Magnificient flame, blazing fire, priest of the sacrifice, mediator between gods and men, shining guardian of the cosmic order—Agni is perhaps the most mystical of the ancient gods of the Rigveda.
This is VERY interesting!! I had no knowledge of Agni. Forgive me, being a mythologist in the lineage of Campbell, I tend to find similarities in myths across cultures. Here, I am reminded of Amaterasu OmiKami, from the Japanese tradition. (I tell the full story in this substack: https://findinghome.substack.com/p/here-comes-the-sun) She hid herself in a cave, much like Agni hid in the water, and needed to be coaxed out. She is light, the source of all light, the Great Mother Sun (and already a deity) unlike Agni who negotiates for this status.
Sukta 51, Mandala 10 where it says repeatedly, "O knower of all things born" - this reminds me of kami, the life force, and Omikami, the life force of all things
and then: "Give me the absolutes that precede and follow the sacrifice as my share of the oblation packed with the energy; give me the light from the waters and the soul from the plants and let there be long life for the Fire, O gods." Ah yes, the light of knowing! the fire of knowing!
Thank you so much for this introduction. Anything more you'd like to share, I'd love to learn!
Wishing you a warm and wonderful season of the returning of the Light, the Fire, the source of knowledge and life!
Jan, thank you so very much for this! I live for the moments when we find links and similarities across cultures. I knew the story of Amaterasu, but did not see the similarity with Agni at all! In my earlier post on Indra (https://rohini.substack.com/p/the-heroic-deeds-of-indra) I also mention the story of the dawns that are locked up in a cave and then freed by Indra. This incarceration of Light (voluntarily in the case of Amaterasu) in mountain caves is also an interesting motif.
As for Agni, I find him eternally fascinating.
He continues to evolve and grow over the centuries. His human form becomes much more clearly defined in later literature, and he often has agency on his own account. One of the most powerful incidents in the Mahabharata (composed some 800 years or more after the Rigveda), is that of the burning of the Khandava Forest. Agni plays a very active role in that incident. Here it is, on The Story Birds, in case you missed it earlier: https://storybird.substack.com/p/khandava-dahan-the-burning-of-the
I am replying to you from Kolkata, and, sitting here, in India, Agni is so much more vivid and immediate. Weddings, funerals, coming-of-age rituals...he is present at every important life event. I've usually paid little attention these rites and rituals in the past, for they are so much a part of the everyday. But now, as I read the Rigveda and learn more about it, they've taken on greater meaning for me. I am overwhelmed by the antiquity of the fire-rites, both in the Vedic/Hindu scheme of things and the Zoroastrian. And I am also very interested in the mystical and spiritual thought processes that underlie these rites. Agni, as I have said before, is eternally fascinating!
One small, rather pedantic, point: Agni, like Amaterasu, is also already a deity. It's just the role of intermediary that he does not like! I guess the gods also find it necessary sometimes to negotiate for better terms! :D
This is VERY interesting!! I had no knowledge of Agni. Forgive me, being a mythologist in the lineage of Campbell, I tend to find similarities in myths across cultures. Here, I am reminded of Amaterasu OmiKami, from the Japanese tradition. (I tell the full story in this substack: https://findinghome.substack.com/p/here-comes-the-sun) She hid herself in a cave, much like Agni hid in the water, and needed to be coaxed out. She is light, the source of all light, the Great Mother Sun (and already a deity) unlike Agni who negotiates for this status.
Sukta 51, Mandala 10 where it says repeatedly, "O knower of all things born" - this reminds me of kami, the life force, and Omikami, the life force of all things
and then: "Give me the absolutes that precede and follow the sacrifice as my share of the oblation packed with the energy; give me the light from the waters and the soul from the plants and let there be long life for the Fire, O gods." Ah yes, the light of knowing! the fire of knowing!
Thank you so much for this introduction. Anything more you'd like to share, I'd love to learn!
Wishing you a warm and wonderful season of the returning of the Light, the Fire, the source of knowledge and life!
Jan, thank you so very much for this! I live for the moments when we find links and similarities across cultures. I knew the story of Amaterasu, but did not see the similarity with Agni at all! In my earlier post on Indra (https://rohini.substack.com/p/the-heroic-deeds-of-indra) I also mention the story of the dawns that are locked up in a cave and then freed by Indra. This incarceration of Light (voluntarily in the case of Amaterasu) in mountain caves is also an interesting motif.
As for Agni, I find him eternally fascinating.
He continues to evolve and grow over the centuries. His human form becomes much more clearly defined in later literature, and he often has agency on his own account. One of the most powerful incidents in the Mahabharata (composed some 800 years or more after the Rigveda), is that of the burning of the Khandava Forest. Agni plays a very active role in that incident. Here it is, on The Story Birds, in case you missed it earlier: https://storybird.substack.com/p/khandava-dahan-the-burning-of-the
I am replying to you from Kolkata, and, sitting here, in India, Agni is so much more vivid and immediate. Weddings, funerals, coming-of-age rituals...he is present at every important life event. I've usually paid little attention these rites and rituals in the past, for they are so much a part of the everyday. But now, as I read the Rigveda and learn more about it, they've taken on greater meaning for me. I am overwhelmed by the antiquity of the fire-rites, both in the Vedic/Hindu scheme of things and the Zoroastrian. And I am also very interested in the mystical and spiritual thought processes that underlie these rites. Agni, as I have said before, is eternally fascinating!
One small, rather pedantic, point: Agni, like Amaterasu, is also already a deity. It's just the role of intermediary that he does not like! I guess the gods also find it necessary sometimes to negotiate for better terms! :D