Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.127 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Agni, the divine fire, messenger between mortals and gods, the eternal priest of the sacred rite. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Come forth, O Agni! Thou friend of mortal men! Kindle thyself within the sacred wood. Let thy flames leap upward to the heavens. Thou art the bridge between the earth and the divine realm. All our offerings pass through thy flames to reach the gods.
O fire, thou art the first among the gods, for thou dwellest in every home. Thou warmest us when the winter cold doth bite. Thou cookest our food and maketh it safe to eat. Thou shinest in the darkness like a lamp. Without thee, we should perish in the cold and the dark.
Agni, thou art also the warrior-friend! When our enemies draw near, thou dost ride forth at our side. Thy flames consumeth the evil ones. Thy smoke doth confound our foes. Thou art the protector of our villages and our flocks. We trust in thee when danger comes upon us.
O bright one, thou dost know all secrets. Thou seest all things. Nothing can be hidden from the flame. Therefore we call upon thee to burn away the evil that clings to us. Purify us with thy sacred fire. Cleanse our hearts of doubt and fear. Make us worthy to stand before the divine ones.
We kindle thee with reverence and with love. Receive our offering! Carry our prayers to the gods! Let thy light shine forth and guide us ever toward the good. Be thou our guardian, our friend, our messenger between earth and heaven. Accept our devotion, O Agni, and grant us thy blessing.
Colophon
Rigveda I.127 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Agni, the divine fire, messenger between mortals and gods, the eternal priest of the sacred rite. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.127
ya ūrdhvayā svadhvaro devo devācyā kṛpā |
ghṛtasya vibhrāṣṭim anu vaṣṭi śociṣājuhvānasya sarpiṣaḥ || 1 ||
parijmānam iva dyāṁ hotāraṁ carṣaṇīnām |
śociṣkeśaṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ yam imā viśaḥ prāvantu jūtaye viśaḥ || 2 ||
vīḻu cid yasya samṛtau śruvad vaneva yat sthiram |
niḥṣahamāṇo yamate nāyate dhanvāsahā nāyate || 3 ||
pra yaḥ purūṇi gāhate takṣad vaneva śociṣā |
sthirā cid annā ni riṇāty ojasā ni sthirāṇi cid ojasā || 4 ||
ād asyāyur grabhaṇavad vīḻu śarma na sūnave |
bhaktam abhaktam avo vyanto ajarā agnayo vyanto ajarāḥ || 5 ||
ādad dhavyāny ādadir yajñasya ketur arhaṇā |
adha smāsya harṣato hṛṣīvato viśve juṣanta panthāṁ naraḥ śubhe na panthām || 6 ||
agnir īśe vasūnāṁ śucir yo dharṇir eṣām |
priyām̐ apidhīm̐r vaniṣīṣṭa medhira ā vaniṣīṣṭa medhiraḥ || 7 ||
atithim mānuṣāṇām pitur na yasyāsayā |
amī ca viśve amṛtāsa ā vayo havyā deveṣv ā vayaḥ || 8 ||
śuṣmintamo hi te mado dyumnintama uta kratuḥ |
adha smā te pari caranty ajara śruṣṭīvāno nājara || 9 ||
prati yad īṁ haviṣmān viśvāsu kṣāsu joguve |
agre rebho na jarata ṛṣūṇāṁ jūrṇir hota ṛṣūṇām || 10 ||
mahi śaviṣṭha nas kṛdhi saṁcakṣe bhuje asyai |
mahi stotṛbhyo maghavan suvīryam mathīr ugro na śavasā || 11 ||
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).
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