Agni, O noble herald! Thou standest betwixt the world of men and the realm of the immortals. From thee the gods are served. Through thee the prayers of mortals reach the ears of the deathless ones.

Thou art the messenger of the sacrifice! When the priest casteth the butter upon thy flame, it transformeth in that moment. The smoke that riseth is no common smoke—it is the path made visible, the road whereby the offering journeyeth upward to the luminous assembly in the highest heaven.

O Agni, thou art clothed in light! Thy form is terrible to behold, yet thou art gentle to those who approach thee with reverence. Thou speakest in the crackling of the wood, in the hiss of the flame, in the roar of the conflagration. All the languages of fire are thine own.

We see thee in the lightning and know thee. We see thee in the sun at his rising and recognize thy kinship. Art thou not the fire that dwelleth even in the water, sleeping until the moment of awakening? Art thou not the heat that resideth in the bodies of all creatures, giving them life and motion?

Come now as the divine priest! Stand before the gods and speak in our behalf. Tell them that we honour thee, that we sacrifice to thee with whole hearts, that we remember thy glory and thy terrible majesty. Carry to them our devotion sealed upon the smoke.

Thou art the doorway between the worlds, O Agni. Without thee there would be no connection, no path, no possibility of communion. The gods themselves depend upon thee to receive what mortals offer. In this way thou art greater than all—neither wholly of the divine nor of the mortal, but the bridge that joineth them.

Accept our worship! Be pleased with our offerings!