Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.44 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. With kindling-wood honor Agni; with ghee awaken the guest. Pour your offerings into him.
2. O Agni, take pleasure in my praise-song; grow strong through this thought. Delight in our hymns.
3. I place Agni, the messenger, before me; I call upon him who carries the offering. May he seat the gods here.
4. Your lofty flames rise up, O Agni, shining as you are kindled — the bright flames stir upward.
5. Let my ghee-anointed offerings go to you, O beloved one. Agni, enjoy our oblations.
6. I praise Agni, the joyful priest, the officiant, brilliant in light, rich in splendor — may he indeed hear.
7. The ancient priest, worthy of praise, beloved Agni of the poet's wisdom, the glory of our rites.
8. Enjoying these offerings in due order, O most Aṅgiras-like one — Agni, lead the sacrifice rightly, in season.
9. Being kindled, O true one, bright-flamed, bring here the divine folk, for you know them.
10. We beseech the inspired, guileless priest, smoke-bannered, rich in splendor — the beacon of our sacrifices.
11. O Agni, protect us; guard us, god, from the one who harms. Shatter hostility, O mighty one.
12. Agni, adorning his own body with an ancient hymn, the seer has grown strong through inspired praise.
13. I call the son of strength, Agni of the purifying flame, to this well-performed sacrifice.
14. You, Agni, mighty as our friend — with your bright flame, sit with the gods on the sacred grass.
15. Whatever mortal honors the god Agni in his own house — for him wealth shall shine forth.
16. Agni is the crown of heaven's summit, lord of this earth; he quickens the waters' seed.
17. O Agni, your pure, bright, shining flames rise up — your lights, your rays.
18. You rule, Agni, lord of heaven's light, over the most desirable gift — may I, your praiser, dwell in your shelter.
19. The wise urge you onward, Agni, with their insight; may our songs make you grow strong.
20. We choose the friendship of Agni — the undeceivable, self-sustaining messenger who always sings out.
21. Agni, purest in his ways, pure inspired one, pure seer — pure, he shines when the offering is given.
22. And may my thoughts, my songs, make you grow strong every day; Agni, be mindful of our friendship.
23. If, Agni, I were you, or you indeed were I — your wishes here would come true.
24. You are the Good, the lord of goods indeed, Agni rich in splendor — may we be within your favor.
25. To you, Agni, steadfast in your ordinances, our songs surge forth like rivers to the sea, like lowing cows.
26. I adorn Agni with my hymns — the youthful lord of the clans, the seer, the all-consuming, ever-quickening one.
27. We press forward with our praise-songs to Agni, charioteer of sacrifices, sharp-toothed and firm.
28. May this praiser rest in you, O true Agni; be gracious to him, O purifier.
29. You are wise indeed, ever wakeful like an inspired sage seated at the feast; Agni, you shine in the sky.
30. Before misfortunes come, Agni, before our foes, O seer — prolong our lifespan, O bountiful one.
Translator's note: verse 23 turns on a wish-fulfillment exchange between speaker and god ("if I were you, or you were me") that resists a fully literal rendering into modern English; the sense — that the god's identification with the singer would guarantee the singer's wishes — is kept, but the wordplay of the Sanskrit is necessarily flattened. "Aṅgirastama" (v. 8) is left untranslated as an epithet rather than rendered by guesswork about its exact connotation.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.44 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.44
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.
samidhāgniṁ duvasyata ghṛtair bodhayatātithim |
āsmin havyā juhotana || 1 ||
agne stomaṁ juṣasva me vardhasvānena manmanā |
prati sūktāni harya naḥ || 2 ||
agniṁ dūtam puro dadhe havyavāham upa bruve |
devām̐ ā sādayād iha || 3 ||
ut te bṛhanto arcayaḥ samidhānasya dīdivaḥ |
agne śukrāsa īrate || 4 ||
upa tvā juhvo3 mama ghṛtācīr yantu haryata |
agne havyā juṣasva naḥ || 5 ||
mandraṁ hotāram ṛtvijaṁ citrabhānuṁ vibhāvasum |
agnim īḻe sa u śravat || 6 ||
pratnaṁ hotāram īḍyaṁ juṣṭam agniṁ kavikratum |
adhvarāṇām abhiśriyam || 7 ||
juṣāṇo aṅgirastamemā havyāny ānuṣak |
agne yajñaṁ naya ṛtuthā || 8 ||
samidhāna u santya śukraśoca ihā vaha |
cikitvān daivyaṁ janam || 9 ||
vipraṁ hotāram adruhaṁ dhūmaketuṁ vibhāvasum |
yajñānāṁ ketum īmahe || 10 ||
agne ni pāhi nas tvam prati ṣma deva rīṣataḥ |
bhindhi dveṣaḥ sahaskṛta || 11 ||
agniḥ pratnena manmanā śumbhānas tanva1ṁ svām |
kavir vipreṇa vāvṛdhe || 12 ||
ūrjo napātam ā huve 'gnim pāvakaśociṣam |
asmin yajñe svadhvare || 13 ||
sa no mitramahas tvam agne śukreṇa śociṣā |
devair ā satsi barhiṣi || 14 ||
yo agniṁ tanvo3 dame devam martaḥ saparyati |
tasmā id dīdayad vasu || 15 ||
agnir mūrdhā divaḥ kakut patiḥ pṛthivyā ayam |
apāṁ retāṁsi jinvati || 16 ||
ud agne śucayas tava śukrā bhrājanta īrate |
tava jyotīṁṣy arcayaḥ || 17 ||
īśiṣe vāryasya hi dātrasyāgne svarpatiḥ |
stotā syāṁ tava śarmaṇi || 18 ||
tvām agne manīṣiṇas tvāṁ hinvanti cittibhiḥ |
tvāṁ vardhantu no giraḥ || 19 ||
adabdhasya svadhāvato dūtasya rebhataḥ sadā |
agneḥ sakhyaṁ vṛṇīmahe || 20 ||
agniḥ śucivratatamaḥ śucir vipraḥ śuciḥ kaviḥ |
śucī rocata āhutaḥ || 21 ||
uta tvā dhītayo mama giro vardhantu viśvahā |
agne sakhyasya bodhi naḥ || 22 ||
yad agne syām ahaṁ tvaṁ tvaṁ vā ghā syā aham |
syuṣ ṭe satyā ihāśiṣaḥ || 23 ||
vasur vasupatir hi kam asy agne vibhāvasuḥ |
syāma te sumatāv api || 24 ||
agne dhṛtavratāya te samudrāyeva sindhavaḥ |
giro vāśrāsa īrate || 25 ||
yuvānaṁ viśpatiṁ kaviṁ viśvādam puruvepasam |
agniṁ śumbhāmi manmabhiḥ || 26 ||
yajñānāṁ rathye vayaṁ tigmajambhāya vīḻave |
stomair iṣemāgnaye || 27 ||
ayam agne tve api jaritā bhūtu santya |
tasmai pāvaka mṛḻaya || 28 ||
dhīro hy asy admasad vipro na jāgṛviḥ sadā |
agne dīdayasi dyavi || 29 ||
purāgne duritebhyaḥ purā mṛdhrebhyaḥ kave |
pra ṇa āyur vaso tira || 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).