Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.23 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. Invoke him indeed, worship the one to be approached, the Knower of All Beings — whose smoke wanders, whose flame cannot be grasped.
2. O all-beholding one, with my whole mind I praise with song Agni the giver, and I praise him among the rival chariots.
3. Of those whose pressing need and want he — worthy of praise — relieves when withheld, the Bearer finds wealth by his own skill.
4. His flame, unaging, has risen up wide from the blazing one — from him of the burning jaws, the well-shining, glorious as a host.
5. Rise up, O you of good rites, being praised, with your divine form, with your splendor, with your great light, blazing bright.
6. Agni, come with fine praises, offering the oblations in due order, as you have become the messenger, the carrier of offerings.
7. I call for you Agni, the ancient one, the invoking priest of the peoples; him I proclaim with this speech, him indeed I praise for you.
8. Whom, wondrous in power, they set forth with beauty through sacrifices, like a friend well-placed among the people, in him who holds the truth.
9. The truth-seeking ones have delighted in him, the truth-possessing one, the accomplisher of the sacrifice, with song, in the place of homage.
10. Let our sacrifices go together toward him, most Aṅgiras-like, who is the priest among the clans, most glorious.
11. O Agni, those unaging flames of yours, being kindled, blaze with great light, like horses, like bulls seeking their strength.
12. You, O lord of strength, grant us wealth rich in heroic power; favor us in our children and offspring, in battles.
13. Or indeed when Agni, lord of the clan, sharpened and well-pleased, is in the dwelling of man, he drives away all the demons.
14. Attentively, O Agni, hero, lord of the clan, hear my new hymn of praise; burn down with your burning heat the deceitful demons.
15. No enemy, no mortal, can prevail over him by any trick — over him who has given to Agni with gifts of oblation.
16. Vyaśva the seer, desiring strength, has pleased you, the wealth-finder; for great wealth let us kindle you indeed.
17. Uśanā Kāvya installed you as the priest — you, the thorough sacrificer, for Manu, Jātavedas.
18. For all the gods, of one accord, made you their messenger; O god, attentive, you have become the foremost, the one worthy of sacrifice.
19. Let the mortal hero indeed make this immortal one his messenger — the purifier, black-tracked, vast.
20. With ladles extended, let us invoke him, the well-shining, the bright-flamed — Agni of the clans, unaging, ancient, worthy of praise.
21. The mortal who has honored him with an offering, with gifts of oblation, obtains abundant prosperity, glory rich in strong sons.
22. Toward Agni, first, Jātavedas, foremost in the sacrifices, the oblation-laden ladle goes, with homage.
23. With these most excellent thoughts, like Vyaśva, let us worship Agni, the bright-flamed one, with the most generous hymns.
24. Now sing, O seer, son of Vyaśva, with hymns of praise to the vast one, as Sthūrayūpa did, to Agni of the hearth.
25. The inspired poets invoke, for help, Agni the ancient — the guest of men, the son of the trees.
26. Facing all the great ones present, and the human oblations, O Agni, sit down with homage upon the sacred grass.
27. Win for us many desirable things; win wealth, much-desired, rich in heroic power, offspring, and glory.
28. You, O Agni, are the best; impel bounty for the man of good song, O good one, always, O youngest, for every one continually.
29. For you indeed are a good helper; grant us food rich in cattle; O Agni, grant the winning of great wealth.
30. O Agni, you are glorious; bring here Mitra and Varuṇa, the truth-possessing ones, the two sovereign kings, of pure power.
Translator's note: this hymn (attributed to Vyaśva Āṅgirasa) is written in a highly compressed, elliptical style typical of early Rigvedic Agni hymns, and several verses (2–3, 8–9, 13, 19, 21–22, 26–29) admit more than one grammatical construal. The renderings above follow the most conservative reading of each Sanskrit word rather than smoothing the syntax into fluent prose. "Jātavedas" (v.1, 17, 22) is left untranslated as a proper epithet ("Knower of All Beings" given once at first occurrence). Proper names in verses 16, 23–24 (Vyaśva, Uśanā Kāvya, Sthūrayūpa) are seers and patrons named in the hymn, not translated.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.23 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.23
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.
