Agneya

Agneya (आग्नेय in Sanskrit) means "Daughter of the Fire God" or "Child of the Fire God Agni" and is derived from ancient Hindu scriptures and Sanskrit texts.^[1][2][3] Agneya is also referred interchangeably as Agneyi in Sanskrit texts.^[4][5] Agni is the Hindu God of Fire and has been revered and worshiped throughout the Indian subcontinent right from Vedic times to the modern era.

The Hindu name Agneya means "Goddess of Fire". The literal word Agneya in Sanskrit means "Born from Fire" or "Consecrated from Fire", and the name traces its origins to ancient Vedic literature where Agneya is defined as a divine and powerful Goddess.^[6] In Hindu mythology and the spiritual texts of Hinduism Agneya has been considered as the daughter born to Agni and his consort called interchangeably as Svaha and Agnāyī (meaning, "Wife of Agni").^[7] The Sage Angirasa - one of the Seven Great Sages (Saptarishis) - is referred in Hindu mythology as the Son of Agneya, and the ancestral progenitor for the Angirasas lineage of Humans. In hymns, Angirasas (also called Angiris) are described as luminous deities.^[8] Later they become personifications of light, of luminous bodies, of divisions of time, of celestial phenomena, and fires adapted to peculiar occasions, as the full and change of the moon, or to particular karma-kanda rites such as the Rajasuya or Aswamedha. According to the Vishnu Puraana, Agneya or Agneyi was also the mother of the Demigods Anga, Sumanas, Khyaati, Kratu, and Sibi, in addition to Angirasa.^[9]

Agneya is also worshiped as the Goddess guarding the "Southeast" direction in Vaastu Shastra - an ancient text that recommends constructing the Kitchen in the south east corner of each household.^[10] To this day, traditional Hindus begin cooking by worshiping Agni and lighting the kitchen stove with prayers to Agni and Agneya to bless the food being prepared.^[11]

Almost all Vedic rituals and practices begin by invoking the blessings of Agneya as well as seven other celestial Goddesses, "Dhik Devadais" ("Angel guarding the 8 Directions"), and Demi-Gods. These Vedic practices codify best practices for sanctifying holy occasions and invoking good omens. The Agni Purana also called as the Agneya Purana gives Hinduism's foremost account on creation of the universe from Aagneyam or Fire.^[12]

In some Hindu texts, Agneya is considered the most powerful form of "holy energy" ever to have been created.^[13] The "Agneya Astra" is believed to have been the most powerful of the ancient nuclear energies and was often invoked by the most elite of Gods to ensure the victory of good forces. Hindu texts associate the Agneya Astra as a near infinite energy source with the power, brilliance, heat, and light exceeding those of a billion trillion Suns.^[14]

Sanskrit epithets equate Agneya to the Stars (Nakshatras) including the Sun (Surya), fire (Agni), brilliance (Jwaala), and digestion (Svaha), since each of these involves the origin or creation of heat and light energy.

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