Sukta 21
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages for śānti hymns; specific r̥ṣi attribution depends on anukramaṇī)
Devata: Agni (plural forms), especially Vaiśvānara; implicitly the kravyād aspect to be appeased
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (predominant cadence; exact metrical scan may vary by pada)
AV 3.21 ist ein śānti‑Hymnus, der Agni in seinen vielen immanenten Gestalten anspricht – in Wassern, Steinen, Pflanzen und im menschlichen Leib gegenwärtig –, damit jede gefährliche Hitze besänftigt und in schützende Kraft verwandelt werde. Durch wiederholtes Darbringen des Opferanteils (havis) „an jene Agnis“ wird besonders der kravyād‑Aspekt (fleischverzehrend, unheilvoll) beschwichtigt und Agni erneut als Vaiśvānara, das universale, lebenserhaltende Feuer, eingesetzt. Seine Wirkmacht liegt im Benennen von Agnis verborgenen Aufenthaltsorten und Rangstufen: So werden rituell alle möglichen Quellen brennenden Schadens „abgedeckt“ und in Wohlergehen, Glanz und sichere Ordnung überführt.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
शान्तिः। ये अ॒ग्नयो॑ अ॒प्स्व॑१न्तर्ये वृ॒त्रे ये पुरु॑षे॒ ये अश्म॑सु । य आ॑वि॒वेशोष॑धी॒र्यो वन॒स्पतीं॒स्तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
Śāntiḥ (Frieden). Die Agnis, die in den Wassern sind; die Agnis, die in Vṛtra sind; die Agnis, die im Menschen sind; die Agnis, die in den Steinen sind; der, der in die Oṣadhīs (Heilkräuter) eingegangen ist, der, der in die Vanaspatis (Waldherren, Bäume) eingegangen ist – jenen Agnis sei diese Opfergabe (huta) dargebracht.
Mantra 2
यः सोमे॑ अ॒न्तर्यो गोष्व॒न्तर्य आवि॑ष्टो॒ वयः॑सु॒ यो मृ॒गेषु॑ । य आ॑वि॒वेश॑ द्वि॒पदो॒ यश्चतु॑ष्पद॒स्तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
Der, der im Soma ist, der in den Kühen ist, der in die Vögel eingegangen ist, der in den Wildtieren ist; der, der in die Zweifüßigen eingegangen ist und der in die Vierfüßigen – jenen Agnis sei diese Opfergabe (huta) dargebracht.
Mantra 3
य इन्द्रे॑ण स॒रथं॒ याति॑ दे॒वो वै॑श्वान॒र उ॒त वि॑श्वदा॒व्यः । यं जोह॑वीमि॒ पृत॑नासु सास॒हिं तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
Der Gott Vaiśvānara, der mit Indra auf einem Wagen fährt – ja, der Allbezwingende; den ich in den Schlachten anrufe als den Überwältiger, als den Sieger: jenen Agnis sei diese Opfergabe (huta) dargebracht.
Mantra 4
यो दे॒वो वि॒श्वाद् यमु॒ काम॑मा॒हुर्यं दा॒तारं॑ प्रतिगृ॒ह्णन्त॑मा॒हुः । यो धीरः॑ श॒क्रः प॑रि॒भूरदा॑भ्य॒स्तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
Jenen Gott, den man von allen Seiten „Kāma“ (Begehren) nennt, den man den Geber nennt, der die Gegengabe entgegennimmt; der weise ist, mächtig, allbeherrschend, unbezwingbar — jenen Agnis sei diese Opfergabe dargebracht.
Mantra 5
यं त्वा॒ होता॑रं॒ मन॑सा॒भि सं॑वि॒दुस्त्रयो॑दश भौव॒नाः पञ्च॑ मान॒वाः । व॒र्चो॒धसे॑ य॒शसे॑ सू॒नृता॑वते॒ तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
Dich, den man im Geist als Hotar anerkannt hat; dreizehn sind die Welten, und fünf die Menschengeschlechter; zur Mehrung von Glanz, zu Ruhm, zum Besitz der gütigen Wahrheit (sūnṛtā) — jenen Agnis sei diese Opfergabe dargebracht.
