Aṅgiras

Aṅgiras

Kṛttikā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kṛttikā. Sudarśana has other meanings too: see all meanings of Sudarśana. Jñāna has other meanings too: see all meanings of Jñāna. Kuhū has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kuhū. Śraddhā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śraddhā. Smṛti has other meanings too: see all meanings of Smṛti. Guru has other meanings too: see all meanings of Guru.

Aṅgiras is one of the first ṛshis (seers). The Vāyu Purāṇa says he was born from the aṅgāras (embers) of the fire of Brahmā‘s yajña (fire ritual) in the Vaivasvata Manvantara. Agni, the sacred fire, also claimed him as his son. Aṅgiras is one of the eight mānasa-putras (sons born from the mind) of Brahmā. He is the father of the great Āṅgirasa line, from which came Gautama, Bṛhaspati, Bharadvāja and the deva-Āṅgirasas.

The Padma Purāṇa tells how the emperor Māndhatā of the solar dynasty went to him when his kingdom suffered a drought of three years. Aṅgiras named the cause. When Māndhatā would not accept the first remedy, Aṅgiras told him to keep the Padmā Ekādaśī. The Mahābhārata also tells of his wife and children, and of two teachings he gave. The Vāmana Purāṇa names him as the eldest of the Saptarshis, who spoke for them when Bhagavān Śiva sent them to ask Himavān for the hand of Kālī, and as the ṛshi who gave the bunch of darbha at the upanayana of Bhagavān Vāmana.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa names him among the ten sons of Brahmā, born from Brahmā’s mouth, and among the Prajāpatis who received the Veda-dharma from Svāyambhuva Manu. In his wife Śraddhā he had four daughters, Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā and Anumati, and two sons, Utathya and Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas; Daksha gave him two more wives, Svadhā, mother of the pitṛ-devatās, and Satī, who took the Atharva Veda as her son; Saṃvarta, too, was his son. The Purāṇa names him the guru of Rudra. Compassionate and all-powerful, Aṅgiras came unbidden to the childless King Citraketu, performed a homa to Tvashṭā and gave him a son, and when the child was poisoned he returned with Nārada Maharshi to free the king from grief with the teaching of vairāgya (dispassion). He is among the ṛshis present at Bhīshma‘s passing, at Parīkshit‘s fast, at Vasudeva‘s yajña and at Piṇḍāraka, and with Sūrya he conducts the month of Śrāvaṇa.

Aṅgirasa Maharshi, as he is also called, is one of the most revered mind‑born sons of Brahmā, and stands as a foundational figure in Vedic tradition—celebrated as a mahārshi, pitṛ‑devatā, and divine ṛshi whose lineage shaped major gotras and whose teachings permeate the Atharvaveda and Upanishads. Known for his extraordinary tapas, his role in restoring the sacred fire, his guidance to kings, and his profound contributions to Vedic ritual and philosophy, Aṅgirasa’s influence spans the accounts of creation, yajña traditions, and spiritual instruction. His descendants, the Aṅgirasas, became central to Vedic ritual culture, while his wisdom—preserved in texts like the Muṇḍaka Upanishad—continues to illuminate the path of dharma and Brahmavidyā.

The Agni Purāṇa, where he is called Aṅgiras, counts him among the seven mind-born sons of Brahmā who became famous as the seven Brahmās. Daksha gave him two of his daughters; by Smṛti he had the daughters Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā and Anumati, and he is the father of Bṛhaspati. His daughters Pūrṇā and Ishṭakā Devī are invoked when a temple or a house is founded. He is named among the teachers of dharma, he is the devatā of the eighteenth syllable of the Gāyatrī, the Aṅgirases receive tarpaṇa with the deva-gaṇas, and he is invoked among the maharshis to protect the king. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 17–18, 20, 41, 72, 162, 215, 219, 274)

The Bhavishya Purāṇa names him among the first maharshis made by the Virāṭ-purusha and among the nine mind-born Prajāpatis, an author of a dharmaśāstra and a founder of a gotra, who goes with Sūrya in Śrāvaṇa and Bhādrapada. Its Uttara Parva tells how, in a dispute with Utathya Muni over vidyā and tapas, Aṅgiras offered to stay in Sūrya’s place and give light, and blazed with such tejas that Brahmā sent Sūrya back at once and Sūrya praised him with a stuti; and how he did the work of Agni in Agni’s form until Agni returned and gave him the vara that he would be born as his eldest son, Bṛhaspati.

Identity and origin

The Padma Purāṇa lists Aṅgiras among the mānasaputras of Brahmā. These ṛshis arose directly from Brahmā at the start of creation. Aṅgiras shines with the great lustre of his tapas (austerity), and it lights up the quarters around him.

Birth from the yajña-fire (Vāyu Purāṇa)

Brahmā performed a great yajña in the Vaivasvata Manvantara. The eight mānasa-putras were born from this yajña. During it, the second oblation of Brahmā’s śukra (seed) fell into the fire. It lodged in the embers, not in the flame. Aṅgiras was born from these embers. His name comes from aṅgāra (ember).

At that moment Agni spoke to Brahmā: “I received your retas; let this second one be my son.” Brahmā agreed. So the Āṅgirasas belong to the line of Agni, Āgneya iti. They are mānasa-putras of Brahmā and also sons of Agni.

Wives and the Āṅgirasa line (Vāyu Purāṇa)

The Vāyu Purāṇa gives three wives for Aṅgiras:

  • Surūpā, the daughter of Marīci Maharshi (a Mārīcī).
  • Kārdamī, the daughter of Kardama Prajāpati (a Svārāṭ).
  • Pathyā, the daughter of Manu (a Mānavī).

From Surūpā, Aṅgiras had these sons: Gautama, Bṛhaspati, Avaṃdhya, Vāmadeva, Utathya and Ūja.

From Kārdamī came Dhishṇu (named as Pathyā’s son), the mānasa Saṃvarta, and Āyasya (the dark-skinned Vicitra).

Some well-known descendants in this line:

The Āṅgirasa gaṇas (hosts) among the devas are counted too. They are mahāojaskas (of great power) and are called pre-eminent. The Vāyu Purāṇa says the Bharadvājas came from the line of Aṅgiras together with Gautama. The tradition counts fifteen Āṅgirasa gotra branches (pakshas).

The meeting with Māndhatā (Padma Purāṇa)

The emperor Māndhatā of the solar dynasty went deep into the forest. He was looking for a ṛshi who could tell him why his kingdom had no rain for three years. At last he found Aṅgiras, who blazed with the lustre of his tapas and lit up the quarters around him. Māndhatā stepped down from his vehicle, joined his palms and bowed at the ṛshi’s feet. Aṅgiras asked about his welfare and why he had come.

The cause of the drought

Aṅgiras listened to the king’s account. He said that this was the Kṛta age, the best of the four ages, when Dharma stands on all four feet. In this age only brāhmaṇas, and no others, may perform tapas. In the king’s land a śūdra was practising tapas. This broke the order of the age and made the clouds hold back their rain. Aṅgiras first advised the king to kill this person, and then the drought would end.

Māndhatā would not kill an innocent being who was doing tapas. He asked for a remedy that would end the trouble and also keep to dharma.

The Padmā Ekādaśī

When Aṅgiras heard the king’s refusal, he gave another remedy. He told Māndhatā to keep the Padmā Ekādaśī of the bright fortnight of Bhādrapada. He said this Ekādaśī gives every kind of prosperity and destroys all troubles. The king should keep it together with all his subjects and the four varṇas.

Māndhatā went back to his city and kept the Ekādaśī with everyone. Clouds gathered and rain fell in plenty. The land shone with crops.

The Āṅgirasopākhyāna: wife and children (Mahābhārata)

In the Vana Parva (Chapters 217–222), Mārkaṇḍeya tells Yudhishṭhira the Āṅgirasopākhyāna. It gives many details of Aṅgiras’s family.

His wife Subhā

In this account Aṅgiras’s wife is Subhā. She is the mother of all the children listed below.

The seven sons

Aṅgiras had seven sons by Subhā. Each son’s name begins with Bṛhat- (vast, great):

  1. Bṛhat-kīrti (of vast fame)
  2. Bṛhaj-jyoti (of vast light)
  3. Bṛhad-brahma (of vast knowledge of Brahman)
  4. Bṛhan-manas (of vast mind)
  5. Bṛhan-mantra (of vast power of mantra)
  6. Bṛhad-bhāsa (of vast radiance)
  7. Bṛhaspati (master of vast prayer), the most famous, who became the guru of the devas

Bṛhaspati, the seventh son, received the lustre of this line. He carried it to the world of the devas as their guru.

