Hymn to Agni
Rigveda V.11 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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. Agni, guardian of the people, was born watchful, skillful, for new well-being. Ghee-faced, touching heaven with his vastness, he shines out brilliant and pure for the Bharatas.
2. The men kindled Agni, the banner of the sacrifice, the first priest set before all, in the threefold seat. He sits down on the sacred grass together with Indra and the gods — the wise hotar, ready for worship.
3. Untouched, you are born from your two mothers, pure, the delightful seer; you rose up from Vivasvat. They strengthened you with ghee, Agni, you who receive the offering — your smoke became a banner set in the sky.
4. May Agni rightly come near our sacrifice. The men carry Agni forth in house after house. Agni became the messenger who bears the offerings; choosing Agni, they choose the one whose will is a seer's will.
5. For you, Agni, is this sweetest speech; for you let this thought be, a comfort to the heart. Songs fill you as the great rivers fill the sea, and strengthen you with their power.
6. You, Agni, the Aṅgirases found hidden away, resting in tree after tree. You are born as they churn you forth, a great strength; they called you, Aṅgiras, the son of strength.
Translator's note: verse 3's "two mothers" and verse 6's "churned" both refer to the two fire-sticks (araṇī) whose friction kindles fire — the hymn treats this kindling as Agni's birth. "Sindhu" in verse 5 is rendered "sea" but can also mean "river"; the simile compares the hymn's praise-songs flowing into Agni to rivers flowing into a larger body of water.
Colophon
Rigveda V.11 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 V.11
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.
janasya gopā ajaniṣṭa jāgṛvir agniḥ sudakṣaḥ suvitāya navyase |
ghṛtapratīko bṛhatā divispṛśā dyumad vi bhāti bharatebhyaḥ śuciḥ || 1 ||
yajñasya ketum prathamam purohitam agniṁ naras triṣadhasthe sam īdhire |
indreṇa devaiḥ sarathaṁ sa barhiṣi sīdan ni hotā yajathāya sukratuḥ || 2 ||
asammṛṣṭo jāyase mātroḥ śucir mandraḥ kavir ud atiṣṭho vivasvataḥ |
ghṛtena tvāvardhayann agna āhuta dhūmas te ketur abhavad divi śritaḥ || 3 ||
agnir no yajñam upa vetu sādhuyāgniṁ naro vi bharante gṛhe-gṛhe |
agnir dūto abhavad dhavyavāhano 'gniṁ vṛṇānā vṛṇate kavikratum || 4 ||
tubhyedam agne madhumattamaṁ vacas tubhyam manīṣā iyam astu śaṁ hṛde |
tvāṁ giraḥ sindhum ivāvanīr mahīr ā pṛṇanti śavasā vardhayanti ca || 5 ||
tvām agne aṅgiraso guhā hitam anv avindañ chiśriyāṇaṁ vane-vane |
sa jāyase mathyamānaḥ saho mahat tvām āhuḥ sahasas putram aṅgiraḥ || 6 ||
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).