Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.17 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. Being kindled according to the ancient law, granter of every desire, he is arrayed together with the nights; flame-haired, robed in ghee, the purifier — Agni, the skillful sacrificer, kindled for the worship of the gods.
2. As you carried out earth's priestly office, Agni, and as heaven's, O knowing Jātavedas — so with this oblation worship the gods; extend this sacrifice today, as Manu once did.
3. Three are your lifespans, Jātavedas; three are your kindred dawns, Agni. With these, knowing one, win the gods' favor for us, and be for the sacrificer both blessing and safety.
4. Praising Agni, of fair brightness, fair to see, we bow to you, Jātavedas worthy of invocation. The gods made you their messenger, the tireless one, carrier of offerings, the hub of the immortal.
5. Whoever before you, Agni, was a more devoted priest — seated in twofold place, and gracious by his own nature — sacrifice, knowing one, according to his rite; and then grant us worship at the gods' banquet.
Translator's note: several words admit more than one reading. Verse 1's "aktubhiḥ" (instrumental plural of aktu, "night" or "ray/ointment") is rendered as "nights," following the sense of fire renewed night after night. Verse 4's "aratim" (an epithet with senses ranging from "wheel-spoke" to "unresting one") is rendered "tireless one." Verse 5's "dvitā ca sattā" (literally "and seated in two ways/places") is rendered "seated in twofold place," an image whose precise referent (two worlds, two roles) the verse itself leaves unstated.
Colophon
Rigveda III.17 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.17
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.
samidhyamānaḥ prathamānu dharmā sam aktubhir ajyate viśvavāraḥ |
śociṣkeśo ghṛtanirṇik pāvakaḥ suyajño agnir yajathāya devān || 1 ||
yathāyajo hotram agne pṛthivyā yathā divo jātavedaś cikitvān |
evānena haviṣā yakṣi devān manuṣvad yajñam pra tiremam adya || 2 ||
trīṇy āyūṁṣi tava jātavedas tisra ājānīr uṣasas te agne |
tābhir devānām avo yakṣi vidvān athā bhava yajamānāya śaṁ yoḥ || 3 ||
agniṁ sudītiṁ sudṛśaṁ gṛṇanto namasyāmas tveḍyaṁ jātavedaḥ |
tvāṁ dūtam aratiṁ havyavāhaṁ devā akṛṇvann amṛtasya nābhim || 4 ||
yas tvad dhotā pūrvo agne yajīyān dvitā ca sattā svadhayā ca śambhuḥ |
tasyānu dharma pra yajā cikitvo 'thā no dhā adhvaraṁ devavītau || 5 ||
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).