is mentioned in many minor Upanishads, such as the '' Pranagnihotra Upanishad'', the ''Yogatattva Upanishad'', the ''Yogashikha Upanishad'', the ''Trishikhibrahmana Upanishad'' and others. The syncretic and monistic Shaivism text, namely ''Rudrahridaya Upanishad'' states that Rudra is same as Agni, and Uma is same as Svaha.

Mundaka Upanishad (2.4) mentioned the seven tongues of Agni as ''kālī'', ''karālī'', ''manojavā'', ''sulohita'', ''sudhāmravarṇā'', ''sphuliṅginī'' and ''visvarucī''.

Significance

Vedic rituals involve Agni. He is a part of many Hindu rites-of-passage ceremonies such as celebrating a birth (lighting a lamp), prayers (aarti lamp), at weddings (the yajna where the bride and groom circle the fire seven times) and at death (cremation). According to ''Atharvaveda'', it is Agni that conveys the soul of the dead from the pyre to be reborn in the next world or life. However, this role was in post-Vedic texts subsumed in the role of god Yama. Agni has been important in temple architecture, is typically present in the southeast corner of a Hindu temple.

Rites of passage: Hindu wedding

The most important ritual of Hindu weddings is performed around Agni. It is called the ''Saptapadi'' (Sanskrit for "seven steps/feet") or Sat Phere, and it represents the legal part of Hindu marriage.BBC News article on Hinduism & Weddings
Nawal Prinja (24 August 2009) The ritual involves a couple completing seven actual or symbolic circuits around the ''Agni'', which is considered a witness to the vows they make to each other. Each circuit of the consecrated fire is led by either the bride or the groom, varying by community and region. With each circuit, the couple makes a specific vow to establish some aspect of a happy relationship and household for each other, with Agni as the divine witness to those mutual vows. In Central India and Suriname, the bride leads the first three or four circuits.

Rituals: Agnihotra

The ''Agnihotra'' involves fire, and the term refers to the ritual of keeping fire at home, and in some cases making "sacrificial offerings" such as milk and seeds to this fire. The Srauta texts state that it is the duty of man to perform ''Agnihotra''. A wide range of Agnihotra procedures are found in the Brahmana layer of the Vedas, ranging from the most common simple keeping of sacred fire and its symbolism, to more complicated procedures for the expiation of guilt, to rituals claimed to grant immortality to the performer. According to the ''Jaiminiya Brahmana'', for example, an ''Agnihotra'' sacrifice frees the performer from evil and death. In contrast, states the Shatapatha Brahmana, ''Agnihotra'' is a symbolic reminder and equivalent to the Sun, where the fire keeper is reminded of the heat that creates life, the fire in beings, the heat in the womb behind the cycle of life.

Festivals: Holi and Diwali

Two major festivals in Hinduism, namely Holi (festival of colors) and Diwali (festival of lights) incorporate Agni in their ritual grammar, as a symbol of divine energy. During the autumn celebrations of Diwali, traditional small fire lamps called ''Diya'' are included to mark the festivities. For Holi, Hindus burn bonfires as Holika, on the night before the spring festival. The bonfire marks god Agni, and in rural India mothers carry their babies around the fire clockwise on Holika in Agni's remembrance.

Forms

Agni has two forms: ''Jataveda'' and ''Kravyada'':
* ''Jātaveda'' is the fire that carries the quid-pro-quo offerings to the gods, in which case Agni is light identified with knowledge and with Brahman. In the ''Jātaveda'' form, "He who knows all creatures", Agni acts as the divine model for the priest. He is the messenger who carries the oblation from humans to the gods, bringing the Gods to sacrifice, and intercedes between gods and humans (Rig Veda I.26.3). Together with Indra and Soma, Agni is invoked in the Rig Veda more than any other gods.
* ''Kravyād'' (क्रव्याद) is the form of Agni which cremates corpses, the fire of the funeral pyre that triggers the recycling of matter and spirit. In this way, states Shatapatha Brahmana in verse 2.2.4.8, after one's death and at the time of cremation, Agni heats up and burns only the body, yet by its heat, one is reborn.

