O Agni, guest of every hearth and home!
In humble dwellings thou art ever welcome,
The honored visitor who comes unbidden,
And none dare turn thee from their door away.

What king could claim such welcome in his travels?
What warrior, coming home from distant battle,
Hath ever found a greeting quite so certain,
A place so sure awaiting him always?

Yet thou art never burdensome, O Fire,
Though thou dost eat and eat and still demand more.
The poorest household giveth what it hath—
A stick of wood—and thou art satisfied.

And having taken sustenance from mortals,
Thou givest back a hundredfold in return.
Thou warmest those who sit beside thy burning,
Thou cookest food and makest it most sweet.

Thou art the witness to all human secrets,
The keeper of the confidences spoken
In whispered words beside the hearth-fire's glow,
When all the household gathereth at night.

Yet thou art also god. Immortal. Eternal.
In every mortal home thou dwellest, burning,
And yet thy true self shineth in the heavens,
Beyond the reach of human touch or time.

What marvel is this? That the divine
Should dwell so humbly in the cottage-corner,
Accepting gifts from hands most crude and rough,
And answering with blessings manifold?

O Agni, guest eternal, be our friend!
Let every member of this household prosper,
Let children born beside thy fire grow mighty,
And let our grain be plenteous year on year.

For thou art not a stranger to our dwelling—
Thou art the brother, father, truest counselor,
The immortal heart that keepeth our hearth burning,
The bridge between the mortal and divine.