“Markandeya continued, The fowler said to him, ‘Be it so’. And the good Brahmana walked round him[58] and then departed. And the Brahmana returning home was duly assiduous in his attention to his old parents. I have thus, O pious Yudhishthira, narrated in detail to thee this history full of moral instruction, which thou, my good son, didst ask me to recite,–the virtue of women’s devotion to their husbands and that of filial piety.’ Yudhishthira replied, ‘O most pious Brahmana and best of munis, thou hast related to me this good and wonderful moral story; and listening to thee, O learned man, my time has glided away like a moment; but, O adorable sir, I am not as yet satiated with hearing this moral[59] discourse.'”
SECTION CCXVI
Vaisampayana continued, “The virtuous king Yudhishthira, having listened to this excellent religious discourse, again addressed himself to the rishi Markandeya saying, ‘Why did the fire-god hide himself in water in olden times, and why is it that Angiras of great splendour officiating as fire-god, used to convey[60] oblations during his dissolution. There is but one fire, but according to the nature of its action, it is seen to divide itself into many. O worshipful sir, I long to be enlightened on all these points,–How the Kumara[61] was born, how he came to be known as the son of Agni (the fire-god) and how he was begotten by Rudra or Ganga and Krittika. O noble scion of Bhrigu’s race, I desire to learn all this accurately as it happened. O great muni, I am filled with great curiosity.’ Markandeya replied, ‘In this connection this old story is cited by the learned, as to how the carrier of oblations (the fire-god) in a fit of rage, sought the waters of the sea in order to perform a penance, and how the adorable Angiras transforming himself into the fire-god,[62] destroyed darkness and distressed the world with his scorching rays.
In olden times, O long-armed hero, the great Angiras performed a wonderful penance in his hermitage; he even excelled the fire-god, the carrier of oblations, in splendour and in that state he illumined the whole universe. At that time the fire-god was also performing a penance and was greatly distressed by his (Angirasa’s) effulgence. He was greatly depressed, but did not know what to do. Then that adorable god thought within himself, ‘Brahma has created another fire-god for this universe. As I have been practising austerities, my services as the presiding deity of fire have been dispensed with; and then he considered how he could re-establish himself as the god of fire. He beheld the great muni giving heat to the whole universe like fire, and approached him slowly with fear. But Angiras said to him, ‘Do thou quickly re-establish yourself as the fire animating the universe, thou art well-known in the three stable worlds and thou wast first created by Brahma to dispel darkness. Do thou, O destroyer of darkness, quickly occupy thine own proper place.’ Agni replied, ‘My reputation has been injured now in this world. And thou art become the fire-god, and people will know thee, and not me, as fire.
I have relinquished my god-hood of fire, do thou become the primeval fire and I shall officiate as the second or Prajapatyaka fire.’ Angiras replied, ‘Do thou become the fire-god and the destroyer of darkness and do thou attend to thy sacred duty of clearing people’s way to heaven, and do thou, O lord, make me speedily thy first child.’ Markandeya continued, ‘Hearing these words of Angiras, the fire-god did as desired, and, O king, Angiras had a son named Vrihaspati. Knowing him to be the first son of Angiras by Agni, the gods, O Bharata, came and enquired about the mystery. And thus asked by the gods he then enlightened them, and the gods then accepted the explanation of Angiras. In this connection, I shall describe to thee religious sorts of fire of great effulgence which are here variously known in the Brahmanas[63] by their respective uses.”
SECTION CCXVII
Markandeya continued, ‘O ornament of Kuru’s race, he (Angiras) who was the third son of Brahma had a wife of the name of Subha. Do thou hear of the children he had by her. His son Vrihaspati, O king, was very famous, large-hearted and of great bodily vigour. His genius and learning were profound, and he had a great reputation as a counsellor. Bhanumati was his first-born daughter. She was the most beautiful of all his children. Angiras’s second daughter was called Raga.[64] She was so named because she was the object of all creature’s love. Siniwali was the third daughter of Angiras. Her body was of such slender make that she was visible at one time and invisible at another; and for this reason she was likened to Rudra’s daughter.
Archismati was his fourth daughter, she was so named from her great refulgence. And his fifth daughter was called Havishmati, so named from her accepting havis or oblations. The sixth daughter of Angiras was called Mahismati the pious. O keen-witted being, the seventh daughter of Angiras is known by the name of Mahamati, who is always present at sacrifices of great splendour, and that worshipful daughter of Angiras, whom they call unrivalled and without portion, and about whom people utter the words kuhu kuhu wonder, is known by the name of Kuhu.’
SECTION CCXVIII
“Markandeya continued, ‘Vrishaspati had a wife (called Tara) belonging to the lunar world. By her, he had six sons partaking of the energy of fire, and one daughter. The fire in whose honour oblations of clarified butter are offered at the Paurnamasya and other sacrifices, was a son of Vrishaspati called Sanju; he was of great ascetic merit. At the Chaturmasya (four-monthly) and Aswamedha (horse) sacrifices, animals are offered first in his honour, and this powerful fire is indicated by numerous flames. Sanju’s wife was called Satya, she was of matchless beauty and she sprang from Dharma (righteousness) for the sake of truth. The blazing fire was his son, and he had three daughters of great religious merit. The fire which is honoured with the first oblations at sacrifices is his first son called Bharadwaja. The second son of Sanju is called Bharata in whose honour oblations of clarified butter are offered with the sacrificial ladle (called Sruk) at all the full moon (Paurnamasaya) sacrifices. Beside these, three sons of whom Bharata is the senior, he had a son named Bharata and a daughter called Bharati.
