Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.58 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. Now indeed the immortal one, born with strength, goads himself onward, when the hotar-priest became the messenger of Vivasvat. By the most direct paths he crosses my region; with the oblation, in service to the gods, he seeks to win them.
2. Joining to himself his own food, unaging, eager, he stands among the dry brushwood. He shines like the back of a dappled horse; like the ridge of heaven, thundering, he has roared.
3. Made one with the Rudras and the Vasus, set in front as house-priest, the hotar seated, immortal lord of riches — like a chariot racing among the clans, among living men, the god attains, one after another, the things to be desired.
4. Driven by the wind, he spreads through the brushwood, roaring loudly, freely, with his tongues like a sickle. When, O Agni, you rush eagerly like a bull upon the trees, your track is black, O ageless one of the bright wave.
5. Burning-jawed, driven by the wind into the forest, like a conquering bull blowing down upon the herd — advancing, he fills the imperishable expanse with his blaze; both what stands still and what moves takes fright, even the winged ones.
6. The Bhṛgus set you among men, like a lovely treasure, easy to invoke, for the people — as hotar, O Agni, as a chosen and excellent guest, like a dear friend, for the divine race.
7. The hotar of seven tongues, the best sacrificer, whom the officiating priests choose at the rites — Agni, the charioteer of all riches — I honor him with an offering; I ask him for a treasure.
8. Grant unbroken shelter today, O son of strength, to your praisers, you who are as great as a friend. Protect the singer from distress, O Agni, offspring of strength, with your fortresses of iron.
9. Be a shelter to the singer, O radiant one; be a shelter, O bounteous one, for the bounteous patrons. Protect the singer from distress, O Agni; may he, rich through devotion, come quickly at dawn.
Translator's note: verse 4's "sṛṇyā" (rendered "sickle") and verse 5's "sāhvām̐" (rendered "conquering," from the root sah, "to overcome") are compact epithets whose precise nuance is debated; they are translated conservatively here for their core sense rather than any single fixed English equivalent.
Colophon
Rigveda I.58 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.58
nū cit sahojā amṛto ni tundate hotā yad dūto abhavad vivasvataḥ |
vi sādhiṣṭhebhiḥ pathibhī rajo mama ā devatātā haviṣā vivāsati || 1 ||
ā svam adma yuvamāno ajaras tṛṣv aviṣyann ataseṣu tiṣṭhati |
atyo na pṛṣṭham pruṣitasya rocate divo na sānu stanayann acikradat || 2 ||
krāṇā rudrebhir vasubhiḥ purohito hotā niṣatto rayiṣāḻ amartyaḥ |
ratho na vikṣv ṛñjasāna āyuṣu vy ānuṣag vāryā deva ṛṇvati || 3 ||
vi vātajūto ataseṣu tiṣṭhate vṛthā juhūbhiḥ sṛṇyā tuviṣvaṇiḥ |
tṛṣu yad agne vanino vṛṣāyase kṛṣṇaṁ ta ema ruśadūrme ajara || 4 ||
tapurjambho vana ā vātacodito yūthe na sāhvām̐ ava vāti vaṁsagaḥ |
abhivrajann akṣitam pājasā rajaḥ sthātuś caratham bhayate patatriṇaḥ || 5 ||
dadhuṣ ṭvā bhṛgavo mānuṣeṣv ā rayiṁ na cāruṁ suhavaṁ janebhyaḥ |
hotāram agne atithiṁ vareṇyam mitraṁ na śevaṁ divyāya janmane || 6 ||
hotāraṁ sapta juhvo3 yajiṣṭhaṁ yaṁ vāghato vṛṇate adhvareṣu |
agniṁ viśveṣām aratiṁ vasūnāṁ saparyāmi prayasā yāmi ratnam || 7 ||
acchidrā sūno sahaso no adya stotṛbhyo mitramahaḥ śarma yaccha |
agne gṛṇantam aṁhasa uruṣyorjo napāt pūrbhir āyasībhiḥ || 8 ||
bhavā varūthaṁ gṛṇate vibhāvo bhavā maghavan maghavadbhyaḥ śarma |
uruṣyāgne aṁhaso gṛṇantam prātar makṣū dhiyāvasur jagamyāt || 9 ||
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).