The eight daughters

Aṅgiras also had eight daughters by Subhā. Each is named with a tithi (lunar day) and its ruling principle:

  1. Bhānumatī, the first daughter, was given in marriage to Candra (the Moon).
  2. Rāgā, the second, is dear to all people. She is the abhimāna-devī (presiding devī) of the night. Her name comes from the rāga (red colour) of the twilight hours, or from the rāga (fondness) that all beings feel for her.
  3. Sinīvālī, the third, is the amāvāsyā (new-moon day) joined with the caturdaśī (fourteenth tithi). She is dṛśyādṛśya, sometimes seen and sometimes not. She is very subtle (tanutvāt), so she appears and disappears. Bhagavān Śaṃkara wears her on his forehead as the thin crescent. The śruti names her: yā pūrvā’māvāsyā sā sinīvālī, “the former amāvāsyā is Sinīvālī”.
  4. Arcishmatī, the fourth, is the śuddha-pūrṇimā, the pure full-moon night. Her light lets people see clearly even at night. She is also called śuddha-paurṇamāsī.
  5. Havishmatī, the fifth, is the pāḍyami-paurṇimā, the full-moon day joined with the prathamā (first tithi). This day is also called Rākā. When she is present, havis (the offering) is given to the devas in the yajña.
  6. Mahishmatī, the sixth, is the caturdaśī-paurṇimā. She is also called Anumati. The śruti names her: yā paurṇamāsī sānumatiḥ, “the pūrṇamāsī is Anumati”.
  7. Mahāmatī, the seventh, is the śuddha-amāvāsyā, the pure dark-moon night. In the great yajñas (mahāmakhas) she shines with brilliance.
  8. Kuhū, the eighth, is the uttara-amāvāsyā. The śruti names her: yottarā sā kuhūḥ, “the latter amāvāsyā is Kuhū”.

Aṅgiras and Bhīshma: the rule of fasting (Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 106–107)

The Anuśāsana Parva tells that Bhīshma once put to Aṅgiras the same question that Yudhishṭhira later put to him. Why do all varṇas, even the mlecchas, feel drawn to upavāsa (fasting)? What phala (fruit) does fasting bring? Bhīshma calls Aṅgiras “the tapodhana ṛshi born of Agni“. Aṅgiras answered with a full, step-by-step vidhi (rule) of fasting.

  • First comes a calendar of single-meal (ekabhukta) observance through the year, month by month and linked to the tithis.
  • Then comes a rising scale of days, eating once every 2, 3, 4 days and on up to 29 days.
  • Each step of the scale is matched with a great Vedic yajña: Agnishṭoma, Atirātra, Vājapeya, Gomedha, Pauṇḍarīka, a thousand Aśvamedhas, a thousand Rājasūyas, and at last Brahmaloka itself.
  • For each step the rule also gives the number of years to be spent in svarga (heaven) and the kind of vimāna (celestial vehicle) that is earned.

Aṅgiras also set limits on unbroken fasting by varṇa. Brāhmaṇas and kshatriyas may fast up to three nights. Vaiśyas and śūdras gain no fruit from a fast longer than two days.

Bhīshma tells Yudhishṭhira the purpose of this teaching. The poor cannot afford the means for the great yajñas, but by fasting alone they can gain the same phala. The Anuśāsana Parva tells that Aṅgiras first set out this vidhi, in order, for the great ṛshis of old.

Aṅgiras’s secret teaching: the lamp under the karañja tree (Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 127)

In the Rahasya-Dharma cycle of the Anuśāsana Parva, Aṅgiras is one of the devas and ṛshis who give a secret teaching of dharma to the assembled devas. His teaching is this. If a person offers a dīpa (lamp) for a full year under a karañja or suvarcalā tree or creeper, that person’s santati (children and line) will grow and multiply.

The same cycle holds the teachings of Vishṇu, Balarāma, Viśvāmitra, Vasishṭha, Lomaśa, Arundhatī, Yama and Citragupta, the Pramathas, the Diggajas, Skanda and Maheśvara.

Origin, Birth, Family and Lineage

Brahmā, born from the navel lotus of Śrī Mahāvishṇu, desired assistants in his work of creation and thus willed into being several mind-born sons (mānasaputra). These sons, through their progeny, completed the divine task. Thereafter, Brahmā envisioned from his own intellect a single offspring: Aṅgirasa. At Aṅgirasa’s birth, Brahmā bestowed upon him a splendour equal to the brilliance of the entire universe. Brahmā then ordained that Aṅgirasa should marry, beget children, and undertake tapas for the welfare of the world (loka-saṃgraha).

The Agni Purāṇa tells that Brahmā, after creating the Vedas from his mouth, Sanatkumāra from his arm and Rudra from his krodha, created Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasishṭha. These seven are the mind-born sons of Brahmā and became famous as the “Brahmās”, the seven Brahmās; with the Rudras they carried out the creation of beings. Later, when Daksha gave away his daughters, ten to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa, twenty-seven to Soma, four to Arishṭanemi and two to Bahuputra, he gave two to Aṅgiras. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 17–18)

Divine Mandate and Duties

Brahmā instructed Aṅgirasa to foster the growth and prosperity of humanity by ensuring that people performed virtuous deeds (puṇya) and lived well. He emphasized that one individual’s tapas alone could sustain the welfare of countless descendants. Consequently, Brahmā exhorted Aṅgirasa to undertake tapas for world welfare, to enter household life (saṃsāra) at the appointed time, and to set aside mukti (liberation) for the sake of his progeny’s well-being. Aṅgirasa alone accepted this commission, embracing both ascetic discipline and domestic duty.

Tapas and Divine Grace

Acknowledging Brahmā as his creator and supreme authority, Aṅgirasa devoted himself to prolonged tapas without pride or attachment. In the solidity of his fivefold physical frame, he controlled his senses and practised the highest austerities. By Brahmā’s grace and his own tapas, Aṅgirasa’s inner radiance grew ever more luminous, and he gained mastery over numerous powers, realms, and divine manifestations. Yet he remained unmoved by pride, never ceased his tapas, and refused to behold the fruits of his own power.

Progeny and Marriages

By his divine sight (divya-dṛshṭi) on the banks of the Sarasvatī River, Aṅgirasa saw nine daughters of Kardama Prajāpati, and offered them in marriage to the ṛshis in his mind. They became wed to Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirasa himself, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bṛgu, Vasishṭha, and Atharvan. Each union was solemnized by Kardama with Devaḥūti performing the ceremonies. To Marīci he gave Kālā, to Atri Anasūyā, to Aṅgirasa Śraddhā, to Pulastya Havir-bhuvana, to Pulaha Gati, to Kratu Kriyā, to Bṛgu Khyāti, to Vasishṭha Arundhatī, and to Atharvan Śānti. The devas blessed all these unions.

Aṅgirasa accepted Śraddhā, daughter of Kardama, as his wife and entered the householder’s life without forsaking his discipline. He treated domestic living itself as tapas, remaining free from sensual desires and dedicating all actions to the divine presence pervading the world.

Sons and Daughters

In due course, Brahmā reminded Aṅgirasa of his initial mandate to beget progeny. From Śraddhā he begot seven sons named Bṛhat-kīrti, Bṛhat-jyoti, Bṛhad-brahma, Bṛhat-manas, Bṛhat-mantra, Bṛhad-bhānu, and Bṛhaspati, and also seven daughters named Bhānumatī, Rāka, Sinīvālī, Ekānēka, Arshīmatī, Havishmatī, and Mahāmatī.

The name Rāka signifies the full moon, while Sinīvālī denotes the two new moons—“one manifest, one hidden”—hence the dual aspect of amāvāsya. Among his sons, Bṛhat-kīrti is also called Utathya, and Bṛhat-jyoti Svārtha. Svārtha, “giver of prosperity,” is revered above Bṛhaspati himself. He dwells unattached in the forests near Kāśī, wandering naked in renunciation. It is said he still resides there, and any who approach him in devotion may attain moksha.

