Difference between revisions of "Agni in Vedavangmaya (अग्निः वेदवाङ्मये)"
m |
|||
| Line 36: | Line 36: | ||
This is the prayer for the dissolution of the individual prana into the infinite prana. Agni is prayed to as the chief priest of the sacrifice and the divine witness of all actions done by the individual, when the body is being being reduced to ashes. He is the principle intelligence which guides all thoughts and actions, a path to Universal Knowledge. Agni at the first step is like guide with a torch that illuminates the path of the soul. | This is the prayer for the dissolution of the individual prana into the infinite prana. Agni is prayed to as the chief priest of the sacrifice and the divine witness of all actions done by the individual, when the body is being being reduced to ashes. He is the principle intelligence which guides all thoughts and actions, a path to Universal Knowledge. Agni at the first step is like guide with a torch that illuminates the path of the soul. | ||
| − | '''Kena Upanishad''', Agni reveals his identity as the heat energy and the ever-burning flame of the conscious force in matter, that makes up the entire world. | + | '''Kena Upanishad''', Agni reveals his identity as the heat energy and the ever-burning flame of the conscious force in matter, that makes up the entire world.The gods sent first Agni to find out the nature of Brahman, which means it is Agni that releases the energy which is latent in all beings. Moreover, the sage of the Kena Upanishad refers to the functional differentiation and specialization of body parts, on which account the life-stream progresses, when he speaks of Agni becoming the speech and entering the mouth, and Vayu becoming breath and entering the nostrils. |
| − | The Katha Upanishad tells how Yama taught Nachiketa the secrets of the fire that leads to heaven, and what bricks were required to build the altar. | + | The Katha Upanishad tells how Yama taught Nachiketa the secrets of the fire that leads to heaven, and what bricks were required to build the altar. |
स एतं देवयानं पन्थानमापद्याग्निलोकमागच्छतिस वायुलोकं स आदित्यलोकं (Kaushitaki Upanishad I.3) | स एतं देवयानं पन्थानमापद्याग्निलोकमागच्छतिस वायुलोकं स आदित्यलोकं (Kaushitaki Upanishad I.3) | ||
| Line 77: | Line 77: | ||
In Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (Sloka 15.14) it is said: ":अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः | In Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (Sloka 15.14) it is said: ":अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
# http://ignca.nic.in/Vedic_portal_rigveda_shakala_Samhita_m01.htm Agni Sukta as given in Vedic heritage portal with pronunciation. | # http://ignca.nic.in/Vedic_portal_rigveda_shakala_Samhita_m01.htm Agni Sukta as given in Vedic heritage portal with pronunciation. | ||
Revision as of 16:34, 3 October 2017
Agni (Samskrit: अग्निः) is the god of fire, sacrifice and divine knowledge, and a large number of mantras and suktas are devoted to describing and praising Agni in various texts. Agni is the very personification of अ॒ग्निहोत्रः (sacrificial fire). He is associated with वैदिकयज्ञः (Yagnas are sacrificial rituals prescribed in Vedas) taking offerings of men to the other world in his fire. Through yagna (sacrificial fires) he carries the oblations to the gods, to ensure the continuance of conditions favorable to mankind.
परिचय || Introduction
अग्निः ॥ Agni next to Indra, occupies a very important place as the carrier of offerings in yagna. Agni is thus, significantly highlighted in the Rig veda with many suktas rendered to propitiate Him. Further as we gradually progress towards the Upanishads, Agni is personified as the Knower of Brahman. The three Fires (गार्हपत्यः ॥ Gaarhapatya, आहवनीयः॥ Aahavaniya, and दक्षिणाग्निः ॥ Dakshinaagni) assume the position of a Guru for Upakosala (student of Satyakama Jabaali), in the Chandogya Upanishad, to teach brahmavidya to him.
Thus, starting with the sacred agnihotras tended by the householder, as the sacred bearer of offerings, to the feared Kravaaya form of Fire which is invoked to burn corpses, and finally to the inner subtle form of representation of Jnana , Agni is the crucial lifeline of a grihastha engaged in Bharateeya samskriti.
