Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.27 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. Your heaven-reaching powers go forth, laden with oblation, with the ghee-pouring ladle. Seeking favor, it goes to the gods.
2. I praise with a hymn Agni the inspired, the accomplisher of the sacrifice, the one who listens readily, rich in insight.
3. Agni, may we hold fast to your rein, the rein of the mighty god; may we pass safely beyond hostilities.
4. Agni, kindled at the rite, the purifier, worthy of praise, flame-haired — him we beseech.
5. Broad in splendor, immortal, robed in ghee, well-offered to — Agni, the bearer of the sacrifice's oblation.
6. Pressing close, ladles held out, with devotion such as this, the sacrificers have turned Agni toward themselves for help.
7. The immortal divine priest goes forth in front by his power, urging on the sacred gatherings.
8. The vigorous one is set among the contests, led forward at the rites — the inspired accomplisher of the sacrifice.
9. By insight he, worthy to be chosen, has made himself so; he has taken to himself the germ of all beings, the father of strength, through continuance.
10. I have set you down, the worthy one, made mighty by the power of skill; Agni, bright-shining, eager one.
11. Agni, the guide, unconquerable, at the joining of cosmic order, against the eager foe — the inspired ones kindle him together with their offerings.
12. The son of strength, shining at the rite, up in the sky — I praise Agni, whose purpose is that of a sage.
13. Worthy of praise, worthy of homage, visible through the darkness — Agni the bull is kindled.
14. Agni the bull is kindled, like a horse that carries the gods; him the offering-bearers praise.
15. You, the bull, O bull — we, the vigorous ones, kindle you together. Agni, blaze forth mightily!
Translator's note: several verses (especially 9–11) compress their syntax to the point of real ambiguity — words like dakṣa ("skill," also a divine figure), vanuṣaḥ ("eager one" or "foe"), and iḷā ("libation" or the goddess Iḷā) admit more than one reading. The renderings above follow the most literal sense of each word rather than resolving the ambiguity by guesswork.
Colophon
Rigveda III.27 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.27
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.
pra vo vājā abhidyavo haviṣmanto ghṛtācyā |
devāñ jigāti sumnayuḥ || 1 ||
īḻe agniṁ vipaścitaṁ girā yajñasya sādhanam |
śruṣṭīvānaṁ dhitāvānam || 2 ||
agne śakema te vayaṁ yamaṁ devasya vājinaḥ |
ati dveṣāṁsi tarema || 3 ||
samidhyamāno adhvare3 'gniḥ pāvaka īḍyaḥ |
śociṣkeśas tam īmahe || 4 ||
pṛthupājā amartyo ghṛtanirṇik svāhutaḥ |
agnir yajñasya havyavāṭ || 5 ||
taṁ sabādho yatasruca itthā dhiyā yajñavantaḥ |
ā cakrur agnim ūtaye || 6 ||
hotā devo amartyaḥ purastād eti māyayā |
vidathāni pracodayan || 7 ||
vājī vājeṣu dhīyate 'dhvareṣu pra ṇīyate |
vipro yajñasya sādhanaḥ || 8 ||
dhiyā cakre vareṇyo bhūtānāṁ garbham ā dadhe |
dakṣasya pitaraṁ tanā || 9 ||
ni tvā dadhe vareṇyaṁ dakṣasyeḻā sahaskṛta |
agne sudītim uśijam || 10 ||
agniṁ yanturam apturam ṛtasya yoge vanuṣaḥ |
viprā vājaiḥ sam indhate || 11 ||
ūrjo napātam adhvare dīdivāṁsam upa dyavi |
agnim īḻe kavikratum || 12 ||
īḻenyo namasyas tiras tamāṁsi darśataḥ |
sam agnir idhyate vṛṣā || 13 ||
vṛṣo agniḥ sam idhyate 'śvo na devavāhanaḥ |
taṁ haviṣmanta īḻate || 14 ||
vṛṣaṇaṁ tvā vayaṁ vṛṣan vṛṣaṇaḥ sam idhīmahi |
agne dīdyatam bṛhat || 15 ||
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).