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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 362 of 1027

Mandala 5: HYMN VIII. Agni.

1.O AGNI urged to strength, the men of old who loved the Law enkindled thee, the Ancient, for their aid, Thee very bright, and holy, nourisher of all, most excellent, the Friend and Master of the home.

2.Thee, Agni, men have stablished as their guest of old, as Master of the household, thee, with hair of flame; High-bannered, multiform, distributor of wealth, kind helper, good protector, drier of the floods.

3.The tribes of men praise thee, Agni, who knowest well burnt offerings, the Discerner, lavishest of wealth, Dwelling in secret, Blest One! visible to all, loud-roaring, skilled in worship, glorified with oil.

4.Ever to thee, O Agni, as exceeding strong have we drawn nigh with songs and reverence singing hymns. So be thou pleased with us, Aṅgiras! as a God enkindled by the noble with man’s goodly light.

5.Thou, Agni! multiform, God who art lauded much! givest in every house subsistence as of old. Thou rulest by thy might o’er food of many a sort: that light of thine when blazing may not be opposed.

6.The Gods, Most Youthful Agni, have made thee, inflamed, the bearer of oblations and the messenger. Thee, widely-reaching, homed in sacred oil, invoked, effulgent, have they made the Eye that stirs the thought.

7.Men seeking joy have lit thee worshipped from of old, O Agni, with good fuel and with sacred oil. So thou, bedewed and waxing mighty by the plants, spreadest thyself abroad over the realms of earth.

Asked of Guide

Why is Agni called both 'guest' and 'Master of the household' in this hymn?

The hymn says Agni is “stablished as their guest of old, as Master of the household,” because Agni is the domestic fire that both visits the family rituals and governs the home’s welfare. The fire is treated as a sacred guest during sacrifices—receiving offerings—and as the home’s master because it provides light, warmth, food preparation, and wealth, roles the verses list: “distributor of wealth, kind helper, good protector.”

This double status appears elsewhere in Vedic literature where the household fire mediates between humans and gods; see the Grihya-sutras for rites that treat Agni as a welcomed guest while maintaining his central, authoritative place in the home. The hymn frames worship as reciprocal: offerings honor Agni, and Agni in turn sustains the family.

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