Rig Veda · 254 of 1027
Mandala 3: HYMN XX Agni.
1.WITH lauds at break of morn the priest invoketh Agni, Dawn, Dadhikrās, and both the Aśvins. With one consent the Gods whose light is splendid, longing to taste our sacrifice, shall hear us.
2.Three are thy powers, O Agni, three thy stations, three are thy tongues, yea, many, Child of Order! Three bodies hast thou which the Gods delight in: with these protect our hymns with care unceasing.
3.O Agni, many are the names thou bearest, immortal, God, Divine, and Jātavedas. And many charms of charmers, All-Inspirer! have they laid in thee, Lord of true attendants!
4.Agni, like Bhaga, leads the godly people, he who is true to Law and guards the seasons. Ancient, all-knowing, he the Vṛtra-slayer shall bear the singer safe through every trouble.
5.I call on Savitar the God, on Morning, Bṛhaspati, and Dadhikrās, and Agni, On Varuṇa and Mitra, on the Aśvins, Bhaga, the Vasus, Rudras and Ādityas.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn keep repeating that Agni has 'three'—powers, stations, tongues, bodies?
The hymn insists on threefoldness to map Agni’s presence across sky, earth, and sacrificial fire; each ‘three’ names a mode the deity occupies so the cult can address every role. Saying “three are thy powers, O Agni, three thy stations” makes his unity intelligible by listing the distinct places he acts.
This counting also turns Agni into a bridge: the priest invokes him to “bear the singer safe through every trouble,” because Agni’s triad connects mortal ritual, cosmic order, and divine aid. The movement resembles later Upanishadic and Puranic readings that read deities as manifold functions rather than separate beings.
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