(4) High divine functions assigned to him.

The highest divine functions are ascribed to Agni. He is called the divine monarch (samrājo asurasya), and declared to be strong as Indra, vii. 6, 1 (Indrasyeva pra tavasas kṛitāni vande). Although (as we have seen above) he is described in some passages as the offspring of heaven and earth, he is said in other places to have stretched them out, iii. 6, 5 (tava kratvā rodasī ā tatantha); vii. 5, 4; to have spread out the two worlds like two skins, vi. 8, 3 (vi charmaṇīva dhishane avartayat); to have produced them, i. 96 4 (janitā rodasysḥ); vii. 5, 6 (bhuvanā janayan); to have, like the unborn, supported the earth and sky with true hymns, i. 67, 3 (ajo na kshām dadhāra prithivīm tastambha dyām mantrebhiḥ satyaiḥ); to have, by his flame, held aloft the heaven, iii. 5, 10 (ud astambhit samidhā nākam rishvaḥ); to have kept asunder the two worlds, vi. 8, 3 (vi astabhnad rodasi mitro adbhutaḥ); to have formed the mundane regions and the luminaries of heaven, vi. 7, 7 (vi yo rajām̃si amimīta sukratur vaiśvānaro vi divo rochanā kaviḥ); vi. 8, 2; to have begotten Mitra, x. 8, 4 (janayan Mitram), and caused the sun, the imperishable orb, to ascend the sky, x. 156, 4 (Agne nakshatram ajaram ā sūryam rohayo divi); to have made all that flies, or walks, or stands, or moves, x. 88, 4 331 (sa patatri itvaram sthāḥ jagad yat śvātram agnir akṛinod jātavedāḥ); to adorn the heaven with stars, i. 68, 5 (pipeśa nākam stṛibhir damūnāḥ). He is the head (murddhā) and summit (kakud) of the sky, the centre (nābhi) of the earth (i. 59, 2); compare verse 1; vi. 7, 1; viii. 44, 16; x. 88, he props up men like a pillar, i. 59, 1 (sthūneva janān upamid yayantha); iv. 5, 1 (anunena bṛihatā vakshathena upa stabhāyad upamin na rodhaḥ). His greatness exceeds that of heaven and all the worlds, i. 59, 5 (Divas chit te brihato jātavedo vaiśvānara pra ririche mahitvam); iii. 3, 10 (Jātaḥ āpṛino bhuvanāni rodasī Agne tā viśvā paribhūr asi tmanā); iii. 6, 2.335 He, the destroyer of cities, has achieved famous exploits

5;

334 This half verse (x. 88, 4) is quoted in Nirukta, v. 3. Durga, the commentator on the Nirukta, explains the words by saying that Agni subjects all things to himself at the time of the mundane dissolution. The gods are said in the same hymn (x. 88, 7,) to have thrown into Agni an oblation accompanied by a hymn, and in verse 9, this oblation is said to have consisted of all creatures or all worlds (bhuvanāni viśvā). 335 Epithets of this description may have been originally applied to some other god to whom they were more suitable than to Agni, and subsequently transferred to him by his worshippers in emulation of the praises lavished on other deities.

of old, vii. 6, 2 (purandarasya girbhir à vivāse Agner vratāni pūrvyā mahāni). Men tremble at his mighty deeds, and his ordinances and designs cannot be resisted, ii. 8, 3 (yasya vratam na mīyate); ii. 9, 1= Vāj. S. xi. 36 (adabdhavrata-pramatir . . . Agniḥ); vi. 7, 5; viii. 44, 25; viii. 92, 3 (yasmād rejante krishtayaś charkṛityāni kṛinvataḥ). Earth and heaven and all beings present and future obey his commands; vii. 5, 4 (tava tridhātu pṛithivī uta dyaur vaiśvānara vratam Agne sachanta); A.V. iv. 23, 7 (yasya idam pradiśi yad rochate yaj jātam janitavyam cha kevalam | staumi Agnim nathito johavīmi). He conquered wealth, or space, for the gods in battle, i. 59, 5 (yudhā devebhyo varivaś chakartha); and delivered them from calamity, vii. 13, 2 (tvam devān abhisaster amunchaḥ). He is the conqueror of

