Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.69 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. Fair are the sights of Agni, fire of Vadhryaśva's line; lovely his guidance, delightful his approach. When the well-befriended clans kindle him at the outset, offered with ghee, he crackles, flashing again and again.
2. Ghee is the strengthening of Agni, fire of Vadhryaśva; ghee is his food, ghee indeed his nourishment. Offered with ghee, he spreads out wide; he shines like the sun, his drink the melted butter.
3. That face of yours which Manu, which Sumitra kindled, O Agni — this is that same face, renewed. Blaze with riches; take pleasure in the songs; break open the prize; set glory here.
4. You whom Vadhryaśva, calling on you of old, kindled, O Agni — take pleasure in this. Be our guardian of home and guardian of body; watch over the gift that is yours from us.
5. Be splendid, O son of Vadhryaśva, and be our herdsman; let not the hostility of other peoples overcome you. Bold as a hero, a shaker of foes, good friend — now let me proclaim the name of Vadhryaśva.
6. Together you have won the wealth of plain and of mountain, the obstacles of Dāsa and Ārya alike. Bold as a hero, shaker of peoples — may you, O Agni, overpower those who seek battle.
7. This Agni is long-extended, a mighty bull, with a thousand [cows], skilled, leading a hundred. Bright among the bright, groomed by men, you shine among the good-friend, god-seeking ones.
8. In you, O Jātavedas, is a good-milking cow, unfailing, ever-flowing alike. You, O Agni, are kindled by men bearing gifts, by the good-friend, god-seeking ones.
9. Even the immortal gods, O Jātavedas, proclaimed your greatness, O son of Vadhryaśva. When the human clans came together in strife, you conquered by the men who strengthen you.
10. Like a father who bore his son on his lap, so Vadhryaśva served you, O Agni, delighting, O youngest one, in kindling him — and you helped the ancient ones too, even those grown mighty.
11. Ever has Agni, fire of Vadhryaśva, conquered his enemies, with the men who pressed the soma. You burned even the whole assembled host, O brightly-shining one; you struck down the swelling foe, even the mighty one.
12. This Agni of Vadhryaśva is the Vṛtra-slayer, kindled since ancient times, to be invoked with reverence. Overcome for us, O son of Vadhryaśva, those who defy us — whether kin or strangers.
Translator's note: verse 7's "sahasrastarīḥ śatanītha" (literally something like "a thousand [barren cows], hundred-leading") is an obscure compound describing Agni's wealth or retinue; rendered conservatively above. Verse 12's "ajāmīn uta vā vijāmīn" (kin versus non-kin/stranger) is likewise rendered by sense rather than certainty about the exact legal-social distinction intended.
Colophon
Rigveda X.69 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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda X.69
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.
bhadrā agner vadhryaśvasya saṁdṛśo vāmī praṇītiḥ suraṇā upetayaḥ |
yad īṁ sumitrā viśo agra indhate ghṛtenāhuto jarate davidyutat || 1 ||
ghṛtam agner vadhryaśvasya vardhanaṁ ghṛtam annaṁ ghṛtam v asya medanam |
ghṛtenāhuta urviyā vi paprathe sūrya iva rocate sarpirāsutiḥ || 2 ||
yat te manur yad anīkaṁ sumitraḥ samīdhe agne tad idaṁ navīyaḥ |
sa revac choca sa giro juṣasva sa vājaṁ darṣi sa iha śravo dhāḥ || 3 ||
yaṁ tvā pūrvam īḻito vadhryaśvaḥ samīdhe agne sa idaṁ juṣasva |
sa naḥ stipā uta bhavā tanūpā dātraṁ rakṣasva yad idaṁ te asme || 4 ||
bhavā dyumnī vādhryaśvota gopā mā tvā tārīd abhimātir janānām |
śūra iva dhṛṣṇuś cyavanaḥ sumitraḥ pra nu vocaṁ vādhryaśvasya nāma || 5 ||
sam ajryā parvatyā3 vasūni dāsā vṛtrāṇy āryā jigetha |
śūra iva dhṛṣṇuś cyavano janānāṁ tvam agne pṛtanāyūm̐r abhi ṣyāḥ || 6 ||
dīrghatantur bṛhadukṣāyam agniḥ sahasrastarīḥ śatanītha ṛbhvā |
dyumān dyumatsu nṛbhir mṛjyamānaḥ sumitreṣu dīdayo devayatsu || 7 ||
tve dhenuḥ sudughā jātavedo 'saścateva samanā sabardhuk |
tvaṁ nṛbhir dakṣiṇāvadbhir agne sumitrebhir idhyase devayadbhiḥ || 8 ||
devāś cit te amṛtā jātavedo mahimānaṁ vādhryaśva pra vocan |
yat sampṛccham mānuṣīr viśa āyan tvaṁ nṛbhir ajayas tvāvṛdhebhiḥ || 9 ||
piteva putram abibhar upasthe tvām agne vadhryaśvaḥ saparyan |
juṣāṇo asya samidhaṁ yaviṣṭhota pūrvām̐ avanor vrādhataś cit || 10 ||
śaśvad agnir vadhryaśvasya śatrūn nṛbhir jigāya sutasomavadbhiḥ |
samanaṁ cid adahaś citrabhāno 'va vrādhantam abhinad vṛdhaś cit || 11 ||
ayam agnir vadhryaśvasya vṛtrahā sanakāt preddho namasopavākyaḥ |
sa no ajāmīm̐r uta vā vijāmīn abhi tiṣṭha śardhato vādhryaśva || 12 ||
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).