Hymn to Agni (Vaiśvānara)
Rigveda III.7 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. He who rose up from the stream of the white-backed one — the seven voices entered the two mothers. The two encircling parents move together; they flow forth for long life, for strength.
2. Heaven-dwelling milk-cows, the stallion's mares, the goddesses have mounted, carrying sweetness. You who dwell secure in the seat of Order — one cow circles the track around you.
3. The knowing lord, finder of riches, mounted them as they became well-guided. The dark-backed one, forth from the stream of the wanderer, made them settle — he of many aspects.
4. The invigorating ones carry the great, unaging work of Tvaṣṭṛ; the bearers bear the one who stands firm. Shining with his limbs in his dwelling place, he entered the two world-halves as though they were one.
5. They know the delight of the ruddy bull, and they rejoice in the rule of the tawny one. Radiant with heaven's light, brightly shining — theirs is the mighty communal hymn of praise.
6. And knowing well the roar together with the two parents, the great ones brought forth mighty strength with the mighty pair. Where the bull went around the store of night, he grew according to his own dwelling place, that of the singer.
7. With the five sacrificing priests, the seven inspired ones guard the dear, hidden footprint of the bird. The advancing bulls, unaging, exult — the gods have followed the ordinances of the gods.
8. I bow before the two divine, foremost invoking priests. The seven vigorous ones rejoice by their own nature. Proclaiming the sacred Order, they have spoken only Order — the guardians of the vow, meditating in accord with the vow.
9. Many rays act boldly for the great courser; the well-guided reins belong to the bright bull. O divine priest, most joyful, all-knowing — bring the great gods and the two world-halves here.
10. The nourishing ones, of fair speech, wealth-bringing, well-marked — the dawns have shone richly. And also, O Agni, by the greatness of the earth, grant grace even for a wrong that has been done, to the mighty one.
11. O Agni, grant to the one who calls the refreshment of many wonders, the enduring gain of cattle. May there be for us a son, an offspring rich in progeny. O Agni, may that favor of yours be ours.
Translator's note: Verses 1–8 are composed in the riddling, image-dense style typical of Vedic brahmodya verse — cows, mares, bulls, and "the two mothers/parents" (heaven and earth, or the sacrificial waters) stand for Agni's hidden movements through the world before he is addressed directly as "divine priest" (deva hotar) and by name (agne) in verses 9–11. Several terms admit more than one defensible reading: śitipṛṣṭha ("white-backed") and nīlapṛṣṭha ("dark-backed," verse 3) likely describe Agni's flame and smoke; dhāseḥ (verse 1) is rendered "stream" but can also mean "draught" or "nourishment"; atasa (verse 3, "the wanderer") is an obscure plant or wandering-spirit name of uncertain identity; iḻā/iḍā (verses 5, 11) names a goddess of ritual refreshment and is rendered by sense rather than transliterated throughout. These renderings are conservative and literal rather than interpretive paraphrase.
Colophon
Rigveda III.7 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.7
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 ya āruḥ śitipṛṣṭhasya dhāser ā mātarā viviśuḥ sapta vāṇīḥ |
parikṣitā pitarā saṁ carete pra sarsrāte dīrgham āyuḥ prayakṣe || 1 ||
divakṣaso dhenavo vṛṣṇo aśvā devīr ā tasthau madhumad vahantīḥ |
ṛtasya tvā sadasi kṣemayantam pary ekā carati vartaniṁ gauḥ || 2 ||
ā sīm arohat suyamā bhavantīḥ patiś cikitvān rayivid rayīṇām |
pra nīlapṛṣṭho atasasya dhāses tā avāsayat purudhapratīkaḥ || 3 ||
mahi tvāṣṭram ūrjayantīr ajuryaṁ stabhūyamānaṁ vahato vahanti |
vy aṅgebhir didyutānaḥ sadhastha ekām iva rodasī ā viveśa || 4 ||
jānanti vṛṣṇo aruṣasya śevam uta bradhnasya śāsane raṇanti |
divorucaḥ suruco rocamānā iḻā yeṣāṁ gaṇyā māhinā gīḥ || 5 ||
uto pitṛbhyām pravidānu ghoṣam maho mahadbhyām anayanta śūṣam |
ukṣā ha yatra pari dhānam aktor anu svaṁ dhāma jaritur vavakṣa || 6 ||
adhvaryubhiḥ pañcabhiḥ sapta viprāḥ priyaṁ rakṣante nihitam padaṁ veḥ |
prāñco madanty ukṣaṇo ajuryā devā devānām anu hi vratā guḥ || 7 ||
daivyā hotārā prathamā ny ṛñje sapta pṛkṣāsaḥ svadhayā madanti |
ṛtaṁ śaṁsanta ṛtam it ta āhur anu vrataṁ vratapā dīdhyānāḥ || 8 ||
vṛṣāyante mahe atyāya pūrvīr vṛṣṇe citrāya raśmayaḥ suyāmāḥ |
deva hotar mandrataraś cikitvān maho devān rodasī eha vakṣi || 9 ||
pṛkṣaprayajo draviṇaḥ suvācaḥ suketava uṣaso revad ūṣuḥ |
uto cid agne mahinā pṛthivyāḥ kṛtaṁ cid enaḥ sam mahe daśasya || 10 ||
iḻām agne purudaṁsaṁ saniṁ goḥ śaśvattamaṁ havamānāya sādha |
syān naḥ sūnus tanayo vijāvāgne sā te sumatir bhūtv asme || 11 ||
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).