Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.39 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. Agni has been praised, worthy of the hymn; Agni is invoked with the sacred call, to be worshiped. May Agni anoint the gods for us — in both gatherings the sage moves within as messenger. Let all other rivals fail alike.
2. O Agni, lay this praise, freshly spoken, into their bodies. Cast off the ill will of the stingy, and every hostility of the foe — let it leave this place; let the foolish be brought low. Let all other rivals fail alike.
3. O Agni, these thoughts are for you; like ghee I pour them into your mouth. Make this known among the gods, for you are the ancient, kindly messenger of Vivasvat. Let all other rivals fail alike.
4. Agni takes on vigor after vigor, each as he desires it. He carries the oblation of strength that belongs to the Vasus, and grants well-being and happiness for the whole calling of the gods. Let all other rivals fail alike.
5. He, Agni the mighty, has made himself known through wondrous deeds. He is the priest of the everlasting rites; surrounded by sacrificial gifts, he sends forth what is given in return. Let all other rivals fail alike.
6. Agni knows the births of the gods; Agni knows the hidden thing of mortals. Agni is the giver of wealth; Agni throws the doors wide open, well served with the freshest offering. Let all other rivals fail alike.
7. Agni dwells together among the gods, and among the sacrifice-worthy clans. With joy he pours out abundant inspired wisdom; like the earth he nourishes everything — a god worthy of sacrifice among the gods. Let all other rivals fail alike.
8. Agni, who belongs to the seven human tribes, rests within all the rivers. We have come to him, the one of three dwelling-places, the greatest slayer of Dasyus for Mandhātṛ — Agni, foremost at the sacrifices. Let all other rivals fail alike.
9. Agni dwells in the three threefold worlds, the sage of the ritual gatherings. May he worship here the thrice-eleven gods, and may he satisfy us — the inspired messenger, well adorned. Let all other rivals fail alike.
10. You, O Agni, rule among our generations of men; you alone, ancient one, rule over wealth among the gods. The flowing waters, keeping their own banks, move in a circle around you. Let all other rivals fail alike.
Translator's note: the refrain "nabhantām anyake same," closing every verse, is rendered conservatively as "let all other rivals fail alike" — the verb nabh- (to burst, fail, come to nothing) is rare and its exact force uncertain. A few compounds resist confident rendering and are kept close to their roots rather than smoothed: kṛpaṇyati ("as he desires/yearns," verse 4), tripastyam ("of three dwelling-places," verse 8), and saptamānuṣaḥ ("of the seven human tribes," verse 8), the last a term of disputed reference in Vedic scholarship.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.39 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.39
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.
agnim astoṣy ṛgmiyam agnim īḻā yajadhyai |
agnir devām̐ anaktu na ubhe hi vidathe kavir antaś carati dūtya1ṁ nabhantām anyake same || 1 ||
ny agne navyasā vacas tanūṣu śaṁsam eṣām |
ny arātī rarāvṇāṁ viśvā aryo arātīr ito yucchantv āmuro nabhantām anyake same || 2 ||
agne manmāni tubhyaṁ kaṁ ghṛtaṁ na juhva āsani |
sa deveṣu pra cikiddhi tvaṁ hy asi pūrvyaḥ śivo dūto vivasvato nabhantām anyake same || 3 ||
tat-tad agnir vayo dadhe yathā-yathā kṛpaṇyati |
ūrjāhutir vasūnāṁ śaṁ ca yoś ca mayo dadhe viśvasyai devahūtyai nabhantām anyake same || 4 ||
sa ciketa sahīyasāgniś citreṇa karmaṇā |
sa hotā śaśvatīnāṁ dakṣiṇābhir abhīvṛta inoti ca pratīvya1ṁ nabhantām anyake same || 5 ||
agnir jātā devānām agnir veda martānām apīcyam |
agniḥ sa draviṇodā agnir dvārā vy ūrṇute svāhuto navīyasā nabhantām anyake same || 6 ||
agnir deveṣu saṁvasuḥ sa vikṣu yajñiyāsv ā |
sa mudā kāvyā puru viśvam bhūmeva puṣyati devo deveṣu yajñiyo nabhantām anyake same || 7 ||
yo agniḥ saptamānuṣaḥ śrito viśveṣu sindhuṣu |
tam āganma tripastyam mandhātur dasyuhantamam agniṁ yajñeṣu pūrvyaṁ nabhantām anyake same || 8 ||
agnis trīṇi tridhātūny ā kṣeti vidathā kaviḥ |
sa trīm̐r ekādaśām̐ iha yakṣac ca piprayac ca no vipro dūtaḥ pariṣkṛto nabhantām anyake same || 9 ||
tvaṁ no agna āyuṣu tvaṁ deveṣu pūrvya vasva eka irajyasi |
tvām āpaḥ parisrutaḥ pari yanti svasetavo nabhantām anyake same || 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).