Shloka 19
अन्वैषन्त तदा नष्ट ज्वलनं भृशदु:खिता: । उस समय अग्निदेवके दिखायी न देनेपर इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवता बहुत दुःखी हो उनकी खोज करने लगे ।। ततोडग्नितीर्थमासाद्य शमीगर्भस्थमेव हि
anvaiṣanta tadā naṣṭa-jvalanaṃ bhṛśa-duḥkhitāḥ | us samaya agnidevake dikhāyī na denepara indra-sahita sampūrṇa devatā bahu duḥkhī ho unakī khoja karane lage || tato ’gni-tīrtham āsādya śamī-garbha-stham eva hi |
Vaiśampāyana said: When Agni (the Fire-god) could no longer be seen, the gods—together with Indra—were overwhelmed with grief and began searching for him. Then, reaching the sacred ford known as Agni-tīrtha, they found that he was indeed hidden within the womb (hollow) of a śamī tree.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even divine powers are portrayed as operating within moral and ritual order: the gods respond to Agni’s disappearance with collective responsibility and seek him at a tīrtha, highlighting the sanctity of sacred places and the symbolic role of Agni—especially his association with the śamī tree in Vedic-ritual imagination.
Agni becomes unseen/vanishes, causing Indra and the other gods great distress. They search for him and, upon reaching Agni-tīrtha, discover that he is hidden within a śamī tree.