Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 6 (Indian and Iranian).djvu/76

44 sacred fire. He alone bears the title of Gṛhapati, or "Lord of the House"; and he is the guest in each abode as kinsman, friend, or father, or even as son. Moreover he is the ancestral god, the god of Bharata, of Divodāsa, of Trasadasyu, and of other heroes. He brings the gods to the sacrifice or takes the sacrifice to them; and thus he is a messenger, ever busy travelling between the worlds. Beyond all else he is the priest of the sacrifice, and one legend tells that he wearied of the task, but consented to continue in it on receiving the due payment for which he asked. In another aspect he eats the dead, for he burns the body on the funeral pile, and in this character he is carefully distinguished from his form as bearer of oblations. He is, further, not merely a priest, but a seer omniscient, Jātavedas ("Who Knows All Generations"). He inspires men and delivers and protects them. Riches and rain are his gifts, as are offspring and prosperity; he forgives sin, averts the wrath of Varuṇa, and makes men guiltless before Aditi.

To the gods also Agni is a benefactor; he delivered them from a curse, won them great space in battle, and is even called "the Slayer of Vṛtra." His main feat, however, is the burning of the Rakṣases who infest the sacrifice, a sign of the early use of fire to destroy demons. By magic the lighting of Agni may even bring about the rising of the sun in the sky.

As Vaiśvānara Agni is the "Fire of All Men," and in him has been seen a tribal fire as opposed to the fire of each householder, though the name is more normally thought to mean "Fire in All its Aspects." As Tanūnapāt ("Son of Self") Agni's spontaneous birth from wood and cloud seems to be referred to; as Narāśaṁsa ("Praise of Men") he may be either the personification of the praise of man, or possibly the flame of the southern of the three fires, which is particularly connected with the fathers. Though Agni's name, which may mean "agile," is not Avestan, the fire-cult is clearly Iranian, and the Atharvan priests of the Ṛgveda, who are brought into close relation with the fire, have their parallel in the Āthravans, or fire-