O Agni, thou art the slayer of the Dasyu! Thy flames consume the enemy in his hidden places. Where he lurks in shadow, plotting ruin against the righteous, thou dost expose him and burn away his malice.

The Dasyu is the slave of disorder, the servant of the dragon, the worshipper of nothing and no one. He hath no rites, no altars, no reverence for the sacred. His heart is twisted; his deeds are foul. Against such wickedness, O Agni, thou art the swift and terrible judge.

When thou walkest abroad in thy might, the Dasyu trembles. His fortresses crumble to ash. His weapons turn to rust in thy presence. The very earth beneath his feet grows hot and hostile. Birds flee from the smoke of thy wrath; beasts scatter before thy advance.

Yet thou art not cruel, O flame-bearer. Thou art justice incarnate. Thou burnest away the impure, the false, the treacherous. What remaineth after thy passage is cleansed and made fit for habitation by the righteous. The fields that thou hast purged grow greener still. The water that hath been touched by thy heat becometh sweet.

We, the faithful ones, fear not thy presence. We see in thy flames not destruction but purification. We welcome thee as liberator and friend. Guard us against the hidden enemy, O Agni. Expose the lies that are spoken against us. Burn away the curses that malice hath cast upon our names.

Thou art the warrior-god of fire, the destroyer of the wicked, the protector of the righteous. Stand thou at our borders, O mighty flame. Let no Dasyu breach our defenses. Let no false word spoken against us take root. Thy fire is our shield; thy heat is our strength.