Hymn to Agni
Rigveda II.6 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. This kindling is mine, Agni — this is my approach to you with wood. And listen well indeed to these songs.
2. With this may we worship you, Agni, son of strength, desirer of horses — with this hymn, O well-born one.
3. You who delight in song, desirous of wealth, O giver of wealth — with songs may we, your worshippers, honor you.
4. Be attentive, wise and bountiful one, O lord of wealth, O giver of wealth — drive away from us all hostility.
5. May he give us rain from the sky; may he give us unrivaled strength; may he give us food a thousandfold.
6. To one who prays, seeking help, O youngest one — come here as our messenger, with our song, O best of sacrificers, O priest.
7. For indeed you move between the two, Agni, knowing both races, O sage — like a friendly messenger, a kinsman.
8. You who know, and who bring satisfaction — worship in due order, O wise one, and sit here on this sacred grass.
Translator's note: verse 1's "vaneḥ" (genitive of "wood/tree") is rendered as the wood of the kindling itself rather than a personal name, following the plain sense of the word. Verse 7's "antar... īyase" ("you move between") is understood as Agni's role carrying offerings between the two races — gods and men — named in the same line.
Colophon
Rigveda II.6 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.6
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.
imām me agne samidham imām upasadaṁ vaneḥ |
imā u ṣu śrudhī giraḥ || 1 ||
ayā te agne vidhemorjo napād aśvamiṣṭe |
enā sūktena sujāta || 2 ||
taṁ tvā gīrbhir girvaṇasaṁ draviṇasyuṁ draviṇodaḥ |
saparyema saparyavaḥ || 3 ||
sa bodhi sūrir maghavā vasupate vasudāvan |
yuyodhy a1smad dveṣāṁsi || 4 ||
sa no vṛṣṭiṁ divas pari sa no vājam anarvāṇam |
sa naḥ sahasriṇīr iṣaḥ || 5 ||
īḻānāyāvasyave yaviṣṭha dūta no girā |
yajiṣṭha hotar ā gahi || 6 ||
antar hy agna īyase vidvāñ janmobhayā kave |
dūto janyeva mitryaḥ || 7 ||
sa vidvām̐ ā ca piprayo yakṣi cikitva ānuṣak |
ā cāsmin satsi barhiṣi || 8 ||
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).