The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (75 page)

 
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Agnes, St
.

Christian virgin and martyr. There is no certain information about her death or its date, but she has been venerated in Rome since the 4th cent. She is represented with a lamb
(Lat.,
agnus
). Feast day, 21 Jan.

 
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(Skt., ‘fire’; cf. Lat.,
ignis
). The god of fire in Hinduism, of great importance, especially in the
Vedic
period. As
sacrifice
is at the centre of Vedic religion, Agni is at the centre of sacrifice. As messenger of the gods, Agni is mediator between humankind and the heavenly realm. All offerings must pass through the sacred fire to reach their divine destinations. Agni is the witness of all sacred transactions, the benefactor and protector of people and their homes, and guardian (
loka-p
la
) of the south-east quadrant of the universe. His three principal forms include not only fire on earth, but also lightning in the atmosphere and the sun in the sky. In a sense Agni personifies all the gods, the power of the divine, immanent in all things. He is understood as the source of knowledge (the
Veda
), both god of priests and priest of the gods, and potent enemy of darkness. Ever youthful, he bestows life and immortality.

 
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Agnihotra
.

Hindu daily ritual of offering milk, oil, and gruel, in the morning and the evening, to
Agni
, in the domestic (
g
rhapatya
) and sacrificial (
havan
ya
) fires.

 
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(1859–1928).
Hindu founder of the Dev Samaj. Originally called Shiv Narayan, he was born into a
brahman
family and became a teacher in Lahore. He joined the
Brahmo Sam
j
, and was a fiery opponent of
rya Sam
j
. He broke away from Keshub Chandra Sen in 1887, but his Dev Samaj only took on distinctive ideas when he adapted Herbert Spencer to ideas of
Brahman
/
tman
, thus viewing
tman as an ‘inanimate’ life-force, evolving to altruism.