We all must have observed priests uttering the word Swaha at the end of each mantra. Whenever there is a Yagna performed, it is considered to be incomplete without saying Swaha in the end. During a Yagna, various Gods are invoked by offering food and other items to the sacrificial fire. The fire consumes it and sends it across to the respective Gods. In Hinduism Agni is known to be the God of Fire. He is one of the Vedic Gods who was considered among the Supreme Gods during that era. He was a twin brother of Indra and was married goddess Swaha. Now let us learn about this story in detail.
During the early stages of creation, the Gods were facing a bit of trouble since there was no provision for them to consume food. This was making them weak. This is when Brahma did penance to please Goddess Adi Shakti. He asked her for a solution. The goddess declared that during the Yagnas conducted by humans, all that will be offered to the holy fire shall become food for the Gods. However Agni could not do this alone. This is when the Goddess in the form of Swaha decided to become his consort. With Swaha co-existing with Agni, he was able to consume the offerings and pass it on to the Gods. Swaha became his energy and it was made mandatory to call on Swaha during the end of the worship. Only when Swaha was invoked, Agni was able to consume all the offerings. Now let us learn more about their love story.
Swaha was the daughter of Prajapati Daksha and Queen Prasuti. Once when she was roaming in the forests she happened to see Lord Agni. She was completely smitten by him and fell in love with him immediately. Agni on the other hand did not notice her. Agni during that time was attracted to wives of seven Saptarishis. These wives were the heavenly Kritikas who were known for their beauty. Despite knowing that they were married Agni could not stop thinking of them. When Swaha got to know of this, she decided to lure Agni by disguising herself as the 7 wives. She shared some intimate moments with Agni by changing her form. However she was not able to take the form of Arundhati (wife of sage Vashistha) as Arundhati was completely devoted to her husband. This is when Agni realized that it was Swaha with him and not the Saptarishi wives. He realized his fault of desiring married women. He then decided to marry Swaha. Swaha became immortal after marrying him. Art Credit: DeviantArt Follow us on
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