160 The Religion of the Veda
supposed to lift daily the eternally youthful sun to the shy to furnish light to the people.ll
Such is his cosmic aspect in the moraine". On the other hand his ritualistic character betrays itself in his epithet zrsfieroadk, which means “ waking at dawn.” We have seen before that he is also regarded as the son of Dwarft All this emphasises the opening of the sacrificial day, ushered in by the Goddess Dawn, God Agni, and the gods that wake in the morning and come in the morning, like the Apvins and others.
Every morning Agni is produced anew for the sacrifice; this secures for him the appropriate epithet “ the youngest.” On the other hand he is the same old Agni, and now comes a good deal of playful or mystic handling of this paradox. His new births are contrasted with his old; having grown old he is born again as a youth. Thus it happens that he is called “ ancient ” and “ very young ” in the same passage; the Vedic: poets delight in this kind of mental seesaw. The mystery is shallow; what is meant is, that the vigorous life of the presentday Agni recalls his traditional importance in the past. There is no sacrificer older than Agni, for he con~ ducted the first sacrifice. Just as he flames up ton
1 Riga-Veda 10. 156. 4. 9 Above. p. 73.
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