thousands (sahasrajit), i. 188, 1. All the gods fear and do homage to him when he abides in darkness, vi. 9, 7 (viśve devāḥ anamasyan bhiyānās trām Agne tamasi tasthivāmsam). He is celebrated and worshipped by Varuna, Mitra, the Maruts, and all the 3,339 gods, iii. 9, 9 (trini śatā trī sahasrāni Agnim trimśach cha devāḥ nava chāsaparyan); iii. 14, 4 (Mitras cha tubhyam Varunaḥ sahasvo Agne viśve Marutaḥ sumnam archan); x. 69, 9 (devāś chit te amṛitāḥ jātavedo mahimānam Vādhryaśva pra vochan). It is through him that Varuna, Mitra, and Aryaman triumph, i. 141, 9 (tvayā hi Agne Varuno dhṛitavrato Mitraḥ śāśadre Aryamā sudānavaḥ). He knows and sees all worlds, or creatures, iii. 55, 10 (Agnis tā viśvā bhuvanāni veda); x. 187, 4 (yo viśvā 'bhipaśyati bhuvanā sam cha paśyati).336 He knows the recesses of heaven, iv. 8, 2, 4 (vidvān ārodhanam divaḥ), the divine ordinances and the races or births of of gods and men, i. 70, 1, 3 (a daivyāni vrată chikitvān ā mānushasya janasya janma | etā chikitvo bhūmā ni pāhi devānām̃ janma martāmś cha vidvān); iii. 4, 11; vi. 15, 13; the secrets of mortals, viii. 39, 6 Agnir jātā devānām Agnir veda martānām apīchyam); and hears the invocations which are addressed to him, viii. 43, 23 (tam tvā vayam havūmahe sṛinvantam jātavedasam). He is asura, "the divine," iv. 2, 5; v. 12, 1; v. 15, 1; vii. 2, 3; vii. 6, 1.

336 These same words are in iii. 62, 9, applied to Pushan: See above, p. 172.

(5) Agni's relations to his worshippers.

The votaries of Agni prosper, they are wealthy and live long, vi. 2, 4, 5 (samidha yas te āhutim niśitim martyo naśat | vayāvantam sa pushyati kshayam Agne śatāyusham); vi. 5, 5 (yas te yajnena samidha yaḥ ukthair arkebhiḥ sūno sahaso dadāśat | sa martyeshu amṛita prachetāḥ rāyā dyumnena śravasā vi bhāti); vi. 10, 3; vi. 13, 4; vi. 15, 11; vii. 11, 2; viii. 19, 5, 6; viii. 44, 15; viii. 73, 9. He is the deliverer (compare viii. 49, 5) and friend of the man who comes to him with fine horses and gold, and a chariot full of riches, and delights to entertain him as a guest, iv. 4, 10 (yas tvā svaśvaḥ suhiranyo Agne upayāti vasumatā rathena | tasya trätä bhavasi sakhā yas te atithyam anushag jujoshat); and grants protection to the devoted worshipper who sweats to bring him fuel,337 or wearies his head to serve him, iv. 2, 6 (yas te idhmam jabharat sishvidāno mūrdhānam vā tatapate tvāyā | bhuvas tasya svatavān pāyur Agne). He watches with a thousand eyes over the man who brings him food and nourishes him with oblations, x. 79, 5 (yo asmai annam trishu ādadhāti ājyair ghṛitair juhoti pushyati | tasmai sahasram akshabhir vi chakshe). He bestows on his servant a renowned, devout, excellent, incomparable son, who confers fame upon his father,338 v. 25, 5 (Agnis tuviśravastamam tuvibrahmanam uttamam | aturtam śrāvayatpatim putram dadāti dāśushe). He gives riches, which he abundantly commands, i. 1, 3 (Agninā rayim aśnavat); i. 31, 10 (tvam Agne pramatis tvam pita 'si nas tvam vayaskṛit tava jāmayo vayam | sam tvā rāyaḥ śatinaḥ sam sahasrinaḥ suviram yanti vratapām adabhya); i. 36, 4 (viśvam so Agne jayati tvayā dhanam yas te dadāśa martyaḥ). The man whom he protects and inspires in battle conquers abundant food, and can never be overcome, i. 27, 7 f.- S.V. ii. 765 f. (yam Agne pritsu martyam avāḥ vājeshu yam junāḥ | sa yantā saśvatir ishaḥ | 8. Nakir asya sahantya paryetā kayasya chit). No mortal enemy can by any wondrous power gain the mastery over him who sacrifices to this god,