Symbolism

Agni is symbolism for psychological and physiological aspects of life, states Maha Purana section LXVII.202–203. There are three kinds of Agni inside every human being, states this text, the ''krodha-agni'' or "fire of anger", the ''kama-agni'' or "fire of passion and desire", and the ''udara-agni'' or "fire of digestion". These respectively need introspective and voluntary offerings of forgiveness, detachment and fasting, if one desires spiritual freedom and liberation.

Agni variously denotes the natural element fire, the supernatural deity symbolized by fire and the inner natural will aspiring for the highest knowledge.

Heat, combustion and energy is the realm of Agni which symbolizes the transformation of the gross to the subtle; Agni is the life-giving energy. ''Agnibija'' is the consciousness of ''tapas'' (proto-cosmic energy); ''agni'' (the energizing principle); the sun, representing the Reality (Brahman) and the Truth (Satya), is '' Rta'', the order, the organizing principle of everything that is.

Agni, who is addressed as ''Atithi'' ('guest'), is also called ''Jatavedasam'' (जातवेदसम्), meaning "the one who knows all things that are born, created or produced". He symbolizes will-power united with wisdom.

Agni is the essence of the knowledge of Existence. Agni destroys ignorance and all delusions, removes nescience. The Kanvasatpathabrahmanam (SB.IV.i.iv.11) calls Agni "wisdom" (मेधायैमनसेऽग्नये स्वाहेति). Agni is symbolism for "the mind swiftest among (all) those that fly".

Iconography

The iconography of Agni varies by region. The design guidelines and specifications of his iconography are described in the Hindu Agama texts. He is shown with one to three heads, two to four arms, is typically red-complexioned or smoky-grey complexioned standing next to or riding a ram, with a characteristic dramatic halo of flames leaping upwards from his crown. He is shown as a strong looking man, sometimes bearded, with a large belly because he eats everything offered into his flames, with golden brown hair, eyes and mustache to match the color of fire.

Agni holds a rosary in one hand to symbolize his prayer-related role, and a sphere in another hand in eastern states of India. In other regions, his four arms hold an ax, torch, spoon (or fan) and a flaming spear (or rosary).

Seven rays of light or flames emit from his body. One of his names is ''Saptajihva'', "the one having seven tongues", to symbolize how rapidly he consumes sacrificial butter. Occasionally, Agni iconography is shown in ''Rohitasva'' form, which has no ram as his vahana, but where he is pulled in a chariot with seven red horses, and the symbolic wind that makes fire move as the wheels of the chariot. In Khmer art, Agni has been depicted with a rhinoceros as his vahana. The number seven symbolizes his reach in all seven mythical continents in ancient Hindu cosmology or colors of a rainbow in his form as the sun.

Agni has three forms, namely fire, lightning, and the Sun, forms sometimes symbolized by giving his icon three heads or three legs. He sometimes is shown wearing a garland of fruits or flowers, symbolic of the offerings made into the fire.

History

The earliest surviving artwork of Agni have been found at archaeological sites near Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), and these date from 1st-century BCE. In the collection at Bharat Kalā Bhavan, there is a red sandstone sculpture from around the start of the common era but no later than 1st-century CE, identifiable as Agni shown in the garb of a Brahmin, very much like sage Kashyapa. In the Panchala coins of Agnimitra, a deity is always present with a halo of flames. In Gupta sculptures, Agni is found with a halo of flames round the body, the sacred thread across his chest, a beard, pot-bellied and holding in his right hand a ''amrtaghata'' (nectar-pot). Many of these early carvings and early statues show just one head, but elaborate details such as ear-rings made of three fruits, a detailed necklace, a slightly smiling face wearing a crown, and flames engraved into the hairs at the back of Agni's statue.

The iconographic statues and reliefs of god Agni are typically present in the southeast corners of a Hindu temple. However, in rare temples where Agni is envisioned as a presiding astrological divinity, according to texts such as the ''Samarangana Sutradhara'', he is assigned the northeast corner.

Agni is historically considered to be present in every grihastha (home), and therein presented in one of three forms – ''gārhapatya'' (for general domestic usage), ''āhavaniya'' (for inviting and welcoming a personage or deity) and ''dakshinagni'' (for fighting against all evil). Yāska

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