Hymn to Agni

Rigveda X.11 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.

This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.

1. The bull has milked, with his milking, heaven's streams of milk for the bull — the vigorous, undeceivable son of Aditi. He knows everything by insight, as Varuna does; let him, worthy of worship, honor the sacrificial rites in their season.

2. The Gandharvī murmurs, and the watery maiden with her — in the roar of the roaring one, may she guard my mind on every side. In the midst of the offering, may Aditi set us firmly in place; our eldest brother, the first, shall speak it forth.

3. Now indeed this auspicious, food-rich, glorious Dawn, rich in sunlight, has shone for Manu — when, following the will of those eager for it, they brought Agni to birth as Hotar, for the sacred assembly.

4. Then that mighty, far-seeing spark — the bird, the falcon sent forth, carried it to the rite. When the Ārya clans chose the wondrous Agni as their Hotar, then insight was born.

5. You are always delightful, O Agni, thriving like cattle on good pasture, through man's offerings, making the rite go well — or, laboring for the poet's praise-worthy prize, having won the prize, you approach with abundant gifts.

6. Arouse the two parents, O wooer, as one who is eager reaches for fortune, sent forth from the heart. The bearer speaks; the skillful, mighty one labors well; the powerful one shows his strength, and quivers with inspired thought.

7. Whoever mortal has won your favor, O Agni, son of strength — he is renowned far beyond others. Bestowing nourishment, borne by horses, he, radiant and mighty, adorns his days.

8. When, O Agni, this assembly becomes divine among the gods, worshipful one — and when you distribute treasures, self-powerful one, grant us here a portion rich in wealth.

9. Hear us, O Agni, in your seat, your dwelling-place; yoke the swift chariot of the immortal. Bring to us the two world-halves, whose children are gods. May you not be far from the gods here.

Translator's note: verse 2's "Gandharvī" and "watery maiden" (apyā yoṣaṇā) are left as the untranslated names of water-spirits associated with the "roaring one" (nada), a term of uncertain reference here — possibly a river or a bull-like sound in the rite. Verse 6's "wooer" (jāra) renders an epithet elsewhere used of Agni as the one who rouses his two parents, the fire-sticks; the image is kept literal rather than smoothed into metaphor.

Colophon

Rigveda X.11 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 X.11

Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

vṛṣā vṛṣṇe duduhe dohasā divaḥ payāṁsi yahvo aditer adābhyaḥ |
viśvaṁ sa veda varuṇo yathā dhiyā sa yajñiyo yajatu yajñiyām̐ ṛtūn || 1 ||

rapad gandharvīr apyā ca yoṣaṇā nadasya nāde pari pātu me manaḥ |
iṣṭasya madhye aditir ni dhātu no bhrātā no jyeṣṭhaḥ prathamo vi vocati || 2 ||

so cin nu bhadrā kṣumatī yaśasvaty uṣā uvāsa manave svarvatī |
yad īm uśantam uśatām anu kratum agniṁ hotāraṁ vidathāya jījanan || 3 ||

adha tyaṁ drapsaṁ vibhvaṁ vicakṣaṇaṁ vir ābharad iṣitaḥ śyeno adhvare |
yadī viśo vṛṇate dasmam āryā agniṁ hotāram adha dhīr ajāyata || 4 ||

sadāsi raṇvo yavaseva puṣyate hotrābhir agne manuṣaḥ svadhvaraḥ |
viprasya vā yac chaśamāna ukthya1ṁ vājaṁ sasavām̐ upayāsi bhūribhiḥ || 5 ||

ud īraya pitarā jāra ā bhagam iyakṣati haryato hṛtta iṣyati |
vivakti vahniḥ svapasyate makhas taviṣyate asuro vepate matī || 6 ||

yas te agne sumatim marto akṣat sahasaḥ sūno ati sa pra śṛṇve |
iṣaṁ dadhāno vahamāno aśvair ā sa dyumām̐ amavān bhūṣati dyūn || 7 ||

yad agna eṣā samitir bhavāti devī deveṣu yajatā yajatra |
ratnā ca yad vibhajāsi svadhāvo bhāgaṁ no atra vasumantaṁ vītāt || 8 ||

śrudhī no agne sadane sadhasthe yukṣvā ratham amṛtasya dravitnum |
ā no vaha rodasī devaputre mākir devānām apa bhūr iha syāḥ || 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).