Hymn to Agni
Rigveda V.8 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. You, O Agni, the truth-seekers have kindled — the ancient one, the ancient ones kindling you for their help, O you made mighty by strength — richly golden, worthy of worship, all-nourishing, friend of the household, lord of the house, the excellent one.
2. You, Agni, the ancient guest of the clans, flame-haired lord of the house, they have installed — of lofty splendor, many-formed, winner of wealth, giver of good shelter, well-favored, wearer-away of the foe.
3. You, Agni, the human clans invoke — knower of the sacrificial call, the discerning one, the greatest bestower of treasure; O fortunate one, dwelling hidden yet visible to all, loud-roaring, rightly worshipped, glorious with ghee.
4. You, Agni, ever-sustaining, we have approached in every way with homage, praising you with songs. Take pleasure in us, O Aṅgiras, kindled god, with the mortal's glory, with your bright flames.
5. You, Agni, many-formed, give vigor to every clan, as of old, O much-praised one. By your might you rule over many foods; that blazing splendor of yours, as you flare up, cannot be overcome.
6. You, Agni, being kindled, O youngest one, the gods have made their messenger, the carrier of oblations — far-ranging, ghee-born, invoked. They have set you as a brilliant eye, stirring the mind.
7. You, Agni, offered with ghee since ancient times, those seeking favor have kindled with good fuel. Growing, nourished by the plants, you spread out over the earthly expanses.
Translator's note: verse 2's "jaradviṣam" is rendered conservatively as "wearer-away of the foe" — the compound (jarat-, "wasting/wearing" + viṣ-, "foe/enemy") is not fully certain in this context. Verse 1's "pratnam pratnāsa" (the ancient one / the ancient ones) preserves the Sanskrit's repetition of the root rather than resolving it into a single English word.
Colophon
Rigveda V.8 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.8
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.
tvām agna ṛtāyavaḥ sam īdhire pratnam pratnāsa ūtaye sahaskṛta |
puruścandraṁ yajataṁ viśvadhāyasaṁ damūnasaṁ gṛhapatiṁ vareṇyam || 1 ||
tvām agne atithim pūrvyaṁ viśaḥ śociṣkeśaṁ gṛhapatiṁ ni ṣedire |
bṛhatketum pururūpaṁ dhanaspṛtaṁ suśarmāṇaṁ svavasaṁ jaradviṣam || 2 ||
tvām agne mānuṣīr īḻate viśo hotrāvidaṁ viviciṁ ratnadhātamam |
guhā santaṁ subhaga viśvadarśataṁ tuviṣvaṇasaṁ suyajaṁ ghṛtaśriyam || 3 ||
tvām agne dharṇasiṁ viśvadhā vayaṁ gīrbhir gṛṇanto namasopa sedima |
sa no juṣasva samidhāno aṅgiro devo martasya yaśasā sudītibhiḥ || 4 ||
tvam agne pururūpo viśe-viśe vayo dadhāsi pratnathā puruṣṭuta |
purūṇy annā sahasā vi rājasi tviṣiḥ sā te titviṣāṇasya nādhṛṣe || 5 ||
tvām agne samidhānaṁ yaviṣṭhya devā dūtaṁ cakrire havyavāhanam |
urujrayasaṁ ghṛtayonim āhutaṁ tveṣaṁ cakṣur dadhire codayanmati || 6 ||
tvām agne pradiva āhutaṁ ghṛtaiḥ sumnāyavaḥ suṣamidhā sam īdhire |
sa vāvṛdhāna oṣadhībhir ukṣito3 'bhi jrayāṁsi pārthivā vi tiṣṭhase || 7 ||
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).