Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purânic . and is then named Abhimani; and he is reckoned amongst thechildren of Kasyapa and Aditi, and hence one of the the later writings he is described as a son of Angiras, king ofthe Pitris (fathers of mankind), and the authorship of severalhymns is ascribed to him. In pictures he is represented as ared man, having three legs and seven arms, dark eyes, eye- * Brihaspati and Brahmanaspati are generally regarded as being identicalwith Agni. Nearly the same epithets are applied to them, with this ad-ditional one—of presiding over prayer ; although in some
Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purânic . and is then named Abhimani; and he is reckoned amongst thechildren of Kasyapa and Aditi, and hence one of the the later writings he is described as a son of Angiras, king ofthe Pitris (fathers of mankind), and the authorship of severalhymns is ascribed to him. In pictures he is represented as ared man, having three legs and seven arms, dark eyes, eye- * Brihaspati and Brahmanaspati are generally regarded as being identicalwith Agni. Nearly the same epithets are applied to them, with this ad-ditional one—of presiding over prayer ; although in some few passages theyare addressed as separate deities. t Indian Wisdom, p. 18. Agni. 19 brows and hair. He rides on a ram, wears a poita (Brahmanicalthread), and a garland of fruit. Flames of fire issue from hismouth, and seven streams of glory radiate from his body. Thefollowing passage, for every sentence of which Dr. Muir* quotesa text from the Vedas, gives a good idea of the character andfunctions of this deity in the Vedic AGNI. Agni is an immortal who has taken up his abode with mortalsas their guest. He is the domestic priest who rises before thedawn, and who concentrates in his own person and exercises ina higher sense all the various sacrificial offices which the Indianritual assigns to a number of different human functionariesT/ Heis a sage, the divinest among the sages, intimately acquaintedwith all the forms of worship ; the wise director, the successful Muir, O. S. T., v. 119 flf. C 2 20 The Vedic Deities. accomplishes and the protector of all ceremonies, who enablesmen to serve the gods in a correct and acceptable manner, incases where they could not do this with their own unaided is a swift messenger, moving between heaven and earth,commissioned both by gods and men to maintain their mutualcommunication, to announce to the immortals the hymns, and toconvey to them the oblations of their worshippers ; or to bringthem (the immortals) down from the s
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