Devalok
Legend · 1 telling · Pan-India

Mathava carries Agni east

Who is in it

Texts: Shatapatha Brahmana

The story, beat by beat

  1. King Mathava holds Agni in his mouth and will not speak.
  2. His priest Gotama Rahugana calls the fire with three verses.
  3. At the mention of butter Agni flashes out and falls to the earth.
  4. He burns eastward from the Sarasvati, drying up the rivers.
  5. He does not burn over the Sadanira.
  6. He tells the king to live east of that river.

fire journey east ritual

How it is told, place by place

Base telling · Primary text (translation)

Shatapatha Brahmana 1.4.1.10-19

Pan-India All traditions

Mathava of Videgha carries Agni Vaishvanara in his mouth and stays silent for fear of dropping him. His priest recites verses to Agni; at the words 'butter-sprinkled one' the fire bursts out. Agni burns east along the earth from the Sarasvati, with king and priest following, and stops at the Sadanira. The land beyond was marshy and untasted by fire; Agni tells the king to settle there. The river still divides Kosala and Videha.

The Satapatha-Brahmana, tr. Julius Eggeling (Sacred Books of the East 12, 41) § 1.4.1.10-19

Sources: The Satapatha-Brahmana, tr. Julius Eggeling (Sacred Books of the East 12, 41)

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