Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.11 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. Agni is the hotar-priest, set in front, the watchful overseer of the rite; he knows the sacrifice in its proper order.
2. He, the oblation-bearer, immortal, eager, a messenger, bringing delight — Agni is roused by devoted thought.
3. Agni perceives through devoted thought; he is the foremost banner of the sacrifice, for he is the one who carries its purpose through.
4. The gods made Agni — son, renowned of old, born of strength, knower of all creatures — their carrier of offerings.
5. Undeceivable, going before the human clans, Agni is a swift chariot, ever new.
6. Overcoming every assault, the unimpaired will of the gods — Agni is most abundant in fame.
7. Through his conveying, the mortal who has given offerings attains delights — the dwelling of the one whose flame purifies.
8. May we, inspired singers, fully obtain through our hymns all the well-established gifts of Agni Jātavedas.
9. O Agni, may we win all desirable things in the contests for prizes; in you the gods have set their aims.
Translator's note: "Jātavedas" (v. 4, 8) is a standing epithet of Agni, "knower of all born things," kept untranslated as a name in v. 8. "Vāhas" (v. 7, "conveying") and "vahni" (v. 4, "carrier") both describe Agni's role of bearing the oblation to the gods. "Sudhitā" (v. 8, "well-established gifts") is compressed — literally "well-placed things" — its exact referent (stores, favors, or ritual arrangements) is not fully certain from the verse alone.
Colophon
Rigveda III.11 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.11
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.
agnir hotā purohito 'dhvarasya vicarṣaṇiḥ |
sa veda yajñam ānuṣak || 1 ||
sa havyavāḻ amartya uśig dūtaś canohitaḥ |
agnir dhiyā sam ṛṇvati || 2 ||
agnir dhiyā sa cetati ketur yajñasya pūrvyaḥ |
arthaṁ hy asya taraṇi || 3 ||
agniṁ sūnuṁ sanaśrutaṁ sahaso jātavedasam |
vahniṁ devā akṛṇvata || 4 ||
adābhyaḥ puraetā viśām agnir mānuṣīṇām |
tūrṇī rathaḥ sadā navaḥ || 5 ||
sāhvān viśvā abhiyujaḥ kratur devānām amṛktaḥ |
agnis tuviśravastamaḥ || 6 ||
abhi prayāṁsi vāhasā dāśvām̐ aśnoti martyaḥ |
kṣayam pāvakaśociṣaḥ || 7 ||
pari viśvāni sudhitāgner aśyāma manmabhiḥ |
viprāso jātavedasaḥ || 8 ||
agne viśvāni vāryā vājeṣu saniṣāmahe |
tve devāsa erire || 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).