Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.10 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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. You, Agni, sovereign king of the peoples: the wise mortals kindle you as god together at the rite.
2. At the sacrifices they invoke you, Agni, as the seasonal priest, as the Hotṛ. Guardian of the cosmic order, shine in your own home.
3. He who indeed gives to you with kindling wood, O Jātavedas — he, Agni, gains excellent strength, he flourishes.
4. That banner of the rites, Agni, may come with the gods — anointed, with the seven priests, to the one who offers oblation.
5. Bring forth to the Hotṛ, to Agni, the ancient, lofty word — as to the ordainer who bears the lights of the inspired ones.
6. May our songs of praise magnify Agni, from whom the one worthy of praise is born, fair to behold, for great strength and wealth.
7. Agni, best of sacrificers at the rite, offer to the gods on behalf of the one who seeks the gods. Joyous Hotṛ, you shine forth, beyond all faults.
8. So, O purifying one, shine brilliantly, giving us excellent strength. Be nearest to those who praise you, for their well-being.
9. You — the inspired poets, eager in praise, wakeful, kindle together — carrier of the oblation, immortal, ever growing in strength.
Translator's note: "carṣaṇīnām" (v.1) and "manīṣiṇaḥ" (v.1) both describe classes of people — "the peoples/men" and "the wise/thoughtful ones" respectively; the verse's syntax stacks two nominal groups (mortals, wise ones) as joint subjects of "kindle," rendered here as a single clause. "Jātavedas" (v.3) and "pāvaka" (v.8) are standing epithets of Agni ("knower of all beings" and "purifier") kept untranslated with their sense given once.
Colophon
Rigveda III.10 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 III.10
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.
tvām agne manīṣiṇaḥ samrājaṁ carṣaṇīnām |
devam martāsa indhate sam adhvare || 1 ||
tvāṁ yajñeṣv ṛtvijam agne hotāram īḻate |
gopā ṛtasya dīdihi sve dame || 2 ||
sa ghā yas te dadāśati samidhā jātavedase |
so agne dhatte suvīryaṁ sa puṣyati || 3 ||
sa ketur adhvarāṇām agnir devebhir ā gamat |
añjānaḥ sapta hotṛbhir haviṣmate || 4 ||
pra hotre pūrvyaṁ vaco 'gnaye bharatā bṛhat |
vipāṁ jyotīṁṣi bibhrate na vedhase || 5 ||
agniṁ vardhantu no giro yato jāyata ukthyaḥ |
mahe vājāya draviṇāya darśataḥ || 6 ||
agne yajiṣṭho adhvare devān devayate yaja |
hotā mandro vi rājasy ati sridhaḥ || 7 ||
sa naḥ pāvaka dīdihi dyumad asme suvīryam |
bhavā stotṛbhyo antamaḥ svastaye || 8 ||
taṁ tvā viprā vipanyavo jāgṛvāṁsaḥ sam indhate |
havyavāham amartyaṁ sahovṛdham || 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).