O Agni, thou art born anew each dawn, bright messenger between the worlds of men and gods. We kindle thee with sacred wood and grass; the flames leap upward in their spiral dance, and heaven takes note of thy ascending voice.

Thou art the channel through which mortals speak to the immortals. The sacrifice flows up through thee, smoke-borne and precious, to the assembly of the blessed. No god descends to us; thou climbest up on our behalf, bearing our prayers like precious cargo into the high temples of the sky.

The Dasyu shrieks to see thee, O flame-bearer! Thy light exposes all their hidden places. Where darkness held dominion, thou bringest forth the clarity of revelation. The weak become strong in thy presence, the fearful find courage in thy sacred heat.

Accept our offerings, O generous one. We pour the butter-stream; we cast the grain; we sing the ancient words our fathers taught. Bind us to the immortals with thy radiant cord. Let no malice, no spite, no curse of enemy reach us while thy fire burns bright.

Thou art the kindler of prosperity. Where thy flames touch the earth, the herds grow fat, the grain swells golden, the women bear strong sons. Thou art never absent, never failing—only transformed from night to morning, only changing shape as thou dost travel from sacrifice to sacrifice, house to house, through all the lands of men.

Hear us, O Agni, at this final invocation. Be thou our guardian through the dark hours approaching. Stand sentinel at our threshold. Let thy flame never weaken. So be it, O ancient and eternal fire.