Agni in Vedas
Rig veda
Rigveda starts with Agnisukta and thereafter many mandalas have suktas related to and in praise of Agni. The very first word, mantra and sukta of the oldest veda, Rig veda starts with Agni as revealed to Rishi Madhuchchandah Vaishvamitah in Gāyatri metre..
अग्निसूक्त - ९ मधुच्छन्दा वैश्वामित्रः ऋषिः । अग्निः देवता। गायत्री छन्दः। प्रथमं मण्डलम्।
"अ॒ग्निमी॑ळे पु॒रोहि॑तं य॒ज्ञस्य॑ दे॒वमृ॒त्विज॑म् । होता॑रं रत्न॒धात॑मम् ॥१"
"अ॒ग्निः पूर्वे॑भि॒र्ऋषि॑भि॒रीड्यो॒ नूत॑नैरु॒त । स दे॒वाँ एह व॑क्षति ॥२"
"अ॒ग्निना॑ र॒यिम॑श्नव॒त् पोष॑मे॒व दि॒वेदि॑वे । य॒शसं॑ वी॒रव॑त्तमम् ॥३"
"अग्ने॒ यं य॒ज्ञम॑ध्व॒रं वि॒श्वत॑: परि॒भूरसि॑ । स इद् दे॒वेषु॑ गच्छति ॥४"
"अ॒ग्निर्होता॑ क॒विक्र॑तुः स॒त्यश्चि॒त्रश्र॑वस्तमः । दे॒वो दे॒वेभि॒रा ग॑मत् ॥५"
"यद॒ङ्ग दा॒शुषे॒ त्वमग्ने॑ भ॒द्रं क॑रि॒ष्यसि॑ । तवेत् तत् स॒त्यम॑ङ्गिरः ॥६"
"उप॑ त्वाग्ने दि॒वेदि॑वे॒ दोषा॑वस्तर्धि॒या व॒यम् । नमो॒ भर॑न्त॒ एम॑सि ॥७"
"राज॑न्तमध्व॒राणां॑ गो॒पामृ॒तस्य॒ दीदि॑विम् । वर्ध॑मानं॒ स्वे दमे॑ ॥८"
"स न॑: पि॒तेव॑ सू॒नवे ऽग्ने॑ सूपाय॒नो भ॑व । सच॑स्वा नः स्व॒स्तये॑ ॥९ (Rig. Ved. 1.1.1)
Summary : Agni, the chosen one as the minister of yagnas (sacrifice), is worthy to be praised for he brings along other deities with him (He is the bearer of sacrificial offerings from the Yajamani or the Performer of the Yagna). Agni bestows his worshiper with boundless riches and wealth. Indeed greatly revered is Agni, the dispeller of darkness.
Agni is the Rishi or mantra drasta of many suktas in the 9th Mandala. He figures prominently in as many as 200 suktas in the Rig veda. Along with Indra and Surya, Agni is a significant deity of Rig veda (Sukta 10.124). A brief compilation of different mantras of Rig veda are presented below
- Rig Veda mantras (1.95.1 to 11) - दशेमं त्वष्टुर्जनयन्त गर्भमतन्द्रासो युवतयो - describes the birth of Agni from the ten daughters of Tvashtr. This sukta describes the purifying form of agni.
- Rig Veda mantras (1.77.1 to 5) - यो अध्वरेषु शन्तम रतावा होता तमू नमोभिरा कर्णुध्वम | अग्निर्यद वेर्मर्ताय देवान स चा बोधाति मनसायजाति || (1.77.2) describes the role of Agni as the Hota, who carries the yagna offerings of the mortals to the deities.
- Rig Veda mantras (1.99.1) describes अग्निर्जातवेदाः Agni as Jataveda. जातवेदसे सुनवा मसोममरातीयतो निदहाति वेदः | स नः पर्षदति दुर्गाणि विश्वा नावेव सिन्धुं दुरितात्यग्निः || अभि तवा गोतमा गिरा जातवेदो विचर्षणे | दयुम्नैरभि परणोनुमः || (1.78.1) describes Agni as the Jataveda, meaning one who has the knowledge of vedas and a learned by birth.
