Agni, thou art immortal, O mighty one! The gods themselves cannot die, and neither can thy flame. We mortals wither and crumble to dust; our bodies return to the earth; our names are forgotten. But thou—thou art forever.

Yet thou dost dwell among us, O immortal god! In every hearth, in every altar, in every fire that burneth, thou art present. Thou livest with us; thou eatest with us; thou shareth in our joys and our sorrows. Though thou belongest to the gods, thou art also our companion.

How strange is this mystery, O Agni! That thou who art divine should care for mortals; that thou who art eternal should concern thyself with our brief lives. Yet thou dost care; thou dost concern thyself. Thou art the priest who mediates for us; thou art the guardian who protecteth us.

We do not know why the gods have granted thee to dwell among mortals. Perhaps it is an act of compassion. Perhaps it is a covenant written in the very beginning of time. Perhaps it is the way of the universe that immortal and mortal, divine and human, should be joined together.

Blessed art thou, O Agni, that thou dwellest in two worlds! Thou knowest the life of the gods; thou knowest also the life of mortals. Thou canst speak to both; thou canst translate between both. Because of thee, we are not entirely separated from the divine.

In thy presence, we feel something of immortality. When we gaze upon thy flames, we sense something eternal within ourselves. For a moment, we forget that we are mortal; we forget that our time is limited. We touch something beyond death, something that shall endure forever.

O Agni, immortal friend of mortals! Though we know that our lives are brief and our time is limited, thou hast given us hope. Through thee, we know that something survives death; something continues beyond the grave. The flame may die, but the fire eternal remaineth.

Come to us, O deathless one! Dwell in our homes! Protect us from the darkness of death! Let us know, even in our brief lives, that we are connected to something eternal, something immortal, something divine!