Hymn to Agni, the Wealth-Giver
Rigveda I.96 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. He, being born by might as in ancient times, at once established all the poetic powers. The waters and Insight brought Mitra to fulfillment: the gods have upheld Agni, the wealth-giver.
2. He, with the ancient invocation, begot these generations of Manu from the two wise ones. With the eye of Vivasvat he begot heaven and the waters: the gods have upheld Agni, the wealth-giver.
3. The devoted clans have praised him, the foremost accomplisher of sacrifice, offered to with oblations, radiant — the son of strength, the sustainer, ever-flowing with bounty: the gods have upheld Agni, the wealth-giver.
4. He, Mātariśvan, nourisher with many boons, found a path for his offspring, the finder of heaven's light — the guardian of the clans, begetter of the two worlds: the gods have upheld Agni, the wealth-giver.
5. Night and Dawn, exchanging their colors, together suckle the one child. Between heaven and earth the golden one shines forth: the gods have upheld Agni, the wealth-giver.
6. The foundation of wealth, the gatherer of treasures, the banner of sacrifice, the fulfiller of prayer, he of the bird — guarding his immortality, the gods have upheld Agni, the wealth-giver.
7. Both now and of old, the seat of riches, the ground of what has been born and what is being born, the guardian of what exists and of the abundance yet to come: the gods have upheld Agni, the wealth-giver.
8. Wealth-giver, may he extend to us overpowering wealth. Wealth-giver, wealth accompanied by kin. Wealth-giver, grant us nourishment rich in heroes. Wealth-giver, may he grant us long life.
9. Thus, O Agni, growing through the kindling-fuel, shine forth richly for us, O purifier, unto glory. May Mitra and Varuṇa grant us this — Aditi, the River, Earth, and Heaven.
Translator's note: "kavyatāyoḥ" (v. 2) is read here as referring to a dual pair of wise/poetic powers (commonly understood as Heaven and Earth); the term is compressed and admits other readings. "sanarasya" (v. 8) is rendered "accompanied by kin," taking sa- as "with" and nara- as "men/kinsmen"; other renderings are possible. "veḥ" (v. 6), literally "of the bird," is kept as the spare image "he of the bird" rather than expanded, since the Sanskrit itself does not elaborate it.
Colophon
Rigveda I.96 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.96
sa pratnathā sahasā jāyamānaḥ sadyaḥ kāvyāni baḻ adhatta viśvā |
āpaś ca mitraṁ dhiṣaṇā ca sādhan devā agniṁ dhārayan draviṇodām || 1 ||
sa pūrvayā nividā kavyatāyor imāḥ prajā ajanayan manūnām |
vivasvatā cakṣasā dyām apaś ca devā agniṁ dhārayan draviṇodām || 2 ||
tam īḻata prathamaṁ yajñasādhaṁ viśa ārīr āhutam ṛñjasānam |
ūrjaḥ putram bharataṁ sṛpradānuṁ devā agniṁ dhārayan draviṇodām || 3 ||
sa mātariśvā puruvārapuṣṭir vidad gātuṁ tanayāya svarvit |
viśāṁ gopā janitā rodasyor devā agniṁ dhārayan draviṇodām || 4 ||
naktoṣāsā varṇam āmemyāne dhāpayete śiśum ekaṁ samīcī |
dyāvākṣāmā rukmo antar vi bhāti devā agniṁ dhārayan draviṇodām || 5 ||
rāyo budhnaḥ saṁgamano vasūnāṁ yajñasya ketur manmasādhano veḥ |
amṛtatvaṁ rakṣamāṇāsa enaṁ devā agniṁ dhārayan draviṇodām || 6 ||
nū ca purā ca sadanaṁ rayīṇāṁ jātasya ca jāyamānasya ca kṣām |
sataś ca gopām bhavataś ca bhūrer devā agniṁ dhārayan draviṇodām || 7 ||
draviṇodā draviṇasas turasya draviṇodāḥ sanarasya pra yaṁsat |
draviṇodā vīravatīm iṣaṁ no draviṇodā rāsate dīrgham āyuḥ || 8 ||
evā no agne samidhā vṛdhāno revat pāvaka śravase vi bhāhi |
tan no mitro varuṇo māmahantām aditiḥ sindhuḥ pṛthivī uta dyauḥ || 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).