Atharvan in the context of "Bhrigu"

Atar (Avestan: 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭, romanized: ātar) is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to be the visible presence of Ahura Mazda and his Asha through the eponymous Yazata. The rituals for purifying a fire are performed 1,128 times a year.

In the Avestan language, ātar is an attribute of sources of heat and light, of which the nominative singular form is ātarš, source of Persian ātaš (fire). It was once thought to be etymologically related to the Avestan āθrauuan / aθaurun (Vedic atharvan), a type of priest, but that is now considered unlikely (Boyce, 2002:16). The ultimate etymology of ātar, previously unknown (Boyce, 2002:1), is now believed to be from the Indo-European *h_xeh_xtr- 'fire'. This would make it a cognate to Latin ater (black) and to Albanian vatër (definite form: vatra) "hearth", "fireplace", which was loaned to Romanian vatră "hearth", "fireplace", and thereafter spread to Serbo-Croat vatra "fire" and Ukrainian vatra "bonfire".

Angiras (Sanskrit: अङ्गिरस् (stem), IAST: Aṅgiras, Sanskrit pronunciation: ['ɐŋɡirɐs], nominative singular Sanskrit: अङ्गिराः, IAST: Aṅgirāḥ, Sanskrit pronunciation: ['ɐŋɡirɐ:h], rendered Angirā in Hindi) was 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 Angira. The student family of Angira are called "Angira", and they are credited to be the authors of some hymns in the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth, and tenth books of the Rigveda. By the time of the composition of the Rigveda, the Angirases were an old Rishi clan, and were stated to have participated in several events.