Per Agni Purāṇa, Aṅgiras had by his wife Smṛti four daughters: Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā and Anumati. The same Purāṇa names Bṛhaspati as the son of Aṅgiras: it was Bṛhaspati, son of Aṅgiras, whom Soma insulted when he carried off his wife. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 20 and 274)

The Agni Purāṇa also names two daughters of Aṅgiras who are invoked in the rites of building: Pūrṇā, “the full one”, who fulfils wishes, and Ishṭakā Devī, the devī of the bricks. Their prayers are given below. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 41, 65, 94 and 247)

Vast Progeny and the Atharva Veda

Aṅgirasa’s line multiplied greatly, and among his descendants was the ṛshi Āyāsya, who appears as the Ṛshi behind numerous mantras in the Atharva-aṅgirasam—hence the name Atharva-aṅgirasa. He is also associated with certain hymns in the Ṛgveda and Śukla-Yajurveda, and recurs among the brāhmaṇa traditions.

Aṅgirasa, Āyāsya, and Gautama form a triad of gotra founders (gotra-kartā), and throughout the Gautama gotra lineage one finds Āyāsya as well. Thus the root patriarch of these clans is the great Brahmarshi Aṅgirasa.

Loss of Agnihotra, First and Second Divine Fires

Once, a deep longing arose for the sacred Agnihotra fire to be rekindled. Suddenly, Agni disappeared from every yājñashāla and Brahmin household, and the household fires were extinguished. Without Agni, the yajñas could not be performed. Alarmed, all the deities approached Brahmā in supplication. Indra reported, “Without warning, Agni himself has vanished.” Even Brahmā’s search yielded no trace of the divine fire.

Brahmā’s Counsel

Brahmā declared, “There is one who can restore the fire: the venerable Aṅgirasa. Summon him.” When Aṅgirasa arrived, Brahmā entrusted him with the duty: “Mighty Aṅgirasa, you alone are capable. In countless yājñashālas and Brahmin homes, you must appear as Agni himself, rekindling the sacrificial flame and fulfilling its purpose.”

Aṅgirasa Ignites the World

Obedient to Brahmā’s command, Aṅgirasa manifested as the fire-lord in innumerable homes and halls of ritual, simultaneously kindling every sacrificial fire. Thus, no place lacked Agni-hotṛ, and yajñas and sacrifices proceeded perfectly. The realm rejoiced, for Aṅgirasa’s splendour surpassed even that of Agni himself. Devas hailed him, offering prostrations, for never before had one embodied the fire-lord so completely.

Agni’s Lament and Aṅgirasa’s Reply

For a time, the true Agni remained hidden, grieving: “Alas, the world has forgotten me. My works through the yugas go unremembered.” He wondered whether the world would honor him again if he reappeared unbidden. At last, Agni approached Indra, only to find Aṅgirasa standing in his stead. Aṅgirasa greeted him: “Dear Agni, in your absence the world has suffered. Please resume your work.”

Angi protested: “Your glory eclipses mine. You, the universally worshipped one, command the power behind every yajña. It was your greatness that drove me away.”

But Aṅgirasa replied with humility: “You have always been the true Agni-hotṛ. I arose only by Brahmā’s command. I am no equal to you. Sustain your eternal office; I will serve as the second fire, ready when summoned.”

First and Second Divine Fires

Agni conceded: “Because of your unbounded devotion and modesty, you shall remain the second fire, invoked alongside me. But as the first fire of Tretā-yuga, you alone shall preside.”

Thus, Aṅgirasa secured the position of the seconde invoked Agni, while the primordial fire-lord held the primary office. Devas and ṛshis alike offered obeisance: “You, Aṅgirasa, are unmatched in this task; Agni himself calls you.” So Aṅgirasa fulfilled his role, and from that time onward, Agni-hotṛ never again vanished from the world.

King Citraśena’s Despair and Aṅgirasa’s Consolation

In the region of Śūra Sēna, King Citraśena reigned with immense opulence and fame. His splendour, valour, appearance, and generosity were renowned throughout the land, and he achieved many victories in battle. He was also deeply righteous. Yet despite all his greatness, Citraśena remained childless and lived in sorrow.

The Gift of a Son

Moved by the king’s anguish, Angirāsa Maharshi visited Citraśena’s palace and offered his blessings. He inquired, “Why do you dwell in grief, O great king?” Citraśena replied, “What can you know, honoured sir? I have no offspring. To what end is all this splendour without a son?” Thereupon Angirāsa performed a putra-kāmeshṭi-yajña on the king’s behalf and blessed him with a noble son. Before departing, the ṛshi assured Citraśena that he would soon be father to a virtuous heir.

Tragedy and Mourning

When Citraśena’s firstborn arrived, the king’s chief queen—Kṛtadyuti—felt overwhelming pride and love for her son. The other queens, however, consumed by jealousy over Citraśena’s affection for his eldest child, plotted against the boy. They poisoned him, and he perished. Upon hearing this terrible news, King Citraśena and his queen Kṛtadyuti were stricken with grief and wailed bitterly over the loss.

Angirāsa’s Consolation and Teaching

News of the tragedy reached Angirāsa, who returned to Citraśena’s court accompanied by Nārada Maharshi. He found the king engulfed in sorrow and offered him philosophical counsel:

“You call him your son, yet who are you truly? The fortune of this birth was granted by witnessing a child. You loved and rejoiced, but now grief has overtaken you. Cast aside your attachment, for you are a learned man and need no further instruction.”

At first Citraśena did not recognize the ṛshi and asked, “Who are you, O venerable one?” Angirāsa revealed himself: “I am the one who performed your putra-kāmeshṭi-yajña and granted you a son. I am Angirāsa, come to guide you in wisdom.” Hearing this, the king’s sorrow was assuaged, and he attained calm through the ṛshi’s teachings.

Revival and Renunciation

Angirāsa then entreated Nārada to restore life to the young prince, who had fallen victim to poison. Through the ṛshi’s power, the boy was revived. At that moment, Citraśena’s heart was freed from attachment, and he embraced renunciation, departing to perform tapas. Thus did the great influence of Angirāsa Maharshi manifest in both renewal and moksha.

The Temptation of Agni Deva

During a great yajña, Agni Deva beheld the unparalleled beauty of the wives of the Saptarshis and was overcome with desire. Fearing to touch them, he only gazed upon their forms. Because those ṛshi-patnīs maintained unbroken loyalty to their husbands, Agni’s inward nature remained hidden from them, and he incurred a fault by longing for another’s wife.

Agni’s Atonement

Realizing his transgression, Agni reflected on his own guilt and immediately sought purification. His radiant power diminished, and he recognized the need to atone for his lustful thoughts.

The Curse of Angirāsa

Among the Saptarshis was Angirāsa. Observing Agni’s remorse, he pronounced a curse upon the ṛshi-patnīs as well:

“Because Agni’s gaze of infatuation struck you, a blemish has fallen upon you. To prevent that fault passing to me through contact with you, be born in a Brahmin family on earth to experience the consequences of this pāpa.”

The Patnīs’ Lament

The ṛshi-patnīs protested in sorrow:

“We know no pāpa. We never felt another’s touch. As faultless, devoted wives of great ṛshis, how could we endure birth in the world away from our husbands?”

The Blessing of Release

Moved by their innocence and devotion, Angirāsa granted them release from the curse:

“My curse shall become a blessing. Born as Brahmin women, you will behold Śrī Kṛshṇa, the Supreme Being, and your ātmās will ascend to Gokula. There your understanding of the Divine will mature. Though your shadows remain in the realm of ṛshis to uphold household duties, you yourselves will dwell with Kṛshṇa and attain purity. Thereafter, as liberated wives of ṛshis, you will return to the world of tapas.”

Thus purified, the ṛshi-patnīs performed service to Hari, offered him food, and then departed to the supreme abode of Śrī Kṛshṇa. Their spiritual glory exceeded even their former fine fortunes, for misfortune that leads to moksha is greater than worldly gain.

Agni’s Universal Hunger

Angirāsa also rebuked Agni:

“You consume all offerings in the sacrificial fire—nothing in nature remains untouched by you. Henceforth, you shall be called Sarvabhakshaka, the Universal Eater.”

From that time onward, Agni Deva has been known by that epithet, signifying that no created thing can truly escape his consuming power.

