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.”