Rig Veda · 375 of 1027
Mandala 5: HYMN XXI. Agni.
1.WE stablish thee as Manus used, as Manus used we kindle thee. Like Manus, for the pious man , Aṅgiras, Agni, worship Gods.
2.For well, O Agni, art thou pleased when thou art kindled mid mankind. Straight go the ladles unto thee, thou highborn God whose food is oil.
3.Thee have all Gods of one accord established as their messenger. Serving at sacrifices men adore thee as a God, O Sage.
4.Let mortal man adore your God, Agni, with worship due to Gods. Shine forth enkindled, Radiant One. Sit in the chamber of the Law, sit in the chamber of the food.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Agni a 'messenger' and tell people to 'sit in the chamber of the Law'?
The hymn names Agni
messenger
because he carries offerings and prayers from humans to the gods; verse 3 says “all Gods of one accord established as their messenger,” which makes Agni the ritual link between realms. Verse 2 and 4 show his social role too: being “kindled mid mankind” and sitting “in the chamber of the food” places him at hearth and sacrificial fire where humans meet the divine.
“Sit in the chamber of the Law” locates Agni in ordered religious life—he presides over the household rule and sacrificial order that maintain cosmic and social norms. This matches what Max Müller emphasizes in his translations of the Vedas about Agni as both domestic hearth and sacrificial priest who upholds ṛta (cosmic order).
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