मा त्वं मामपहाय परागाः । नाहं त्वामपहाय परागामिति । गार्हपत्यदक्षिणाग्न्याहवनीयेष्वरणिदेशाद्भस्ममुष्टिं पिबेदित्येके । सशिखान्केशान्निष्कृत्य विसृज्य यज्ञोपवीतं भूःस्वाहेत्यप्सु जुहुयात्
mā tvaṃ māmapahāya parāgāḥ | nāhaṃ tvāmapahāya parāgāmiti | gārhapatyadakṣiṇāgnyāhavanīyeṣvaraṇideśādbhasmamuṣṭiṃ pibedityeke | saśikhānkeśānniṣkṛtya visṛjya yajñopavītaṃ bhūḥsvāhetyapsu juhuyāt
"Do not depart, having left me behind; and I will not depart, having left you behind," [he says to the fires]. … Let him drink a handful of ash from the place of the fire-drill — so say some. Having cut off the hair together with the tuft and cast off the thread — "bhūḥ, svāhā!" — let him cast into the water.
68e0682e4a27 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The one departing says to the fire: mā tvaṃ mām apahāya parāgāḥ, "do not depart, having left me behind; and I will not depart, having left you behind." This is a farewell to the household fire he has tended his whole life and now extinguishes. And it is said in the words with which one bids farewell to a living being.
The Vedic rite in general treats fire as a member of the household: it is fed, it is woken, it is carried at a move and guarded so it does not go out. Hence the farewell is not "I am putting you out," but "do not depart from me, and I will not depart from you." It is worth noting that after these words the fire is not extinguished but absorbed: by rite, it is transferred into oneself, and from this moment the one departing is himself considered the bearer of fire. Hence the custom cited right after: drinking a handful of ash — that is, taking into oneself what remains of the hearth.
The Vaiṣṇava side looks at such passages gladly, for in them the chief feature of this cast of mind is visible. The world is populated: fire, water, earth, implements — none of these are things dealt with, but beings bidden farewell. From such a view, the worship of an image grows naturally: one who bids farewell to a fire by name will not be surprised that the Lord takes a form and lives in a house.