Angiras (sage)

Angiras
An 18th century painting of the story of Queen Choladevi learning from the hermit-sage Angiras
Religion	Hinduism
Spouse	Surūpa
Children	Utathya, Samvartana and Brahaspati
Parents	Brahma (father)

Angiras (अंगिरस्, pronounced [əŋɡirəs]) is a Vedic rishi (sage) of Hinduism. He is described in the Rigveda as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, as well as stated in other hymns to be the first of Agni-devas (fire gods). In some texts, he is considered to be one of the seven great sages or saptarishis, but in others he is mentioned but not counted in the list of seven great sages. In some manuscripts of Atharvaveda, the text is attributed to "Atharvangirasah", which is a compound of sage Atharvan and Angiras. The student family of Angiras are called "Angirasa", and they are credited to be the authors of some hymns in the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth and tenth book of the Rigveda.

Angiras is common name, and the numerous mentions in ancient and medieval Indian texts may reflect different people with the same name. In the Hindu Epics and Puranas, his legends and mythologies are highly inconsistent.

Many hymns of the Rigveda credit Angiras and his students as their authors. For example:

Other than crediting authorship, the Vedic texts mention sage Angiras in various roles such as a fire priest or a singer. For example, the allegorical hymn 3.31 of the Rigveda calls him a singer:

The most inspired one came, assuming a friendly attitude,
The rock made ripe (its) fruit for the one who performs the kind deed,
The young hero attained (his aim) with the youths, assuming a warlike attitude,
And here right away, the singing Angiras appeared.

In the Vedic tradition linked to the Atharvaveda, sage Atharvan was more revered while sage Angiras was controversial. The auspicious practices, virtues and the pursuit of good for others were attributed to Atharvan, while the hostile sorcery and pursuit of harm unto others were attributed to Angiras. According to Max Muller – a professor of Sanskrit and Indology at the Oxford University, the sage Angiras in Vedic literature is different than the plural term Angirasa, and these terms refer to different people. The Angiras rishi is different than the group of sorcerers in Atharvaveda also named Angirasa, and according to Muller, the Vedic rishi is also different from a class of divine beings who too are called Angirasa in the Vedic texts and described as "sprung from coals (angara)".