Agni, O Sacred Fire! Thou art the friend of man, the divine priest who dost carry our offerings unto the gods. We praise thee at the rising of the sun.

Born from the rubbing of the sacred wood, thou leapest forth with flames of gold and red, thy smoke doth rise like prayers unto the heavens, and the sound of thy crackling doth echo through all the worlds.

In every household art thou kindled, O Agni, upon the altar and the hearth. Thou art the fire that cooketh our food, that warmeth us in the cold season, that lighteneth the darkness of the night.

Thou art the purifier of all things, O Holy Flame. Where thy touch falleth, all uncleanness is consumed, and that which was impure becometh pure and fit for the presence of the gods.

Thy tongue doth flicker and dance like the wings of a bird, and thy colours shift from gold to red to blue, as thou dost leap and play among the wood and dried grass.

O Agni, thou art the messenger between the worlds of gods and men. Thou dost take our prayers and our offerings and dost carry them upon thy smoke to the dwelling-place of the immortals.

The gods themselves do come at thy call, O Fire, for they know that wherever thou dost burn, there is a place made ready for their presence and their blessing.

Thou dost shine in the darkness with a light that no mortal hand hath fashioned. Thy light is the light of truth, thy warmth is the warmth of the divine presence itself.

In the season of winter, when the cold doth bite and the days are short, men gather round thy flames and find solace in thy warmth. Thou art a friend to the weary and the suffering.

The priests do tend thee with reverence, O Agni, keeping thy flames bright and thy service pure. They feed thee with wood and with offerings, and thou dost repay their devotion with blessing.

When the great ceremonies are performed, thou art at the heart of them, O Holy Fire. The soma is pressed, the mantras are chanted, the butter is poured—all for thee, all through thee.

Thy power is manifest in the lightning that doth strike from the sky, and in the fire that doth burn within the belly of the earth. Thou art the eternal flame that doth sustain all life.

We offer unto thee, O Agni, the first portion of our food, the first libation of our drink. This is the ancient custom, this is the law that was established in the beginning.

In the great cremation fires, O Agni, thou dost receive the bodies of the dead and dost send their spirits upward on thy smoke unto the realm of the ancestors.

The wood crackles and sparks beneath thy flame, and each spark is like a prayer sent upward to the dwelling-place of the gods. Thou art the ladder upon which our prayers do climb.

O Agni, giver of warmth and light, protector of the household, purifier of all things—we do call upon thee and do offer thee our praise and our reverence.

Accept thou our offerings, O Holy Fire. Let thy flames consume them, let thy smoke carry them to the gods, and let thy blessing descend upon us and upon all who do worship thee.

The dawn breaketh, and with it cometh thy sacred light. Through all the day thou shinest, and in the evening thou dost settle into sleep, only to rise again with the morrow.

Eternal art thou, O Agni, undying and unchanging. From the first dawn of creation until the end of time, thou shalt burn with the same sacred fire that burneth now.

We are thy worshippers, O Agni, and thou art our protector and our guide. Grant unto us thy favour, that we may live in purity and truth, ever mindful of thy presence.

There is no god more near to man than thou art, O Fire, for thou dost dwell in every house and every heart. When we kindle thee with reverent hand, thou dost unite us with the eternal.

Come, O Agni! Come to our sacrifice! Receive our offerings with gladness! Shine upon us with thy light! Warm us with thy flames! And carry our prayers unto the gods!

The sacrificial smoke doth rise, the priests do chant, the butter doth flow—all in thy honour, all for thy blessing. Accept thou our devotion, O Sacred Fire!

We praise thee, we honour thee, we bow before thy majesty. Agni, Agni—O thou who art the heart of all things, the light of all lights, the fire of all fires—receive our worship!

Eternally shalt thou burn, O Agni, and eternally shall men kindle thee and offer unto thee. Such is the law, such is the eternal custom, and such shall it be unto the end of time.

Grant unto us thy favour, O Holy Fire. Bless us with thy light, protect us with thy warmth, and guide us with thy wisdom, that we may walk ever in the right path and fulfill thy will.

Accept, O Agni, the offerings we have made. Let thy flames consume them. Let thy smoke carry them heavenward. And let thy blessing descend upon all who do worship thee with faith and devotion.