Revival of King Citraketu’s Son

When King Citraketu’s son died, Aṅgirasa thought of Nārada, and Nārada came and restored the boy’s life. One might wonder why Aṅgirasa himself did not revive him. In truth, Aṅgirasa had originally granted the boy to Citraketu as his gift (prasāda). When the child passed away, Aṅgirasa considered that the matter had run its course. He reflected that if his own gift could perish, there might have been some flaw in the bestowal; and were he to restore the child again, what further outcome could be expected? For these reasons—left to our conjecture—Aṅgirasa chose not to intervene directly.

It is said that Aṅgirasa sent Nārada because he wished to demonstrate both his own reverence for others and the power of divine grace. In the way of the ṛshis, one never claims a singular right to honor. Instead, they serve as instruments, directing respect and blessings to worthy recipients. By having Nārada perform the resurrection, Aṅgirasa highlighted that it was divine compassion, not his personal power, that sustained the boy’s life.

Aṅgirasas, The Lineage of Aṅgirasa

The Sattra Sacrifice and the Cow’s Milk

In the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa there is a story concerning Aṅgirasa and a sacrifice of the Sattra type. Once the Aṅgirasas were performing a Sattra-yajña and had with them a pale-colored cow whose milk they intended to use in the ritual. Yet the cow refused to give its milk, for there had been no rains and no grass to feed it. To remedy this, the Aṅgirasas first summoned the rains by performing a karīrī-yajña. As soon as grass sprouted, they fed it to the cow and used its milk for the sacrifice.

The pitṛ-devatās were angered by this, for the Aṅgirasas had called forth the rains solely for their own ritual and then harvested the grass for the cow. In their wrath they tainted the grass with poison. Fearing why the cow would no longer eat the grass, the Aṅgirasas summoned the pitṛ-devatās and asked for their counsel.

Learning the cause of the cow’s refusal, the pitṛ-devatās explained that the grass must first carry the ritual impurity suffered by those who have died before it could serve in rites for human survivors—that only by experiencing the consequences of their own actions in a human birth could the ancestors achieve purification and ascend to the next world.

Accordingly, the pitṛ-devatās demanded to be given a share of the sacrifice’s milk in all rites performed according to the Angirasasmṛti. The Aṅgirasas complied, offering a measure of milk to the ancestors. Pleased, the pitṛ-devatās removed the poison from the grass, and the cow once more fed and gave its milk freely. The sacrifice then proceeded without impediment, to the benefit of the ancestors.

Mastery of the Sāmaveda and Defeat of the Rākshasas

The Aṅgirasas are renowned as master chant-performers of the Sāmaveda. On one occasion, when they ascended to svarga, a band of rākshasas followed them in hopes of reaching the celestial realm. The rākshasas would not abandon their pursuit, but when the Aṅgirasas chanted their brilliant sāman mantras, the rākshasas were overcome and turned back. Thus the Sāmaveda also celebrates the greatness of Aṅgirasa.

Origin of the Forest–Fire and Agni

The Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa praises the Aṅgirasas as the first to kindle the forest fire (araṇya-mathana) and to create Agni himself. It relates that in the Agnishṭoma-yajña the sacrificial priests must wear a mekhalā (sacred girdle) to sustain their strength when the rite becomes wearisome. This practice originated when the Aṅgirasas, during a day of sipping only water sacramentally (pratāchamanamātra), grew weak and fashioned mekhalās to bolster themselves. Since then, this girdle has formed part of the yajña-garbha, and the Aṅgirasas are honored as its originators.

Role in Brahma’s Creation and Yajña Leadership

In the creation of Brahma, the first beings to arise were the Aṅgirasas, followed by the Ādityas. The Aṅgirasas were the very first to perform yajñas. When they prepared for a Somayajña, they summoned Agni to consume the soma, and they invited the Ādityas to their side. At the same time, the Ādityas also wished to perform the Somayajña and requested Agni that the Aṅgirasas serve as the adhvaryus in their own sacrifice. Agni granted this request, and the Aṅgirasas accepted it. To honor this arrangement, the Ādityas gave the Aṅgirasas Vāg-devatā as their dakshiṇa (sacrificial fee). The Aṅgirasas, however, declined her, offering her instead to Sūrya.

Invitation of Agni and Ādityas to the Somayajña

During the Somayajña, the Aṅgirasas chanted the Atharvaveda, and so that Veda came to be known as “Angiro-veda.” Even today, certain lineages and gotras observe that a single mantra from that Veda must be recited by each traditional student of the sacrifice, thereby affirming the Aṅgirasas as its originators.

Preservation of the Soma-yajña Fire

In the Aśvamedha-yajña, the Aṅgirasas alone recite the Atharvaveda as their sacred text. Because of their stewardship over the Atharvaveda, it is also called “Angiro-veda.” In the Gopatha-Brāhmaṇa it is told that Aṅgirasa himself was born through the vigor (vīrya) of Varuṇa. By his birth, ten more Aṅgirasas arose, becoming ṛshis of the Angiro-veda. That Brāhmaṇa even prescribes that students of the Angiro-veda hold the manuscript aloft while reciting it, since its recitation is said to permeate and sustain the entire universe.

Aṅgirasas and the Bṛgu Lineage

The Aṅgirasas, the Bṛgus, and Atharvan (Adhvṛṇa) share a common lineage. Because Aṅgirasa was eldest among them, he is called Adhvarvāngirasa and Bṛguvāngirasa. The Vedas themselves—Angiro-veda, Atharva-veda, and Bṛgu-veda—bear their names. In the Gopatha-Brāhmaṇa it is recounted that the Atharvaveda’s Śaunakī and Piṇḍarīga branches were first revealed to Aṅgirasa, then to Atharvan, and finally to Piṇḍarīga-maharshi.

Contributions to Agni and Soma-yajñas

The Aṅgirasas are described as the foremost in ritual lore: they first invoked and honored Agni, and they devised all forms of Somayajñas, those involving soma, cooked offerings, and havis. Their mastery of both the Atharvaveda and the performance of Somayajñas secured their place as the great priests whose mantras and rites became the standard for subsequent ṛshis and their lineages.

Gopatha-Brāhmaṇa Account and the Primacy of Angiro-veda

The Gopatha-Brāhmaṇa further declares that the hymns chanted by Aṅgirasa and the formulae he composed for the Ādityas transformed the Atharvaveda into the world-embracing scripture known as “Angiro-veda.” It asserts that a single recitation of that Veda yields the benefit of all four Vedas, obviating the need to study any others. Consequently, the Aṅgirasas are revered as the creators of the most exalted rituals, whose spiritual power underpins the prosperity and sanctity of all yajñas.

Teachings in the Upanishads

In the Mundaka Upanishad, Aṅgirasa imparts the highest knowledge of Brahman to Śaṇaka. There, among the Vedas, the Atharva Veda is designated as the principal portion extending from the feet to the navel of the Veda-person (Veda-purusha). In the Sāmaveda Upanishads it is said that Aṅgirasa worships the life-air (prāṇa-vāyu) in the form of the Udgītha chant, hence he is himself called Udgītha.

Role in the Brahadaranyaka and Praśna Upanishads

In the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad, the teacher known as Ghorāngirasa is credited with instructing Kṛshṇa on the nature of knowledge (jñāna-bodha). Among the honey-knowledge (madhu-vidyā) teachers listed, such as Gautama and Bharadvāja, many—including Aiyā́sya—belong to the Aṅgirasa lineage. In the Praśna Upanishad, several mantras affirm that Aṅgirasa himself abides as Prāṇa, the vital principle.

Pipplādi and Garbha Upanishads

In the Pipplādi Upanishad, Aṅgirasa is celebrated as a knower of Brahman (Brahmavetta). The Garbha Upanishad also recounts how Pipplādi Maharshi taught the wisdom of Brahman, and in the Parabrahma Upanishad he expounded on yoga and the significance of the sacred syllable oṃ.

Guru to Kshatriyas and Connection to Gautama Buddha

Aṅgirasa served as guru to many kshatriyas. Śuddhodana, father of Gautama Buddha, bestowed upon his son the names “Aṅgirasa” and “Siddhārtha” in honor of this lineage. This account appears in the Sanskrit Buddhacharita by Aśvaghosha, where the Buddha’s pedigree is traced back to the Aṅgirasa line, underscoring the ṛshi’s exalted status.

Aṅgirasa’s Teachings for Śaunaka

While deep in tapasya, Aṅgirasa Maharshi was visited by Śaunaka Maharshi, who approached him with devotion and reverence to request instruction in Brahmavidyā. Recognizing the gravity of such a request, Aṅgirasa explained that only one who possesses the right qualification may receive teachings of the Supreme; to instruct without sincerity—or to withhold instruction from one who is sincere—both are causes of pāpa.

