Hymn to Agni
Rigveda IV.2 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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 among mortals is the immortal, the truthful god among gods, was set as their director — the priest, the best sacrificer — Agni, to blaze in his greatness, roused by the offerings of Manu's people.
2. Here today, O son of strength, born for us, you move, Agni, between both kinds of beings that are born. As messenger you travel, lofty one, having yoked your bright, vigorous steeds.
3. Your two horses, growing strong, ruddy, dripping with ghee — I hold them swiftest in mind, of the order of truth. Yoking the ruddy pair you travel between, to you gods and to the clans of mortals.
4. Aryaman, Varuna, Mitra among them, Indra and Vishnu, the Maruts, and the Ashvins — with good horses, Agni, with a good chariot, with good gifts, bring them here for the people who offer well.
5. O Agni, may our sacrifice be rich in cattle, in sheep, in horses, having men as its friends, ever one not to be neglected. May this abundance, rich in nourishment, O Asura, rich in offspring, be a long-lasting wealth, broad-based, gathered in assembly.
6. Whoever brings you fuel, sweating at the work, or heats his head for you in devotion — be, self-strong Agni, his protector; guard him from everyone who wishes him harm.
7. Whoever brings food to you though he himself lacks food, and rouses you, the joyous guest, with his offering — the god-seeking one kindles you in his house; let steadfast wealth belong to that giver.
8. Whoever praises you at evening, whoever at dawn, or the oblation-bringer who makes you dear to himself — like a horse decked in gold in its own stable — carry that giving man safely across distress.
9. Whoever gives to you, immortal Agni, whoever serves you with outstretched ladle — that laboring man shall not be parted from wealth, nor shall trouble from an evil-wisher take hold of him.
10. Whose rite you, Agni, god, enjoy — well-prepared, delighting in a mortal's offering — let that priestly service be pleasing to you, O youngest one; may we be those whose worship makes you grow.
11. May the knowing one sort out insight from its lack, and mortals who go straight from mortals who go crooked, as one tells apart the ridged tracks that are traveled. Grant us, god, both bound and boundless wealth for good offspring, and set the unbounded free.
12. The undeceived sages have instructed the sage, establishing him in the dwellings of Ayu, mankind. From there, Agni, may you look upon these creatures; may you watch over the wondrous ones with your feet, by the courses of the noble lord.
13. You, Agni, are a good guide for the singer, for the one who has pressed the soma, for the worshiper, O youngest one. Bring treasure to the laboring, eager man — wide, bright wealth for his protection, you who fill the peoples.
14. And indeed, Agni, whatever we have done through you with feet, with hands, with our own bodies — like craftsmen shaping a chariot with the work of two arms — well-minded, striving, we have held fast to truth.
15. And may we, seven inspired sages, be born first from mother Dawn, as ordainers of men; may we become the Angirases, sons of heaven; blazing, may we break open the mountain that holds the wealth.
16. And as our forefathers of old, Agni, striving after truth, the bright ones went forth in thought, reciters of hymns — splitting open the earth, they uncovered the ruddy ones.
17. Good workers, bright, seeking the gods, like smiths smelting ore, shaping the forms of the gods with their breath — blazing, strengthening Agni and Indra, they sat around the pen of cattle and won it.
18. He looked upon them as herds of cattle in a rich pasture, seeing the birth of the gods, O fierce one; even the generous gifts of mortals were longed for, for the growth of Ayu, the near kinsman and lord.
19. We have done this for you; we have become good workers; the shining dawns have let truth come forth. We have made Agni complete, manifold, well-shining, polishing the dear eye of the god.
20. These praise-hymns, Agni, we have spoken to you, O ordainer, to the sage; take pleasure in them. Blaze up! Make us more prosperous. Grant us great wealth, you of many boons.
Translator's note: Several passages are compressed or allusive in the Sanskrit and admit more than one reading. Verse 2's "ṛjumuṣkān" (literally "straight-testicled," describing Agni's team) is rendered here simply as "vigorous." Verse 11 plays on the Sanskrit words diti ("boundedness") and aditi ("boundlessness," also the goddess Aditi); the translation keeps the wordplay in plain English rather than transliterating the names. Verses 12 and 18 are especially condensed — the syntax and referents (what exactly Agni "sees," who "looks upon" the herds) are not fully certain in the source and are translated conservatively.
