Agni, the god of fire (अग्निदेव), is a terrestrial deity स्थलीय देवता .  He makes up the  Vedic triad with Indra and Surya. According  to the Vishnu Purana, he is Brahma’s offspring.  As  per  the Puranas, he is son of  Angiras. He occupies a position of equal importance for the householder as well as the religious priest, as he warms the homely hearth and also fuels the sacrificial flame.

Agni appears before us in three forms, as the heavenly sun, the lightning in the sky and the fire on earth. He is the scintillating light flickering inside each one of us. His presence removes the evil spirits of fear and darkness, illuminates everything, and brings warmth, prosperity and happiness. He controls heaven and earth because he symbolises the glowing, as well as the burning energy. As the sacrificial fire, Agni purifies and grants immortality to all those who embrace him fearlessly. This quality of Agni relates him to Soma, the Vedic god symbolising amrita, the drink of immortality.

It is said that he consumed his parents when he was born because they could not provide for him. This is symbolic of the fire born, when two sticks are rubbed together and then burnt out in the fire itself. Shiva’s son Kartikeya could be born, because Agni alone could carry his seed across the waters.

Agni is reddish in color, has three flaming heads, three legs and seven arms. A garland of fruits adorns his neck and his vehicle is the ram. His three legs denote the three fires, ceremonial, nuptial and sacrificial fires, the three worlds, the divine, the terrestrial and the infernal. He has dark eyes and a black neck. He has flamy red hair and a fiery tongue. Dressed in black, he has a rosary, a sacrificial spoon, and a flaming spear in his hands. The seven winds are the wheels of his chariot which is drawn by red horses. Vayu, the god of the winds is his friend because he provides the breeze needed to fan the flames of Agni. Agni assumes the qualities of other deities too. Like the Sun, he provides light and warmth. He takes on the role of  Rudra or Shiva, the destroyer, when he mercilessly burns everything to embers. As  Krayavada, armed with two tusks of iron, he lords over the cremation pyre. 

Agni is also the link between man and god because he receives all divine oblations. 

In the  Mahabharata, his energy is fully exhausted because of the rich, yagna sacrifices. In the Ramayana, he bears witness to Sita’s chastity. In the Vishnu Purana, he is called  Abhimani  and is said to be the eldest son of  Brahma, married  to Swaha (स्वाहा) and  has  three  sons  Pavak, Pavaman and Suchi. Swadha (स्वधा) was another wife. Both his wives are invoked while pouring oblations in the fire or making offerings for the Pitris or ancestors.