Angiras

Quick Facts

About Angiras

A patriarch among the rishis whose penance blazed so fiercely that Agni, outshone, withdrew into the sea and left the world to him. Angiras took up the fire god's office only to give it back, asking as his reward to be born as Agni's own first child, and so Brihaspati came into being.

In Their Words

Take back your place, destroyer of darkness; I never asked to be the fire.

Angiras

Traits

• Luminous
• Austere
• Modest
• Ancient

Story Appearances

• The Fire That ResignedThe ascetic who returned the office of fire❧ 17 min
• When Fire Hid From the WorldThe blaze that drove Agni into the waters
• The Birth of the War-GodRishi of the seven whose household is tested❧ 10 min

Stories Featuring Angiras

12 further tales on this site name Angiras, in canonical reading order.

• The Court of Sages at the Dvaita LakeAn exile that filled up with brahmanas instead of soldiersVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• Rudra's Share and the Sinking EarthTwo quarrels over what may be given away, on the Kalinga shoreVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keepVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• Swaha and the Six DisguisesThe wives who were punished for a child that was never theirsVana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Grandsire Names the GodDuryodhana asks why he keeps losing and gets a theology insteadBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Armour of MantrasThe one day Duryodhana stood in front of Arjuna and did not fallDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Day the Rod VanishedWhat happened to the world when Chastisement disappearedShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Sweat That Became FeverA drop from Shiva's forehead, and the disease scattered through the worldShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Guest Nobody Could SeeBrihaspati throws down the ladle at a sacrifice where no animal was killedShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Wind Answers the Thousand-Armed KingKartavirya boasts, and an invisible voice begins to argueAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Naked Priest of VaranasiHow a king outbid Indra for a brother nobody wantedAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 31 min
• The Eight Who Questioned BrahmaThe ladder from the Unmanifest down to a bodyAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 21 min

Character Arc

1. 1The Second SunHis penance lights the worlds and dispels their darkness
2. 2The ReturnHe tells Agni to resume his place at once
3. 3The SonBrihaspati is born to him, first child of the fire

Key Relationships

• Father➝Brihaspati
• Father➝Samvarta
• Rival and kin➝Agni
• Son➝Brahma

Places in Angiras's Story

Drawn from the stories Angiras appears in.

• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Mahishmatiमाहिष्मती
• Kshira Sagaraक्षीरसागर
• Yamunaयमुना
• Saraswatiसरस्वती
• Sarayuसरयू
• Varanasi (Kashi)वाराणसी (काशी)
• Munjavatमुञ्जवत्
• Mount Meruमेरु
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Himavatहिमवत्

Related Characters

Others counted among the Sages & Others.

• ✦Sage Kanva
• ◎Eklavya
• ★Shukracharya
• ♛Vrishaparva
• ♛Yadu
• ✧Princess Amba