Mantra 6
उ॒क्षान्ना॑य व॒शान्ना॑य॒ सोम॑पृष्ठाय वे॒धसे॑ । वै॒श्वा॒न॒रज्ये॑ष्ठेभ्य॒स्तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
Dem, dessen Speise der Stier ist; dem, dessen Speise die vaśā ist; dem soma-rückigen Ordner (Vedhas): — jenen Feuern, deren Ältester Vaiśvānara ist, jenen Agnis sei diese Opfergabe dargebracht; so sei es.
Mantra 7
दिवं॑ पृथि॒वीमन्व॒न्तरि॑क्षं॒ ये वि॒द्युत॑मनुसं॒चर॑न्ति । ये दि॒क्ष्व॑१न्तर्ये वाते॑ अ॒न्तस्तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
Die, welche durch Himmel, Erde und den Luftraum umherziehen, die der Blitzerscheinung folgend sich bewegen; die in den Himmelsrichtungen innen sind, die im Wind innen sind — jenen Agnis sei diese Opfergabe dargebracht; so sei es.
Mantra 8
हिर॑ण्यपाणिं सवि॒तार॒मिन्द्रं॒ बृह॒स्पतिं॒ वरु॑णं मि॒त्रम॒ग्निम्। विश्वा॑न् दे॒वानङ्गि॑रसो हवामह इ॒मं क्रव्यादं॑ शमयन्त्व॒ग्निम्
Savitar mit der goldenen Hand, Indra, Bṛhaspati, Varuṇa, Mitra, Agni — alle Götter, und die Aṅgiras rufen wir an: sie mögen diesen Agni, den Fleischverzehrer, besänftigen.
Mantra 9
शा॒न्तो अ॒ग्निः क्र॒व्याच्छा॒न्तः पु॑रुष॒रेष॑णः । अथो॒ यो वि॑श्वदा॒व्य॑१स्तं क्र॒व्याद॑मशीशमम्
Besänftigt ist Agni hinsichtlich des Fleischverzehrers; besänftigt der Menschensucher. Ja, was allverzehrend ist — diesen Fleischverzehrer habe ich völlig zur Ruhe gebracht.
Mantra 10
ये पर्व॑ताः॒ सोम॑पृष्ठा॒ आप॑ उत्तान॒शीव॑रीः । वातः॑ प॒र्जन्य॒ आद॒ग्निस्ते क्र॒व्याद॑मशीशमन्
Die soma-gestützten Berge, die weithin ausgebreiteten Wasser, der Wind, Parjanya und Agni — durch sie ist jener Fleischfresser besänftigt worden.
Inside Sukta 21
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Opens with an explicit ‘śāntiḥ’ and immediately enumerates Agni’s hidden presences in waters, obstacles/‘Vṛtra,’ humans, stones, herbs, and trees.
- What it asks
That all these manifold Agnis accept the offering and become pacified—no longer harmful—acting instead as protectors and stabilizers.
- Where its power lies
Agni is acknowledged as Hotṛ recognized across cosmic orders (‘thirteen worlds, five races’), implying universal authority and efficacy of the oblation-mantra link.
- How it closes
A recurring offering-formula functions as the seal: ‘to those Agnis—be this oblation offered; let it be so,’ ritually completing each petition with acceptance and peace.
Famous verses
śāntiḥ … tebhyo agnibhyo hutam astu etat
vaiśvānara-jyeṣṭhebhyaḥ
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic (pacification of dangerous fire/kravyād)
What it is for
Pacification of dangerous fire/heat and prevention of burning harm, while converting Agni’s power into protection, health-splendour (varcas), good repute, and auspicious speech.