Two Types of Knowledge: Aparavidyā and Paravidyā

Angirāsa taught:

Paths of Action and Knowledge

He further instructed that both karma-yoga and jñāna-yoga paths have their place. Rituals such as atithi-pūjā, when performed in accordance with dharma, support both tapas and the growth of wisdom. The Supreme is beyond kshara and akshara—that is, beyond the moving and non-moving.

Analogy of Kshara and Akshara

In Vedānta, the reflection of the Moon on rippling water is called “kshara,” because it shifts as the water moves. Though the Moon itself is stainless, its reflection is marred by the water’s disturbance. “Akshara” denotes the immutable, pristine essence. When the Moon’s reflection appears unmoving—purely luminous amid still waters—it exemplifies akshara. Thus the immutable reflection stands for the Supreme beyond both moving and non-moving phenomena.

Method of Upāsana for moksha

Angirāsa concluded with the prescription for attaining apraṇidhāna-jñāna:

  • Use the Upanishads as the bow
  • Take the mind’s inner organ (antarātmā) as the arrow
  • Apply the string of steady practice (upāsana)
  • With a mind focused single-pointedly on the Supreme

In this manner, one pierces through ignorance to realize the direct, unobstructed knowledge of the Paramātman—which alone is moksha.

Teaching in the Upanishads and Support for Ādi Śaṅkara

The instruction that Āngirāsa gave to Śaunaka Maharshi is preserved in the Muṇḍaka Upanishad. The very same doctrines are expounded in the Māṇḍūkya-kārikā, and it was through these texts that Ādi Śaṅkara found the foundation for all his commentaries.

Philosophy and Influence

Praise by the Ṛshis

Many great ṛshis—Vasishṭha, Bharadvāja, Atri, Vāmadeva, Viśvāmitra, Gṛtsamāda, and others—offered stotras to Āngirāsa. It is well known that Āngirāsa was the visionary (dṛshṭa) of the Atharvaṇaveda. His words serve as authoritative śāstric injunctions in all karmakāṇḍa rites, whether yajñas or daily nitya-naimittika rituals.

Āngirāsa in the Ṛgveda

The Ṛgveda itself attests to Āngirāsa’s high standing. In one hymn Agni is likened to Āngirāsa, and elsewhere Agni declares “I am Āngirāsa.” These verses make clear that Āngirāsa was the very first to invoke and honour Agni through proper mādhana and āvāhana.

Āgni and Āngirāsa

In Vedic parlance Rudra is sometimes identified with Agni. The Ṛgveda and Yajurveda praise deities by varying epithets according to context—“yo Rudro agnau” and “yo Appu,” for example. In Śaiva practice too there is the Śaivāgni, the “Śaiva fire,” to be invoked in ritual. Its installation by mādhana parallels the Ṛgvedic injunctions, and Agni’s functions throughout the yajña are ascribed to that single Śaiva-fire form. Thus numerous ritual manuals explain these procedures in detail.

The Unique Epithet “Aṅgārān nirūhya”

Gṛtsamāda’s hymns do not say “agnin nirūhya” but “aṅgārān nirūhya.” Each term carries its own nuance, and learned brāhmaṇas versed in the tradition provide commentary to elucidate the inner meaning. Many of these stanzas occur in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, where they appear in several kāṇḍas.

Universal Veneration

Beyond Agni, numerous deities—Ushas, Soma, Sāvitrī, the Maruts, Yama—also extol Āngirāsa. As a mind-born son of Brahmā, he was recognised as jagat-pūjya, “to be honoured by the world.” The ṛshis’ descendants came to be known as the “Āṅgiras” in honour of their ancestor. According to the first maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda, when the deities once praised Āngirāsa, they offered him a kāmadhenú (wish-granting cow), and Aṅgirāsa himself then shared the milk.

Aṅgirasa and Indra

Once, when Aṅgirasa praised Indra, Indra himself came before the ṛshi and said, “I remain indebted to you. I seek your friendship.” The ṛshis of Aṅgirasa’s lineage were the first to worship Agni. For some reason Agni departed into the forest and took refuge beneath the trees. Aṅgirasa sought him out and brought him back. This episode is recorded in the Fifth Maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda. In the Tenth Maṇḍala the ṛshis of Aṅgirasa are celebrated as the “embodiments of merit,” the first to adore Agni and thereby attain greatness. By their tapas they generated countless host animals for sacrifice. Aṅgirasa, as “pitr-devatā” and upholder of righteousness, was lauded by Āyāśya Aṅgirasa alongside Bṛhaspati, Āyāśya himself, Ghorāngirasa, Kutāngirasa, and Virūpāngirasa as foremost among the Aṅgirasas.

Aṅgirasas and Vedic Ritual

The Tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda has its own distinctive language. It alone recounts the history of Aṅgirasa. In the Yajurveda and Sāmaveda too, Aṅgirasa is invoked and praised as the regulator of sacrificial rites, whose procedures became canonical for later generations of ṛshis. The Taittirīya Saṃhitā and its Brāhmaṇa also speak of him: wherever the formula “Angiraso vāc” appears, the Brāhmaṇa confirms that it is Aṅgirasa himself who serves as the standard for ritual practice.

Aṅgirasas performed full-moon sacrifices together with Sūrya and attained the abode of svarga. Through Sattra-yajñas, Ghṛt-yajñas, and Daśa-rātra-yajñas they ascended to svarga, leaving the fruits of their sacrifices to those who remained on earth. This supreme and exalted role—using only their tapas and then distributing sacrifice-fruit to earth-dwellers—is described in the Taittirīya Saṃhitā.

Pūjā and Divine Roles

In the Atharvaṇaveda the Aṅgirasas are praised as both deities and pitṛ-devatās, and also as mahārshis. Thus they stand in threefold esteem: as devas of svarga, as pitṛ-devatās, and as great ṛshis. When the ṛshi-spirits Soma, Sāvitrī, and the Maruts received offerings of Madhu-gṛta and havis from the Ādityas, the same custom applied to the Aṅgirasas. In the company of Vasus and Rudras they too were honored as deities of the realms of svarga, endowed with power to destroy the lineages of wrongdoers. They are invoked to curse the wicked, and to restore well-being to their devotees. As pitṛ-devatās worthy of Somanīkshaṇa, they are called upon to destroy evil deeds at their root.

Aṅgirasas are credited with creating the medicinal herb Kushṭha, said to cure all diseases. The creatures they fashioned—by Agni’s grace in the Vaśvānara fire—possess power to destroy even fortified robber strongholds. These accounts appear in the Atharvaṇaveda, where the Aṅgirasas are invoked alongside Agni and Mitra-Varuṇa as “dvivacana-devatās.” Their mantras confer unparalleled potency upon the sacrificial fire.

Relationship with the Ādityas

The Aitareya Brāhmaṇa narrates that during Indra’s installation on his throne, the Aṅgirasas and Maruts sent him a divine seat borne through the sky. It also recounts the bond between the Ādityas and Aṅgirasas: when the Ādityas performed a yajña, the Aṅgirasas carried out its rites on their behalf, earning from them a grant of the earth. Finding the land too hot, the Aṅgirasas relinquished it; later Prajāpati Kaśyapa re-formed the earth’s fertility so that countless plants and creatures might arise. Thus, from the Aṅgirasas’ earlier tapas emerged the cooling that paved the way for Kaśyapa’s creative work—a tradition expressed in the phrase “kāśyapena abhimantritā.”

Aṅgirasa’s Position Among the Ṛshis

Aṅgirasa features prominently as the ṛshi of many gotras. He is counted among the Saptarshi, the Trayarshi, and even the Ekādaśarshi. Tradition holds that one may even marry into two gotras if Aṅgirasa appears as ṛshi in both, for his presence dissolves any impediment.

