Swift messenger! O Agni, thou dost carry
Our trembling prayers up to the gods on high.
None other is so swift, none else so faithful
In bearing what we offer to the Immortals.

Thou takest up the clarified butter,
Thou grasps't the grains, the meat, the precious gifts,
And carriest them through the vaults of heaven
To those who dwell in light beyond our seeing.

What speed hath thou! The winds are slow beside thee,
The eagle's flight is sluggish to thy rising.
Thy flames do race along the path to godhood
Swift as a thought from mortal mind to heart.

And thou returnest not with empty hands!
Thou bringest back the blessings of the Immortals,
Their favor, their protection, and their bounty,
Distributed to all who trust in thee.

O Agni, thou art trustworthy and faithful.
No bribe could sway thee, no temptation turn thee
From thy appointed task of carrying upward
The sacred offerings of the Atri clan.

The gods do know thee well, and they do love thee.
They look for thee each morning on the altar,
Impatient for the smoke that tells them plainly:
"Here comes again the messenger, the trusted one."

What honor to be chosen for this office!
To bear the supplications of the mortal world,
And stand before the council of the Immortals
As the Atris' advocate and voice.

Go forth this dawn, O swift and faithful servant!
Take all our prayers, our hopes, our desperate needs,
And lay them at the feet of Indra mighty,
That he may bend his ear unto our pleas.

Return to us with blessings in abundance,
And let the gods smile down upon our people.
For we shall wait beside thy sacred fire,
Till thou returnest with the gods' replies.