Agni Loka

AGNI LOKA

INTRODUCTION

Agni is the god of fire, he is a Vedic deity, and he contains powers similar to Lord Indra and Chandra.  He receives the oblation from the fire sacrifices and passes it to the respective demi gods like Indra, Surya, Vayu, Chandra and Varuna. His parents are Rishi Kashyapa and Aditi, and his consort is Swaha and his daughter is Agneya, and his vehicle is a goat.

Agni is mentioned in various Hindu holy texts, and he is an ancient god, who gives fire for satisfying human needs like cooking, and gives fire, whenever we need, like lighting in our puja room, in order to honour the deities, and during the time of festivals like Deepali and Karthi Deepam, Lord Agni plays a major role.

Lord Agni dwells in the Agni loka, which is believed to have been situated in the top of the Mount Mahameru. Agni loka appears similar to the Indra Loka, and it contains full of beauty, contains lot of palaces, and it is covered with golden pillars. Lord Agni used to wear golden ornaments and precious stones. He shines similar to the bright sun, and looks always happy. His mouth would utter the Veda Mantra, and he is an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu.

It is believed that those who perform lot of fire sacrifices would be blessed to enter into the Agni Loka after their death. Similar to the heaven, the people who stay at this place are known as demi gods, and they also contain the features of Lord Agni Bhagavan. Agni Bhagavan gets seated in his golden chariot and would discharge his duties in a wonderful manner. He is also controlled by Lord Indra, and he resides in the Agni Loka for several millions of years. Dhrishtadyumna, who was an incarnation of Lord Agni Bhagavan, was born in the fire yagna, performed by the king Drupada of Panchala Kingdom. And on the last day of the Kurukshetra war, he was killed by Ashwathama. And after his death, he went to Agni Loka, and merged with Lord Agni Dev.

Among all the other deities, Agni Bhagavan is considered as more powerful. People who die due to fire accidents and fire burns would suffer a lot before their death. They would scream for help, and even if they are rescued by someone, they have to battle for their life, since fire injuries would take a long time to heal.

Hence let us pray to Lord Agni Bhagavan to prevent us from fire accidents, and let him give us a prosperous life.

“OM”

WRITTEN BY

R.HARISHANKAR