Hymn to Agni and the Viśvedevas
Rigveda VII.39 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. Agni, risen upright, has reached the favor of the Good One; turning back, the ancient one goes to the gods' service. The two pressing-stones have taken to the path like two charioteers; may the hotar, thus urged, perform the rite for us.
2. The well-strewn sacred grass of these gods is laid out; like two lords of the clan they come near. At the first call of the peoples, of night and dawn, Vayu and Pushan, drawn by their team, come for our well-being.
3. Here on earth the Vasu gods have taken delight; in the wide mid-air the bright ones have adorned themselves. Turn your far-ranging paths toward us; hear this messenger of ours who has come.
4. They indeed, the helpers worthy of worship at the sacrifices, all the gods, are present at the gathering-place. Worship them, the eager ones, at the rite, O Agni — with readiness, Bhaga, the two Nasatyas, and Purandhi.
5. O Agni, bring hither the songs of praise from heaven and from earth, and Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Agni, Aryaman, Aditi, Vishnu; let Sarasvati and the Maruts among them rejoice.
6. With hymns he has offered the oblation to the gods worthy of sacrifice; the unwearying one reaches the desire of mortals. May the Ordainer grant inexhaustible wealth; may we now prevail, together with the allied gods.
7. Now the two world-halves have been praised by the Vasishthas; the truthful ones — Varuna, Mitra, Agni — and the shining gods, let them grant our supreme hymn of praise. Protect us always with blessings.
Translator's note: verse 1's "adrī" (the two pressing-stones) and verse 2's "bīriṭaḥ" are read conservatively; the latter is an obscure term of uncertain meaning, rendered here only by its grammatical role ("they") rather than guessed at. Verse 7's closing line is the standard refrain that closes many Vasishtha hymns in this book.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.39 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.39
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.
ūrdhvo agniḥ sumatiṁ vasvo aśret pratīcī jūrṇir devatātim eti |
bhejāte adrī rathyeva panthām ṛtaṁ hotā na iṣito yajāti || 1 ||
pra vāvṛje suprayā barhir eṣām ā viśpatīva bīriṭa iyāte |
viśām aktor uṣasaḥ pūrvahūtau vāyuḥ pūṣā svastaye niyutvān || 2 ||
jmayā atra vasavo ranta devā urāv antarikṣe marjayanta śubhrāḥ |
arvāk patha urujrayaḥ kṛṇudhvaṁ śrotā dūtasya jagmuṣo no asya || 3 ||
te hi yajñeṣu yajñiyāsa ūmāḥ sadhasthaṁ viśve abhi santi devāḥ |
tām̐ adhvara uśato yakṣy agne śruṣṭī bhagaṁ nāsatyā puraṁdhim || 4 ||
āgne giro diva ā pṛthivyā mitraṁ vaha varuṇam indram agnim |
āryamaṇam aditiṁ viṣṇum eṣāṁ sarasvatī maruto mādayantām || 5 ||
rare havyam matibhir yajñiyānāṁ nakṣat kāmam martyānām asinvan |
dhātā rayim avidasyaṁ sadāsāṁ sakṣīmahi yujyebhir nu devaiḥ || 6 ||
nū rodasī abhiṣṭute vasiṣṭhair ṛtāvāno varuṇo mitro agniḥ |
yacchantu candrā upamaṁ no arkaṁ yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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).