Lord Agni is the God of fire in the Vedic and Hindu theology.
His name in fact means fire in Sanskrit and it comes from the Indo-European word hegni from which also the Latin ignis and the English ignite comes.
In Vedic religion he was one of the most popular and respected Gods. The very first word of the Rig Veda – the first Veda – is actually his name, as also the first and the last hymns of the Rig Veda are dedicated to him. Furthermore, from the 191 hymns of the first book of the Rig Veda 51 are dedicated to Agni, and from the 914 hymns of the nine books of the Rig Veda (Books 1 to 8 and 10; the 9th book of the Rig Veda is dedicated to Soma) 215 are dedicated to Agni, and many more call upon him (215/1028 in total). Also 8 of the 10 Books of the Rig Veda begin with a hymn dedicated to Agni.
Agni is referred to as born from a lotus created directly from Great Lord Brahma, son of Power, son of Waters, son of Brahma.
In some cases Agni is identified with the Sun-God Surya as he is the first light and the fire of the Sun. Agni is every fire everywhere, even the fire of metabolism is him.
He is also related with the thunder, although rain is under Indra’s reign. He is said to have three sons, each of them represent one of these three kinds of fire of Lord Agni. Pavaca for the thunder and the electric fire in general, Suchi for the fire of Sun (maybe in nowadays the nuclear power), and Pavamana for the fire caused by friction. Agni, the Hindu God of Fire Agni, God of Fire in Hinduism
Agni is called upon: * to sanctify the sacrificial fire or any fire, * to send the sacrificial offers & prayers to other Gods and, * to empower the metabolism, * to bring wealth, * to give more sexual stamina and virility, * to empower vision, to bring happiness, * to illuminate the spirit and bring wisdom, * to help in starting any task, * to bring enthusiasm and generally whenever fire (physical or spiritual) is needed. * He also protects his devotees from evil beings, enemies.
His seed mantra is Ram which is also the seed mantra of Lord Rama, the Avatar of Great Lord Vishnu of the Golden age, and God of the Sun. Lore sais that even the repetition of the name of Rama (that is the mantra Ram) brings wealth and happiness.
There are also many Gayatri mantras (a type of Hindu mantras with a certain rythm) for Lord Agni. I should write here just one.
In Sanskrit: Om Vaisvanaraya Vidhmahe Lalelaya Dhimahi Tanno Agni Pracodayat
In English: Om Let us know Him who burns inside of us, let us meditate (and absorb His energy) to Him with the 7 tongues, may Agni inspire and guide us
Have fun and may Fire bless your life.
