Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.118 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. O Agni, shining among mortals, you strike down the devourer in your own dwelling, you whose ways are bright and pure.
2. You rise up, well invoked, delighting in the ghee poured out for you, when the ladles have gathered close around you.
3. Offered to, Agni shines forth, worthy to be called on with song; his face is anointed by the ladle.
4. Agni is anointed with ghee, honey-faced when offered to, shining, rich in light.
5. Crackling, you are kindled for the gods, O carrier of offerings; mortals call upon you.
6. Mortals, honor with ghee that immortal Agni, the undeceivable lord of the house.
7. With your undeceivable flame, O Agni, burn the demon; shine as guardian of the cosmic order.
8. You, Agni, with your blazing face, scorch the sorceresses, shining among those who dwell in the wide lands.
9. The wide-dwelling peoples have kindled you with their songs, O carrier of offerings, best of sacrificers among the race of Manu.
Translator's note: "jaramāṇaḥ" (v.5) can carry the sense of fire's crackling sound or of being praised/called out to; rendered here as "crackling" to keep both the sound-image and the address to Agni. "Atrin" (v.1) and "yātudhānyaḥ" (v.8) are demon-names (the "devourer" and female sorcerers/demons respectively) kept close to their Sanskrit sense rather than expanded.
Colophon
Rigveda X.118 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.118
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.
agne haṁsi ny a1triṇaṁ dīdyan martyeṣv ā |
sve kṣaye śucivrata || 1 ||
ut tiṣṭhasi svāhuto ghṛtāni prati modase |
yat tvā srucaḥ samasthiran || 2 ||
sa āhuto vi rocate 'gnir īḻenyo girā |
srucā pratīkam ajyate || 3 ||
ghṛtenāgniḥ sam ajyate madhupratīka āhutaḥ |
rocamāno vibhāvasuḥ || 4 ||
jaramāṇaḥ sam idhyase devebhyo havyavāhana |
taṁ tvā havanta martyāḥ || 5 ||
tam martā amartyaṁ ghṛtenāgniṁ saparyata |
adābhyaṁ gṛhapatim || 6 ||
adābhyena śociṣāgne rakṣas tvaṁ daha |
gopā ṛtasya dīdihi || 7 ||
sa tvam agne pratīkena praty oṣa yātudhānyaḥ |
urukṣayeṣu dīdyat || 8 ||
taṁ tvā gīrbhir urukṣayā havyavāhaṁ sam īdhire |
yajiṣṭham mānuṣe jane || 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).