AGNI - THE DESTRUCTOR
AGNI (Fire) is one of those very few gods who have retained
their supremacy in the Hindu hierar
chy of gods completely, unimpaired right from the Vedic age
till today.
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AGNI - THE
DESTRUCTOR |
Fire, is not merely the physical fire we know but the ramifications
of the fire element throughout all nature. He
is the vital spark in the earth; lightning in the sky; and Surya
the sun. He is the sap in the plants, which is carried down
to them by the rain.
He is present even in the dry sticks for, by friction, he can
be brought to birth from them, and, when freed, soars to heaven.
He brings fire down to earth as the lightning, which escapes
from the ocean of clouds, which hide it. He is electricity itself
and the vital element in man, power over which gives complete
freedom and mastery over life. Just as there are seven notes
to the scale and seven colors in the spectrum, so fire is sevenfold
in its nature, and as each seven can be subdivided seven times,
we have the forty-nine fires spoken of.
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| AGNI - GOD OF FIRE |
Fire has always to be brought forth from where he is hiding,
but, when he has been released by friction, he has the power
to light innumerable things. Fire by friction
is one of the earliest gifts given to man by divine beings that
helped infant humanity, it is said, and sacrifice by fire has
been part of religious rituals down the ages.
There are many descriptive passages in the old scriptures of
this great nature god. He is described as raging in the forest
like a lion whose golden mane flies in the wind. He eats up
everything that is in his path, and breathes out smoke as he
burns up the living trees, leaving behind him blackened stumps.
Even the wheels of his swift chariot leave dark tracks in the
forest, and the sparks, flying out on all sides, turn the grass
into a withered mass. All nature is terrified of his approach.
He is also likened to a bull among a herd of cows, or to the
onward rush of huge masses of water.
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AGNI - THE
PURIFIER |
These are his destructive aspects. On the other hand he is the
friend of man, for he gives him warmth and light, and is a great
purifier.
In Rig Veda the largest number of
hymns are addressed to AGNI. AGNI, as per scriptures,
has seven tongues, each of which has a separate name and in
being used for licking up butter offered in sacrifices. |
