O Agni, thou art guardian and protector!
Around this dwelling thou dost set a wall
More strong than any fashioned out of stone,
More impenetrable than bronze or iron.

The rākṣasas that prowl the endless darkness,
The demons hungry for the flesh of men,
Do flee away when thou dost come to burning,
For they cannot endure thy holy light.

What power hath any evil creature
Against thy flames that leap toward the heavens?
They shrivel up before thy burning heat,
And scatter like the fog before the sun.

Thou watchest through the long and dreadful night,
When mortals sleep defenseless in their chambers.
Thy flames do burn in vigilance eternal,
Thy eyes do see what mortal eyes cannot.

No sorcery can touch the man protected
By Agni's care and Agni's constant watching.
No curse can find its target through thy fire,
No evil prayer can ever reach his heart.

The witch-women who seek to work their mischief,
Who twist their hands and whisper words of power—
They find their magic broken in thy presence,
Their spells dissolve like ice before thy heat.

O Agni, be our shield and our defender!
Keep watch this night as thou hast kept it always,
That we may sleep secure within our dwelling,
Protected by the sacred flame eternal.

Grant us thy courage that we fear no evil,
Thy strength that we endure all tribulation,
Thy light that all the darkness shall be banished,
And we shall dwell in safety all our days.

For he who trusteth in thy vigilance,
Who keeps thy altar burning through the night,
Shall know no fear, no sorrow, no affliction—
The gods themselves shall guard him from all harm.