Asgni Meele Purohitam is the first verse of Rig Veda

HMV had once published a pamphlet giving the history of gramophone
record. Gramophone was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in the 19th
century. Edison, who had invented many other gadgets like electric
light and the motion picture camera, had become a legend even in his
own time.


When He invented the gramophone record, which could record human voice
for posterity, he wanted to record the voice of an eminent scholar on
his first piece. For that he chose Prof. Max Muller of England,another
great personality of the 19th century. He wrote to Max Muller saying,
"I want to meet you and record your voice. When should I come?" Max
Muller who had great respect for Edison asked him to come on a
suitable time when most of the scholars of the Europe would be
gathering in England.



Accordingly Edison took a ship and went to England. He was introduced
to the audience. All cheered Edison's presence. Later at the request
of Edison Max Muller came on the stage and spoke in front of the
instrument. Then Edison went back to his laboratory and by afternoon
came back with a disc. He played the gramophone disc from his
instrument. The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller
from the instrument.They were glad that voices of great persons like
Max Muller could be stored for the benefit of posterity.



After several rounds of applause and congratulations to Thomas Alwa
Edison, Max Muller came to the stage and addressed the scholars and
asked them, "You heard my original voice in the morning. Then you
heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in the afternoon.
Do you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard in the
afternoon?".



The audience fell silent because they could not understand the
language in which Max Muller had spoken.It was `Greek and Latin' to
them as they say. But had it been Greek or Latin, they would have
definitely understood because they were from various parts of Europe.
It was in a language which the European scholars had never heard.



Max Muller then explained what he had spoken.He said that the language
he spoke was Sanskrit and it was the first sloka of Rig Veda, which
says "Agni Meele Purohitam" . This was the first recorded public
version on the gramophone plate.



Why did Max Muller choose this? Addressing the audience he said,
"Vedas are the oldest text of the human race. And Agni Meele Purohitam
is the first verse of Rig Veda. In the most primordial time when the
people of Europe were jumping like Chimpanzees, from tree to tree and
branch to branch, when they did not know how to cover their bodies,
but with fig leaves, did not know agriculture and lived by hunting and
lived in caves, at that remote past, Indians had attained high
civilization and they gave to the world universal philosophies in the
form of the Vedas.