Colophon
Rigveda IV.2 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 IV.2
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.
yo martyeṣv amṛta ṛtāvā devo deveṣv aratir nidhāyi |
hotā yajiṣṭho mahnā śucadhyai havyair agnir manuṣa īrayadhyai || 1 ||
iha tvaṁ sūno sahaso no adya jāto jātām̐ ubhayām̐ antar agne |
dūta īyase yuyujāna ṛṣva ṛjumuṣkān vṛṣaṇaḥ śukrām̐ś ca || 2 ||
atyā vṛdhasnū rohitā ghṛtasnū ṛtasya manye manasā javiṣṭhā |
antar īyase aruṣā yujāno yuṣmām̐ś ca devān viśa ā ca martān || 3 ||
aryamaṇaṁ varuṇam mitram eṣām indrāviṣṇū maruto aśvinota |
svaśvo agne surathaḥ surādhā ed u vaha suhaviṣe janāya || 4 ||
gomām̐ agne 'vimām̐ aśvī yajño nṛvatsakhā sadam id apramṛṣyaḥ |
iḻāvām̐ eṣo asura prajāvān dīrgho rayiḥ pṛthubudhnaḥ sabhāvān || 5 ||
yas ta idhmaṁ jabharat siṣvidāno mūrdhānaṁ vā tatapate tvāyā |
bhuvas tasya svatavām̐ḥ pāyur agne viśvasmāt sīm aghāyata uruṣya || 6 ||
yas te bharād anniyate cid annaṁ niśiṣan mandram atithim udīrat |
ā devayur inadhate duroṇe tasmin rayir dhruvo astu dāsvān || 7 ||
yas tvā doṣā ya uṣasi praśaṁsāt priyaṁ vā tvā kṛṇavate haviṣmān |
aśvo na sve dama ā hemyāvān tam aṁhasaḥ pīparo dāśvāṁsam || 8 ||
yas tubhyam agne amṛtāya dāśad duvas tve kṛṇavate yatasruk |
na sa rāyā śaśamāno vi yoṣan nainam aṁhaḥ pari varad aghāyoḥ || 9 ||
yasya tvam agne adhvaraṁ jujoṣo devo martasya sudhitaṁ rarāṇaḥ |
prīted asad dhotrā sā yaviṣṭhāsāma yasya vidhato vṛdhāsaḥ || 10 ||
cittim acittiṁ cinavad vi vidvān pṛṣṭheva vītā vṛjinā ca martān |
rāye ca naḥ svapatyāya deva ditiṁ ca rāsvāditim uruṣya || 11 ||
kaviṁ śaśāsuḥ kavayo 'dabdhā nidhārayanto duryāsv āyoḥ |
atas tvaṁ dṛśyām̐ agna etān paḍbhiḥ paśyer adbhutām̐ arya evaiḥ || 12 ||
tvam agne vāghate supraṇītiḥ sutasomāya vidhate yaviṣṭha |
ratnam bhara śaśamānāya ghṛṣve pṛthu ścandram avase carṣaṇiprāḥ || 13 ||
adhā ha yad vayam agne tvāyā paḍbhir hastebhiś cakṛmā tanūbhiḥ |
rathaṁ na kranto apasā bhurijor ṛtaṁ yemuḥ sudhya āśuṣāṇāḥ || 14 ||
adhā mātur uṣasaḥ sapta viprā jāyemahi prathamā vedhaso nṝn |
divas putrā aṅgiraso bhavemādriṁ rujema dhaninaṁ śucantaḥ || 15 ||
adhā yathā naḥ pitaraḥ parāsaḥ pratnāso agna ṛtam āśuṣāṇāḥ |
śucīd ayan dīdhitim ukthaśāsaḥ kṣāmā bhindanto aruṇīr apa vran || 16 ||
sukarmāṇaḥ suruco devayanto 'yo na devā janimā dhamantaḥ |
śucanto agniṁ vavṛdhanta indram ūrvaṁ gavyam pariṣadanto agman || 17 ||
ā yūtheva kṣumati paśvo akhyad devānāṁ yaj janimānty ugra |
martānāṁ cid urvaśīr akṛpran vṛdhe cid arya uparasyāyoḥ || 18 ||
akarma te svapaso abhūma ṛtam avasrann uṣaso vibhātīḥ |
anūnam agnim purudhā suścandraṁ devasya marmṛjataś cāru cakṣuḥ || 19 ||
etā te agna ucathāni vedho 'vocāma kavaye tā juṣasva |
uc chocasva kṛṇuhi vasyaso no maho rāyaḥ puruvāra pra yandhi || 20 ||
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).