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Agni with Svaha

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit lexical item svāhā (Romanized Sanskrit transcription; Devanagari: स्वाहा, chi. 薩婆訶 sà pó hē, jp. sowaka, tib. སྭཱཧཱ་ soha) is an interjection, approximately "hail!" in mantras indicating the end of the mantra. In the Tibetan language, "svaha" is translated as "so be it" and is often pronounced and orthographically represented as "soha". Whenever fire sacrifices are made, svāhā is chanted. Etymologically, the term is probably from su "well" and the root ah "to call".[citation needed]

As a feminine noun, svāhā in the Rigveda may also mean "oblation" (to Agni or Indra), and as oblation personified, Svāhā is a minor goddess, and the wife of Agni. She was originally a nymph[citation needed] but became immortal after marrying Agni. In some versions, she is one of the many divine mothers of Kartikeya. She is also the mother of Aagneya (Aagneya) - the daughter of Agni. She is considered to be a daughter of Daksha. She is thought to preside over burnt offerings. Her body is said to consist of the four Vedas and her six limbs are the six Angas of the Vedas.It is said that the gods to whom offerings are being made through yagna refuse the offerings unless the word 'svaha' is uttered during the sacrifice.[citation needed]