Rig Veda 1.12.6: Mandala 1, Sukta 12, Mantra 6
Sukta 1.12
- Rishi
- Medhātithi Kāṇva
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
अग्निनाग्निः समिध्यते कविर्गृहपतिर्युवा । हव्यवाड्जुह्वास्यः ॥
agnínāgníḥ sám idhyate kavír gṛhá-patir yúvā | havyavā́ḍ juhvā́-asyaḥ ||
Przez Agnie, Agni zostaje rozpalony: płomień-widz, młody pan domu; silny nosiciel ofiary, którego usta są czerpakiem, przyjmując i dając w jednym akcie poświęcenia.
Word by Word
- अग्निना
- by/with Agni (as means)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करणRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्निः
- Agni (the fire-god)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- समिध्यते
- is kindled / is enkindledVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root सम्-√इध् (इध् दीप्तौ) / √इन्ध् (दीप्तौ) (धातु)
- कविः
- the seer/wise oneNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root कवि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- गृहपतिः
- lord of the house (household priest)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root गृहपति- (गृह + पति) (प्रातिपदिक)
- युवा
- youngAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन (युवन्-शब्दस्य वैदिकः प्रथमा एकवचनरूपम्: युवा)Role कर्तृ (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root युवन्- (प्रातिपदिक; न्-प्रत्ययान्त)
- हव्यवाट्
- the oblation-bearerNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन (वैदिके -वाट् रूपम्)Role कर्तृ (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root हव्यवह्- (हव्य + वह्) (प्रातिपदिक; वह्-धातोः कृत/बहुव्रीहिसमासाधारितः)
- जुह्वास्यः
- having the ladle as his mouthAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root जुहू- + आस्य- (जुहू ‘ladle’ + आस्य ‘mouth’) (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहिः)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठः: अ॒ग्निना॒ग्निः = अग्निना + अग्निः (स्वर-संहितायां संयोगः; पदच्छेदे द्वे पदे)
- क॒विर्गृ॒हप॑ति॒र्युवा॑ = कविः + गृहपतिः + युवा (विसर्गस्य रेफादेशः: कविः→कविर्; गृहपतिः→गृहपतिर्, परे य-कारे)
- ह॒व्य॒वाड्जु॒ह्वा॑स्यः = हव्यवाट् + जुह्वास्यः (ट् + ज् संयोगः; पदच्छेदे द्वे पदे)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni is kindled by Agni: the inspired seer, the young lord of the house; the bearer of the oblation, whose mouth is the ladle.
Inner meaning
The divine Will (Agni) is awakened by the same divine Will already present as a spark in the being—aspiration kindles aspiration. Once lit, Agni becomes kavi (the illumined knower in us), gṛhapati (master of the inner home: mind-life-body), yuvā (ever-young power of progress). As havyavāṭ and juhvāsyaḥ, he is the force that both offers and receives: our energies are poured into the fire of conscious consecration, and the fire simultaneously takes them up and returns them refined as light, strength, and right movement.
Universal truth
Transformation is self-propagating: a small true flame of will, once protected and fed, awakens a greater fire that becomes the guiding intelligence and master-force of the whole life.
Themes
kindling, Agni-as-seer, instrumentality-of-offering
The seer
- Rishi
- Medhātithi Kāṇva
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.12.1, Rig Veda 1.12.7, Rig Veda 1.12.8, Rig Veda 1.12.9, Rig Veda 1.12.10
Family tradition
Kāṇva seers noted for Agni hymns emphasizing the inner yajña and the inspired (kavi) fire as guide.
Significance
Medhātithi (‘he whose guest is intelligence/medhā’) voices Agni as the indwelling guest and master of the inner home, central to Aurobindonian psychology of the sacrifice.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Kavi, Gṛhapati, Yuvā, Havyavāṭ, Juhvāsyaḥ
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Uṣas, Varuṇa-Mitra (ṛta guardians)
Cosmic role
Mediator and priest of the sacrifice; establisher of the link between earth-consciousness and the luminous worlds.
Inner power
The flame of will and aspiration that organizes the being, purifies motives, and turns works into a conscious offering.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra / introductory Agni-invocation in soma and iṣṭi settings
अ॒ग्निना॒ग्निः समि॑ध्यते क॒विर्गृ॒हप॑ति॒र्युवा॑ । ह॒व्य॒वाड्जु॒ह्वा॑स्यः ॥
अ॒ग्निना॑ । अ॒ग्निः । सम् । इ॒ध्य॒ते॒ । क॒विः । गृ॒हऽप॑तिः । युवा॑ । ह॒व्य॒ऽवाट् । जु॒हुऽआ॑स्यः ॥
agninā | agniḥ | sam | idhyate | kaviḥ | gṛha-patiḥ | yuvā | havya-vāṭ | juhu-āsyaḥ
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3 pādas of 8 syllables
Compact, bright, forward-moving; suited to ignition and clarity.
