Hymn to Agni

Rigveda V.22 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. Sing forth, O Viśvasāman, as an Atri would, to the one of purifying flame — who among the sacrifices is the priest worth invoking, most delightful among the clan.

2. Install Agni Jātavedas, the divine officiating priest. Let the sacrifice go forth in due order today — he who has the widest room for the gods.

3. We mortals have thought of you, the god of discerning mind, for help — seeking your excellent protection.

4. O Agni, mighty one, take notice of this speech of ours. You, fair-cheeked lord of the house — the Atris strengthen you with hymns of praise, the Atris adorn you with songs.

Translator's note: "Viśvasāman" (1) is treated as a proper name being addressed — the traditional composer of this hymn — rather than translated as a common noun. "Devavyacastamaḥ" (2) is rendered "has the widest room for the gods," reading vyacas as "room, capacity."

Colophon

Rigveda V.22 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.22

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.

pra viśvasāmann atrivad arcā pāvakaśociṣe |
yo adhvareṣv īḍyo hotā mandratamo viśi || 1 ||

ny a1gniṁ jātavedasaṁ dadhātā devam ṛtvijam |
pra yajña etv ānuṣag adyā devavyacastamaḥ || 2 ||

cikitvinmanasaṁ tvā devam martāsa ūtaye |
vareṇyasya te 'vasa iyānāso amanmahi || 3 ||

agne cikiddhy a1sya na idaṁ vacaḥ sahasya |
taṁ tvā suśipra dampate stomair vardhanty atrayo gīrbhiḥ śumbhanty atrayaḥ || 4 ||

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).