Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VII.7 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. I urge forth for you, with homage, your god, mighty Agni — like a prize-winning steed. Be our messenger, knowing the rite; steadfast, find your place among the gods.
2. Come, Agni, along your own paths, delightful one, enjoying friendship with the gods — making the heights of the earth roar with your fury, eagerly devouring all the forests with your jaws.
3. The sacrifice faces eastward, the sacred grass well laid; Agni, invoked, is pleased, like the summoned priest. Calling on the two mothers, rich in every boon, from whom, youngest one, most gracious, you were born.
4. At once, at the rite, the wise men among them made him their charioteer. As lord of the clans he was set in the dwelling — Agni, delightful, sweet-voiced, true to the sacred order.
5. He has taken his seat, the chosen bearer, having arrived — Agni, the priest, the ordainer, in the dwelling of men, whom heaven and earth cause to grow, whom the hotṛ priest worships, rich in every boon.
6. These men, with their splendors, have spread over everything, who as men have fashioned this choice hymn; who, listening, advance the clans; who have pondered this rite of mine.
7. Now we, the Vasiṣṭhas, beseech you, Agni, ruler over treasures, son of strength: grant nourishment to your praisers, the bountiful ones. Protect us always, O gods, with your blessings.
Translator's note: "mitadruḥ" (v.1, literally "measured-running" or "steadfast") is rendered conservatively as "steadfast." "vāvṛdhāte" (v.5) and related growth-verbs describing heaven and earth's relation to Agni are kept literal ("cause to grow") rather than expanded. The Vasiṣṭhas named in verse 7 are the family of seers traditionally credited with Maṇḍala 7.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.7 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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda VII.7
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.
pra vo devaṁ cit sahasānam agnim aśvaṁ na vājinaṁ hiṣe namobhiḥ |
bhavā no dūto adhvarasya vidvān tmanā deveṣu vivide mitadruḥ || 1 ||
ā yāhy agne pathyā3 anu svā mandro devānāṁ sakhyaṁ juṣāṇaḥ |
ā sānu śuṣmair nadayan pṛthivyā jambhebhir viśvam uśadhag vanāni || 2 ||
prācīno yajñaḥ sudhitaṁ hi barhiḥ prīṇīte agnir īḻito na hotā |
ā mātarā viśvavāre huvāno yato yaviṣṭha jajñiṣe suśevaḥ || 3 ||
sadyo adhvare rathiraṁ jananta mānuṣāso vicetaso ya eṣām |
viśām adhāyi viśpatir duroṇe3 'gnir mandro madhuvacā ṛtāvā || 4 ||
asādi vṛto vahnir ājaganvān agnir brahmā nṛṣadane vidhartā |
dyauś ca yam pṛthivī vāvṛdhāte ā yaṁ hotā yajati viśvavāram || 5 ||
ete dyumnebhir viśvam ātiranta mantraṁ ye vāraṁ naryā atakṣan |
pra ye viśas tiranta śroṣamāṇā ā ye me asya dīdhayann ṛtasya || 6 ||
nū tvām agna īmahe vasiṣṭhā īśānaṁ sūno sahaso vasūnām |
iṣaṁ stotṛbhyo maghavadbhya ānaḍ 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).