Works of Aṅgirasa

Aṅgirasa’s Persona and Dharma Secrets

Āngirāsa was not only a great tapasvī and devoted bhakta but also a veda-vedya, one deeply versed in Brahman (brahmanishṭha) and a profound dharmapravakta. The secret of dharma he promulgated is traditionally known as the Aṅgirasmṛti. Though that text is no longer extant in full, its injunctions are quoted by later dharma-śāstra teachers such as Viśvarūpa. In the Agni Purāṇa, Pushkara names Aṅgiras among the teachers of the dharma that gives bhukti and mukti: Manu, Vishṇu, Yājñavalkya, Hārīta, Atri, Yama, Aṅgiras, Vasishṭha, Daksha, Saṃvarta, Śātātapa, Parāśara, Āpastamba, Uśanas, Vyāsa, Kātyāyana, Bṛhaspati, Gautama, Śaṅkha and Likhita. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 162)

Tradition speaks of three śāstric works in this Aṅgirasmṛti class: the Bṛhad-Aṅgirasmṛti, the Madhyama-Aṅgirasmṛti, and the Aṅgirasmṛti proper. None of these survives intact today. Many of their prescriptions—especially rites of atonement—may yet lie hidden in lost sections. As Vidyānidhi observed, the portions now missing may have contained extensive prāyaścitta details unknown to us.

Aṅgiras in the rites of the Agni Purāṇa

His daughters Pūrṇā and Ishṭakā Devī

When a temple is founded, the bricks are set round the centre and the śaktis beginning with Vimalā are installed on them, and the ācārya prays: “O Ishṭakā Devī, daughter of Aṅgiras, the best of munis! Not one of your limbs is broken or deformed. You are complete in all your limbs. Now I install you.” In the garbhādhāna that follows, Pṛthivī is worshipped and the daughters of the ṛshis are invoked one by one, among them “O Pūrṇā, daughter of Aṅgiras, fulfil my wishes.” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 41)

When the five stones of a prāsāda are installed, Pūrṇā is prayed to first: “O Pūrṇā, you whose form is the gathering of all, you who are Mahāvidyā, you are the daughter of Aṅgiras Ṛshi. Make everything in this rite of pratishṭhā well complete.” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 94)

When a householder enters a new house, he stands with joined hands before a cow and recites the mantras that give increase. Among them: “O Pūrṇā, daughter of Aṅgiras! Fulfil my wishes; make me one whose desires are fulfilled”, and “O Pūrṇā, daughter of Aṅgiras! You are of unmanifest form.” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 65)

When the foundation stone of a house is laid, Nandā, Jayā, Pūrṇā and Bhadrā are worshipped: “O Pūrṇā, daughter of Aṅgiras! Fulfil my desires”, and again, “O Pūrṇā, daughter of Aṅgiras! You too, complete in every limb and free from harm, sport in my house.” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 247)

Tarpaṇa and śrāddha

In the daily rite, tarpaṇa is given to the deva-gaṇas with namaḥ after their names, and the Aṅgirases are among them: “oṃ hāṃ ādityebhyo namaḥ”, and so on through the Vasus, Rudras, Viśvedevas, Maruts and Bhṛgus, ending “oṃ hāṃ aṅgirobhyo namaḥ”. In the Śrāddha-kalpa that Kātyāyana Maharshi taught, after the āhutis to Agni Kavyavāhana and to Soma Pitṛmat, some hold that āhutis are also given to Yama and to Aṅgiras. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 72 and 117)

The Gāyatrī and the king’s abhisheka

In the rite of sandhyā, Agni Deva gives the presiding devatās of the twenty-four syllables of the Gāyatrī, and Aṅgiras is the devatā of the eighteenth syllable, after Candra and before the Viśvedevas. In the mantras for the abhisheka of a king, Pushkara prays: “May the maharshis Bhṛgu, Atri, Vasishṭha, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumāra, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Marīci, Kaśyapa and the rest protect the king who rules the prajās”, and “May the ten devatās born in the kula of Aṅgiras, and the four Vedas, perform your abhisheka for siddhi.” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 215 and 219)

Aṅgiras in the Vāmana Purāṇa

The Vāmana Purāṇa, which Pulastya Maharshi tells to Nārada Maharshi, names Aṅgiras in six chapters.

At Daksha’s yajña and in the Dārukāvana

When Daksha, best of the prajāpatis, began his great yajña, he invited the ṛshis with their wives, as couples: Arundhatī and Vasishṭha, Atri and Anasūyā, Dhṛti and Kauśika, Ahalyā and Gautama, Amāyā and Bharadvāja, and Candrā and Aṅgiras. These knowers of the Veda he appointed as the yājakas (the priests of the yajña).

Later, Bhagavān Śiva, followed by Kāma, came to the Dārukāvana, where many ṛshis lived with their wives, and asked for bhikshā (alms). The wives of the Bhārgava and Ātreya ṛshis lost their self-control and followed him; only Arundhatī and Anasūyā were untouched. Seeing their wives leave their āśramas and run after Parama Śiva like she-elephants after a rutting elephant, the ṛshis headed by Aṅgiras, maddened with anger, pronounced a śāpa that Śiva’s liṅga should fall to the ground. At once the liṅga fell, splitting the earth, and Bhagavān Śiva withdrew from sight.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 2, 6

In the suprabhāta stotra of Śaṅkara

The ṛshis taught the rākshasa king Sukeśī the morning stotra that Bhagavān Śiva gave for release from the bonds of pāpa. In it Aṅgiras is named among the ṛshis who are asked to grant a good morning: “Bhṛgu, Vasishṭha, Kratu, Aṅgiras, Manu, Pulastya, Pulaha and Gautama, Raibhya and Marīci, Cyavana and Ṛbhu: may they give me a good morning!” One who reads, hears or remembers this suprabhāta on rising is freed from the faults of bad dreams of the night before and, by divine grace (bhagavat-kṛpā), gains what is auspicious.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 14

Aṅgiras asks Himavān for Kālī

When Devī Satī had been born again as Umā, the daughter of Himavān, Bhagavān Śiva remembered the maharshis together with Arundhatī, and they came to him on Mount Mandara. He honoured them, and Nandīśvara gave them arghya and pādya. Then Śiva addressed the seven, Kaśyapa, Vasishṭha, Atri, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Bharadvāja and Aṅgiras, and asked them to go to the king of mountains and ask for his daughter. The Saptarshis said “Oṃ namaḥ Śaṅkarāya!”, bowed and went, with Arundhatī behind her husband.

Himavān himself came to his door to receive them, led them into his assembly hall and said he was their servant, ready to do whatever they commanded. The maharshis of firm vratas then asked Aṅgiras, the eldest among them, to tell the purpose of their coming. Aṅgiras said: “O foremost of mountains, hear why we have come to you with the sādhvī Arundhatī. We have been sent by Parama Śiva, who is Sarvabhūtāntarātmā (the inner ātmā of all beings), Dakshādhvara-nāśaka (destroyer of Daksha‘s yajña), Śaṅkara, Halapāṇi, Śarva, Trinetra (the three-eyed), Vṛshabhavāhana (whose vāhana is the bull), Jīmūtaketu, Śatrughna (slayer of enemies), Yajñabhoktā (enjoyer of the yajña), Svayambhū (the self-existent), Ekaika Īśvara (the one and only Īśvara), Śiva, Sthāṇu, Mahādeva and Paśupati.”

He went on: “Maheśvara asks for your daughter Kālī, the beauty of the three worlds. Give her to Bhava and be blessed. Fortunate indeed is the father whose daughter gains a bridegroom who is handsome, auspicious and of noble birth. As soon as she takes Hara’s hand, this Devī will become the Jaganmātā, the mother of all beings of the four kinds of birth, born of the womb, of the egg, from the earth and from sweat. All who bow to Śaṅkara will bow at your daughter’s feet. How great is your fortune! We are the petitioners, Śaṅkara is the bridegroom, you are the giver, and Umā, the Jaganmātā, is the bride. Enjoy this good fortune.”