Creates a quick inner ‘kindling’—steadying attention and gathering will into a single pointed flame.
- अग्निना (agninā)
- Literal: by Agni / with fire. Symbolic: by the inner divine Will already awakened; by aspiration-kindling aspiration
- अग्निः (agniḥ)
- Literal: Agni, fire. Symbolic: the leader of the inner sacrifice; conscious force of transformation
- सम् इध्यते (sam idhyate)
- Literal: is fully kindled. Symbolic: is gathered, intensified, made steady and integral in the being
- कविः (kaviḥ)
- Literal: seer, poet. Symbolic: illumined discernment; intuitive intelligence guiding the offering
- गृहपतिः (gṛhapatiḥ)
- Literal: lord of the house. Symbolic: master of the inner dwelling (psyche governing mind-life-body)
- युवा (yuvā)
- Literal: young. Symbolic: ever-renewing power; progressive energy that does not age
- हव्यवाट् (havyavāṭ)
- Literal: bearer/conveyer of the offering. Symbolic: the force that carries our works and energies upward to the gods (higher powers)
- जुह्वास्यः (juhvāsyaḥ)
- Literal: having the ladle as mouth. Symbolic: the very act of offering becomes his speech and intake; exchange between human and divine in one movement
Kindling formula: describes the ignition and establishment of the āhavanīya fire; also supports inner interpretation of self-kinding (tapas) through awakened will
At the lighting/rekindling of the sacred fire; opening of a rite or daily fire-attendance.
Kindling (samidh), offering with juhū, establishing Agni as hotṛ and messenger.
Use as a short pre-meditation ‘lighting’ mantra: kindle aspiration before study, work, or japa; a vow of consecration.
(idh) ‘to kindle’ (PIE *h₁eydʰ- ‘kindle’): inner ignition. (kaví-) is Vedic ‘seer’ (not merely poet), tied to √/√ (to see/think, archaic): denotes illumined intelligence. (gṛhá-) ‘house’ from √ ‘to seize/hold’: the held-together field of embodied life. (juhū-) ladle from √ ‘to offer’: the offering-instrument as ‘mouth’ indicates identity of speech/act/oblation in the sacrificial consciousness.
self-augmenting tapas (will kindles will), kavi as illumined cognition
Agni as gṛhapati sets the inner household into ṛta—right arrangement of thoughts, impulses, and actions.
Kavi-Agni embodies truth-seeing that makes the offering effective.
Fire as first awakener: from hidden spark to manifest power organizing the worlds within.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral Vedic psychology (Aurobindo-Kashyap line): gods as powers of consciousness.
dawn or early morning (typical kindling time)
unspecified
Fuel = disciplines and right habits; flame = awakened will; hearth/house = the embodied being; ladle = the power of self-offering and right speech.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Self-kindling fire: Agni is kindled by Agni—an image of an immortal principle manifesting through its own agency. Mythically it encodes the idea that divine force awakens divine force in the human (the flame begets flame).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √idh ‘kindle’ reflects PIE *h₁eydʰ-; the middle/passive idhyate shows inherited voice systems. gṛha aligns with Indo-European domestic sacrality vocabulary (house as ordered container), while the compound formations (gṛha-pati, havya-vāṭ) show productive compounding typical of early Indo-European poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes Agni as both means and goal: the seeker’s awakened will (agninā) kindles deeper will (agniḥ), and Agni reciprocates by becoming kavi and gṛhapati—guiding intelligence and stable mastery in the inner life.
Kindle the inner fire of aspiration; feel a steady flame in the heart or solar plexus that receives and refines thoughts and impulses.
anahata
Gentle ujjayi or slow nasal breathing; on inhale ‘sam-idyate’ (gather), on exhale ‘juhvāsyaḥ’ (offer).
Collected, vigilant, luminous will (tapas with calm).
Before meditation, name one movement to offer (fear, restlessness, desire). Visualize it placed into Agni; wait for the sense of clarified energy returning.
Gāyatrī with Vedic svaras as per śākhā tradition: maintain clear udatta peaks on key nouns (agníḥ, kavíḥ) and observe anudatta/svarita transitions in sandhi.
Keep ‘agnínāgníḥ’ as a tight compound flow; avoid flattening the second ‘agníḥ’. Lightly stress semantic pivots: kavíḥ | gṛhapátir | havyavāṭ.
: articulate double ‘gn’ cleanly (ag-ni-nāg-niḥ), no extra vowel, : ‘dhya’ as a single cluster, not ‘di-ya’, : ‘juhvā’ with long ā; ‘sy’ crisp (as-yaḥ)
Bright, steady, kindling tone; not harsh—like controlled flame.
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