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arrows, soul is a god's all. There are three deities according 
to the etymologists ; Agni, whose place is on earth ; Vayu 
or Indi a, whose place is in the atmosphere; and Surya, whose 
place is in the sky. These receive many designations in con- 
sequence of their greatness or from the diversity of their 
functions."* 
Yaska had before him the interpretations of Sakapuni and 
Aurnavabha, two very ancient and famous expounders of the 
Veda, so that he was well-acquainted with archaic tradition ; 
and Dr. Muir observes on the passage that, — 
“ Agni, Vayu or Indra, and Surya appear to have been 
regarded in the time of Yaska as the triad of deities in whom 
the supreme spirit was especially revealed." 
And, according to Yaska, even these three “agree in one," 
and are merely protagonistic manifestations of the only Soul 
or Spirit. But by this time the One Spirit has become semi- 
pantheistic. According to a passage in the Atharva-Veda , — 
“ Agni becomes Varuna in the evening, rising in the morn- 
ing he is Mitra ; 
Becoming Savitri he moves through the air, becoming 
Indra he glows in the middle of the sky."f 
Agni is thus, 
“ That light whose smile kindles the universe." 
Highest and brightest manifestation of divinity, 
“ Ignis ubique latet, naturam amplectitur omuem." 
And according to the Avesta , — 
“ Sou of Aliuramazda, giver of good, the greatest Yazata,"J 
and it is in this connection that Zarathustra styles himself 
“ the supreme fire-priest," § the priest of the Iranian Atash or 
Atar.|| Lastly, Agni, like Yama, conveys to bliss the soul of 
the righteous after death : — 
“ When thou hast matured him, 0 Jatavedas, 
Then send him to the fathers. 
As for his unborn part,^[ do thou kindle it with thy heat ; 
Let thy flame and thy lustre kindle it ; 
* Apud Muir, Sanskrit Texts, iv. 160. 
t Atharva-Veda, XIII. iii. 13. 
f Khurda- Avesta, xi. § Sup. sec. 10. 
|| “Atar et dOtjin) sont deux formations de la meme racine. II est im- 
possible de separer Atar du vedique athar, et entre athar ct dOijvt] il y a, 
quant a la racine, le meme rapport qu’entre la racine manth (dans pra- 
mantha) et la racine fiavB dans TpofiTjO-ih^.'’ (Damiesteter, Ormond et Ahri - 
man, 34, note 3.) IT The germ of immortality. 