Himavān called his kinsmen, the mountains headed by Meru, and they told him to give Kālī to Śiva at once. The Saptarshis then fixed the day of the wedding, the maitra muhūrta when the moon enters Uttarāphalgunī, blessed Himavān and returned to Śiva, who honoured them all with Arundhatī.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 26

In Vishṇu’s svastivācana for Skanda

When Skanda had been consecrated as the commander of the deva armies, he bowed to Bhagavān Vishṇu at Devī Umā‘s word, and Śrī Hari recited a svastivācana (blessing for well-being) for his victory over Mahisha. Among those he asked to give Skanda kalyāṇa (auspiciousness) are Marīci, Atri, Pulaha, Pulastya, Kratu, Vasishṭha, Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras, Mārkaṇḍeya and the seven great ṛshis.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 32

At the upanayana of Vāmana

When Bhagavān Vishṇu was born as Vāmana, Bharadvāja Maharshi performed his upanayana and gave him the dīkshā of the brahmacarya vrata (the vow of the student). Then all who were present gave gifts to the young brahmacārī: Pulaha the sacred thread, Pulastya a white garment, Agastya the black antelope skin, Bharadvāja the girdle, Marīci the staff of palāśa wood and Vasishṭha the rosary. Aṅgiras gave the kauśya, a bunch of darbha grass. King Raghu gave an umbrella, King Nṛga sandals, and Bṛhaspati a water-pot.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 62

Aṅgiras in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa

Son of Brahmā and Prajāpati

Maitreya Maharshi tells Vidura that Brahmā, who had received the power to create the worlds from Bhagavān Śrī Hari, was thinking of creation when ten sons were born to him, and they became the causes of the creation of beings: Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasishṭha, Daksha and Nārada. Each came from a part of Svayambhū Brahmā: Nārada from his lap, Daksha from his thumb, Vasishṭha from his prāṇa, Bhṛgu from his skin, Kratu from his hand, Pulaha from his navel, Pulastya from his ears, Aṅgiras from his mouth, Atri from his eye and Marīci from his mind.

Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Uddhava how the Veda-dharma came down: at the beginning of creation he taught it to Brahmā; Brahmā taught it to his eldest son Svāyambhuva Manu; and from Manu the seven maharshis who are Prajāpatis received it: Bhṛgu, Marīci, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Atri and Kratu. When Akrūra, bathing in the Yamunā, saw Śrī Hari on Ādiśesha, the nine Prajāpatis, Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasishṭha and Daksha, were among those praising him. Nārada Maharshi, teaching King Prācīnabarhis, names Aṅgiras among the great ones, Brahmā, Bhagavān Śiva, Svāyambhuva Manu, Daksha and the Prajāpatis, Sanaka and the lifelong brahmacārīs, Marīci, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasishṭha and Nārada himself, who perform tapas, upāsanā and samādhi to see the Parameśvara, and yet do not gain his darśana by their own efforts alone.

In the twelfth skandha, among the companions who go with Sūrya through the months, Aṅgiras is the maharshi of the month of Śrāvaṇa, with Indra as the Āditya of that month, the gandharva Viśvāvasu, the yaksha Śrotā, the sarpa Elāpatra and the rākshasa Varya: “these conduct the month of Śrāvaṇa”.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapter 12; Skandha 4, Chapter 29; Skandha 10, Chapter 39; Skandha 11, Chapter 14; Skandha 12, Chapter 11

His wives and children

Maitreya tells Vidura of the descendants of Aṅgiras. In his wife Śraddhā, one of the nine daughters of Kardama Prajāpati, four daughters were born to him:

  • Sinīvālī, the kṛshṇa caturdaśī (the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight);
  • Kuhū, the amāvāsyā (new-moon day);
  • Rākā, the pūrṇimā (full-moon day);
  • Anumati, the śukla caturdaśī (the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight).

These maidens stand for the times that are chief for Vedic rites such as the darśa and pūrṇamāsa. Besides these four, two sons were born to them: Utathya, established in Brahman, and Bṛhaspati. Both became famous in the Svārocisha manvantara.

Śuka tells Parīkshit that Daksha, of his sixty daughters born of Asiknī, gave two to Aṅgiras. Aṅgiras Prajāpati’s first wife Svadhā bore the pitṛ-devatās; his second wife Satī took the Atharva Veda as her son. His son Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas, once left the devas when Indra slighted him, and the devas chose Viśvarūpa as their purohita. His son Bṛhaspati is named the guru of the devas again by Uddhava, and in the last skandha Bṛhaspati, son of Aṅgiras, speaks to King Janamejaya at his sarpa-yajña.

Another son, Saṃvarta, a great yogī, had King Marutta perform a yajña; no one has ever performed a yajña like it, for in it the vessels and everything else were of gold.

King Rathītara, son of Pṛshadaśva, had no offspring. When he asked that his line be kept up, Aṅgiras begot on Rathītara’s wife sons endowed with brahmavarcas (the radiance of tapas and Vedic learning). Though born of Rathītara’s wife, these best of the Rathītara line became famous as belonging to the Āṅgirasa gotra: brāhmaṇas joined with a kshatriya gotra. King Śaryāti, son of Manu, a knower of the Veda, set in order the rite of the second day at the satra-yāga of those of the Aṅgiras gotra. Śamīka Maharshi, whose son pronounced the śāpa on Parīkshit, was born in the line of Aṅgiras.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 18; Skandha 4, Chapter 1; Skandha 6, Chapter 6; Skandha 9, Chapters 2–3, 6; Skandha 11, Chapter 27; Skandha 12, Chapter 6

The war for Tārā

When Candra, proud after his rājasūya, carried off Tārā, the wife of Bṛhaspati, and would not give her back, war broke out between the devatās and the rākshasas. Śukrācārya took Candra‘s side; Rudra, surrounded by all the hosts of bhūtas, took Bṛhaspati‘s side with affection, because Bṛhaspati was the son of Aṅgiras, Rudra’s guru; and Devendra with all the devatās supported Bṛhaspati. In the war for Tārā devatās and rākshasas alike were destroyed. Then Aṅgiras reported it to Brahmā. Brahmā threatened Candra and handed Tārā back to her husband Bṛhaspati.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 14

Aṅgiras and King Citraketu

Śuka tells Parīkshit, as he had heard it from Vyāsa, Nārada and Devala, of Citraketu, emperor of the land of Śūrasena. He had a crore of wives, beauty, generosity, youth, learning and the whole earth, but no child, and nothing gave him joy.

One day, by the will of Īśvara, the revered Aṅgiras Maharshi, wandering through the worlds, came unexpectedly to the emperor’s palace. The king went forward to receive him, honoured him with arghya and the other upacāras, and sat humbly on the ground near him. Aṅgiras asked: “Is your body in good health? Is all well with the prakṛtis of your kingdom?” As the seven tattvas, the mahat, the ahaṅkāra and the five bhūtas, keep the jīva established, he said, so seven prakṛtis protect a king: the guru, the minister, the realm, the forts, the treasury, the system of justice and the allied kingdoms; the king prospers by depending on them, and they prosper by depending on him. He asked whether his wives, subjects, ministers, servants, merchants, counsellors, the dwellers of city and village, the feudatory kings and his sons were obedient to him, and taught that for one whose mind is under his own control, all the worlds and the lokapālas offer gifts. “Your mind has no joy,” he said. “Your face is covered with sorrow.” Though the maharshi knew everything, he asked in this way.

Citraketu answered that nothing is hidden from yogīs whose faults are destroyed by tapas, upāsanā and one-pointedness of mind; his empire gave him no joy, for he had no child, and without a child he and his forefathers would go to naraka. “Teach me the means by which a child may be born.”

Then Aṅgiras, the son of Brahmā, revered, full of compassion and all-powerful, had food whose devatā is Tvashṭā cooked in the homa fire and performed a homa to Tvashṭā. He gave the prasāda of the yajña to Kṛtadyuti, the eldest of the king’s wives, and told the king: “A son will be born to you who will bring you both joy and sorrow,” and went his way. Kṛtadyuti conceived by eating that prasāda, and a son was born, to the joy of the whole land.

The co-wives, burning with envy, poisoned the child. When the king lay beside his dead son like one dead, Aṅgiras Maharshi came there together with Nārada, and the two ṛshis spoke to him:

  • “In past births, in this birth and in births to come, what is this child to you, and what number of father are you to him?”
  • “As grains of sand come together and part by the force of the current, so beings come together and part in the speed of time.”
  • “As grains are born from grains and perish, so jīvas, impelled by the māyā-śakti of Īśvara, are born of other jīvas, and those born die.”
  • “We, you, all beings moving and unmoving, are contemporaries: before birth and after death we are not, and so even now we are not. That alone is satya which is not contradicted in the three times.”
  • “Śrī Hari, the unborn ruler of all jīvas, has nothing to gain in the working of the world; as children build houses of sand in play and knock them down, so he creates, protects and withdraws these dependent beings.”
  • “As clay is the substance in the pot, the dehī alone is eternal; bodies perish. In the one Paramātmā the division into body and dehī is imagined through ajñāna.”

