Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.127 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Agni, the divine fire, messenger between mortals and gods, the eternal priest of the sacred rite. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. He who, upright, self-performing the rite, a god with a god's own beautiful form — with his flame he seeks out the bursting brightness of ghee, of the melted butter poured into him.
2. Like the sky that circles round, the priest of the peoples, flame-haired, the bull — whom these clans shall urge onward to swift action, the clans.
3. Even the firm thing crackles at his meeting with it, as though it were solid wood. Unconquered, he holds it in check; unconquered he advances — irresistible, he advances.
4. He plunges forth into many things, shaping them like wood with his flame; even firm foods he melts down with his strength, even firm things with his strength.
5. Then his life is a firm grasp, like shelter for a son. Whether given as a share or not, his favor spreads out — undecaying fires, ever spreading, undecaying.
6. He takes up the offerings, the taker, the banner of the sacrifice, as is fitting. Then all the men delight in the path of this joyous, exultant one, as in a path toward splendor.
7. Agni rules over riches, the bright one who is their sustainer. May the wise one win the cherished hidden treasures; may the wise one win them.
8. The guest of men, like a father, through whose mouth all those immortals receive their portion — the offerings go to the gods, for their portion.
9. For your fury is mightiest, and your power most brilliant too. And around you move, O undecaying one, those who heed you, undecaying.
10. When the offering-bearer calls out to him in all dwellings, he sings out at the front like a bard — of the swift ones, the ardent priest of the swift ones.
11. Grant us greatness, O mightiest, that we may behold it and enjoy it. Grant great heroic strength to your praisers, O bounteous one — churn it forth, mighty in your power.
Translator's note: verses 3 and 5 turn on compressed, elliptical Vedic syntax (e.g. "dhanvāsahā," "grabhaṇavad") whose precise sense is debated; the renderings above follow the most literal reading of the Sanskrit words rather than smoothing them into a fixed interpretation. Verse 11's closing image ("churn it forth") likely alludes to the kindling of fire by friction, fitting for a hymn to Agni.
Colophon
Rigveda I.127 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.127
ya ūrdhvayā svadhvaro devo devācyā kṛpā |
ghṛtasya vibhrāṣṭim anu vaṣṭi śociṣājuhvānasya sarpiṣaḥ || 1 ||
parijmānam iva dyāṁ hotāraṁ carṣaṇīnām |
śociṣkeśaṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ yam imā viśaḥ prāvantu jūtaye viśaḥ || 2 ||
vīḻu cid yasya samṛtau śruvad vaneva yat sthiram |
niḥṣahamāṇo yamate nāyate dhanvāsahā nāyate || 3 ||
pra yaḥ purūṇi gāhate takṣad vaneva śociṣā |
sthirā cid annā ni riṇāty ojasā ni sthirāṇi cid ojasā || 4 ||
ād asyāyur grabhaṇavad vīḻu śarma na sūnave |
bhaktam abhaktam avo vyanto ajarā agnayo vyanto ajarāḥ || 5 ||
ādad dhavyāny ādadir yajñasya ketur arhaṇā |
adha smāsya harṣato hṛṣīvato viśve juṣanta panthāṁ naraḥ śubhe na panthām || 6 ||
agnir īśe vasūnāṁ śucir yo dharṇir eṣām |
priyām̐ apidhīm̐r vaniṣīṣṭa medhira ā vaniṣīṣṭa medhiraḥ || 7 ||
atithim mānuṣāṇām pitur na yasyāsayā |
amī ca viśve amṛtāsa ā vayo havyā deveṣv ā vayaḥ || 8 ||
śuṣmintamo hi te mado dyumnintama uta kratuḥ |
adha smā te pari caranty ajara śruṣṭīvāno nājara || 9 ||
prati yad īṁ haviṣmān viśvāsu kṣāsu joguve |
agre rebho na jarata ṛṣūṇāṁ jūrṇir hota ṛṣūṇām || 10 ||
mahi śaviṣṭha nas kṛdhi saṁcakṣe bhuje asyai |
mahi stotṛbhyo maghavan suvīryam mathīr ugro na śavasā || 11 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).