Hymn to Agni

Rigveda V.6 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. I think of that Agni as the good lord, to whose home the milch-cows go, to whose home the swift coursers, to whose home the steady strong steeds go. Bring food to the praisers.

2. He is that Agni, the good lord, who is praised, to whom the milch-cows come together, the swift-running steeds together, the noble patrons together. Bring food to the praisers.

3. For Agni gives the strong one to the clan — he who looks upon all people. Agni, for wealth, gives the genuine bounty; pleased, he goes to the desired gift. Bring food to the praisers.

4. We would kindle you, Agni, the brilliant one, ageless among the gods, when that most wondrous kindling-flame of yours shines in the sky. Bring food to the praisers.

5. To you, Agni, with a verse, an oblation — lord of bright radiance; fair-shining, wondrous one, lord of the people; oblation-bearer, to you it is poured. Bring food to the praisers.

6. Those flames, on and on among the flames, foster every desired thing. They speed, they drive on, they press forward in unbroken order. Bring food to the praisers.

7. Those flames of yours, Agni, grow mighty and strong — which with the rush of hooves stir open the pens of the cattle. Bring food to the praisers.

8. Bring us, Agni, fresh food that grants good dwelling, to the praisers. May we, who have sung, be your messengers, house after house. Bring food to the praisers.

9. Both spoons full of ghee, fair-shining one, you prepare in your mouth. And fill us, too, in our hymns of praise, lord of might. Bring food to the praisers.

10. So we praise Agni, the ageless one, with strength, with hymns, with sacrifices, in unbroken order — may he grant us good heroic vigor, and also that wealth of horses. Bring food to the praisers.

Translator's note: verse 3's "svābhuvam" (the "genuine" or "innate" bounty) and verse 7's "patvabhiḥ śaphānām" (the hooves' flight or rush) are compressed, image-dense phrases rendered conservatively here. Verse 10's "ajuryam ūrjā" is read as sandhi of "ajuryam" (ageless) plus "ūrjā" (with strength/vigor); the line is translated on that reading.

Colophon

Rigveda V.6 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.6

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.

agniṁ tam manye yo vasur astaṁ yaṁ yanti dhenavaḥ |
astam arvanta āśavo 'staṁ nityāso vājina iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 1 ||

so agnir yo vasur gṛṇe saṁ yam āyanti dhenavaḥ |
sam arvanto raghudruvaḥ saṁ sujātāsaḥ sūraya iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 2 ||

agnir hi vājinaṁ viśe dadāti viśvacarṣaṇiḥ |
agnī rāye svābhuvaṁ sa prīto yāti vāryam iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 3 ||

ā te agna idhīmahi dyumantaṁ devājaram |
yad dha syā te panīyasī samid dīdayati dyavīṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 4 ||

ā te agna ṛcā haviḥ śukrasya śociṣas pate |
suścandra dasma viśpate havyavāṭ tubhyaṁ hūyata iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 5 ||

pro tye agnayo 'gniṣu viśvam puṣyanti vāryam |
te hinvire ta invire ta iṣaṇyanty ānuṣag iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 6 ||

tava tye agne arcayo mahi vrādhanta vājinaḥ |
ye patvabhiḥ śaphānāṁ vrajā bhuranta gonām iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 7 ||

navā no agna ā bhara stotṛbhyaḥ sukṣitīr iṣaḥ |
te syāma ya ānṛcus tvādūtāso dame-dama iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 8 ||

ubhe suścandra sarpiṣo darvī śrīṇīṣa āsani |
uto na ut pupūryā uktheṣu śavasas pata iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 9 ||

evām̐ agnim ajuryamur gīrbhir yajñebhir ānuṣak |
dadhad asme suvīryam uta tyad āśvaśvyam iṣaṁ stotṛbhya ā bhara || 10 ||

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).