Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.44 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. O Agni, immortal one, shining like dawn's own wondrous bounty — bring it to the one who offers. O Jātavedas, bring the gods who wake at dawn, today.
2. You are indeed the welcome messenger, the carrier of oblations, O Agni, the charioteer of the rites. Together with the two Aśvins and with Dawn, grant us abundant strength and great renown.
3. Today we choose as our messenger Agni the good, dear to many, smoke-bannered, radiant at the breaking of the dawns, the glory of the sacrifices.
4. I praise Agni, best, youngest, the well-offered guest, beloved by the one who gives — Jātavedas — that he may go to the gods, at the breaking of the dawns.
5. I will praise you, immortal enjoyer of all, O Agni, immortal protector, worthy of the offering, best of sacrificers, carrier of oblations.
6. Be attentive, well-praised, honey-tongued, well-offered-to, O youngest one, to the one who sings for you — extending Praskaṇva's life so he may live — and pay homage to the divine folk.
7. The clans indeed kindle you, the invoking priest, possessor of all wealth. Bring here, O much-invoked Agni, the wise gods, swiftly, here.
8. Savitṛ, Dawn, the two Aśvins, Bhaga, Agni — at the breaking of the nights — the Kaṇvas, soma pressed, kindle you, carrier of oblations, lord of goodly rites.
9. You are indeed the lord of the rites, O Agni, the messenger of the clans. O one who wakes at dawn, bring the gods today, who behold the light of heaven, to drink the soma.
10. O Agni, radiant one, you have shone through all the dawns before this one, visible to all. You are the protector among the settlements; you are the household-priest of men in their sacrifices.
11. We install you, O Agni, accomplisher of the sacrifice, invoking priest, officiating priest — as Manu did, O god — the wise, swift, immortal messenger.
12. When, O mighty friend of the gods, as household-priest you go between as messenger on their errand — like the resounding waves of a river, the flames of Agni blaze.
13. Hear, O attentive-eared Agni, together with the carrying gods who travel with you. Let Mitra and Aryaman, the early travelers, sit down on the sacred grass for the rite.
14. Let the Maruts hear the hymn of praise, the bountiful ones, whose tongue is Agni, the increasers of Truth. Let Varuṇa, of steadfast ordinances, drink the soma, together with the two Aśvins and Dawn.
Translator's note: "svardṛśaḥ" (v. 9) is rendered "who behold the light of heaven," a conservative reading of the compound. "Vibhāvaso" (v. 10), an epithet meaning roughly "possessor of shining wealth," is rendered simply "radiant one." "Mitramahaḥ" (v. 12) is rendered "mighty friend of the gods," following its most natural parsing as an address to Agni.
Colophon
Rigveda I.44 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.44
agne vivasvad uṣasaś citraṁ rādho amartya |
ā dāśuṣe jātavedo vahā tvam adyā devām̐ uṣarbudhaḥ || 1 ||
juṣṭo hi dūto asi havyavāhano 'gne rathīr adhvarāṇām |
sajūr aśvibhyām uṣasā suvīryam asme dhehi śravo bṛhat || 2 ||
adyā dūtaṁ vṛṇīmahe vasum agnim purupriyam |
dhūmaketum bhāṛjīkaṁ vyuṣṭiṣu yajñānām adhvaraśriyam || 3 ||
śreṣṭhaṁ yaviṣṭham atithiṁ svāhutaṁ juṣṭaṁ janāya dāśuṣe |
devām̐ acchā yātave jātavedasam agnim īḻe vyuṣṭiṣu || 4 ||
staviṣyāmi tvām ahaṁ viśvasyāmṛta bhojana |
agne trātāram amṛtam miyedhya yajiṣṭhaṁ havyavāhana || 5 ||
suśaṁso bodhi gṛṇate yaviṣṭhya madhujihvaḥ svāhutaḥ |
praskaṇvasya pratirann āyur jīvase namasyā daivyaṁ janam || 6 ||
hotāraṁ viśvavedasaṁ saṁ hi tvā viśa indhate |
sa ā vaha puruhūta pracetaso 'gne devām̐ iha dravat || 7 ||
savitāram uṣasam aśvinā bhagam agniṁ vyuṣṭiṣu kṣapaḥ |
kaṇvāsas tvā sutasomāsa indhate havyavāhaṁ svadhvara || 8 ||
patir hy adhvarāṇām agne dūto viśām asi |
uṣarbudha ā vaha somapītaye devām̐ adya svardṛśaḥ || 9 ||
agne pūrvā anūṣaso vibhāvaso dīdetha viśvadarśataḥ |
asi grāmeṣv avitā purohito 'si yajñeṣu mānuṣaḥ || 10 ||
ni tvā yajñasya sādhanam agne hotāram ṛtvijam |
manuṣvad deva dhīmahi pracetasaṁ jīraṁ dūtam amartyam || 11 ||
yad devānām mitramahaḥ purohito 'ntaro yāsi dūtyam |
sindhor iva prasvanitāsa ūrmayo 'gner bhrājante arcayaḥ || 12 ||
śrudhi śrutkarṇa vahnibhir devair agne sayāvabhiḥ |
ā sīdantu barhiṣi mitro aryamā prātaryāvāṇo adhvaram || 13 ||
śṛṇvantu stomam marutaḥ sudānavo 'gnijihvā ṛtāvṛdhaḥ |
pibatu somaṁ varuṇo dhṛtavrato 'śvibhyām uṣasā sajūḥ || 14 ||
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).