Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.142 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.
Agni! We call to thee with voices clear and fervent. Accept our praise and dwell within this home. Thou art the friend whom all men covet, the fire that burneth bright, the flame that endureth.
Come now with thy brightness! Thou hearest the call of those who sing. The priests have chosen thee to bear their offerings—the butter that melteth upon thy tongue, the grain and flesh that feedeth thy holy flame. Thou acceptest all with joy, O generous one.
Let the stones be struck! Let the wood be readied! Thou rushest forth as a warrior leaps upon his foe, thy colors dancing gold and crimson, thy voice roaring like the storm. Thou art invincible, O Agni, thy might is as the strength of ten thousand bulls.
We invoke thee who dwellest in two places—in the sacred fire-house where the priests tend thee with reverence, and in the hearth of the humble man where widows and children warm their trembling hands. Thou art the same in both, O equal flame, O lord of heat.
Shine upon us with grace! Make straight the path of the righteous! Consume the offering and carry our prayers upward on thy smoke to Indra, to Varuṇa, to Mitra—to all the deathless ones who dwell in that realm beyond the clouds.
Be pleased with us, O Agni! We offer thee the finest gifts. Accept them as a father accepts the embrace of his son. Guard us through the dark night. Let no evil approach our dwelling whilst thy flame burneth near. Thou art the keeper, the watcher, the eternal guardian.
Come now, O fire! Enter this place! Be our companion and our strength!
Colophon
Rigveda I.142 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.142
samiddho agna ā vaha devām̐ adya yatasruce |
tantuṁ tanuṣva pūrvyaṁ sutasomāya dāśuṣe || 1 ||
ghṛtavantam upa māsi madhumantaṁ tanūnapāt |
yajñaṁ viprasya māvataḥ śaśamānasya dāśuṣaḥ || 2 ||
śuciḥ pāvako adbhuto madhvā yajñam mimikṣati |
narāśaṁsas trir ā divo devo deveṣu yajñiyaḥ || 3 ||
īḻito agna ā vahendraṁ citram iha priyam |
iyaṁ hi tvā matir mamācchā sujihva vacyate || 4 ||
stṛṇānāso yatasruco barhir yajñe svadhvare |
vṛñje devavyacastamam indrāya śarma saprathaḥ || 5 ||
vi śrayantām ṛtāvṛdhaḥ prayai devebhyo mahīḥ |
pāvakāsaḥ puruspṛho dvāro devīr asaścataḥ || 6 ||
ā bhandamāne upāke naktoṣāsā supeśasā |
yahvī ṛtasya mātarā sīdatām barhir ā sumat || 7 ||
mandrajihvā jugurvaṇī hotārā daivyā kavī |
yajñaṁ no yakṣatām imaṁ sidhram adya divispṛśam || 8 ||
śucir deveṣv arpitā hotrā marutsu bhāratī |
iḻā sarasvatī mahī barhiḥ sīdantu yajñiyāḥ || 9 ||
tan nas turīpam adbhutam puru vāram puru tmanā |
tvaṣṭā poṣāya vi ṣyatu rāye nābhā no asmayuḥ || 10 ||
avasṛjann upa tmanā devān yakṣi vanaspate |
agnir havyā suṣūdati devo deveṣu medhiraḥ || 11 ||
pūṣaṇvate marutvate viśvadevāya vāyave |
svāhā gāyatravepase havyam indrāya kartana || 12 ||
svāhākṛtāny ā gahy upa havyāni vītaye |
indrā gahi śrudhī havaṁ tvāṁ havante adhvare || 13 ||
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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