Tretāgni
Tretāgni · tretā-agni, “the triad of sacred fires”
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of tretā (a triad) and agni (fire): “the triad of fires”.
Meaning: the three sacred fires, through which brāhmaṇa-hood is gained; one who keeps them is a tretāgni-hotrī.
In the scriptures: Vyāsa tells the munis how Devī Pārvatī asked Bhagavān Śiva on a peak of the Himālaya how one rises from varṇa to varṇa. Bhagavān Śiva tells her of the vaiśya who speaks the truth, is free of ahaṅkāra, performs the daily yajñas, offers homa at the right times, serves the fires, gives hospitality to all and eats only what remains. When such a vaiśya seeks the brāhmaṇa-hood that is gained through the three fires, the tretāgni, he is first born a kshatriya. As a kshatriya he receives the saṃskāras, performs yajñas with good dakshiṇā, studies, desiring svarga, and becomes a keeper of the three fires, a tretāgni-hotrī; he protects the people by dharma, takes only a sixth as tax, performs agnihotra at the two times and acts for the good of cows and brāhmaṇas. Not turning his back in battle and falling there, he enters another body with an upādhi purified by the tretāgni mantras and becomes a dvija, rich in jñāna and vijñāna, one who has crossed to the far shore of the Vedas (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 223).
Related terms: Agni · Agnihotra · Āhavanīya · Gārhapatya · Dakshiṇāgni
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 223