- Rig Veda mantras (3.26.7 and 8) describe Agni as अग्निरात्मा (Agni is Atma) अग्निरस्मि जन्मना जातवेदा घर्तं मे चक्षुरम्र्तं म आसन | अर्कस्त्रिधातू रजसो विमानो.अजस्रो घर्मो हविरस्मि नाम || (7) तरिभिः पवित्रैरपुपोद धयर्कं हर्दा मतिं जयोतिरनु परजानन | वर्षिष्ठं रत्नमक्र्त सवधाभिरादिद दयावाप्र्थिवी पर्यपश्यत || (8)
- His third birth was in water (Rig Veda I.45.1).
Yajur Veda
Shatapatha Brahmana (SB 6.1.1.1) tells us that Prajapati was generated through the tapas of the rishis (equated with the non-existent of the Beginning), thereafter, through his own tapas Prajapati generated all the gods and all the creatures. He also generated Agni as the sacrificial fire and as the second self having wearied himself his glow and essence of him heated up and developed Agni (SB 10.6.5.2). Ritually Agni, as the altar built by the sacrifice, reconstitutes Prajapati.
Saama Veda
Atharva veda
अग्नेर्होत्रेण प्रणुदे सपत्नान् - Atharvaveda 9.2.6
Agni in Brahmanas
Agni, also called as जातवेदसम्, meaning "the one who is knowlegeable from birth about all things that are born, created or produced."[59] He is the god of will-power, united with wisdom.
The Kanvasatpathabrahmanam (SB.IV.i.iv.11) calls Agni "wisdom" and the "ind."[note 15][61] Rishi Bharadavaja Barhaspatya, in a mantra addressed to Agni Vaishvanara[note 16] calls Agni "the mind swiftest among (all) those that fly."[62] Rishi Praskanva states that Agni represents great learning and enlightening wisdom, which ought to be sought, located and humbly approached. Agni excites Buddhi(reason and intellect), the perceiving and the determining factor, and by illuminating the mind it makes one understand and comprehend the truth – प्रचेतसोऽग्ने देवाँ इह द्रवत् (Rig Veda I.xliv.7).
SB X.vi.5.8-9
Agni in Upanishads
Isavasyopanishad
In this Upanishad, the last two mantras, as given below are a prayer to Agni who is the divine witness to the actions of every life form
"वा॒युरनि॑लम॒मृत॒मथे॒दं भस्मा॑न्त॒म् शरी॑रम् ।"
"ॐ क्रतो॒ स्मर॑ कृ॒तम् स्म॑र॒ क्रतो॒ स्मर॑ कृ॒तम् स्म॑र ॥१७॥ (Isav. Upan. 17)"
"अग्ने॒ नय॑ सु॒पथा॑ रा॒ये अ॒स्मान्विश्वा॑नि देव व॒युना॑नि वि॒द्वान् ।"
"यु॒यो॒ध्य॒स्मज्जु॑हुरा॒णमेनो॒ भूयि॑ष्ठां ते॒ नम॑ उ॒क्तिं विधेम ॥१८॥ (Isav. Upan. 18)"
Meaning : Let the breath merge with the Immortal being or Hiranyagarbha and let the body be reduced to ashes, remember your deeds. Let Agni lead us along the right path or the bright path of the Devas (Devayana path from where there is no return to mortality).
This is the prayer for the dissolution of the individual prana into the infinite prana. Agni is prayed to as the chief priest of the sacrifice and the divine witness of all actions done by the individual, when the body is being being reduced to ashes. He is the principle intelligence which guides all thoughts and actions, a path to Universal Knowledge. Agni at the first step is like guide with a torch that illuminates the path of the soul.
Kena Upanishad, Agni reveals his identity as the heat energy and the ever-burning flame of the conscious force in matter, that makes up the entire world.The gods sent first Agni to find out the nature of Brahman, which means it is Agni that releases the energy which is latent in all beings. Moreover, the sage of the Kena Upanishad refers to the functional differentiation and specialization of body parts, on which account the life-stream progresses, when he speaks of Agni becoming the speech and entering the mouth, and Vayu becoming breath and entering the nostrils.
The Katha Upanishad tells how Yama taught Nachiketa the secrets of the fire that leads to heaven, and what bricks were required to build the altar.
