ANGIRAS

Angira / Angiras is a Vedic rishi (sage) of Hinduism. He is described in the Rigved as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, as well as stated in other hymns to be the first of Agni-devas (fire gods). He is known by both names angiras and angira. In some texts he is called angiras and in some he is called angira. In some texts, he is considered to be one of the seven great sages or Saptarishis, but in others he is mentioned but not counted in the list of seven great sages. In some manuscripts of Atharv Ved, the text is attributed to "Atharvangirasah", which is a compound of sage Atharvan and Angira. The student family of Angira are called "Angira", and they are credited to be the authors of some hymns in the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth, and tenth books of the Rigved.

Texts :

Many hymns of the Rigved credit Angiras and his students as their authors. For example :

• Hymns 1.101 through 1.115 dedicated to Agni, Indra, Ribhus, Asvins, Ushas, Rudra and Surya were authored by Kuts Angiras.

• Hymn 2.1 dedicated to Agni was originally authored by Angiras Saunahotra.

• Hymns 5.35 and 5.36 dedicated to Indra were authored by Prabhuvasu Angiras.

• Hymns 8.2 (first 40 verses) to Indra were authored by Priyamedha Angiras.

• Hymns 9.97 (last 14 verses), 9.108, 9.112 to Soma were authored by Kuts Angiras, Uru Angiras, Urdhvasadman Angiras, Krtayasas Angiras and Sisu Angiras.

• Hymns in mandala 10, on Indra, Agni, Brihaspati, Wisdom, Surya, Vaisvanara, Horses, Ushas, ritual of Royal consecration, and others were authored by various Angiras.

Other than crediting authorship, the Vedic texts mention sage Angiras in various roles such as a fire priest or a singer. For example, the allegorical hymn 3.31 of the Rigved calls him a singer:

The most inspired one came, assuming a friendly attitude,

The rock made ripe (its) fruit for the one who performs the kind deed,

The young hero attained (his aim) with the youths, assuming a warlike attitude,

And here right away, the singing Angiras appeared.

— Rigved 3.31.7, Translator: Tatyana J. Elizarenkova

In Buddhist Pali canonical texts such as Digha Nikaya, Tevijja Sutta describes a discussion between the Buddha and Vedic scholars of his time. The Buddha names ten rishis, calls them "early sages" and makers of ancient verses that have been collected and chanted in his era, and among those ten rishis is Angiras.

History :

The name Angirasas is applied generically to several Puranic individuals. Further, the Vedic sage Angiras appears in medieval Hindu texts with contradictory roles as well as many different versions of his birth, marriage and biography. In some, he is described to be the son of Brahma, in others he is one of many Prajapatis. Depending on the legend, he has one, two or four wives. In one myth, his wife is stated to be Surupa and his sons are Utathya, Samvartan and Brahaspati. Other accounts say that he married Smriti (memory), the daughter of Daksh and later married Svadha (oblation). Yet other Puranic accounts state, he married Shubha and they had seven daughters named after aspects of "fire" and a son named Brihaspati. In some legends, sage Brihaspati is his son.

According to one legend, Angiras turned his senses inwards and meditated on Para-Brahman, the creator of the creator, for several years. The great Tejas he got by birth had multiplied infinitely by his penance. He attained many divine qualities, powers, and riches, and control over many worlds. But he was oblivious of all the worldly attainments and did not stop his penance. Due to this penance he became one with the Para-Brahman and thus attained the state of “Brahmarshi”. He had visions of many Vedic Mantras and brought them to this earthly world. He is credited as being the source of great number of Vedic Hymns and mantras and also believed to have introduced fire-worship along with sage Bhrigu.

He is one of Saptarishis in the Puranic mythologies.

Zoroastrians :

The aka mainyu epithet recurs in Yasna 32.5, when the principle is identified with the daevas that deceive humankind and themselves. While in later Zoroastrianism, the daevas are demons, this is not yet evident in the Gathas: Zoroaster stated that the daevas are "wrong gods" or "false gods" that are to be rejected, but they are not yet demons. Some have also proposed a connection between Angra Mainyu and the sage Angiras of the Rigved. If this is true, it could be understood as evidence for a religious schism between the deva-worshiping Vedic Indo-Aryans and early Zoroastrians.

In Yasna 32.3, these daevas are identified as the offspring, not of Angra Mainyu, but of akem manah, "evil thinking". A few verses earlier it is however the daebaaman, "deceiver" – not otherwise identified but "probably Angra Mainyu"– who induces the daevas to choose achistem manah – "worst thinking." In Yasna 32.13, the abode of the wicked is not the abode of Angra Mainyu, but the abode of the same "worst thinking". "One would have expected [Angra Mainyu] to reign in hell, since he had created 'death and how, at the end, the worst existence shall be for the deceitful' (Y. 30.4)."