337 In viii. 91, 19 f. the rishi informs Agni that he has no cow which would yield butter for oblations, and no axe to cut wood withal, and that therefore his offering is such as the god sees: and he begs him to accept any sorts of wood he may throw into him (na hi me asti aghnyā na svadhitir vananvati | atha etādṛig bharāmi te | 20. Yad Agne kāni kāni chid ā te dārūni dadhmasi tā jushasva yavishṭhya). 338 Such is the sense assigned by Sayana to the epithet śrāvayat-patim.

viii. 23, 15 (na tasya māyayā chana ripur īśīta martyaḥ | yo Agnaye dadāśa havyadātibhiḥ). He also confers, and is the guardian and lord of, immortality, i. 31, 7 (tvam tam Agne amritatve uttame marttam dadhāsi); vii. 7, 7 (amṛitasya rakshitā); vii. 4, 6 (iśe hi Agne amṛitasya bhūreḥ). He was made by the gods the centre of immortality, iii. 17, 4 (amṛitasya nābhiḥ). His worshippers seek him with glad hearts, viii. 43, 31 (hṛidbhir mandrebhir imahe). In a funeral hymn Agni is supplicated to warm with his heat the unborn part 339 of the deceased, and in his auspicious form to carry it to the world of the righteous, x. 16, 4 (ajo bhāgas tapasā tam tapasva tam te sochis tapatu tam te archiḥ | yās te śivās tanvo jātavedas tābhir vahainam sukṛitām u lokam),340 He carries

339 Professor Aufrecht thinks that this is not the sense of the words, and that they mean: "The goat (with whose skin the dead is covered) is thy share; that consume with thy heat; that be consumed with thy flash and flame," etc.; and compares Asvalayanas Grihya Sūtras iv. 2, 4; 3, 20; and Katyāyanas S'rauta Sūtras, xxv. 7, 34. I gather from the fact that this passage is cited in the Lexicon of Messrs. Böhtlingk and Roth under aja 1, c (where the sense of goat is assigned to the word), that they are of the same opinion as Professor Aufrecht. I think, however, that the rendering I have followed is more agreeable to the context. In the preceding verses 1 and 2, Agni had been besought not so to burn the body of the deceased as to destroy it (compare R.V. i. 162, 20), but after having sufficiently "cooked" the man (yada śṛitam kṛinavaḥ), to send him to the Fathers. In verse 3, the different elements of which the body, when living, was composed, are commanded to return to the sources from which they were at first derived; and then in the verse before us (as I understand it), the god is besought to warm the man's unborn part, and convey it to the world of the righteous. In the text there is no word answering to "thy," which has, therefore, to be supplied by those who understand aja of a goat. It is more natural to suppose that it is the soul of the departed man than that of a goat which is to be conveyed to the world of the righteous; (although I am aware that Manu, v. 42, declares that cattle which are sacrificed go to heaven, and the same is said of the sacrificial horse in R.V. i. 162, 21, and i. 163, 12 f.); and in the following verse (x. 16, 5) it is evidently the man who is said to have been offered to Agni, and whom Agni is besought to dismiss to the Fathers. My rendering has the support of Professor Müller (Journ. of Germ. Or. Soc., vol. ix. p. xv.), who translates ajo bhāgaḥ by "das ew'ge Theil," the eternal part, and of M. Langlois, who renders it "une portion immortelle." These verses, x. 16, 1-5, will be found quoted at length in the section on Yama.

