"Preserve us, lord; thy faithful servants save
From all the ills by which our bliss is marred;
Tower like an iron wall our homes to guard,
And all the boons bestow our hearts can crave.

"And when away our brief existence wanes,
When we at length our earthly homes must quit,
And our freed souls to worlds unknown shall flit,
Do thou deal gently with our cold remains.

"And then, thy gracious form assuming, guide
Our unborn part across the dark abyss
Aloft to realms serene of light and bliss,
Where righteous men among the gods abide."

"In a celebrated hymn of the Rig-Veda, attributed to Visishtha, Indra and the other gods are called upon to destroy the Kravyads (the flesh-eaters), or Rakshas, enemies of the gods. Agni himself is a Kravyad, and as such takes an entirely different character. He is then represented under a form as hideous as the beings he, in common with the other gods, is called upon to devour. He sharpens his two iron tusks, puts his enemies into his mouth, and devours them. He heats the edges of his shafts, and sends them into the hearts of the Rakshasas." [**]

"In the Mahabharata, Agni is represented as having exhausted his vigour by devouring too many oblations, and desiring to consume the whole Khandava forest, as a means of recruiting his strength. He was [at first] prevented from doing this by Indra; but having obtained the assistance of Krishna and Arjuna, he baffled Indra, and accomplished his object." [*+]

According to the Ramayana, in order to assist Vishnu when incarnate as Rama, Agni became the father of Nila by a monkey mother; and according to the "Vishnu Purana," he married Swaha, by whom he had three sons--Pavaka, Pavamana, and Suchi.

Agni has many names; those more generally known are the following:--

Vahni, "He who receives the hom, or burnt sacrifice."

Vitihotra, "He who sanctifies the worshipper."

Dhananjaya, "He who conquers (destroys) riches."

Jivalana, "He who burns."

Dhumketu, "He whose sign is smoke."

Chhagaratha, "He who rides on a ram."

Saptajihva, "He who has seven tongues."

Brihaspati and Brahmanaspati are generally regarded as being identical with Agni. Nearly the same epithets are applied to them, with this additional one--of presiding over prayer. In some few hymns they are addressed as separate deities. In "The Religions of India," M. Barth, regarding these as names of one and the same deity, thus describes him:--