Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.60 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, come here with the fires — we choose you as our priest. Let the outstretched hand bearing oblation anoint you, most worthy of worship, to take your seat on the sacred grass.
2. For toward you the ladles move in the rite, son of strength, O Aṅgiras. We call on Agni, child of vigor, ghee-maned, foremost of all at the sacrifices.
3. Agni, you are seer, ordainer, priest, the purifier, worthy to be worshipped — joyful, most fit for sacrifice at the rites, to be praised by the wise with their hymns, O bright one.
4. Bring here the unharming gods, unceasing one, youngest one, to the feast. Go toward the well-set offerings, O good one; rejoice, roused by our devotions.
5. You alone are far-reaching, Agni — protector, seer of the true order. The inspired ordainers, once you are kindled and shining, seek to win you over.
6. Blaze, most blazing one, shine for the people, give comfort to the one who praises you — you are great. May the shelter of the gods be mine; may my patrons be foe-conquering, keepers of good fires.
7. Just as you consume a great old tamarisk on the ground, Agni, so burn up — great friend that you are — whoever is hostile to us, ill-willed, or plots against us.
8. Do not hand us over to the mortal enemy, to the one possessed by demons, to the one who curses us with evil. Protect us, youngest one, with guardians unfailing, swift, and kind.
9. Protect us, Agni, with one song, and protect us with a second; protect us with three songs, lord of strength, protect us with four, good one.
10. Protect us from every demon, from the ungenerous one; carry us forward in the contests for strength. For you, nearest kinsman in the service of the gods, we approach for our furthering.
11. Bring us, Agni, wealth that builds vigor, purifying one — wealth worth praising. Grant us, close companion, wealth that many desire, made ever more glorious by good guidance.
12. By that wealth may we overcome the arrogant in battle, crossing beyond the designs of the hostile lord. So build us up with refreshment, mighty one; quicken our thoughts, the wealth-finders.
13. Sharpening himself like a bull shaking his horns — that is Agni. His jaws are sharp, not to be withstood, well-fanged, the swift offspring of strength.
14. For your jaws, Agni, bull that you are, cannot be withstood when you spread out. So, priest, make our oblation well-offered; win for us many desired things.
15. You lie in the forests of your two mothers; mortals kindle you together. Untiring, you carry the offerings, maker of oblation, and then you reign among the gods.
16. The seven priests invoke that form of you, Agni, freely released, unashamed. You split the rock with heat, with your flame; go forth, Agni, stand above the peoples.
17. Agni, Agni indeed, the unwavering one, may we call for you, we who have strewn the sacred grass — Agni, who has set out the offerings, forever the priest of the peoples.
18. With insight, the well-tuned shelter attends on you, Agni, watchful as it is. By your eager impulse bring us strength of many forms, the nearest strength, for our help.
19. Agni, singer, lord of the clan, burning the demon, O god — never absent, keeper of the house, you are great, guardian of the sky, dweller in the home.
20. Let no demon enter into us, glowing one; let no sorcerer's demon enter. Drive hunger far off, breathless and beyond pasture's reach; Agni, ward off the demon-ridden.
Translator's note: verse 16's "sutyajam" (rendered "freely released") and verse 19's vocative "jaritar" ("singer," addressed to Agni himself) are compressed, ambiguous forms; the renderings above are conservative readings of the Sanskrit rather than confident glosses.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.60 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.60
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.
agna ā yāhy agnibhir hotāraṁ tvā vṛṇīmahe |
ā tvām anaktu prayatā haviṣmatī yajiṣṭham barhir āsade || 1 ||
acchā hi tvā sahasaḥ sūno aṅgiraḥ srucaś caranty adhvare |
ūrjo napātaṁ ghṛtakeśam īmahe 'gniṁ yajñeṣu pūrvyam || 2 ||
agne kavir vedhā asi hotā pāvaka yakṣyaḥ |
mandro yajiṣṭho adhvareṣv īḍyo viprebhiḥ śukra manmabhiḥ || 3 ||
adrogham ā vahośato yaviṣṭhya devām̐ ajasra vītaye |
abhi prayāṁsi sudhitā vaso gahi mandasva dhītibhir hitaḥ || 4 ||
tvam it saprathā asy agne trātar ṛtas kaviḥ |
tvāṁ viprāsaḥ samidhāna dīdiva ā vivāsanti vedhasaḥ || 5 ||
śocā śociṣṭha dīdihi viśe mayo rāsva stotre mahām̐ asi |
devānāṁ śarman mama santu sūrayaḥ śatrūṣāhaḥ svagnayaḥ || 6 ||
yathā cid vṛddham atasam agne saṁjūrvasi kṣami |
evā daha mitramaho yo asmadhrug durmanmā kaś ca venati || 7 ||
mā no martāya ripave rakṣasvine māghaśaṁsāya rīradhaḥ |
asredhadbhis taraṇibhir yaviṣṭhya śivebhiḥ pāhi pāyubhiḥ || 8 ||
pāhi no agna ekayā pāhy u1ta dvitīyayā |
pāhi gīrbhis tisṛbhir ūrjām pate pāhi catasṛbhir vaso || 9 ||
pāhi viśvasmād rakṣaso arāvṇaḥ pra sma vājeṣu no 'va |
tvām id dhi nediṣṭhaṁ devatātaya āpiṁ nakṣāmahe vṛdhe || 10 ||
ā no agne vayovṛdhaṁ rayim pāvaka śaṁsyam |
rāsvā ca na upamāte puruspṛhaṁ sunītī svayaśastaram || 11 ||
yena vaṁsāma pṛtanāsu śardhatas taranto arya ādiśaḥ |
sa tvaṁ no vardha prayasā śacīvaso jinvā dhiyo vasuvidaḥ || 12 ||
śiśāno vṛṣabho yathāgniḥ śṛṅge davidhvat |
tigmā asya hanavo na pratidhṛṣe sujambhaḥ sahaso yahuḥ || 13 ||
nahi te agne vṛṣabha pratidhṛṣe jambhāso yad vitiṣṭhase |
sa tvaṁ no hotaḥ suhutaṁ haviṣ kṛdhi vaṁsvā no vāryā puru || 14 ||
śeṣe vaneṣu mātroḥ saṁ tvā martāsa indhate |
atandro havyā vahasi haviṣkṛta ād id deveṣu rājasi || 15 ||
sapta hotāras tam id īḻate tvāgne sutyajam ahrayam |
bhinatsy adriṁ tapasā vi śociṣā prāgne tiṣṭha janām̐ ati || 16 ||
agnim-agniṁ vo adhriguṁ huvema vṛktabarhiṣaḥ |
agniṁ hitaprayasaḥ śaśvatīṣv ā hotāraṁ carṣaṇīnām || 17 ||
ketena śarman sacate suṣāmaṇy agne tubhyaṁ cikitvanā |
iṣaṇyayā naḥ pururūpam ā bhara vājaṁ nediṣṭham ūtaye || 18 ||
agne jaritar viśpatis tepāno deva rakṣasaḥ |
aproṣivān gṛhapatir mahām̐ asi divas pāyur duroṇayuḥ || 19 ||
mā no rakṣa ā veśīd āghṛṇīvaso mā yātur yātumāvatām |
parogavyūty anirām apa kṣudham agne sedha rakṣasvinaḥ || 20 ||
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).