Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.128 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. Obedient to all, like a friend to one who wants a friend, like wealth to one who seeks fame — the unfailing priest has taken his seat in Iḷā's place, wrapped in flame, in Iḷā's place.
2. He who brings us strength — in this form he does not grow old — whom Mātariśvan carried as a god to Manu from far away, from far away.
3. Seeing with a hundred eyes, the god who overpowers all in the forests, taking his seat on the lower heights — Agni, on the higher heights.
4. The Ordainer, driven by his own power, watches over all creatures that are born; from him the guest bright with ghee was born, the carrier of offerings, the Ordainer, was born.
5. He indeed, by his greatness, furthers the giving of good things. May he guard us from distress and harm, from curse and evil, from harm.
6. For every eager one you carry the offering to the gods; for every one who acts well he opens what is desired — Agni throws the doors wide open.
7. He rules over the oblations of men, lord of the offerings made with Iḷā. May he guard us from Varuṇa's harm, from the harm of the great god.
8. The gods, wanting good things, call with songs on the joyous one for help — on him who lives through all, who holds all wealth, the priest, the one worthy of worship, the seer — the joyous one, wanting good things.
Translator's note: "Iḷā's place" (iḻas pade) names the sacrificial ground/altar, personified as the goddess Iḷā; it is kept untranslated as a proper term rather than rendered loosely. Several epithets (e.g. "the Ordainer," vedhāḥ; "the carrier," vahniḥ) are titles for Agni himself repeated across verses, kept literal rather than smoothed into paraphrase.
Colophon
Rigveda I.128 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.128
viśvaśruṣṭiḥ sakhīyate rayir iva śravasyate |
adabdho hotā ni ṣadad iḻas pade parivīta iḻas pade || 1 ||
sa na ūrjām upābhṛty ayā kṛpā na jūryati |
yam mātariśvā manave parāvato devam bhāḥ parāvataḥ || 2 ||
śataṁ cakṣāṇo akṣabhir devo vaneṣu turvaṇiḥ |
sado dadhāna upareṣu sānuṣv agniḥ pareṣu sānuṣu || 3 ||
kratvā vedhā iṣūyate viśvā jātāni paspaśe |
yato ghṛtaśrīr atithir ajāyata vahnir vedhā ajāyata || 4 ||
sa hi ṣmā dānam invati vasūnāṁ ca majmanā |
sa nas trāsate duritād abhihrutaḥ śaṁsād aghād abhihrutaḥ || 5 ||
viśvasmā id iṣudhyate devatrā havyam ohiṣe |
viśvasmā it sukṛte vāram ṛṇvaty agnir dvārā vy ṛṇvati || 6 ||
sa havyā mānuṣāṇām iḻā kṛtāni patyate |
sa nas trāsate varuṇasya dhūrter maho devasya dhūrteḥ || 7 ||
viśvāyuṁ viśvavedasaṁ hotāraṁ yajataṁ kavim |
devāso raṇvam avase vasūyavo gīrbhī raṇvaṁ vasūyavaḥ || 8 ||
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).