The Ten Forms of Agṇi

The Ten Forms of Agṇi

There are ten main forms of fire, five natural forms and five ritual forms.

The five natural forms are:—

1. Agṇi is the earthly or common fire, either visible or potential, that is, hidden in fuel.

2. Indra (or Vāyu), the power of the lightening which dwells in the clouds, is the fire of space, of the intermediary world. It is the source of conflagrations and of the dreaded bush-fires (dāva-agṇi ').

3. Sūrya (the Sun), the fire of the heavenly sphere which illumines the world, is known as the celestial-fire (divya-agṇi).

4. Vaiśvānara (the all-pervader) is the power of digesting, found in all things, all beings. It is the support of life.

5. Vāḍava Agṇi - The fire of destruction, Agṇi 's most fearful form remains hidden under the sea, ever ready to destroy the world.

The five forms of ritual fire are:—

6. Brahmā-agṇi — The fire-of-the- Immensity is said to appear spontaneously during the ritual of sacrifice at the sound of the magic formula (the Arani-manthana Mantra that is uttered while the fire stick is revolving. This is the fire born of the world.

7. Prājāpatya-agṇi — The fire-of-the-lord-of-progeny is handed over to the unmarried student when he is invested with his sacred thread. In this fire he is to perform the daily ritual offering known as Agṇi hotra. He is pledged to preserve this fire, worship it, and feed it with offerings, till the day when, at the approach of old age, he abandons his home to retire into the forest.

8. Gārhapatya-agṇi — The house-holder's fire is brought into the house after the marriage ceremony and is the centre of family rituals. It is to be kept ever alive and all the offerings of the married man should be offered into it.

9. Dakṣiṇā-agṇi — The Ancestors' fire or 'Southern fire' in which offerings are made to Ancestors. The rituals of exorcism (abhicāra yajña) are to be performed in this fire. During the great ritual sacrifices a fire lighted from a 'Southern fire' has to be maintained outside the southern gate of the sacrificial-pavilion (yajña- maṇḍapa). This fire is expected to burn away the obstacles which would otherwise arise to prevent the completion of the ritual.

10. Kravyāda-agṇi — The funeral-fire which is lit on the funeral pyre and into which the body is offered as the final oblation.

Elsewhere the ritual fire is shown under six forms:—

the fire of the householder, gārhapatya-agṇi , the fire of Vedic rituals, āhavanīya-agṇi , the fire of the Ancestors, Dakṣiṇā-agṇi , the fire of the assembly, Sabhya-agṇi , the fire of the Sacrifice (Agṇi hotra), Āvasathya-agṇi , the fire of divine service, Aupāsana-agṇi .