Rig Veda · 148 of 1027
Mandala 1: HYMN CXLVIII. Agni.
1.WHAT Mātariśvan, piercing, formed by friction, Herald of all the Gods. in varied figure, Is he whom they have set mid human houses, gay-hued as light and shining forth for beauty.
2.They shall not harm the man who brings thee praises: such as I am, Agni my help approves me. All acts of mine shall they accept with pleasure, laudation from the singer who presents it.
3.Him in his constant seat men skilled in worship have taken and with praises have established. As, harnessed to a chariot fleet-foot horses, at his command let bearers lead him forward.
4.Wondrous, full many a thing he chews and crunches: he shines amid the wood with spreading brightness. Upon his glowing flames the wind blows daily, driving them like the keen shaft of an archer.
5.Him, whom while yet in embryo the hostile, both skilled and fain to harm, may never injure, Men blind and sightless through his splendour hurt not: his never-failing lovers have preserved him.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Agni both 'Herald of all the Gods' and 'mid human houses'?
The hymn portrays Agni as a bridge between heaven and home: “Herald of all the Gods” names his role carrying gods’ presence and offerings, while “mid human houses” places him at domestic altars where ritual happens. The poems insist priests and worshippers “have taken and with praises have established” him in a fixed seat, so his divinity is lived through household liturgy.
This chapter stresses practical intimacy rather than distant transcendence: Agni’s power is visible—he “shines amid the wood” and is guarded by “never-failing lovers”—so his greatness is realized in daily hearth-worship. Compare the household-sacrificial focus in the Gṛhyasūtras, which also treats fire as the living conduit for gods within domestic rites.
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