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
• The Birth of the War-GodRishi of the seven whose household is tested❧ 10 min

Stories Featuring Angiras

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

• The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of DakshaAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• 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 Children of AgniMarkandeya names the whole family of fires, from the daughters of Angiras to the rivers who mothered themVana Parva ‧ 18 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
• Sword and Shield Against the PreceptorDhrishtadyumna, stripped of car and bow, dances the twenty-one motions to reach DronaDrona Parva ‧ 17 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 Road of WorksBrahman and the first Rishis stand a thousand years on the shore, and sacrifice is foundedShanti Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Tribes Beyond the PaleBhishma names the peoples of the borders and dates them to the ending of the first ageShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Three Born of the FireBhrigu, Angiras and Kavi rise from a libation, and three gods claim themAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Brahmanas Who Deserve WorshipNarada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forgetAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part OneThe deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secretAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 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
• The Oceanसमुद्र
• 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