Who it is for
Householders and ritual specialists facing risks from fire/heat (household fires, cremation/kravyād fears, burns, ‘hot’ afflictions), and communities seeking general śānti and protection.
Also used as
- Bhaisajya
- Paustika
- Apotropaic (rakṣā)
The deity
Agni here is not only the ritual fire but the pervasive principle of heat and transformation dwelling in waters, stones, herbs, trees, and humans. As Vaiśvānara he is the ‘universal’ fire that sustains life and order; as kravyād he is the dangerous consuming flame that must be soothed and redirected.
Powers of the deity
- Pervades elements (water, stone, plants, body) as latent heat/energy
- Transforms offerings and carries them to the divine order (Hotṛ-function)
- Purifies, protects, and establishes śānti (peace) when propitiated
- Can burn/consume as kravyād; can be restrained and made auspicious by mantra and oblation
- Grants varcas (radiant vitality), yaśas (renown), and sūnṛtā (gracious truthful speech)
Why the deity is called
To acknowledge and propitiate all Agni-forms—especially the perilous, devouring aspect—so their heat does not injure but becomes protective, curative, and socially auspicious.
The seer
- Atharvanic/Āṅgirasa transmitters (anukramaṇī-dependent attribution)Atharvan. Śānti and bhaiṣajya charms: pacifying dangerous forces (fire, fever/heat, malign influences), restoring cosmic and bodily balance, and securing varcas (radiant health) through propitiation.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 1.7 (Agni-related protective formulas, Atharvanic style)
- AV 2.7 (pacificatory/āpyāyana-type prayers in Atharvanic transmission)
- AV 6.91 (Agni/household-fire protection themes; tradition varies by recension)
Preparing for the rite
- Choose a clean, quiet place near a controlled fire (gārhapatya/household hearth) or a safe lamp; establish a boundary of order (simple sweeping, sprinkling water).
- Prepare a small oblation (ideally ghee; alternatively cooked food/anna) and a spoon/ladle; keep water for ācamana/sprinkling.
- Set an intention: ‘śānti’—to pacify all dangerous manifestations of fire and secure protection.
The rite
- Begin with a śānti utterance and recite the hymn steadily in Anuṣṭubh cadence as feasible.
- Offer small portions of ghee/food with the refrain sense ‘to those Agnis—let this be offered’ (hutaṃ astu etat), aligning each verse with an oblation.
- Mentally ‘map’ Agni’s locations named in the verses (waters, stones, herbs, humans) and request that all heat become auspicious and restrained.
- Conclude by sprinkling water around the fire/space and making a final inward resolve of calm and safety.
What it needs
- Ghee (ājya) or simple food-offering (havis/anna)
- A small controlled fire or lamp
- Water for sprinkling/ācamana
- Optional: kusha grass seat/strand; simple protective thread
When
At twilight (sandhyā), before lighting/approaching household fire, after a fire-incident, or during ‘hot’/burning afflictions when pacification is sought.
The main substance
Ghee (ājya) as havis (or simple food-offering if ghee is unavailable)
Herbs
- Oṣadhī (generic medicinal herbs invoked as Agni’s dwelling)
Amulets
- Protective thread (rakṣā-sūtra)
- Kusha grass strand/seat (darbha)
How it is prepared
Warm/clarify ghee if used; keep it pure in a small vessel. Offer in small measured portions during recitation; optionally sprinkle water at the end to ‘cool’ and seal śānti.
Frequently Asked Questions
It treats fire as a pervasive principle of heat and transformation. By naming Agni’s presence in different places, the hymn ritually addresses every form of heat—visible or hidden—so it becomes orderly and safe.
Both. Its primary aim is śānti (pacification) of dangerous heat/fire, which functions as protection; it also becomes bhaiṣajya/paustika by converting that power into vitality (varcas) and well-being.
No. Traditionally it is paired with an offering, but a small controlled flame (lamp) and a simple ghee/food offering can represent the rite; the key is disciplined recitation with the intent to pacify harmful heat.
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