Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.139 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.
O Viśvedevas, all ye gods! Come hither! The divine assembly is convening! We kindle the sacred fires! We pour out the soma! We sing the songs of invocation! Come ye to our altar and accept our offerings!
Hear the call, O Indra and Agni! Hear the call, O Mitra and Varuṇa! Hear the call, O Aśvins and Soma! Hear the call, O Vāyu and Pūṣan! Hear the call, O All-Gods who dwell in the heavens!
We are mortals who dwell upon this earth. We are small and weak, yet we have the strength to make offerings and to sing thy praises. We gather here, the children of the earth, to commune with the immortal ones. This is our right, for we are the creatures of the gods, made in thy image, blessed by thy creation.
Come down, O divine ones, from thy high seats in the heavens! Come down and share in the soma! Come down and smell the sweet aroma of the offerings! Come down and listen to our songs! Come down and grant us thy blessings!
We do not come before thee empty-handed or with empty hearts! We bring the finest offerings from our herds and our fields! We bring the music of our voices raised in praise! We bring our devotion and our hope! Receive what we have brought! Accept our worship! Let thy presence fill this place! Let thy power flow into us! Grant us thy blessings now and forever!
Colophon
Rigveda I.139 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.139
yad dha krāṇā vivasvati nābhā saṁdāyi navyasī |
adha pra sū na upa yantu dhītayo devām̐ acchā na dhītayaḥ || 1 ||
yuvor itthādhi sadmasv apaśyāma hiraṇyayam |
dhībhiś cana manasā svebhir akṣabhiḥ somasya svebhir akṣabhiḥ || 2 ||
yuvor viśvā adhi śriyaḥ pṛkṣaś ca viśvavedasā |
pruṣāyante vām pavayo hiraṇyaye rathe dasrā hiraṇyaye || 3 ||
adhi vāṁ sthāma vandhure rathe dasrā hiraṇyaye |
patheva yantāv anuśāsatā rajo 'ñjasā śāsatā rajaḥ || 4 ||
śacībhir naḥ śacīvasū divā naktaṁ daśasyatam |
mā vāṁ rātir upa dasat kadā canāsmad rātiḥ kadā cana || 5 ||
te tvā mandantu dāvane mahe citrāya rādhase |
gīrbhir girvāhaḥ stavamāna ā gahi sumṛḻīko na ā gahi || 6 ||
yad dha tyām aṅgirobhyo dhenuṁ devā adattana |
vi tāṁ duhre aryamā kartarī sacām̐ eṣa tāṁ veda me sacā || 7 ||
yad vaś citraṁ yuge-yuge navyaṁ ghoṣād amartyam |
asmāsu tan maruto yac ca duṣṭaraṁ didhṛtā yac ca duṣṭaram || 8 ||
teṣāṁ deveṣv āyatir asmākaṁ teṣu nābhayaḥ |
teṣām padena mahy ā name girendrāgnī ā name girā || 9 ||
jagṛbhmā dūraādiśaṁ ślokam adrer adha tmanā |
adhārayad ararindāni sukratuḥ purū sadmāni sukratuḥ || 10 ||
ye devāso divy ekādaśa stha pṛthivyām adhy ekādaśa stha |
apsukṣito mahinaikādaśa stha te devāso yajñam imaṁ juṣadhvam || 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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