O Agni, eternal flame! Though we mortals shall pass away, though our bones shall crumble to dust and our names be forgotten, thy fire shall burn on. We are but the kindlers of thy sacred fire. We are but a moment in thy vast eternity. When we are gone, others shall come. When they are gone, still others shall come. But thou—thou shalt remain.

This is the covenant: that every generation shall kindle thee anew. That every man who learns to strike the sticks shall call thee forth from thy hidden dwelling. That every woman who tends the hearth shall honour thee. That every child born into this world shall know thy warmth. Thus thou art reborn in each age, yet thou art always the same eternal fire.

O Agni, we who kindle thee this day are grateful. We know that we are but links in an endless chain stretching from the first man who discovered thee all the way to the end of time itself. We are honoured to be thy servants. We are blessed to know thy name. We are privileged to make offerings at thy altar.

When our time cometh to lay down the kindling and rest, we shall pass the duty to those who come after. We shall teach them as we have been taught. We shall show them how to strike the sticks, how to feed the flame, how to speak thy name with reverence. Thus the fire shall not be extinguished. Thus the chain shall not be broken.

O eternal one! Burn brightly through all the ages! Consume the offerings of mankind! Carry our prayers to the throne of the gods! Transform all that is earthly into that which is divine! Be thou the bridge between heaven and earth, the priest eternal, the god immortal! Let this hymn of Vāmadeva endure. Let thy sacred fire never go out. From age to age, from generation to generation, from the depths of time to the end of all things—O Agni, thou flame that never dies!