The flame remembered: Mātariśvan, the Bhrigus, and the birth of holy fire

The early hymns of the Rigveda, dated by modern scholars to between 1500 and 900 BCE, recount the mythic exploits of Mātariśvan—a divine figure who brings fire, in the form of lightning, from a distant realm, perhaps the heavens, to the earth. Upon its arrival, the fire vanishes, only to be rediscovered by Mātariśvan and entrusted to the clan of the Bhrigus. It is through them that the sacred knowledge of fire is disseminated to humanity.

In the later portions of the Rigveda, Mātariśvan is identified with Agni, the Vedic god of fire, who becomes both the medium and the object of worship in countless rituals. Several verses marvel at the mystery of fire's generation through the friction of wood—an act both practical and sacred. The Sanskrit term for the fire-producing wooden sticks is Pramantha, a word rich in symbolic and etymological resonance, often linked to the Promethean act of bringing fire to mankind.