Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.20 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. Waft toward us an auspicious mind.
2. I praise Agni, youngest among those who partake of the offering, a friend hard to hold back, moved by his own command — at whose ordinance the dappled rays pay honor to heaven, to the mother's udder.
3. Whom, in his lovely nest, they make grow with light into a banner; he blazes, showing his row of teeth.
4. The path of the lord's clans goes forth, when he has reached the farthest ends of heaven — the poet, shining in the cloud.
5. He delights in the offerings of Manu's people; upright he has stood, mighty, at the sacrifice; shaping his seat, he goes before them.
6. For he is safety, the oblation, the sacrifice itself; through his readiness his path goes forth — the gods approach Agni, who bears the axe.
7. To Agni, victor in the sacrifice, I turn in service; of that ancient, kindly one they say: Āyu, son of the stone.
8. Whatever men are among us, all of them — let good things come to them, as they make Agni grow through their offering.
9. Black, white, ruddy is his course, tawny, bright, and glorious red; the begetter has begotten him in golden form.
10. So, O Agni, Vimada, at one with the immortal ones, brings you his thought, O child of strength; seeking your favor, let him carry hither his hymns of good will — you have brought food, strength, and a good dwelling, everything.
Translator's note: verse 3's "kṛpanīḻam" (rendered here as "in his lovely nest") and verse 2's "bhujāṁ" ("those who partake") are difficult, isolated forms; the renderings are conservative rather than certain.
Colophon
Rigveda X.20 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.20
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.
bhadraṁ no api vātaya manaḥ || 1 ||
agnim īḻe bhujāṁ yaviṣṭhaṁ śāsā mitraṁ durdharītum |
yasya dharman sva1r enīḥ saparyanti mātur ūdhaḥ || 2 ||
yam āsā kṛpanīḻam bhāsāketuṁ vardhayanti |
bhrājate śreṇidan || 3 ||
aryo viśāṁ gātur eti pra yad ānaḍ divo antān |
kavir abhraṁ dīdyānaḥ || 4 ||
juṣad dhavyā mānuṣasyordhvas tasthāv ṛbhvā yajñe |
minvan sadma pura eti || 5 ||
sa hi kṣemo havir yajñaḥ śruṣṭīd asya gātur eti |
agniṁ devā vāśīmantam || 6 ||
yajñāsāhaṁ duva iṣe 'gnim pūrvasya śevasya |
adreḥ sūnum āyum āhuḥ || 7 ||
naro ye ke cāsmad ā viśvet te vāma ā syuḥ |
agniṁ haviṣā vardhantaḥ || 8 ||
kṛṣṇaḥ śveto 'ruṣo yāmo asya bradhna ṛjra uta śoṇo yaśasvān |
hiraṇyarūpaṁ janitā jajāna || 9 ||
evā te agne vimado manīṣām ūrjo napād amṛtebhiḥ sajoṣāḥ |
gira ā vakṣat sumatīr iyāna iṣam ūrjaṁ sukṣitiṁ viśvam ābhāḥ || 10 ||
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).