Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.10 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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. Set Agni in front, at the outset of the sacrifice, as the rite proceeds — delightful, divine, honored with a well-wrought hymn. Set him in front with your recitations, for he, the far-shining Jātavedas, will make our rites go well.
2. To him — O Agni, priest of the ancient face, kindled by men with fires — our thoughts purify a hymn of strength, offered like devotion, pure as ghee.
3. He has prospered in fame among mortals who, as a sage, has worshipped Agni with hymns. Him, with wondrous aid, the wondrous-flamed one sets toward the winning of the cattle-fold.
4. He who, at his birth, filled the two wide worlds with far-seen light, leaving a dark trail — even through the depth of night's darkness, the purifying one is seen by his flame.
5. Now, Agni, with your manifold, strengthening help, grant to us and to our generous patrons brilliant wealth — the wealth of those who surpass other people in bounty and in fame, and excel other folk through valiant sons.
6. Take delight, willing Agni, in this sacrifice which the oblation-bearer, seated before you, offers to you. Among the Bharadvājas you hold the well-wrought hymn, present as our helper, toward the winning of strength worth seizing.
7. Drive away hostilities; increase our sustenance. May we rejoice, blessed with good sons, and live a hundred winters.
Translator's note: verse 2's "mamateva" (rendered "like devotion") and verse 4's "ūrmyāyāḥ" (rendered "of night's darkness") are terse, uncertain forms; both are translated conservatively from their most plausible sense. The Sanskrit given for verse 7 in this source text carries only a single line rather than the usual two padas — the translation below covers only what stands in the source.
Colophon
Rigveda VI.10 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 VI.10
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.
puro vo mandraṁ divyaṁ suvṛktim prayati yajñe agnim adhvare dadhidhvam |
pura ukthebhiḥ sa hi no vibhāvā svadhvarā karati jātavedāḥ || 1 ||
tam u dyumaḥ purvaṇīka hotar agne agnibhir manuṣa idhānaḥ |
stomaṁ yam asmai mamateva śūṣaṁ ghṛtaṁ na śuci matayaḥ pavante || 2 ||
pīpāya sa śravasā martyeṣu yo agnaye dadāśa vipra ukthaiḥ |
citrābhis tam ūtibhiś citraśocir vrajasya sātā gomato dadhāti || 3 ||
ā yaḥ paprau jāyamāna urvī dūredṛśā bhāsā kṛṣṇādhvā |
adha bahu cit tama ūrmyāyās tiraḥ śociṣā dadṛśe pāvakaḥ || 4 ||
nū naś citram puruvājābhir ūtī agne rayim maghavadbhyaś ca dhehi |
ye rādhasā śravasā cāty anyān suvīryebhiś cābhi santi janān || 5 ||
imaṁ yajñaṁ cano dhā agna uśan yaṁ ta āsāno juhute haviṣmān |
bharadvājeṣu dadhiṣe suvṛktim avīr vājasya gadhyasya sātau || 6 ||
vi dveṣāṁsīnuhi vardhayeḻām madema śatahimāḥ suvīrāḥ || 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).