Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.11 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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. You, Agni, are the guardian of sacred order among mortals, O god; you are to be praised at every sacrifice.
2. You are to be extolled in the assemblies, O overpowering one; Agni, you are the charioteer of the rites.
3. So drive away from us all hatred, O Jātavedas — drive off, Agni, the godless hostilities.
4. Even when it stands near at hand, you do not go near the sacrifice of a deceitful mortal, O Jātavedas.
5. We mortals ponder your many names, immortal one — we, the inspired poets, ponder the names of Jātavedas.
6. We the inspired call on the inspired god for help; we mortals call on him for aid; we call Agni with our songs.
7. May your calf draw your mind here, even from the farthest dwelling place, Agni, with a song that longs for you.
8. For you are the same in many places, lord over every clan; in battles we call on you.
9. In battles, seeking spoils, we call on Agni for help; in the contests for strength, on him of the brilliant gifts.
10. For you, ancient one, are to be praised at the rites; from of old you are the priest, and new again you take your seat. Delight in your own body, Agni, and win good fortune for us.
Translator's note: "Jātavedas" (verses 3–5) is a standing epithet of Agni, roughly "knower of all creatures/all that is born," left untranslated as a name. In verse 7, "vatsa" is rendered literally as "calf" — its precise referent (the kindled flame, an offering, or the hymn itself figured as Agni's offspring) is not specified by the verse and is genuinely uncertain.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.11 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 VIII.11
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.
tvam agne vratapā asi deva ā martyeṣv ā |
tvaṁ yajñeṣv īḍyaḥ || 1 ||
tvam asi praśasyo vidatheṣu sahantya |
agne rathīr adhvarāṇām || 2 ||
sa tvam asmad apa dviṣo yuyodhi jātavedaḥ |
adevīr agne arātīḥ || 3 ||
anti cit santam aha yajñam martasya ripoḥ |
nopa veṣi jātavedaḥ || 4 ||
martā amartyasya te bhūri nāma manāmahe |
viprāso jātavedasaḥ || 5 ||
vipraṁ viprāso 'vase devam martāsa ūtaye |
agniṁ gīrbhir havāmahe || 6 ||
ā te vatso mano yamat paramāc cit sadhasthāt |
agne tvāṁkāmayā girā || 7 ||
purutrā hi sadṛṅṅ asi viśo viśvā anu prabhuḥ |
samatsu tvā havāmahe || 8 ||
samatsv agnim avase vājayanto havāmahe |
vājeṣu citrarādhasam || 9 ||
pratno hi kam īḍyo adhvareṣu sanāc ca hotā navyaś ca satsi |
svāṁ cāgne tanvam piprayasvāsmabhyaṁ ca saubhagam ā yajasva || 10 ||
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).