AGNI MEELE PUROHITAM

Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Harihi Om..

The above Mantra appears in the opening verse of Rig Veda which is considered to be the oldest of the four Vedas. It contains 10 Mandalas and a total of 1028 Suktas.

Interestingly,  the first Mandala doesn't have a specific name but is referred to simply as Madhyama Mandala.  The first Suktam, of the  first Mandala, called Agni Suktam, is dedicated to the fire God Agni. The suktam contains nine verses and the opening verse begins with Agni Meele Purohitam..

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Agni suktam

Rig veda , 1st mandala - 1st suktam

Thus, Agni Meele Purohitam is considered as the first mantra of Rig Veda, and for all practical purposes.

The verse in Sanskrit:

ॐ अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं 

यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् ।

होतारं रत्नधातमम् 

Interpretation in English:

Om. 

I worship Agni who is the Purohita of the Yagya, the Ritvij of the Yagya which is directed towards the Devas and also the Hotara.  I seek Ratna from the Devas, the giver.

Interestingly, all the three terms Purohitam, Ritwik and Hotara refer to one and the same thing - Priest but with different roles to play.

Purohit generally is understood to refer to the family priest or spiritual guide, who performs religious rites and ceremonies. The word is derived from puras (front) and hita (placed).

Ritvik refers to a priest, sage, or one who performs Vedic rituals / sacrifices, signifying deep knowledge of scriptures. He conducts Vedic rituals at the appropriate time of the year - the season (Ritu) and hence he is an Ritvik.

We also have the term Ritvika / Ritwija referring to female counterparts, well establishing that during Vedic times females were given equal importance.

Hota (होता) refers to the sacrificial priest who recites mantras, while Hotra (होत्रा) can mean to  invoke, which is the prime function of the priest. Hotara  (होतार) is a variation or form, often linked to the priest or related Vedic terms, sometimes appearing as a mantra/stotra. Those who invoke Agni for worship are referred to as Agnihotris.

The verse Agni Meele also mentions about devotees offering prayers to Devas through Agni seeking Ratna or Wealth. This wealth is in fact the Q in the three Qs -  IQ, EQ and SQ referring to Intelligence Quotient,  (seeking wisdom), Economic Quotient (seeking subsistence) and  Spiritual Quotient (seeking liberation).

In the picture above, it can be seen that Agni Bhagwan is depicted seated on a Ram, with two faces and seven tongues,  four emitting from one face and three from the other.  These seven tongues (saptate Agne, sapta jihwa..) again have specific names such as Kali (the black one), Karali (the terrific one), Manojava (as swift as the mind), Sulohita (deep red coloured one), Sudhumra varna ( the smoke coloured one), Sphuligini (the sparkling one) and Visvaruchi (bright, shining, one).

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It should be remembered that the verse Agni Meele, though placed at the first position, is neither the first nor the oldest. For, the First Mandala itself is placed at the first position after some realignment. It was composed at a later stage by the Rishi Madhuchchhandas, son of Viswamitra.  

In the Mahabharat, Madhuchhanda is noted as the middle son among his siblings and was invited to attend the grand Rājasuya sacrifice performed by King Yudhisṭhira.