I am Agni, or fire.
I am one of the five elements,
along with air, water, earth, and space.
I am the symbol of love, desire, and energy, of passion,
power, strength, heat, anger, and transformation.
I provide heat and light.
I am bright, scorching, and powerful.
Every home holds me—either for the lamp or the hearth.
In my presence, darkness disappears.
I provide warmth during the cold days;
I supply the heat for cooking food and boiling water.
If not handled carefully, I can cause destruction
on a massive scale— forest fires, building fires…
In the wrong hands, I am a danger to life.
People use me to win wars, incite riots, and exact revenge.
Every year, I destroy vast forests,
killing thousands of animals and hundreds of people.
I am a purifier.
I purify gold, silver, copper, and iron.
I provide the heat to generate electricity,
which powers warmth and light.
Often, I can be extinguished by water.
But sometimes, water has no effect on me.
There are items I have a special liking for:
combustible and volatile things.
Gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and oils are my friends.
They light up and accelerate my propagation,
causing destruction that water cannot quell.
In Hinduism, I am the God Agni.
I am a witness—Agnisakshi.
Every prayer, pooja, and religious ceremony
requires my presence.
As a witness, any oath taken before me
is more sacred and binding than a written agreement.
Oral agreements—a land deal or a political pact—
become solemn and binding in my witness.
In a Hindu marriage, I serve as a divine witness
to the wedding vows, a symbol of purification and transformation.
The couple walks seven rounds around me,
each round a vow for harmony and prosperity.
My flames symbolize divine presence, spiritual enlightenment,
and the transformation of two lives into a unified existence.
I perform another function: a tester of one’s purity
or innocence—Agnisudhi.
It is said that if someone can enter a burning pyre
and return unscathed, they have passed the test.
This is Agnipariksha—trial by fire.
When Lord Ram rescued Sita, doubts were cast on her virtue.
Sita entered a blazing fire to prove her purity.
I had to emerge to declare her innocence and faithfulness;
only then did Ram claim her as queen.
I purify the dead.
The final ritual is the burning of the body on a funeral pyre.
I reduce the body to ashes, releasing the soul
from its earthly ties to achieve liberation
from the cycle of reincarnation and ascend to heaven.
I am Agni, or fire.
I am a witness, a purifier, and a judge.
I support life,
but sometimes, I am death too.
