O Agni! Thou fire that dwellest in secret, hidden in the wood as in the womb of waters—thou hast been born yet art eternal. We invoke thee, O mysterious flame, who camest forth from the Two Mothers, who art the child yet the father of all things.

Come forth, O Agni, with thy radiant form! Thou art the tongue of the gods, the mouth through which they speak their will to us. When we offer the oblation, it is thy very fire that carries it upward, transforms it, and bears it to the assembly of the immortals in the bright sky.

Thou art the friend of man, dwelling in every household, in every flame that warms the cold breast. The wood doth cradle thee, and when struck or rubbed, thou leapest forth victorious and brilliant. Thy light is as the sun newly born, driving back the darkness that devoureth all things.

O Agni, who was not, yet was born of the waters! Thou wast hidden in the stones, thou wast sleeping in the plants. The ṛṣis knew thy secret and by their wisdom they compelled thee to awaken. Now thou burnest with terrible beauty, O devourer of the sacrifice, O herald between the worlds.

We know thee not fully, O Agni. Thy forms are countless. Art thou the lightning that splits the dark cloud? Art thou the glow within the human eye? Art thou the desire that burneth in the heart of the sage? Thou art all these and more—the one fire that appeareth in ten thousand forms.

Protect us, O radiant one! Destroy our enemies with thy consuming flame! Make us pure as the fire purifies the offering. We praise thee with these words, O Agni, O ancient mystery, O newly born eternal—accept our worship and dwell forever in the smoke of our sacrifice.