Agni, thou art the divine priest of all sacrifices! No offering may be made save through thy golden tongue. The gods elected thee before the worlds were formed; they crowned thee with the light of heaven and bade thee be the mouth of all devotion.

Thou sittest at the center of the cosmos — at the navel of the earth, upon the high altar where the three worlds meet. From here, thou seest all that is and all that shall be. The gods confide in thee; the mortals pray through thee; the ancestors listen when thy voice crieth out.

When the devotee poureth ghee and speaketh his prayer, thou takest his words and utterest them in the language of heaven. The Aśvins hear thy call; Indra riseth from his soma-sleep; Varuṇa stirs in his watery realm; Sūrya maketh ready his chariot. All heaven attendeth when Agni speaketh.

Thou art wise, O flame! Thou knowest every secret rite, every hidden word of power. The mantras were uttered by thee long ago, when first the sacrificial fires were kindled. Thou rememberest the ancient pacts between gods and men. Thou guardest the covenant of ṛta.

Come now and sit before us! Accept the ghee that we pour! Receive our praises with gladness! Stand at our altar and be our mediator with the gods. Through thy mouth, let our hopes be spoken. Through thy flame, let our offerings reach the halls of immortality. Thou art the priest, the poet, the sage — thou whom no god may deny, thou whom all creation honoreth.