240 Some further verses of this hymn will be quoted in the section on Yama. In verse 9, the kravyād Agni, the consumer of carrion, or of the dead, is spoken of as an object to be repelled. In the Vāj. S. i. 17, Agni is prayed to drive away two of his own forms, the āmād and the kravyād, and to bring the sacrificial fire (apa Agne Agnim āmādam jahi nish kravyādam sedha | ā devayajam vaha), where the commentator says that three Agnis are mentioned, the one which devours raw flesh (āmād) which is the common culinary fire (laukiko 'gniḥ), the second the funereal (kravyāt | śavadāhe kravyam mām̃sam atti iti kravyāt chitāgniḥ), and the third the

men across calamities, as in a ship over the sea, or preserves from them, iii. 20, 4 (parskad viśvā 'ti duritā grinantam); v. 4, 9 (viśvāni no durgahā jātavedaḥ sindhum na nāvā duritā 'ti parshi); vii. 12, 2 (84 mahnā viśvā duritāni sahvān | sa no rakshishad duriṭād avadyāt). All blessings issue from him as branches from a tree, vi. 13, 1 (tvad viśvā subhaga saubhagāni Agne vi yanti vanino na vayāḥ). He is like a water-trough in a desert, x. 4, 1 (dhanvann iva prapă asi Agne). All treasures are congregated in him, x. 6, 6 (sam yasmin viśvā vasūni jagmuḥ); he commands all the riches in the earth, the upper and lower oceans, the atmosphere, and the sky, vii. 6, 7 (ā devo dade budhnyā vasūni vaiśvānaraḥ uditā sūryasya | ā samudrād avarād ā parasmād ā Agnir divaḥ a prithivyāḥ); x. 91, 3 (vasur vasūnām kshayasi tvam ekaḥ id dyāvā cha yāni prithivi cha pushyataḥ). He is, in consequence, continually supplicated for all kinds of boons, riches, food, deliverance from enemies and demons, poverty, nakedness, reproach, childlessness, hunger, i. 12, 8, 9; i. 36, 12 ff.; i. 58, 8, 9; ii. 4, 8; ii. 7, 2, 3; ii. 9, 5; iii. 1, 21; iii. 13, 7; iii. 16, 5; iv. 2, 20; iv. 3, 14; iv. 11, 6; v. 3, 11; vi. 1, 12 f.; vi. 4, 8; vi. 5, 7; vi. 6, 7; vii. 1, 5, 13, 19. He is besought to protect his worshippers with a hundred iron walls, vi. 48, 8; vii. 3, 7 (śatam pūrbhir āyasībhir ni pāhi); vii. 16, 10; to be himself such a fortification with a hundred surrounding walls, vii. 15, 14 (adha mahi naḥ ayasi anadhṛishto nṛipitaye | pur bhava satabhujiḥ); i. 189, 2; to consume their enemies like dry bushes, iv. 4, 4 (ni amitrān oshatāt tigmahete | yo no arātim samidhāna chakre nichā tam dhakshi atasam na śushkam); to strike down the malevolent as a tree is destroyed by lighting, vi. 8, 5 (pavyeva rājann aghaśamsam ajara nīchā ni vṛiścha vaninam na tejasā). Compare A.V. iii. 1, 1; iii. 2, 1; vi. 120, 1. He is invoked in battle, viii. 43, 21 (samatsu tvā havāmahe), in which he leads the van, viii. 73, 8 (puroyāvānam ajishu). He is prayed to forgive whatever sin the worshipper may have commited through folly, and to make him guiltless towards Aditi, iv. 12, 4 (yat chid hi te purushutrā yavishṭha achittibhiś chakṛima kach chid agaḥ | kṛidhi su asmān Aditer anāgān vi enām̃si śiśratho vishvag Agne); viii. 93, 7 (yat sim āgaś chakṛima tat su mṛila tad Aryamā

sacrificial (yagayogyaḥ). Compare Vaj. San. xviii. 51 f. The Taitt. Sanh. ii. 5, 8, 6, mentions another threefold division of fire: Trayo vai agnayo havyavāhano devānām kavyavāhanaḥ pitṛīņām saharakshāḥ asurāṇām.