O Agni, thou art the pillar that upholdeth heaven and earth! The gods have set thee between the two great realms, a bridge of fire upon which ascendeth all that mortals offer. Without thee, these worlds would tumble into void. Through thee, the order standeth.

In thy bright flames the sky findeth its dwelling, and the earth beneath is blessed with thy warm touch. The waters honor thee, the winds do blow around thee, all the elements obey thy sacred law. Thou art the knot that bindeth the divided worlds, the thread of ṛta that holdeth all in place.

When the gods did fashion this creation, they set thee in the center as the pillar of support. From below thou dost push upward with thy strength, and from above the heavens press downward — and there, suspended betwixt the two, thou standest eternal and unmoved. The devas themselves do marvel at thy constancy.

Thou takest that which mortals offer — the ghee and grain, the soma precious — and with thy mouth thou transformest it into divine essence. Upward it ascendeth on thy flame, and lo, the gods themselves do eat the smoke of sacrifice! Thus art thou the link, the sacred messenger between the realm of spirit and the realm of flesh.

Without this communion, what would become of us? We mortals would wander lost, cut off from the gods. But thou, O Agni, keepest the bridge open. Every offering maketh the path more bright, every flame that riseth carrieth our prayers unto the ears of the immortals. Blessed art thou, O fire, eternal sustainer of the cosmic order.