Citraketu wiped his face and asked who they were, who came in soiled dress so that none would know them. Such knowers of Brahman, he said, are forms of the very ātmā of Bhagavān Śrī Hari and wander the earth freely to teach those who cling to pleasures: Sanatkumāra, Nārada, Ṛbhu, Aṅgiras, Devala, Asita, Vyāsa, Mārkaṇḍeya, Vasishṭha, Bhagavān Paraśurāma, Kapila, Śuka, Durvāsa, Dattātreya and many others. “Light in me the lamp of jñāna.”

Aṅgiras answered: “O Mahārāja, I am Aṅgiras. It was I who granted a son to you, who desired a son. This one is Nārada Maharshi, the very son of Brahmā. Knowing that you, a devotee of Purushottama, are sunk in the darkness of ajñāna through grief for your son, we two have come to bless you; a devotee of Bhagavān Purushottama who has bhakti for the knowers of the Veda should not be crushed by sorrow. When I came to your house before, I would have given you the highest ātmajñāna, but you were set on a son, so I gave you only a son.” He taught him:

  • Now he knew the sorrow of those who have sons; in the same way wife, house, riches, aiśvarya, the pleasures of the senses, empire, land, kingdom, army, treasury, servants, ministers and friends are all impermanent.
  • All these are mithyā (unreal), like a city of the gandharvas seen in the sky, a dream, an indrajāla, a play of the imagination; they leave a man with grief, delusion, fear and sorrow.
  • Though not real they shine as if real and vanish the next moment; they are fancies of the mind, and the mind, moved by karma-vāsanās, becomes the cause of many karmas.
  • At the root of the body are substance, the power of action and the power of knowing, and this body brings the embodied one many kleśas and torments.
  • “Therefore, with a clear mind, inquire into the nature of the ātmā. Give up the attachment to saṃsāra that holds this world of manyness to be real. Dissolve the mind in the ātmā and remain established in the ātmā.”

The chapter is named for this teaching: “Aṅgiras teaches vairāgya to Citraketu”. Then Nārada promised the king a mantra and, after bringing back the jīva of the dead prince to speak, taught him the upāsanā of Saṅkarshaṇa. The co-wives, ashamed, remembered the teaching of Aṅgiras and performed a prāyaścitta in the Yamunā. By the upadeśa of Nārada and Aṅgiras Citraketu’s inner faculty was awakened, and he came out of the dark cave called home like an elephant out of the mud of a lake; he bathed in the Yamunā, did tarpaṇa and prāṇāyāma, and bowed to Aṅgiras and Nārada, the sons of Brahmā. When Nārada had taught him, he went with Aṅgiras to the abode of Svayambhū Brahmā. Later, Bhagavān Saṅkarshaṇa told Citraketu: “Nārada and Aṅgiras taught you my upāsanā; by that, and by seeing me, you have gained full siddhi.”

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapters 14–16

At the great events

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapters 9, 19; Skandha 8, Chapters 8, 23; Skandha 10, Chapter 84; Skandha 11, Chapter 1

Aṅgiras in the Bhavishya Purāṇa

Among the first maharshis

Sumantu Muni tells King Śatānīka of the creation. The Virāṭ-purusha, wishing to make the many creatures, performed tapas, and he first created the greatly radiant maharshis: Nārada, Bhṛgu, Pracetas, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, Atri, Aṅgiras, and Marīci, the first Prajāpati, and other radiant ones. The Brahma Parva also names the nine mind-born Prajāpatis, who were brought forth equal to their maker when he had raised the sunken earth: Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Marīci, Daksha and, ninth, Vasishṭha.

Aṅgiras is among the ṛshis who came wishing to see King Śatānīka. Sumantu names him among those who composed the dharmaśāstras, with Manu, Vishṇu, Yama, Vasishṭha, Daksha, Saṃvarta, Śātātapa, Parāśara, Āpastamba, Uśanas, Kātyāyana, Bṛhaspati, Gautama, Śaṅkha and Likhita, Hārīta, Atri and others. Āṅgirasa is one of the gotra-founding ṛshis, with Kaśyapa, Vasishṭha, Viśvāmitra, Cyavana, Maukunya, Vatsa, Kātyāyana, Agastya and others. The Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells that Aṅgirā is among the sixteen names of the gotrakāras. The Uttara Parva names him among the nine mānasa-putras of Brahmā, whom the Purāṇas call Brahma-putras: Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasishṭha and Nārada.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 1–2, 78; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapter 9; Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 21; Uttara Parva, Chapter 2

With Bhagavān Sūrya

In the months of Śrāvaṇa and Bhādrapada, the ṛshis who go with Sūrya are Aṅgiras and Bhṛgu.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 52

His wife and his son

Surūpā, the daughter of Marīci, is the wife of Aṅgiras and the mother of Bṛhaspati. Bṛhaspati’s sister is the renowned Brahmavādinī.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 79

At Cyavana’s yajña

When King Śaryāti performed the yajña for Cyavana Maharshi, by which the Aśvinī Kumāras won their share, Cyavana was honoured there with Atri, Aṅgirasa, Bhārgava and many other maharshis.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 19

Aṅgiras in the place of Sūrya and of Agni

Yudhishṭhira asks Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa who did the work of Agni in ancient times, when Agni Deva became invisible, and how Agni regained his own form. Śrī Kṛshṇa tells this ākhyāna.

Once Utathya Muni and Aṅgiras Muni had a great dispute over which of them was greater in vidyā and tapas. To settle it both went to Brahmaloka and told Brahmā everything. Brahmā said: “Go, both of you, and bring all the devatās and lokapālas here. Then it will be decided before all of them.” The two went and brought all the devatās, ṛshis, gandharvas, kinnaras, yakshas, rākshasas, daityas, dānavas and others. But Bhagavān Sūrya did not come.

Utathya Muni went to Sūryanārāyaṇa and asked him to come to Brahmaloka at once. Sūrya replied: “Muni, if I go, darkness will spread over the world. How can I go? I cannot.” Utathya told Brahmā, and Brahmā sent Aṅgiras Muni. Sūrya gave him the same answer. Aṅgiras said: “Bhagavān Sūrya, go to Brahmaloka. I will stay in your place and give light.”

Sūrya went to Brahmā, and Aṅgiras began to blaze with fierce tejas. Sūrya asked why he had been called. Brahmā said: “Deva, go back to your place at once, or Aṅgiras Muni will burn the whole brahmāṇḍa. See, all beings are burning in his heat. Take your place again before he reduces everything to ash.” Sūrya returned to his place, praised Aṅgiras with a stuti and sent him off.

Aṅgiras came back to the devatās, and they praised him and said: “Until we find Agni, do all the work of Agni.” So Maharshi Aṅgiras carried out the work of the devatās and the rest in the form of Agni. When Agni Deva came he saw Aṅgiras standing there as Agni, and said: “Muni, leave my place. I will be born to you, from a woman named Śubhā, as your eldest and dear son, and my name then will be Bṛhaspati. You will have many other sons and grandsons also.” Maharshi Aṅgiras was glad at this vara and left the place of Agni.

Agni Deva regained his place on the caturdaśī tithi. So this tithi is very dear to Agni and is known as Āgneyī Caturdaśī and Raudrī Caturdaśī, and on it the vrata of Trilocana Śrī Sadāśiva is kept.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 93

In the rites

In the tarpaṇa, water and akshata are offered to Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Pracetas, Vasishṭha, Bhṛgu, Nārada and all the devarshis and brahmarshis. At the close of a vrata the word of the munis is asked to make it complete: “By the word of Vyāsa and Vālmīki, by the word of the brāhmaṇas, and by the word of the munis Garga, Gautama, Parāśara, Dhaumya, Aṅgiras, Vasishṭha, Nārada and others, may your vrata be complete.”

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 110–111, 123

Sources

  • Padma Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 57
  • Vāyu Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 4
  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 217–222
  • Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 106–107
  • Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 127
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 17–18, 20, 41, 65, 72, 94, 117, 162, 215, 219, 247, 274
  • Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 2, 6, 14, 26, 32, 62
  • Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 1–2, 19, 52, 78–79; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapter 9; Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 21; Uttara Parva, Chapters 2, 93, 110–111, 123
  • Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapters 9, 18–19; Skandha 3, Chapter 12; Skandha 4, Chapters 1, 29; Skandha 6, Chapters 6, 14–16; Skandha 8, Chapters 8, 23; Skandha 9, Chapters 2–3, 6, 14; Skandha 10, Chapters 39, 84; Skandha 11, Chapters 1, 14, 27; Skandha 12, Chapters 6, 11