Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.29 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. This hymn describes the ritual generation of Agni by the friction of two wooden fire-sticks — the lower board addressed as a mother giving birth, the upper stick as the instrument of churning — and the fire's subsequent installation as the officiating priest of the sacrifice.
1. Here is the churning-stick; here the generative act is made ready. Bring the mistress of the people — let us churn out Agni as we did before.
2. Jātavedas is laid within the two fire-sticks, well-placed like an embryo in pregnant women. Day by day Agni is to be praised by wakeful men bearing oblations.
3. Knowing one, bring him down into the outstretched (lower stick); at once set in motion, she bore the bull. Ruddy-flamed, bright is his form — the son of Iḷā was born in due order.
4. We set you, Jātavedas, in the place of Iḷā, upon the navel of the earth, O Agni, to carry the oblation.
5. Churn, O men, the sage who does not deceive, the wise one, the immortal, the fair-faced one. Bring forth Agni, the banner of the sacrifice, foremost, the most gracious one, O men.
6. When they churn him with their arms, he shines out like a racing ruddy steed among the wood. Wondrous, unchecked as on the course of the Aśvins, he circles round, burning the grass upon the stone.
7. Born, Agni shines, alert, the racing one, the inspired poet, praised by sages, of good gifts — whom the gods have set in the rites, the one to be praised, the all-knowing carrier of oblations.
8. Sit down, Hotar, knowing one, in your own place; seat the sacrifice in the womb of the well-made altar. Inviting the gods, worship the gods with the oblation; O Agni, set great vigor in the one who sacrifices.
9. Make the smoke a bull, O friends; without faltering, go forth toward the prize. This is Agni, conqueror of armies, rich in good heroes, by whom the gods overcame the Dasyus.
10. This is your seasonal birthplace, from which, once born, you shone out. Knowing it, O Agni, sit down here; make our songs of praise grow strong.
11. As embryo he is called Tanūnapāt, the mighty one; when he is born he becomes Narāśaṃsa. When Mātariśvan shaped him in the mother, the rushing of the wind arose in its course.
12. Well-churned by good churning, well-placed by good placing, the sage — O Agni, make the rites go well; worship the gods for the one devoted to the gods.
13. Mortals have brought to birth the immortal one, unfaltering, swift, strong-jawed. Ten unwed sisters, joined together, together take hold of the male once he is born.
14. He of the seven Hotars has shone out from ancient time, when he blazed in the lap of the mother, in the udder. Delighting, he does not close his eye day after day, since he was born from the belly of the mighty one.
15. A weapon against enemies, like the onrush of the Maruts, the firstborn sons of sacred speech know everything. The Kuśikas have sent forth splendid sacred formulation; each one in his own house has kindled Agni.
16. Since today, O knowing Hotar, we have chosen you here at this ongoing sacrifice — firm on this path, and firm too have you labored. Knowing, wise, come near to the soma.
Translator's note: several images depend on ritual vocabulary that resists a single English equivalent. "Mistress of the people" (viśpatnī, v.1) and "the outstretched one" (v.3) are epithets for the lower fire-drill board, addressed as a mother in labor; the upper stick is the male principle churned within her. "The grass upon the stone" (v.6) likely refers to kindling laid on the fire-altar. "Ten unwed sisters" (v.13) are the ten fingers of the priest who works the fire-drill. "The rushing of the wind... in its course" (sarīmaṇi, v.11) is an obscure phrase rendered conservatively.
Colophon
Rigveda III.29 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.29
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.
astīdam adhimanthanam asti prajananaṁ kṛtam |
etāṁ viśpatnīm ā bharāgnim manthāma pūrvathā || 1 ||
araṇyor nihito jātavedā garbha iva sudhito garbhiṇīṣu |
dive-diva īḍyo jāgṛvadbhir haviṣmadbhir manuṣyebhir agniḥ || 2 ||
uttānāyām ava bharā cikitvān sadyaḥ pravītā vṛṣaṇaṁ jajāna |
aruṣastūpo ruśad asya pāja iḻāyās putro vayune 'janiṣṭa || 3 ||
iḻāyās tvā pade vayaṁ nābhā pṛthivyā adhi |
jātavedo ni dhīmahy agne havyāya voḻhave || 4 ||
manthatā naraḥ kavim advayantam pracetasam amṛtaṁ supratīkam |
yajñasya ketum prathamam purastād agniṁ naro janayatā suśevam || 5 ||
yadī manthanti bāhubhir vi rocate 'śvo na vājy aruṣo vaneṣv ā |
citro na yāmann aśvinor anivṛtaḥ pari vṛṇakty aśmanas tṛṇā dahan || 6 ||
jāto agnī rocate cekitāno vājī vipraḥ kaviśastaḥ sudānuḥ |
yaṁ devāsa īḍyaṁ viśvavidaṁ havyavāham adadhur adhvareṣu || 7 ||
sīda hotaḥ sva u loke cikitvān sādayā yajñaṁ sukṛtasya yonau |
devāvīr devān haviṣā yajāsy agne bṛhad yajamāne vayo dhāḥ || 8 ||
kṛṇota dhūmaṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ sakhāyo 'sredhanta itana vājam accha |
ayam agniḥ pṛtanāṣāṭ suvīro yena devāso asahanta dasyūn || 9 ||
ayaṁ te yonir ṛtviyo yato jāto arocathāḥ |
taṁ jānann agna ā sīdāthā no vardhayā giraḥ || 10 ||
tanūnapād ucyate garbha āsuro narāśaṁso bhavati yad vijāyate |
mātariśvā yad amimīta mātari vātasya sargo abhavat sarīmaṇi || 11 ||
sunirmathā nirmathitaḥ sunidhā nihitaḥ kaviḥ |
agne svadhvarā kṛṇu devān devayate yaja || 12 ||
ajījanann amṛtam martyāso 'sremāṇaṁ taraṇiṁ vīḻujambham |
daśa svasāro agruvaḥ samīcīḥ pumāṁsaṁ jātam abhi saṁ rabhante || 13 ||
pra saptahotā sanakād arocata mātur upasthe yad aśocad ūdhani |
na ni miṣati suraṇo dive-dive yad asurasya jaṭharād ajāyata || 14 ||
amitrāyudho marutām iva prayāḥ prathamajā brahmaṇo viśvam id viduḥ |
dyumnavad brahma kuśikāsa erira eka-eko dame agniṁ sam īdhire || 15 ||
yad adya tvā prayati yajñe asmin hotaś cikitvo 'vṛṇīmahīha |
dhruvam ayā dhruvam utāśamiṣṭhāḥ prajānan vidvām̐ upa yāhi somam || 16 ||
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).