--> Skip to main content


Matarisvan – Vedic God

Matarisvan is a Vedic god identified with Agni, the fire god, and Vayu, the wind god. Some of the hymns of Rig Veda refer to Matarisvan. He is either identified with Agni (fire god) or is mentioned as the producer of fire.

Matarisvan literally means “he who is formed in his mother.” It is in accordance with the significance of the Sanskrit root from which the word is formed.

The story of Matarisvan is based on the notion of distinguishing fire and the person that produces it. An analysis of the story shows that they are not different.

Matarisvan appears as another name of Agni in some passages.

In a passage explaining the etymology of the different epithets of Agni, the term Matarisvana is explained as the personification of a celestial form of Agni, as well as one who brought down fire from heaven to earth.

Since Matarisvan comes from heaven, it is probable that the mother denotes the thundercloud.

But in later Vedic literature the name is taken as a designation of wind.
The etymologist Yaska also regards Matarisvan as a designation of the wind god (vayu), yielding the meaning “the wind that breathes in the air.”

The name is found 27 times in the Rig Veda. The name is identified with Agni five in book III of Rig Veda and once in book VI of Rig Veda.