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{{Hdeity infobox| <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology-->
Image = Agni god of fire.jpg
| Caption =
| Name = Agni
| Devanagari = {{lang|sa|अग्नि}}
| Sanskrit_Transliteration = Agni
| Pali_Transliteration =
| Tamil_script =
| Affiliation = [[Deva (Hinduism)|Deva]]
| God_of = [[fire]]<!--eg. god of death-->
| Abode =
| Mantra =
| Weapon =
| Consort = [[Svaha]]
| Mount = [[Ram (animal)|Ram]]
| Planet =
}}
{{Classic element}}
'''Agni''' is a [[Hindu]] and [[Rigvedic deities|Vedic deity]]. The word ''agni'' is [[Sanskrit]] for "fire" (noun), cognate with [[Latin]] ''ignis'' (the root of English ''ignite''), Russian ''ogon'' (fire), pronounced ''agon'', and ''ogni'', pronounced ''agni'' (fires). Agni has three forms: fire, lightning and the sun.

Agni is one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire<ref>Mythology, An Illustrated Encylopedia of the Principal Myths and Religions of the World, by [[Richard Cavendish]] ISBN 1-84056-070-3, 1998</ref> and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the [[deity|deities]] because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods. He is ever-young, because the fire is re-lit every day, yet he is also immortal.

His cult survived the change of the ancient Vedic [[fire worship]] into modern [[Hinduism]]. The sacred fire-drill (''agnimathana'') for procuring the temple-fire by friction — symbolic of Agni's daily miraculous birth — is still used.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}

==Depictions==
In Hindu [[art]], Agni is depicted with two or seven hands, two heads and three legs. In each head , he has seven fiery tongues with which he licks sacrificial butter. He rides a ram or in a chariot harnessed by fiery horses. His attributes are an axe, torch, prayer beads and a flaming spear. <ref>The Book of Hindu Imagery: Gods, Manifestations and Their Meaning By Eva Rudy Jansen p. 64 </ref>

Agni is represented as [[red]] and two-faced, suggesting both his destructive and beneficent qualities, and with [[black]] [[eye]]s and [[hair]], three [[Human leg|legs]] and seven [[arm]]s. He rides a [[ram (sheep)|ram]], or a [[chariot]] pulled by [[goat]]s or, more rarely, [[parrot]]s. Seven rays of light emanate from his body. One of his names is ''Saptajihva'', "having seven tongues".{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

==Agni in the Vedas==
His name is the first word of the first hymn of the [[Rigveda]]:-
<blockquote>{{lang|sa|अग्नि॒म् ई॑ळे पुरो॒हि॑तं यज्ञ॒स्य॑ देव॒म् ऋत्वि॒ज॑म् । होता॑रं रत्नधा॒त॑मम् ॥}}<br><br>{{IAST|agním īḷe puróhitaṃ / yajñásya devám ṛtvíjam / hótāraṃ ratnadhâtamam}}<br><br>Agni I laud, the [[purohita|high priest]], [[deva (Hinduism)|god]], [[ṛtvíj|minister of sacrifice]], The [[hotar|invoker]], lavishest of wealth.</blockquote>

He is the supreme director of [[religion|religious]] ceremonies and duties, and figures as messenger between mortals and gods. Vedic rituals concerned with Agni include the [[Agnicayana]], that is, the piling of the fire altar, the [[Agnihotra]], viz., invocation of Agni.

The [[Rigveda]] often says that Agni arises from water or dwells in the waters. He may have originally been the same as [[Apam Napat]]. This may have originally referred to flames from natural gas or oil seepages surfacing through water, as in a fire temple at [[Surakhany]] near [[Baku]] in [[Azerbaijan]] [http://www.avesta.org/modi/baku.htm]. Other Rigvedic names, epitheta or aspects of Agni include [[Matarishvan]], [[Bharata]] and the [[Apris]].

Agni is a [[Deva (Hinduism)|deva]], second only to [[Indra]] in the power and importance attributed to him in [[Vedic mythology]], with 218 out of 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda dedicated to him. He is [[Indra]]'s twin, and therefore a son of [[Dyaus Pita]] and [[Prthivi]]. He is married to [[Svaha]], "oblation" personified.

He is one of the [[Guardians of the directions]], representing the southeast.

==Agni in other faiths and religions==
In Indo-Tibetan [[Buddhism]], he is a [[Guardians of the directions#Lokapālas|lokapāla]] guarding the Southeast. ''Jigten lugs kyi bstan bcos:'' which translates, "Make your hearth in the southeast corner of the house, which is the quarter of Agni". He also plays a central role in most Buddhist ''homa'' fire-[[puja]] rites.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

==See also==
* [[Hindu deities]]
* [[Apris]]
* [[Atar]] ([[Zoroastrian]] [[yazata]] of fire)

==References==
[[Image:Musée Guimet 897 05.jpg|thumb|left|Sculpture of Agni from [[Musée Guimet]]]]
<references/>
{{Reflist}}

{{Hindu Deities and Texts}}

[[Category:Fire gods]]
[[Category:Hindu gods]]
[[Category:Rigvedic deities]]
[[Category:Solar gods]]
[[Category:Classical elements]]
[[Category:Guardians of the directions]]

[[ar:آجني]]
[[bg:Агни]]
[[ca:Agni]]
[[de:Agni]]
[[es:Agni]]
[[fr:Agni (dieu)]]
[[id:Agni]]
[[it:Agni]]
[[jv:Agni]]
[[lv:Agni]]
[[lt:Agnis]]
[[nl:Agni]]
[[ja:アグニ]]
[[nn:Agni]]
[[pl:Agni]]
[[pt:Agni]]
[[ru:Агни]]
[[sa:अग्नि]]
[[sk:Agni]]
[[sl:Agni]]
[[fi:Agni]]
[[sv:Agni]]
[[tr:Agni]]
[[uk:Агні]]
[[zh:阿耆尼]]