Agni
Indian mythology · deity · fire, sacrifice
God of fire and the mouth of the gods, every offering poured into the sacrificial flame reaches heaven through him. Second only to Indra in Vedic hymns, he is witness to oaths and weddings to this day.
Stories
Sita's Ordeal by Fire
Freed from captivity, Sita is met not with welcome but with doubt before the assembled army. She asks Lakshmana to build the pyre himself and walks into it; Agni, god of the fire that consumes everything false, lifts her out untouched and returns her to Rama as the proof she should never have owed.
The Birth of Kartikeya
Only a son of Shiva can kill the demon Taraka, and Shiva has been in meditation since Kamadeva burned for interrupting him. Parvati's austerity finally wins the god; the child's unbearable seed passes through Agni and Ganga to be born as six-faced Kartikeya, who takes command of heaven's armies and ends Taraka.