Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VII.15 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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. Pour the oblation into the mouth of the bounteous one, the one to be approached, who is our nearest kin.
2. Who has settled among the five tribes, in house after house — the young seer, the lord of the house.
3. May Agni guard our household wealth from every side, and protect us from distress.
4. Now I have brought forth a new hymn of praise for Agni, the falcon of heaven — surely he will win us wealth.
5. Whose splendors are enviable to behold, like the wealth of a man rich in sons — the splendors of him who blazes at the head of the sacrifice.
6. May he accept this offering with the vaṣaṭ-call; may Agni delight in our songs — best of sacrificers, carrier of oblations.
7. Approaching you, O lord of the clan, we set you down, brilliant god — rich in heroes, O Agni who receives our offerings.
8. Shine by night and by morning; through you may we have a good fire — you, rich in heroes, favor us.
9. The inspired men come to you with their prayers, seeking gain — a thousandfold song flowing near.
10. Agni drives away the demons — bright-flaming, immortal, pure, purifying, worthy of praise.
11. Bring us gifts, you who rule over them, O son of might; and may Bhaga also grant us a choice gift.
12. You, O Agni, give us glory rich in heroes; and the god Savitṛ, and Bhaga, and Diti grant a choice gift.
13. O Agni, protect us from distress; against those who would harm us, O god, burn them, ageless one, with your hottest flames.
14. So be for us a great iron fortress, unassailable, for the protection of our people — a hundredfold stronghold.
15. Protect us from distress, O lord of evening and dawn, from the one who wishes us harm — by day and by night, O undeceivable one.
Translator's note: verse 1's "mīḻhuṣaḥ" (bounteous one) and verse 9's "upākṣarā sahasriṇī" (a thousandfold [utterance] flowing near) are compressed Vedic phrases with no single natural English equivalent; they are rendered conservatively rather than expanded. Verse 11's "sahaso yaho" (son of might) and verse 14's "śatabhujiḥ" (hundred-armed/hundredfold) are likewise kept close to the literal sense.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.15 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 VII.15
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.
upasadyāya mīḻhuṣa āsye juhutā haviḥ |
yo no nediṣṭham āpyam || 1 ||
yaḥ pañca carṣaṇīr abhi niṣasāda dame-dame |
kavir gṛhapatir yuvā || 2 ||
sa no vedo amātyam agnī rakṣatu viśvataḥ |
utāsmān pātv aṁhasaḥ || 3 ||
navaṁ nu stomam agnaye divaḥ śyenāya jījanam |
vasvaḥ kuvid vanāti naḥ || 4 ||
spārhā yasya śriyo dṛśe rayir vīravato yathā |
agre yajñasya śocataḥ || 5 ||
semāṁ vetu vaṣaṭkṛtim agnir juṣata no giraḥ |
yajiṣṭho havyavāhanaḥ || 6 ||
ni tvā nakṣya viśpate dyumantaṁ deva dhīmahi |
suvīram agna āhuta || 7 ||
kṣapa usraś ca dīdihi svagnayas tvayā vayam |
suvīras tvam asmayuḥ || 8 ||
upa tvā sātaye naro viprāso yanti dhītibhiḥ |
upākṣarā sahasriṇī || 9 ||
agnī rakṣāṁsi sedhati śukraśocir amartyaḥ |
śuciḥ pāvaka īḍyaḥ || 10 ||
sa no rādhāṁsy ā bhareśānaḥ sahaso yaho |
bhagaś ca dātu vāryam || 11 ||
tvam agne vīravad yaśo devaś ca savitā bhagaḥ |
ditiś ca dāti vāryam || 12 ||
agne rakṣā ṇo aṁhasaḥ prati ṣma deva rīṣataḥ |
tapiṣṭhair ajaro daha || 13 ||
adhā mahī na āyasy anādhṛṣṭo nṛpītaye |
pūr bhavā śatabhujiḥ || 14 ||
tvaṁ naḥ pāhy aṁhaso doṣāvastar aghāyataḥ |
divā naktam adābhya || 15 ||
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).