Mantra 12
Agni as the sacrificial forerunner who opens the rite, framed by cosmic illumination and Indra’s paradigm of releasing prosperity
अग्निरस्मि जन्मना जातवेदा घृतं मे चक्षुरमृतं म आसन् त्रिधातुरर्को रजसो विमानो ऽजस्रं ज्योतिर्हविरस्मि सर्वम्
agnirasmi janmanā jātavedā ghṛtaṃ me cakṣuramṛtaṃ ma āsan tridhāturarko rajaso vimāno 'jasraṃ jyotirhavirasmi sarvam
agnir asmi janmanā jātavedā ghr̥taṃ me cakṣur amr̥taṃ ma āsan tridhātur arko rajaso vimāno 'jasraṃ jyotir havir asmi sarvam
मैं जन्म से अग्नि हूँ—जातवेदस्; घृत मेरा नेत्र है; अमृत मेरा आसन है। त्रिधातु मेरा स्वरूप है; मैं तेजस्वी अर्क हूँ, रजस् का मापक; अजस्र ज्योति हूँ; मैं हवि हूँ—मैं ही सर्व हूँ।
agniḥ | asmi | janmanā | jātavedāḥ | ghṛtam | me | cakṣuḥ | amṛtam | me | āsan | tri-dhātuḥ | arkaḥ | rajasaḥ | vimānaḥ | ajasram | jyotiḥ | haviḥ | asmi | sarvam
Rathantara (generic assignment; exact gāna requires Sāmavedic gāna-pāṭha)
{ "prastava": "Soft stobha prelude establishing ‘fire-glow’ (e.g., ‘hā i hā’)", "udgitha": "Identity and attributes through ‘…amṛtaṃ me āsan…’", "pratihara": "Responsive stabilization on ‘tridhātuḥ arkaḥ’", "upadrava": "Elaboration on ‘rajaso vimānaḥ… ajasraṃ jyotiḥ’ with longer sustains", "nidhana": "Collective settling on ‘haviḥ asmi sarvam’", "structure_notes": "Treat key identity phrases as melodic pillars; avoid rushing compounds—clarity is part of the ‘ghṛta-cakṣus’ effect.", "singer_assignments": "Udgātṛ sustains the ‘I am’ declarations; Pratihartṛ reinforces the threefold/cosmic measurer lines; all unify on ‘sarvam’." }
{ "gloss_summary": "Agni’s self-praise: born as Jātavedas; fed by ghee as brilliance (‘ghṛta-cakṣus’); seated in immortality; threefold in nature; radiant, measuring the midspace; unceasing light; identical with oblation and totality.", "ritual_interpretation": "Affirms Agni’s centrality as the sacrificial medium and the very substance of offering; strengthens the rite’s core fire-principle.", "theological_insight": "Agni is both immanent (havis) and cosmic (vimāna of rajas); the mantra hints at yajña-nonduality (fire = offering = whole).", "etymology_highlights": "Jātavedas as ‘knower of births’; ‘vimāna’ as measurer/ordering principle; ‘tridhātu’ as triple-constituted (three fires/realms/functions)." }