Ateshgah: Baku Fire Temple, along the ancient Silk Route

“Om Agnimīḷe purohitam yajṇ̃asya devamṛtvijam, hotāram ratnadhātamam”

The very first mantra in Rig Veda is an invocation to Agni, the God of fire. Regarded as the universal living intelligence, Agni is called upon by the seekers to imbibe within themselves the essence of the deity and grow upwards like the flame, in search of the ultimate Truth.

Fire is symbolic of spiritual transformation. And, my visit to Ateshgah, the Fire Temple in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, reaffirmed for me how the essence of this sacred fire is ever burning within each one of us, from the very first moment we take our breath in this world.

One of the key tourist attractions in Baku today, the Ateshgah was built by Hindus and Zoroastrian travellers along the ancient Silk Route. The temple is located in the Surakhany area of Baku. Surakhany means “holes with burning fountains”, on account of the natural gas found in the area.

The eternal fire that used to burn naturally in the main temple In the 17th and 18th centuries, has long been replaced by a gas pipeline. Along with this, the vast temple complex has been meticulously restored as a museum.

On a cold December morning, when I stood inside the main temple, next to the flames that were burning bright and swaying in the wind, I felt I was in a sacred space. Enclosed within high walls, the main temple takes center stage in the vast courtyard. This central altar was in a cell earlier but was moved to the courtyard later.

The central courtyard is surrounded by many cells that used to be occupied by ascetics and monks in ancient times but are now a museum, showcasing the history and significance of the Fire Temple down the ages.

Our tour guide, Vusal, who was exceptionally knowledgeable about local history, informed us that most of the cells had been restored by the Hindus and a few by the Zoroastrians.

I noticed that many of the inscriptions, from the main gate to those exhibited along with important artifacts, were in Sanskrit. A little research indicated that Ganesha and Shiva were the main deities mentioned in the inscriptions.

The statues of Shiva as Nataraja and Ganesha occupying prominent places among the exhibits, further indicated that they were the main deities worshipped in the fire temple.

As per information available in the museum, many of the Hindu ascetics who lived in Ateshgah would practice extremely stringent forms of devotion and self-denial. Travellers in those times wrote many interesting accounts about what they saw and experienced there. The temple was probably sustained by the merchants who halted at this place on their journeys along the old Silk Route.

Interestingly, though Ateshgah is no longer considered a “living temple” as the rituals of worship have long been stopped, the deity, Agni, continues to be alive in his sanctum sanctorum. With a living deity, for me, the temple was as sacrosanct as it would have been for the people who came here a few hundred years ago.

Important info:
How to reach: Ateshgah is a short 30-minute drive from the main city center in Baku. For reaching Baku, Indigo has direct flights from New Delhi.

Accommodation: My recommendation is the Badamdar Hotel & Residences in Baku.

(Sudipta is an energy healer and mystical storyteller. Her collection of short stories ‘Invoking Our Inner Goddess’,’ Mystical Tales Of Sacred Earth’, ‘The Blue God’s Love’, and ‘Enchanted Waters: The Magical Flow Of Life’ are available worldwide on Amazon Kindle.)