īḻiṣvā hi pratīvya1ṁ yajasva jātavedasam |
cariṣṇudhūmam agṛbhītaśociṣam || 1 ||
dāmānaṁ viśvacarṣaṇe 'gniṁ viśvamano girā |
uta stuṣe viṣpardhaso rathānām || 2 ||
yeṣām ābādha ṛgmiya iṣaḥ pṛkṣaś ca nigrabhe |
upavidā vahnir vindate vasu || 3 ||
ud asya śocir asthād dīdiyuṣo vy a1jaram |
tapurjambhasya sudyuto gaṇaśriyaḥ || 4 ||
ud u tiṣṭha svadhvara stavāno devyā kṛpā |
abhikhyā bhāsā bṛhatā śuśukvaniḥ || 5 ||
agne yāhi suśastibhir havyā juhvāna ānuṣak |
yathā dūto babhūtha havyavāhanaḥ || 6 ||
agniṁ vaḥ pūrvyaṁ huve hotāraṁ carṣaṇīnām |
tam ayā vācā gṛṇe tam u vaḥ stuṣe || 7 ||
yajñebhir adbhutakratuṁ yaṁ kṛpā sūdayanta it |
mitraṁ na jane sudhitam ṛtāvani || 8 ||
ṛtāvānam ṛtāyavo yajñasya sādhanaṁ girā |
upo enaṁ jujuṣur namasas pade || 9 ||
acchā no aṅgirastamaṁ yajñāso yantu saṁyataḥ |
hotā yo asti vikṣv ā yaśastamaḥ || 10 ||
agne tava tye ajarendhānāso bṛhad bhāḥ |
aśvā iva vṛṣaṇas taviṣīyavaḥ || 11 ||
sa tvaṁ na ūrjām pate rayiṁ rāsva suvīryam |
prāva nas toke tanaye samatsv ā || 12 ||
yad vā u viśpatiḥ śitaḥ suprīto manuṣo viśi |
viśved agniḥ prati rakṣāṁsi sedhati || 13 ||
śruṣṭy agne navasya me stomasya vīra viśpate |
ni māyinas tapuṣā rakṣaso daha || 14 ||
na tasya māyayā cana ripur īśīta martyaḥ |
yo agnaye dadāśa havyadātibhiḥ || 15 ||
vyaśvas tvā vasuvidam ukṣaṇyur aprīṇād ṛṣiḥ |
maho rāye tam u tvā sam idhīmahi || 16 ||
uśanā kāvyas tvā ni hotāram asādayat |
āyajiṁ tvā manave jātavedasam || 17 ||
viśve hi tvā sajoṣaso devāso dūtam akrata |
śruṣṭī deva prathamo yajñiyo bhuvaḥ || 18 ||
imaṁ ghā vīro amṛtaṁ dūtaṁ kṛṇvīta martyaḥ |
pāvakaṁ kṛṣṇavartaniṁ vihāyasam || 19 ||
taṁ huvema yatasrucaḥ subhāsaṁ śukraśociṣam |
viśām agnim ajaram pratnam īḍyam || 20 ||
yo asmai havyadātibhir āhutim marto 'vidhat |
bhūri poṣaṁ sa dhatte vīravad yaśaḥ || 21 ||
prathamaṁ jātavedasam agniṁ yajñeṣu pūrvyam |
prati srug eti namasā haviṣmatī || 22 ||
ābhir vidhemāgnaye jyeṣṭhābhir vyaśvavat |
maṁhiṣṭhābhir matibhiḥ śukraśociṣe || 23 ||
nūnam arca vihāyase stomebhiḥ sthūrayūpavat |
ṛṣe vaiyaśva damyāyāgnaye || 24 ||
atithim mānuṣāṇāṁ sūnuṁ vanaspatīnām |
viprā agnim avase pratnam īḻate || 25 ||
maho viśvām̐ abhi ṣato3 'bhi havyāni mānuṣā |
agne ni ṣatsi namasādhi barhiṣi || 26 ||
vaṁsvā no vāryā puru vaṁsva rāyaḥ puruspṛhaḥ |
suvīryasya prajāvato yaśasvataḥ || 27 ||
tvaṁ varo suṣāmṇe 'gne janāya codaya |
sadā vaso rātiṁ yaviṣṭha śaśvate || 28 ||
tvaṁ hi supratūr asi tvaṁ no gomatīr iṣaḥ |
maho rāyaḥ sātim agne apā vṛdhi || 29 ||
agne tvaṁ yaśā asy ā mitrāvaruṇā vaha |
ṛtāvānā samrājā pūtadakṣasā || 30 ||
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).