Agneyi (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: आग्नेयी,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

Āgneyī, 'Daughter of the Fire God') is mentioned in the Harivamsha and the

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana (IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature c ...

as the wife of Ūru (a descendant of

Angiras Angiras or Angira (Sanskrit: / ', pronounced ) was a Vedic rishi (sage) of Hinduism. He is described in the ''Rigveda'' as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, as well as stated in other hymns to be the first of ...

) and the mother of the kings Anga, Sumanas, Khyaati, Kratu and Sibi (Harivamsha includes another son, Gaya). Her father

Agni 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 ...

is the

Hindu God Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...

of Fire and has been revered and worshipped throughout the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

right from

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

times to the modern era.

Etymology

The masculine construction of the word, Āgneya, has been used as a generic adjective meaning 'flammable', 'fiery', 'consecrated to

', 'ruled by

', etc. It has also been used as a proper noun epithet of the

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', ( sa, अग्नि पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also co ...

, the Āgneya Astra, and the cardinal direction of the South East (of which

is the

Dikpala The Guardians of the Directions (Sanskrit: दिक्पाल, Dikpāla) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism, Jainism and '' '' Buddhism—especially . As a group of eight deities, they are called ( ...

). The feminine construction Āgneyī is used only as proper noun.

Significance to Hindu religion

Āgneyī is known in ancient Vedic literature as Āgneyā where she is defined as a divine and powerful Goddess. Her mother is credited to be a consort of

interchangeably known as

Svaha Svaha (Sanskrit: स्वाहा, IAST: Svāhā), also referred to as Manyanti, is the Hindu goddess of sacrifices featured in the Vedas. She is the consort of Agni, and the daughter of either Daksha or Brihaspati, depending on the literary ...

and Agnāyī (meaning, "Wife of Agni"). It is also suggested that the masculine epithet Āgneya -- used to signify the Southeastern cardinal direction -- actually refers to the Goddess Āgneyā. Likewise, she is also said to be the

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

of the Āgneya Astra.

References

{{Reflist Fire goddesses Hindu goddesses