O Agni, purifier and enricher! Thou burnest away the impurities that cling to all things. The dross is consumed in thy flames. The base metal becometh gold. The soiled garment becometh clean. All that is foul and corrupted must pass through thy fire and emerge renewed.

Yet thou art also the enricher! Through thy transforming power, all things are increased. The seed falleth into the earth and is consumed, yet from it springeth the mighty tree. The body of the beast is offered to thy flames, yet its substance provideth nourishment and energy. The wood is burned and doth no longer exist in its original form—yet in the fire, in the heat, in the light, it giveth forth all that it contained.

This is the great mystery of thy nature, O Fire! That purification and enrichment are one and the same. That which appeareth to be destruction is truly transformation. That which seemeth to be loss is truly multiplication. In thy crucible, nothing is truly destroyed—only changed, refined, elevated to a higher state.

We mortals desperately require thy purifying work, O Agni. Our souls are stained with ignorance and sin. Our hearts are clouded with desire and attachment. Our minds are darkened by confusion. We cannot ascend to the divine realm in such a state. We cannot stand in the presence of the gods while we are soiled with impurity.

But thou canst make us clean! Thou canst burn away our defilements! When we approach thy altar with sincere hearts, when we make our offerings with genuine repentance, thou dost work thy purifying magic upon us. We emerge from the encounter transformed—lighter, brighter, more resembling our true selves.

And in our purification, we are enriched! For every fault that is burned away maketh room for a virtue to take its place. Every vice consumed in thy flames alloweth a corresponding excellence to flourish. Come now, O Holy Fire, and work thy dual transformation upon us!