Hymn to Agni
Rigveda II.4 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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. I call for you the brightly shining, well-adorned Agni of the clans, the guest rich in refreshment — who, like a friend, became desired, a god, Jātavedas, among a people without gods.
2. Worshipping this one in the gathering-place of the waters, the Bhṛgus set him twofold among the clans of mankind. Let this Agni, swift-horsed charioteer of the gods, in his greatness prevail over all things.
3. The gods set Agni, dear, among the human clans, like a friend for those making their home. He shines through the eager nights, worthy of honor, he who dwells in the house for the one who gives with devotion.
4. His sight is as delightful as one's own prosperity — the sight of him, driven on, strong, who spreads his tongue among the plants, tossing his mane like a chariot-horse.
5. When, praised, you shaped for the Uśij priests your vast form and your color — he is known by his wondrous, pleasing light, he who, though grown old, becomes young again and again.
6. He who, eager as one thirsting, shines out upon the forests, roaring like a charioteer along a watery path — black-tracked, burning, delightful, he appears, like the sky smiling amid the clouds.
7. He who has spread himself out, growing strong over the wide earth, goes like an unherded beast, self-willed, without a keeper. Agni, blazing, scorching the atasa-shrubs, leaving his black track, savoring the ground as he passes.
8. Now, recalling your former favor, in this third rite I proclaim a hymn. Grant us, O Agni, a great strength that gathers heroes, rich in cattle, wealth together with good offspring.
9. So that with you, O Agni, the Gṛtsamadas, conquering in secret, may prevail over hidden foes — grant that vigor, together with fine sons who overpower hostile plots, to the patrons, to the one who sings your praise.
Translator's note: verse 5 is among the most syntactically compressed in this hymn (forms from √van "to desire/win" and a reduplicated aorist of √mā "to measure/fashion" describing Agni's form being shaped for the Uśij priests); the rendering above is conservative. Verse 9 confirms the hymn's family attribution: "gṛtsamadāsaḥ," the Gṛtsamadas, are the traditional composers of Rigveda Maṇḍala 2.
Colophon
Rigveda II.4 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 II.4
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.
huve vaḥ sudyotmānaṁ suvṛktiṁ viśām agnim atithiṁ suprayasam |
mitra iva yo didhiṣāyyo bhūd deva ādeve jane jātavedāḥ || 1 ||
imaṁ vidhanto apāṁ sadhasthe dvitādadhur bhṛgavo vikṣv ā3yoḥ |
eṣa viśvāny abhy astu bhūmā devānām agnir aratir jīrāśvaḥ || 2 ||
agniṁ devāso mānuṣīṣu vikṣu priyaṁ dhuḥ kṣeṣyanto na mitram |
sa dīdayad uśatīr ūrmyā ā dakṣāyyo yo dāsvate dama ā || 3 ||
asya raṇvā svasyeva puṣṭiḥ saṁdṛṣṭir asya hiyānasya dakṣoḥ |
vi yo bharibhrad oṣadhīṣu jihvām atyo na rathyo dodhavīti vārān || 4 ||
ā yan me abhvaṁ vanadaḥ panantośigbhyo nāmimīta varṇam |
sa citreṇa cikite raṁsu bhāsā jujurvām̐ yo muhur ā yuvā bhūt || 5 ||
ā yo vanā tātṛṣāṇo na bhāti vār ṇa pathā rathyeva svānīt |
kṛṣṇādhvā tapū raṇvaś ciketa dyaur iva smayamāno nabhobhiḥ || 6 ||
sa yo vy asthād abhi dakṣad urvīm paśur naiti svayur agopāḥ |
agniḥ śociṣmām̐ atasāny uṣṇan kṛṣṇavyathir asvadayan na bhūma || 7 ||
nū te pūrvasyāvaso adhītau tṛtīye vidathe manma śaṁsi |
asme agne saṁyadvīram bṛhantaṁ kṣumantaṁ vājaṁ svapatyaṁ rayiṁ dāḥ || 8 ||
tvayā yathā gṛtsamadāso agne guhā vanvanta uparām̐ abhi ṣyuḥ |
suvīrāso abhimātiṣāhaḥ smat sūribhyo gṛṇate tad vayo dhāḥ || 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).