The Fire Star



Agni Nakshatram (Kathiri Veyil in Tamil), the period ruled by Agni, and traditionally the hottest time of the year, ends today!  Let the winter storms begin! (This is a joke.)

Agnideva, the Vedic god of fire who lives within the fiery sacrifice, doesn’t look all that terrifying, does he? Although one does sometimes feel as if one were being trampled by the hooves of a large animal when the heat is at its peak.

Happy as I am to see him go, I suspect that Agni will be reluctant to depart so abruptly, and that the crackling of his flaming crown, and the clopping of his mount’s hooves, may be heard faintly, if I pay attention, for quite a while yet.