Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VII.16 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. With this homage I call Agni for you — the son of strength, dear, most watchful, the tireless one, good at the rite, the messenger of all, the immortal.
2. He harnesses his two ruddy, all-nourishing horses; well-invoked with oblation, he speeds forward. The sacred formula is well-made, the sacrifice well-performed — he is the god's gift of wealth to the people.
3. Up rises his flame as he is kindled, the bountiful one. Up go the ruddy smokes, touching heaven, as the men kindle Agni together.
4. We make you our messenger, most glorious one; bring the gods here to the feast. Grant us, O son of strength, all that nourishes mortals — grant what we ask of you.
5. You, Agni, are lord of the house; you are our invoking priest at the rite. You are the purifying priest, O all-bounteous, wise one — worship the gods and win for us what is to be desired.
6. Make wealth for the sacrificer, O wise one, for you are the giver of treasure. Truly inspire for us every officiating priest, and whoever among us is well-spoken and skillful.
7. In you, O well-invoked Agni, may our patrons be dear ones — the bounteous leaders of the people who share out the pens of cattle.
8. Those in whose house Iḍā, ghee-handed, sits down at dawn — protect them, O mighty one, from harm and from blame. Grant us shelter, O far-renowned one.
9. He, the carrier, with joyful tongue, most knowing through his mouth — O Agni, bring wealth to our generous patrons, and speed on the giving of our offerings.
10. Those who give gifts — gifts of horses, bounties — out of desire for great fame, carry them safely across distress, O youngest one, with a hundred protecting strongholds.
11. The god who grants you wealth desires a full vessel poured out for him. So pour it out, or fill it up — then indeed the god takes note of you.
12. Him the gods made the invoking priest of the rite, the wise carrier. Agni grants treasure and vigorous strength to the worshipper, to the one who has made the offering.
Translator's note: verse 8's "iḍā" (iḻā) is the goddess/personification of ritual refreshment and libation, not a proper name familiar to English readers; she is kept untranslated. Verse 10's "yaviṣṭhya" (vocative, "youngest one") is a standing epithet of Agni, who is reborn with each kindled fire.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.16 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.16
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.
enā vo agniṁ namasorjo napātam ā huve |
priyaṁ cetiṣṭham aratiṁ svadhvaraṁ viśvasya dūtam amṛtam || 1 ||
sa yojate aruṣā viśvabhojasā sa dudravat svāhutaḥ |
subrahmā yajñaḥ suśamī vasūnāṁ devaṁ rādho janānām || 2 ||
ud asya śocir asthād ājuhvānasya mīḻhuṣaḥ |
ud dhūmāso aruṣāso divispṛśaḥ sam agnim indhate naraḥ || 3 ||
taṁ tvā dūtaṁ kṛṇmahe yaśastamaṁ devām̐ ā vītaye vaha |
viśvā sūno sahaso martabhojanā rāsva tad yat tvemahe || 4 ||
tvam agne gṛhapatis tvaṁ hotā no adhvare |
tvam potā viśvavāra pracetā yakṣi veṣi ca vāryam || 5 ||
kṛdhi ratnaṁ yajamānāya sukrato tvaṁ hi ratnadhā asi |
ā na ṛte śiśīhi viśvam ṛtvijaṁ suśaṁso yaś ca dakṣate || 6 ||
tve agne svāhuta priyāsaḥ santu sūrayaḥ |
yantāro ye maghavāno janānām ūrvān dayanta gonām || 7 ||
yeṣām iḻā ghṛtahastā duroṇa ām̐ api prātā niṣīdati |
tām̐s trāyasva sahasya druho nido yacchā naḥ śarma dīrghaśrut || 8 ||
sa mandrayā ca jihvayā vahnir āsā viduṣṭaraḥ |
agne rayim maghavadbhyo na ā vaha havyadātiṁ ca sūdaya || 9 ||
ye rādhāṁsi dadaty aśvyā maghā kāmena śravaso mahaḥ |
tām̐ aṁhasaḥ pipṛhi partṛbhiṣ ṭvaṁ śatam pūrbhir yaviṣṭhya || 10 ||
devo vo draviṇodāḥ pūrṇāṁ vivaṣṭy āsicam |
ud vā siñcadhvam upa vā pṛṇadhvam ād id vo deva ohate || 11 ||
taṁ hotāram adhvarasya pracetasaṁ vahniṁ devā akṛṇvata |
dadhāti ratnaṁ vidhate suvīryam agnir janāya dāśuṣe || 12 ||
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).