स एतं देवयानं पन्थानमापद्याग्निलोकमागच्छतिस वायुलोकं स आदित्यलोकं (Kaushitaki Upanishad I.3)
Chandogya Upanishad (Chap 5 and 6) describe the Panchagnividya, the meditation on the five fires (sumbolic). Panchagnividya, however, is not actually fires in the physical sense, or an outward sacrificial activity, nor a penance or tapas but deals with the knowledge or meditation to know the inner meaning of the common phenomenon of birth and death. It is a method of meditation wherein evolution and the cycle of samsara-chakra is understood such that a householder frees himself from the bondage of the samsara-chakra. This all inclusiveness and comprehension of various aspects of the world and their relationship to the Universe is the secret of the meditation that is Panchagnividya. It explains the interconnectivity of everything that exists, with creation as a kind of sacrifice. Each manifestation, the microcosm, is a manifestation of Prakrti, the macrocosm.
The Dialogue of the Three Fires with Upakosala, the student of Satyakama Jabali reveals Agni's knowledge of the Brahman.
मनो ब्रह्मेत्युपासीत "mind is to be meditated upon as Brahman", Chandogya Upanishad III.xviii.1
The vyahiritis to be performed if the sacrificial fires are injured are mentioned very beautifully in this Upanishad.
Mundaka Upanishad (1.2.1-5) describes the role of Agni in Karmakanda before a householder rises up in the Jnanamarga. The procedure to light the Agnihotra and the consequences of not conducting the Agnihotra is explained in detail in this Mundaka.
यदा लेलायते हृार्चि: समिद्धे हव्यवाहने |
तदाज्यभागावन्तरेणाहुती: प्रतिपादयेत् || (Mund. Upan. 1.2.2)
Meaning : When the flames of the bearer of the sacrificial offerings (fire) are bright and high, let the offerings (of sacrificial ghee) be given, with faith, between the two (tongues) flares of the fire.
यस्याग्निहोत्रमदर्शमपौर्णमासमचातुर्मास्यमनाग्रयणमतिथिवर्जितं च |
अहुतमवैश्वदेवमविधिना हुतमाससप्तमां स्तस्य लोकान्हिनस्ति || (Mund. Upan. 1.2.3)
One (householder) whose Agnihotra is devoid of the Darsa, Paurnamaasa Chaaturmasya (four autumnal observances) sacrifices, is not attended by the Atithi (uninvited guest), is without Vaisvedeva (offerings to the animals and birds) or is not performed without proper procedures or not performed at all (that Agnihotra) will destroy the seven worlds (of the householder).
काली कराली च मनोजवा च सुलोहिता या च सुधूम्रवर्णा |
स्फुलिङ्गिनीं विश्वरुची च देवी लेलायमाना इति सप्त जिह्वा: || (Mund. Upan. 1.2.4)
Meaning : That Agni, devours with his seven tongues or flames namely Kālī (black), Karālī (terrible),Manojava (speedy as the mind), Sulohita (very red), Sudhumravarna (coloured like thick smoke'), Sphulingini (emitting sparks) and Vishwaruchi (having the fuel as the Sun)
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (I.ii.5)
Agni In Ramayana and Mahabharata
Valmiki Ramayana ( Balakanda Chap 36) details the birth of Kaartikeya and the role of Agni, His leadership of Krittika nakshatra.
Valmiki Ramayana (Yuddhakanda) also describes the Agnipareeksha or 'Fire ordeal' undergone by Sitadevi after death of Ravanaasura. Agni is considered as the Purifier or Pavaka.
In Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (Sloka 15.14) it is said: ":अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः
References
- http://ignca.nic.in/Vedic_portal_rigveda_shakala_Samhita_m01.htm Agni Sukta as given in Vedic heritage portal with pronunciation.
- https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/essay/essay_1.html
- http://ignca.nic.in/vedic_portal_yajurveda_shukla_kanva_isavasyopanisad01.htm
- Swami Sharvananda, Isavasyopanishad (1943), Madras, Sri Ramakrishna Math (For Isavasyopanishad)
- Ganganatha, Jha. (1923). The Chandogya Upanishad and Sri Sankara's Commentary, Fourth Volume, Madras: The India Printing Works
- https://archive.org/details/Mahabharata04SanskritHindiPanditRamnarayanGitaPress